40th anniversary article about the Elway trade

[7DnBrnc53]

On Denverbroncos.com, Aric DiLalla did a 40th anniversary oral history of the Elway trade:

https://www.denverbroncos.com/news/the- ... hise-alter

[Retro Rider]

Thanks for posting the link, that was quite a series of events. I lived in Colorado at the time and the Elway hype was everywhere. Edgar Kaiser was a genius. All the pieces had to fall into place and they did (thank you Bob Irsay). I certainly don't blame Elway for not wanting to play for Frank Kush.

Here's some 1983 video from local Denver TV:
https://youtu.be/lbXpO5a2xzg

[Retro Rider]

Elway nearly became a Raider:

Sunday, October 29, 2006
BY PAUL NEEDELL
Star-Ledger Staff

John Elway a Raider?

According to two people with knowledge of a potential pre-draft trade, the Colts had reached a deal to send the No. 1 pick of the 1983 draft to the Raiders -- only to have the deal blocked by NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle.

"We almost had Elway, but Pete Rozelle voided the trade," former Raiders personnel man Ron Wolf told The Star-Ledger last week. "We had the trade set up with Baltimore, but Pete wouldn't let it happen."

Rozelle and Raiders owner Davis spent many years in the 1980s in courtrooms over the Raiders' move from Oakland to Los Angeles, among other issues. Simply put, the two didn't like each other.

Ernie Accorsi, then the GM of the Colts, now the Giants' GM, confirmed a deal was in place with the Raiders that would have netted Baltimore an unprecedented three No. 1 picks and two No. 2s. One of the No. 1s, Accorsi said, would have been the sixth overall, which the Raiders had arranged to acquire from the Bears.

"Yeah, it's never been written, but I was going to make the deal only if it included getting back a top 10 pick," Accorsi said. "I wanted to make sure we still got (Hall of Fame quarterback) Dan Marino. I wasn't going to trade Elway for anything less than the best package ever."

Wolf said he didn't know the details of the almost-trade, but said he was was told by someone in the Colts' organization that "it was much better" than what Baltimore later received from the Broncos for Elway after the draft. That deal included back-up QB Mark Hermann, tackle Chris Hinton and a first-round draft pick.

The deal apparently had been made by Davis and late Colts owner Robert Irsay.

So what happened?

"Irsay capitulated with the commissioner," Wolf said.

Even late Bears general manager Jim Finks was baffled. Accorsi said he called him and said, "Are we getting (played) here? Because somebody's killed the deal, and it's not me."

All parties thought a trade was set for the glamour-boy quarterback to land with the Raiders and Davis.

Irsay was worried that Elway would use his minor-league contract with the Yankees as leverage to never play for the Colts. While Accorsi tried to hold firm and call Elway's bluff, teams often went over the GM's head and called Irsay with offers.

So, before the draft, when someone from the Raiders called Accorsi and said, "Mr. Davis wants to know what it would take to get the rights to Elway," the response was, "You don't have the arsenal."

Accorsi wanted the three No. 1s and a No. 2 -- with a top 10 choice. The Raiders had the 26th choice in Round 1, but were prepared to send Chicago several players to also acquire the sixth spot. Accorsi agreed to accept the Raiders' No. 1 pick in 1984, too.

Everything was in place -- except the final go-ahead from Rozelle. That never came.

"Davis had his suspicions that Pete killed it," Accorsi said. "All I knew was I was going to get the best deal ever or I wasn't trading him."

True to his word, Accorsi didn't trade Elway. Irsay did.

[conace21]

Based on what I've read and watched, I don't think that's an accurate assessment of the Elway-near trade. What happened was: the Raiders needed another 1st round draft pick to send to Baltimore to meet Accorsi's price. Chicago had two first round draft picks in 1983, and the Raiders went after one of them. They offered two or three players (the only one I remember was Ted Watts) plus draft picks. Chicago was receptive, and the deal was close to being done. Once LA had the Bears' draft pick, they would have enough capital to make the trade with Baltimore. But at the last minute, Chicago asked for DT Howie Long as well. The Raiders were furious; they had made it clear Long wasn't for sale. It was too much to give up. The trade fell through. Bears GM Jim Finks denied that the league scuttled the trade, because they hadn't (formally) agreed to terms, so there was no trade to scuttle. Al Davis accused the league office of secretly influencing the Bears to jack up the price, kill the trade and make sure Elway never became a Raider.

[Retro Rider]

Based on what I've read and watched, I don't think that's an accurate assessment of the Elway-near trade. What happened was: the Raiders needed another 1st round draft pick to send to Baltimore to meet Accorsi's price. Chicago had two first round draft picks in 1983, and the Raiders went after one of them. They offered two or three players (the only one I remember was Ted Watts) plus draft picks. Chicago was receptive, and the deal was close to being done. Once LA had the Bears' draft pick, they would have enough capital to make the trade with Baltimore. But at the last minute, Chicago asked for DT Howie Long as well. The Raiders were furious; they had made it clear Long wasn't for sale. It was too much to give up. The trade fell through. Bears GM Jim Finks denied that the league scuttled the trade, because they hadn't (formally) agreed to terms, so there was no trade to scuttle. Al Davis accused the league office of secretly influencing the Bears to jack up the price, kill the trade and make sure Elway never became a Raider.

I wasn't aware that Chicago wanted Howie Long at the last minute. The version I was familiar with had the Raiders trading either Howie Long or Ted Watts to Chicago, along with either Jeff Barnes or Kenny Hill. In exchange the Raiders would get Chicago's first round pick at #6 which would allow them complete the trade with Baltimore. I thought this was an interesting read:

https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/ra ... r-2121633/

Thanks for providing a different account of what transpired (that first article was from 2006). It was a fascinating chapter in NFL history, that's for sure.

[lehotskys80]

according to Gil Brandt, he had a deal with Kush to get Elway in a trade that would've sent Danny White to Baltimore..
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/290 ... dan-marino

[Brian wolf]

Thanks Lethotskys80 ...

Jim Jeffcoat had a great career for Dallas but the Cowboys should have gotten Marino. White was in his prime but would lose favor to start the 1984 season. It would have been a great situation for Marino to to push White for the job. Maybe even Pearson would have tried to stay, despite injuries from his car crash in 1984, yet its doubtful ...

[JohnTurney]

Couple of others perspectives---giving different views, NY Times seems pro Rozelle

NY Times--May 1983

But, from what is on the record so far, there was no Raider-Bear deal last week for the N.F.L. to obstruct. ... . Al Davis contends that John Elway was ''pushed to Denver by the league'' and that the Raiders possess information that Commissioner Pete Rozelle was ''involved in preventing'' the Raiders from acquiring the quarterback. If only for nuisance value, Al Davis might go to court to stop the Broncos, . . .

Pete Rozelle, meanwhile, has denied the Raiders' accusations. So has Don Weiss, the N.F.L.'s executive director. So has Jim Finks, the Bears' executive vice president, while explaining his trade talks with the Raiders.

''The Sunday before the draft, Steve Ortmayer of the Raiders phoned me,'' Jim Finks said from his Chicago office, referring to the Raiders' director of football operations, who is also their special teams coach. ''Steve told me, 'I know it's late, but we have a chance to get Elway from the Colts if we can get another high choice to trade to them. Are you interested in trading your choice to us?' ''

The Bears had the sixth choice in the first round. ''I agreed with Steve that it was late,'' Jim Finks said, ''but I told him, 'Let me look it over, and call me back.' When he called back Monday morning, I told him we were interested, but it would be expensive. I submitted several names of players we would be interested in - Long, Watts, McElroy, Hill, Davis and maybe one more, I've forgotten. But the first two names, Long and Watts, were the key to the package.'' Jim Finks meant the defensive end Howie Long and four defensive backs - Ted Watts, Vann McElroy, Kenny Hill and James Davis.

''Steve told me, 'Fine, I'll get back to you,' and about an hour later I got a call from Ernie Accorsi,'' Jim Finks said, referring to the Colts' general manager. ''Ernie asked if we were talking to the Raiders about a draft choice. I told him we were, and he asked me to keep him informed. I told him I would.'' Later that day, according to Jim

Finks, also received a phone call from Bob Irsay, the Colts' owner. ''Bob asked me if I'd heard back from the Raiders, and I told him no,'' Jim Finks said. ''But finally Ortmayer called me back, and as I was talking to him I was interrupted with a message that Ortmayer was calling on another line. I said, 'It can't be Ortmayer; I'm talking to Ortmayer now.' It turned out to be Irsay, and I told him, 'Bob, I'm talking to Ortmayer now, I'll call you back when I'm through.'

''Ortmayer told me that the Raiders were willing to offer us Watts and Hill, but I reminded him that both Watts and Long were essential to the deal.''

''Not long after that, Don Weiss called me,'' Jim Finks said. ''Don's interest was that if the deal went through and the Colts agreed to trade their first choice to the Raiders, the league wanted to get Elway to come to New York in time for the draft Tuesday morning. And then Pete Rozelle called and told me, 'If you make the deal, tell us, it's important. We want to bring the kid in.'

''But by 10:15 Monday night, Chicago time, I hadn't heard back from Ortmayer. So I called Pete at the Regency Hotel in New York and told him as far as I was concerned nothing was going to happen.''

''All this talk about the league obstructing the deal is a typical Al Davis operation. But the strange thing about the whole situation is that I never talked to Al Davis about the deal. I only talked to Steve Ortmayer about it. I asked Steve a few times, 'Where's Bummy (Al Davis)?' and Steve would say, 'Oh, he's around somewhere.' But he never got on the phone.''

From the Raiders' practice field in Oakland yesterday, Steve Ortmayer recalled his understanding to be that if the Raiders packaged either Howie Long or Ted Watts - not both - with one of the other players mentioned by Jim Finks, the Bears would consider such a deal. He also recalled having phoned Jim Finks to clarify that understanding.

''But when I called back later,'' Steve Ortmayer said, ''Finks told me, 'No, that's not enough.' That's why we feel something must have happened.''

Steve Ortmayer acknowledged, however, that the Raiders' proposal had been only ''considered'' by the Bears, not finalized as a trade. He also acknowledged that, ''in the final discusssion, yeah, we may not have gotten back'' to Jim Finks and that Al Davis had ''never'' been on the phone with Jim Finks during the discussions.

''I understand from my people,'' Al Davis has been quoted as saying, ''that we had completed the deal.'' But if Jim Finks had completed a deal with the Raiders involving a first-round draft choice, he surely would have completed it by checking the details with Al Davis himself, not with Steve Ortmayer, one of Al Davis's ''people.''

Granted, the N.F.L. wasn't enthralled with the thought that its outlaw owner, Al Davis, might get $34 million in damages and John Elway too. But until additional evidence surfaces, the Raiders and the Bears never had a deal for the N.F.L. to obstruct.

RAIDERS LONGED FOR ELWAY
By Sam Smith
Chicago Tribune

Nov 02, 1986 at 12:00 am

Consider a Bears` defensive front with Richard Dent and Dan Hampton flanking Howie Long, regarded by many as the best defensive player in football.

The Baltimore (now Indianapolis) Colts figured it was going to happen because of an expected three-way trade involving the Bears and the Los Angeles Raiders before the 1983 National Football League draft.

The Colts thought they were getting L.A. quarterback Marc Wilson, the Raiders` No. 1 pick and the higher of the Bears` two No. 1 picks, which the Raiders were going to get for Long. In return, the Colts would send the Raiders their No. 1 pick, the top choice overall, which L.A. would use to draft Stanford quarterback John Elway.

And Elway figured it was going to happen.

''From what my agent told me, I know I was real close to going to the Raiders,'' Elway conceded in a recent interview.

But what happened next is unclear. Jim Finks, then the Bears` general manager and now the GM and president of the New Orleans Saints, insists that the Raiders refused to part with Long. ''They backed out of it,'' Finks said. The Raiders, however, claim NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, an adversary of Raider owner Al Davis, stepped in to cancel the deal.

Elway, though, isn`t saying. ''I heard someone blocked it,'' he said,

''but I won`t say his name.''

In any case, the Bears kept their pick and selected offensive tackle Jimbo Covert (and used their second No. 1 on Willie Gault). The Colts drafted Elway and then dealt him to the Broncos for their No. 1 choice, who was Northwestern`s Chris Hinton, quarterback Mark Herrmann and a No. 1 choice in 1984, which the Colts used to select Maryland guard Ron Solt.

...

Drafted by baseball`s Kansas City Royals, he instead chose to attend Stanford, where he set five NCAA passing records and completed more than 62 percent of his passes. He was eventually selected again in the baseball draft, this time by the Yankees, and played professional baseball for their Class A team in Oneonta, N.Y., in the summer of 1982, batting .318 and leading the team in runs batted in.

And then he was the No. 1 choice in the NFL draft, selected by the Colts, coached by Frank Kush. And he said he`d sign with the Yankees rather than play for the Colts.

''You`ve been offered three (number) ones and a quarterback and now you have nothing,'' was what Elway told Kush after the draft. And then he hung up. ''I shouldn`t have said publicly that I didn`t want to play in Baltimore,'' Elway says now, remembering the harsh treatment he received in his first season not only from fans but from football insiders, who considered him a prima donna.

He got his trade, to Denver, which was coming off a 2-7 season after the 1982 strike. He signed for more than anyone in the NFL, and Denver was captivated by the 6-foot-2-inch, 215-pound quarterback with blond hair, blue eyes, a strong arm and great scrambling ability. His coach, Dan Reeves, also was captivated and compared him to Roger Staubach. And both Reeves and Elway learned lessons.

The Denver media hounded Elway. They called him a ''Namath with knees,''

a ''Bradshaw with brains.'' Everything he did was reported. Both newspapers created ''Elway Watch'' columns, reporting such items as: ''Elway examines earring of teammate,'' ''Elway unshaven for afternoon practice.''

But worse, he became Reeves` starting quarterback after an impressive exhibition season.

''He was not ready,'' Reeves agrees now. ''It was like Keystone Kops.''

Although he was an economics major at Stanford, the supply of Elway to the Denver offense resulted in a fans` demand to get him off the field. Instead of thinking like Milton Friedman, he threw like him.

''You don`t think the game changes that much from college to the pros,''

says Elway. ''It`s a lot bigger jump than I planned on.''

Elway completed one pass in his first game and was replaced by former starter Steve DeBerg, who led the team to victory, as he did after replacing Elway in his second game. In the fifth game, the Bears blitzed him to a 24-0 halftime deficit, and Elway would have been done for the season if DeBerg hadn`t been injured later on.

While fellow first-round choice Dan Marino was captivating the league in Miami, Elway limped back to California, his confidence even more bruised than his body.

''I started doubting I could ever play in the league,'' he says.

But Reeves, whom Elway frequently had shouting matches with during the season in his frustration over trying to understand the coach`s complicated offense, which he learned as an assistant coach at Dallas, traded DeBerg after the season and simplified the offense.

Elway began to relax, allowing his natural talent to flourish. His teammates began to accept him; he began to accept the media pressure and attention and began to learn the game.

After throwing 47 touchdown passes and 52 interceptions his first three seasons, Elway went 142 passes without an interception through early this season and believes he`s finally learned to play his position.

''I learned you`re going to get your sacks,'' he says. ''It`s a matter of being smart, learning to throw it away, not to force anything and make crucial mistakes. I`m reading defenses better and I feel like I`ve matured and adjusted and now handle things better.''

Which the Raiders figured would happen. Now they have to do something about it.

[Brian wolf]

The real question was, how bad did the Raiders want to keep Howie Long ? His 12.5 sacks off five starts in two seasons must have really impressed the coaches and teammates because Finks insisted he would have to come to Chicago. Davis chose him over Elway. Finks lost Tarkenton and Kapp in Minnesota, though he got Fran back ... Its fitting he chose Jimmy Mac over Marino. He also could have had Joe Montana, who his scouts wanted but let him go. A great career but not the best with QBs ...

[sheajets]

Jack Elway was adamant his son not play for Frank Kush, and John knowing his dad had his best interests in mind was ok with him taking the reigns during this period. I mean the last thing you'd want is to land with an org that has Irsay-Kush at the top of the chain of command

I wonder how soon did they know that Elway wouldn't play for Kush? (coming off an 0-8-1 season) if you find that out...and if they're open to coming there for a different coach...then you have to fire Kush. I know this was absolutely not the way things were done there, but is Frank Kush really the hill you want to die on? That and the Colts looked absolutely hopeless in 1981-1982. 2-22-1 combined those seasons. And there were the uncertainties about the franchises future in Baltimore with the stadium situation. I believe Irsay was considering Jacksonville back in 1980

Not sure how legit this is...but after losing the Jets and Giants the City of NY apparently made a stab at the Colts in 1984