The history of Montgomery Ward retail stores

The first Montgomery Ward retail Stores opened about fifty years after the catalog business began. By 1929, Ward’s profits reached $13 million, operating 531 retail stores. In 1930, Montgomery Ward received a merger proposal from Sears. To save Wards, J.P. Morgan recruited Sewell Avery (1874-1960), to turn around the failing Montgomery Ward. In 1936, Fortune magazine said that Avery was the Number 1 Chicago businessman. By 1937, Ward’s sales were 76% of Sears’s and well ahead of J.C. Penney’s. The company made a public relations coup in 1939, when an in-house copywriter wrote a booklet about a little red-nosed reindeer named Rudolph, which became a Christmas classic. In 1949, Gene Autry recorded the Johnny Marks song, “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” that became a number one hit and a staple of Christmas songs, based on the 1939 Wards story. However, from 1941 to 1957, Wards did not open a single new store. In the postwar years, Avery failed to take advantage of the demand for durable goods and did not expand Montgomery Ward, costing its prominence in the retail field. Its 600 stores were smaller and located in less populous areas than Sears’s 702 stores. Sales were one-third of Sears’s $3 billion, and profits were just $35.4 million. By 1960, sales only reached $1.2 billion, but profits were just $15 million. Ed Donnell (1919-2003), became president in 1966. To avoid a hostile takeover, Ward’s found a friendly acquirer, Container Corporation of America. Ward’s stockholders would own two-thirds of the newly formed corporation, Marcor, in 1968. New stores continued to open at the rate of 25 a year, while old ones closed one by one. By 1972, Ward’s 100th anniversary, the big retailer was adding a million square feet of store space a year, primarily in shopping centers. In 1975, Mobil Oil Corporation bought Marcor and separated Wards and Container Corporation. USA Senator Ted Kennedy said that this big oil company was trying to put its profits into retail stores to avoid paying taxes. As losses mounted, Mobil lent Wards another $100 million. By the end of 1980, Montgomery Ward had lost $233 million on sales of $5.92 billion. They made most of their meager profits on their credit cards, not from the sale of merchandise. Searching for another savior, Mobil recruited Stephen Pistner (1932-2024) with another $50 million loan from Mobil. In 1983, Wards finally hit the black again with profits of $56 million. In 1985, after three years of experimentation, Pistner left the company with 322 Montgomery Ward Stores, still the sixth-largest retailer in the USA. By then, Mobil wanted to sell Montgomery Wards. To make this more attractive it forgave $500 million in loans to Wards. In June 1985, Mobil persuaded Bernard Brennan (1939-) to return as president and CEO. Brennan then completely closed the unprofitable catalog business. In 1986, Mobil Oil divested from MARCOR, the Container Corporation of America, so that Montgomery Ward was a direct subsidiary of Mobil. In 1987, Brennan oversaw what was then the largest management-led leveraged buyout in USA history, with the management group in partnership with General Electric Co.’s GE Capital Corp. paying $3.8 billion for Wards in 1988. Subsequently, GE Capital owned 49% of Wards, Brennan 35%, and other company managers the remaining 16%. Wards became the tenth-largest privately held company in the United States. Did you realize that retail companies have a social and financial history?

The end of the Montgomery Ward catalog business

In 1985, Montgomery Ward closed its catalog business after 113 years. Montgomery Ward was the originator of the catalog buying experience in 1872. Montgomery Ward and Sears Roebuck controlled the national catalog business in the early twentieth century with their mailed wish-book catalogs. In the old Montgomery Ward Catalog Chicago Avenue warehouse, they used roller skates to fill orders. In the twenty-first century this shopping at home experience has become known as buying on line, with Amazon first started selling books on line in 1994. At our Montgomery Ward Outlet store in Franklin Park, we only had to lay off three ladies who ran the Catalog. There had been catalog sales in every Montgomery Ward store, so that they were competing for the same sales within the store that they were. During the 1980s, people wanted to see the product before they bought it. Catalogs had only pictures and a short-written description. Quite often people would compare the catalog picture and explanation with the product in the same store. Sometimes, it was cheaper in the Catalog, and sometimes, the store would have a sale making it cheaper there. The other problem was that they had two products that were the same, but they had different SKU numbers, one for the catalog and the other for the retail stores, a big problem with big ticket items. Finally, there was the problem of returning a purchase. Montgomery Ward was liberal about returning products, with their slogan, “Satisfaction Guaranteed.” If you had a receipt, you could get a full return. If you could prove when you bought it from a credit card statement, that was good enough also. Thus, some people would get a return payment from the Catalog when they bought it in the store or vice versa, confusing things some more. Thus, it was no surprise to me that they were ending the catalog business, since it made no sense. Did you ever buy anything from a catalog?

TV in 1984

ABC purchased a majority stake of ESPN from Getty Oil Corp. American Movie Classics began. The Entertainment Channel became Arts & Entertainment Channel. Lifetime was launched from the merger of Hearst/ABC’s Daytime and Viacom’s Cable Health Network. NBC aired the made-for-television movie Little House: The Last Farewell, trying to tie up loose ends to storylines on the main “Little House on the Prairie” series. NBC broadcast “The Burning Bed,” which featured Farrah Fawcett as a woman who killed her abusive husband, the highest-rated entertainment event of the 1984–1985 season. Eddie Murphy participated in his final live episode as a cast member on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. Professional wrestler Hulk Hogan defeated The Iron Sheik to win his first WWF championship at Madison Square Garden, televised by the MSG Network, while MTV broadcast the live WWF “The Brawl to End It All” from Madison Square Garden, where Wendi Richter won the WWF Women’s Championship from The Fabulous Moolah. Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler hosted the first MTV Video Music Awards at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall. A lot of new popular shows premiered in 1984 including “Night Court,” “E/R,” “Miami Vice,” “Highway to Heaven,” “The Cosby Show,” “Who’s the Boss?” and “Murder, She Wrote. Other new shows in 1984 included “Riptide,” “The Master,” “Airwolf,” Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer,” “Kate and Allie,” “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” “Brothers,” “Santa Barbara,” “Glitter,” “Muppet Babies,” “Punky Brewster,” “The Transformers,” “Hunter,” “Cover Up,” “Hot Pursuit,” “Finder of Lost Loves,” “Paper Dolls,” “Three’s a Crowd,” “It’s Your Move,” “Partners in Crime,” “Tales from the Darkside,” “Charles in Charge,” “Out of Control,” “Trivia Trap,” “Dreams,” “V,” and “Crazy Like a Fox.” The game show “Super Password” premiered on NBC at noon EST. The game show “Jeopardy” returned to television as a syndicated show with new host Alex Trebek. Kelsey Grammer made his first appearance as Frasier Crane in the third-season premiere of “Cheers” on NBC. A whole bunch of old shows went off the air including “That’s Incredible!” (1980), “Fantasy Island” (1978), “Hart to Hart” (1979), “One Day at a Time” (1975), “Tattletales” (1974), “Real People” (1979), “Richie Rich” (1980), “The Flintstone Funnies” (1982), “Three’s Company” (1977), “Happy Days” (1974), and “The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast” (1974). The final episode of “Captain Kangaroo” aired, ending a 29-year run on CBS that made it the longest-running nationally broadcast children’s television program of its day, since 1955. “The Edge of Night” daytime drama ended after 28 years that began in 1956. “People are Funny” left the airways after 24 years that started in 1960. It was a busy year in TV. What was your favorite TV show of 1984?

Music in 1984

A report on the Ethiopian famine on BBC led Bob Geldof to release a charity record to raise money to help with famine relief, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” with Band Aid performers including Paul Young, Simon Le Bon, Bono, Phil Collins, Paul Weller, Sting, Boy George, and Tony Hadley, that became the fastest-selling single of all time in the UK. The Herreys’ song “Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley” won the Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden that became a top-ten hit in five European countries. Michael Jackson’s scalp was burned during the filming of a Pepsi commercial. Recovering from the scalp burns, Michael Jackson won eight Grammy Awards out of twelve nominations at the 26th Annual Grammy Awards. Hosted by John Denver, the 1984 Grammys ceremony received the highest ratings in its history, a record currently still unmatched. Besides Michael Jackson, The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” won Song of the Year, while Culture Club won Best New Artist. The Jacksons concluded their Victory Tour that reportedly grossed $75 million, a new industry record. Michael Jackson surprised everyone by saying that he would be permanently leaving the Jacksons. Sting played his last concerts with The Police at the end of the Synchronicity tour. The Sing Blue Silver tour of Duran Duran became the first act to utilize live video cameras and screens in their show, as they broke every existing merchandise record during their tour. Lionel Richie’s hit “Hello” became Motown’s first ever UK million-selling record. Prince released his sixth album Purple Rain, that sold over 20 million copies and gave Prince two USA number one singles with “When Doves Cry” and “Let’s Go Crazy”. Red Hot Chili Peppers released their debut album, The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Van Halen released their sixth studio album 1984 (MCMLXXXIV), which debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and sold over 10 million copies in the USA, but they also had their last concert with David Lee Roth as lead singer. The first annual MTV Video Music Awards was held in New York City. Herbie Hancock won the most awards with five, and The Cars took the Video Of The Year Award for “You Might Think”. Madonna gave a controversial performance of her hit single “Like a Virgin. The first compact disc manufacturing plant in North America opened in Terre Haute, Indiana, since CDs had previously been expensively imported from Japan or West Germany. Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. was designated as the first CD ever made in the United States. Tipper Gore formed the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) in response to the “filth” she heard on her daughter’s copy of Prince’s Purple Rain. Cyndi Lauper, with the fourth single from her 1983 debut album She’s So Unusual, “All Through the Night,” became the first woman in the 26-year history of the Billboard Hot 100 to have four singles from one album in the top five. In Los Angeles, Marvin Gaye was shot and killed during an argument with his father. Country singer Barbara Mandrell suffered serious injuries in a head-on automobile collision on a Tennessee highway. The Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil was founded. The thirteenth annual “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” special aired on ABC, with appearances by Jermaine Jackson, Ronnie Milsap, Night Ranger, Scandal, John Waite, and Barry Manilow. What is your favorite song of 1984?

Movies in 1984

I saw the top three movie hits of 1984. Beverly Hills Cop, with Eddie Murphy, became the biggest grossing film released by Columbia Pictures, but I thought that it was okay. However, Ghostbusters, with Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Bill Murray as eccentric parapsychologists who started a ghost-catching business in New York City, was good, as it became the biggest grossing comedy film of all time in the USA with Ghostbuster stuff all over the place. Who are you gonna call? “Ghostbusters!” Indiana Jones, and the Temple of Doom. with the combination of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Harrison Ford was very good. I also saw Romancing the Stone, that propelled Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito, with director Robert Zemeckis to super-stardom. The film also gave Zemeckis his first box office hit, which gave Universal Pictures confidence to allow him to direct his next film, Back to the Future. I liked Splash with Tom Hanks and Footloose, with Kevin Bacon. I really liked Once Upon a Time in America with Robert DeNiro and James Woods about gangsters in New York City. I also saw The Woman in Red and The Karate Kid. Randy Newman provided the music for The Natural, staring Robert Redford in a great baseball movie that I really liked. I also liked Amadeus. At the Oscars, Amadeus won the best picture award and best adapted screenplay. Milos Forman won for best director, and F. Murray Abraham won for best actor. Of course, the music was good since it was about Mozart in Vienna. Judy Davis and Peggy Ashcroft won best actress and supporting actress in the English A Passage to India, which I did not see. Hang S. Ngor won the best supporting actor for The Killing Fields, that I also did not see. John Williams won for best original movie score for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The best original song was “Against All Odds” by Phil Collins from the movie of the same name, another movie that I did not see, but I certainly heard the music. I did not see The Muppets Take Manhattan, The Cotton Club, The River, The Killing Fields, or Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes. I also did not see the popular movies Gremlins, Police Academy, and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Prince’s first film Purple Rain was released, but was not that successful, as I did not see it. Jimmy Stewart received an Oscar award for his fifty years of memorable performances. The Walt Disney Studios established Touchstone Pictures to release films with more mature subject matter than the traditional Walt Disney Pictures. Michael Eisner left Paramount Pictures to become head of Walt Disney Productions. The Motion Picture Association of America instituted the PG-13 rating, as a response to violent horror films such as Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Did you have a favorite movie in 1984?

Sports in 1984

In Super Bowl XVIII, the Los Angeles Raiders won 38–9 over the Washington Redskins in Tampa Stadium, on January 27, as the MVP was Marcus Allen, RB of the Raiders. Jim Plunkett outdueled Joe Theissman at QB. During the year, Chicago Bear’s Walter Payton broke Jim Brown’s rushing record on October 7, 1984. The Philadelphia Stars won the USFL Championship, 23-3 over the Arizona Wranglers. Doug Flutie won the Heisman Trophy, as the undefeated Brigham Young Cougars won the national championship over Michigan 24-17, following their victory in the Holiday Bowl on December 21. At the 1984 Winter Olympics, February 8–19, in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, Bill Johnson became the first American to win the gold medal in downhill skiing. USSR won the most medals (25) and the GDR won the most gold medals (9). Luis Aparicio, Harmon Killebrew, and Don Drysdale were inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame. The Detroit Tigers beat the San Diego Padres 4 games to 1 in the World Series, as Sparky Anderson managed a victory over Dick Williams. Tigers’ SS Alan Trammell was the MVP. In the NBA, Donald Sterling relocated the San Diego Clippers to Los Angeles. The Boston Celtics won 4 games to 3 over the Los Angeles Lakers. I was there in Boston in June to celebrate Celtic Pride Day. In the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, Georgetown coached by John Thompson and led by Patrick Ewing defeated Houston, coached by Guy Lewis, and led by Akeem Olajawon, 84-75. USC beat Tennessee in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship, 72-61. Central Missouri State University won the NCAA Division II men’s and women’s basketball titles, becoming the first school ever in any division to accomplish that feat. In the most anticipated boxing bout of the year, Thomas Hearns, WBC world Jr. Middleweight champion, knocked out WBA world champion Roberto Durán in two rounds. In World Figure Skating Championships, the Men’s champion was Scott Hamilton, USA, and the Ladies’ champion was Katarina Witt, East Germany. The Ice dancing champions were Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean, of Great Britain. The grand slam of golf was split between Ben Crenshaw, Fuzzy Zoeller, Seve Ballesteros, and Lee Trevino, with Tom Watson, the PGA Tour money leader with $476,260. The Senior PGA Tour money leader was Don January with $328,597, while the LPGA Tour money leader was Betsy King with $266,771. Swale won two-thirds of the horse racing triple crown races. Wayne Gretzky won both the leading scorer and MVP during the regular season, as his Edmonton Oilers won 4 games to 1 over the New York Islanders in the Stanley Cup. The USA Amateur Pickleball Association was formed. John McEnroe won two of the grand slam tennis events, while Martina Navratilova won three out of the four for the women. AP Male Athlete of the Year was Carl Lewis, in Track and Field, while the AP Female Athlete of the Year was Mary Lou Retton, in Gymnastics, both at the Summer Olympics in LA. What do you remember about sports in 1984?

Celebrity deaths in 1984 by year of birth

Sam Jaffe, American actor (1891), William Powell, American actor (1892), Martin Niemöller, German theologian and Lutheran pastor (1892), Alfred A. Knopf Sr., American publisher (1892), Benjamin Mays, American Baptist minister, and civil rights leader (1894), Alberta Hunter, American singer (1895), Walter Pidgeon, Canadian actor (1897), Charley Foy, American actor (1898), Bess Flowers, American actress (1898), Martin Luther King Sr., Baptist pastor, missionary, and civil rights (1899), Henri Michaux, Belgian writer, and painter (1899), Neil Hamilton, American actor (1899), Byron Haskin, American film, and television director (1899), Leo Robin, American composer (1900), Fred Waring, American bandleader, on radio and TV (1900), George Gallup, American statistician, and opinion pollster (1901), Meredith Willson, American composer (1902), Jack La Rue, American actor (1902), Ray Kroc, American entrepreneur (1902), Ansel Adams, American photographer (1902), June Marlowe, American actress (1903), Luther Adler, American actor (1903), Jan Peerce, American tenor (1904), Johnny Weissmuller, American swimmer, and actor (1904), Karl Rahner, German Jesuit priest and theologian (1904), Count Basie, American musician, and composer (1904), Lillian Hellman, American playwright (1905), Ned Glass, American actor (1906), Janet Gaynor, American actress (1906), Joe Cronin, American baseball player (1906), Paul Francis Webster, American lyricist (1907), John Marley, American actor (1907), Ethel Merman, American singer, and actress (1908), Walter Burke, American actor (1908), Jack Donohue, American film screenwriter and director (1908), Joseph Losey, American film director (1909), James Mason, English actor (1909), Jack Mercer, American voice artist (1910), Walter Alston, American baseball player, and manager (1911), Bob Clampett, American cartoonist (1913), Irwin Shaw, American author (1913), Philippe Ariès, French medievalist and historian (1914), Richard Basehart, American actor (1914), Ernest Tubb, American singer (1914), Carl Foreman, American screenwriter (1914), Kenny Williams, American game show announcer (1914), Vincent J. McMahon, American professional wrestling promoter (1914), Jackie Coogan, American actor (1914), Andrea Leeds, American actress (1914), Richard Durham, American radio scriptwriter, and civil rights activist (1917), Indira Gandhi, Indian Prime Minister of India (1917), Jack Barry, American game show host (1918), Jeanne Cagney, American actress (1919), Richard Deacon, American actor (1922), Peter Lawford, English-American actor, and socialite (1923), Truman Capote, American writer (1924), Sam Peckinpah, American film director (1925), Richard Burton, Welsh actor (1925), Michel Foucault, French philosopher (1926), Big Mama Thornton, American singer (1926), Ellen Raskin, American author (1928), Walter Tevis, American author, and screenwriter (1928), François Truffaut, French film director (1932), Peggy Ann Garner, American actress (1932), Jackie Wilson, American singer (1934), Luke Kelly, lead singer of Irish band The Dubliners (1940), Marvin Gaye, American singer (1940), Philippe Wynne, American singer (1941), Jerzy Popiełuszko, Polish Roman Catholic priest (1947), Steve Goodman, American folk musician, and songwriter (1948), and Andy Kaufman, American comedian (1949). Do you know anyone who died in 1984?

Disasters in 1984

In 1984, the world learned about the 1983–85 famine in Ethiopia. Thousands of people had already died of starvation due to a famine, and as many as 10,000,000 more lives were at risk. More than a million people died by the end of 1984. The EEC sent about 2 million dollars in aid. A series of explosions at the Pemex Petroleum Storage Facility at San Juan Ixhuatepec, in Mexico City, ignited a major fire and killed about 500 people. After the assassination of Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, anti-Sikh riots broke out, leaving 10,000 to 20,000 Sikhs dead in Delhi. A methyl isocyanate leak from a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, killed more than 8,000 people outright and injured over half a million in the worst industrial disaster in history. In the Sri Lankan Civil War, Sri Lankan Army soldiers killed over 200 civilians in the town of Mannar. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam began their first massacres of the Sinhalese people, in North and East Sri Lanka with 127 killed. Hezbollah militants hijacked a Kuwait Airlines plane and killed 4 passengers. A methane gas explosion at Abbeystead water treatment works in Lancashire, UK, killed 16 people. A F5 tornado nearly destroyed the town of Barneveld, Wisconsin, killing nine people, injuring nearly 200, and causing over $25,000,000 in damage. Seven people were shot and killed and 12 wounded in the Milperra massacre, a shootout between the rival motorcycle gangs Bandidos and Comancheros in Sydney, Australia. James Huberty opened fire in a McDonald’s in the San Ysidro district of San Diego, resulting in 21 deaths, and his own death. The USA CIA station chief in Beirut, William Francis Buckley, was kidnapped by the Islamic Jihad Organization and later died in captivity. Palestinian gunmen took Israeli bus number 300 hostage, but Israeli special forces stormed the bus, freeing the hostages, but killing three. An explosion on board a Maltese patrol boat disposing of illegal fireworks at sea off Gozo killed seven soldiers and policemen. What disasters do you remember from 1984?

The great events of 1984

The People’s Republic of China and the United Kingdom signed the initial agreement to return Hong Kong to China in 1997. Konstantin Chernenko succeeded the late Yuri Andropov as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Brian Mulroney became the Prime Minister of Canada, as Pierre Trudeau announced his retirement. The USA and the Vatican restored full diplomatic relations. Brunei gained full independence from the UK. The Sandinista Front won the Nicaraguan general elections. P. W. Botha was inaugurated as the first executive State President of South Africa. A peace agreement between Kenya and Somalia was signed in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. Space Shuttle Challenger was launched on the 10th Space Shuttle mission, its maiden voyage. Astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart made the first untethered spacewalk. Indian Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma was launched into space, aboard the Russian Soyuz T-11. The Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to perform a spacewalk. Aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan became the first American woman to perform a spacewalk. Marc Garneau became the first Canadian in space, aboard the Challenger. John Buster and the research team at Harbor–UCLA Medical Center announced the first embryo transfer from one woman to another, resulting in a live birth. The TED conference was founded. The first World Youth Day gathering was held in Rome, Italy. Virgin Atlantic made its inaugural flight. The Chrysler Corporation introduced the vehicles Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Caravan, and Plymouth Voyager, the first cars to be officially labeled as “minivans.” Joe Kittinger became the first person to cross the Atlantic, solo, in a hot air balloon. South African Bishop Desmond Tutu won the Nobel Prize for Peace. The Itaipu Dam, on the border of Brazil and Paraguay, after nine years of construction, began generating power as the largest hydroelectric dam in the world at that time. Crack cocaine, a smokeable form of the drug, was first introduced into Los Angeles and soon spread across the USA in what became known as the crack epidemic. The first Hackers Conference was held. Four African-American youths (Barry Allen, Troy Canty, James Ramseur, and Darrell Cabey) boarded an express train in the Bronx, New York City. They demanded five dollars from Bernhard Goetz, who shot them. This event started a national debate about urban crime in the USA. What do you remember about 1984?

I watched the Doug Flutie Hail Mary game live on TV

We had a great time with all Margaret’s brothers and sisters and their family at the Klein house, her parents, that Thanksgiving in 1984. Joy got to know some of her South Dakota relatives. Normally, when something happens in sports, unless it is a Chicago team, I would read about it or see replays on TV. However, since I was in South Dakota and it was the day after Thanksgiving, Friday, I decided to watch the football game between Boston College and Miami U on TV, November 23, 1984. This game, also known as the Miracle in Miami, has been regarded by FOX Sports writer Kevin Hench as among the most memorable moments in sports. This game is remembered for its last-second Hail Mary pass from quarterback Doug Flutie to wide receiver Gerard Phelan to give Boston College the win with a walk-off touchdown. At that time, Miami was the defending national champion and entered the game with an 8–3 record, ranked twelfth in the nation. Boston College was ranked tenth with a record of 7–2. BC had already accepted an invitation to the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day. This game was played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, and televised nationally by CBS, with Brent Musburger, Ara Parseghian, and Pat Haden commentating. The Hurricanes’ quarterback Bernie Kosar passed for a school-record 447 yards, with two touchdowns. Miami running back Melvin Bratton ran for four touchdowns. Doug Flutie passed for 472 yards and three touchdowns to become the first major college quarterback to surpass 10,000 yards passing in a career. The two quarterbacks played phenomenal games, combining for 59–84, completions, 919 yards, and five touchdown passes. Phelan caught 11 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns. Boston College jumped out to an early 14–0 lead in the first quarter before quarterback Bernie Kosar and Miami stormed back to tie it. At the end of three quarters, the game was tied at 31, and the fourth quarter had multiple lead changes. With 28 seconds left, Boston College trailed 45–41. Three quick plays gained 32 yards, taking BC from their own 20-yard line to the Hurricanes’ 48-yard line. With six seconds on the game clock, Flutie called the “55 Flood Tip” play, which the receivers run straight routes into the end zone, then tip the football to another receiver. Flutie scrambled to his right, narrowly averting a sack. He then threw the football from his own 37, requiring the small 5’10” quarterback to throw the ball at least 63 yards against 30 mph winds, after having already thrown the football 45 times during the game. The Miami defensive backs doubted his ability to throw the ball into the end zone, and paid no attention to Phelan as he ran behind them. I did not think he had a chance, since this normally fails. The ball came straight down over the mass of players untouched into Phelan’s arms for the 47–45 win. Flutie won the Heisman Trophy shortly afterward, the first quarterback chosen in 13 years. A statue of Flutie was placed outside of BC Alumni Stadium memorializing the play, and featuring the radio call on the side facing the stadium. Some claimed that a great increase in applications to BC the year after this game was a result of this game, called the Flutie Effect. I was lucky enough to watch it while it was happening in real time with all its ups and downs. What is the most exciting football play you have ever seen?