Bear Down Wildcats

Jackie Wallace Returning A Punt

It’s interesting the artifacts you find on the internet.

Arizona’s team in 1972 had a losing record, and head coach Bob Weber was understandably fired after his fourth season. But, the team had talent. QB Bill Demory started and won a few games for the Jets when Joe Namath was injured. T Bell was the punt returner and third receiver (behind Swann and Stallworth) while winning Super Bowl rings for the Steelers. OG Jim Arneson played briefly for the Cowboys. On defense, Mark Arneson was the Cardinals MLB for years. Jackie Wallace was a CB and punt returner for the Vikings and Rams. Bill McKinley was a DE for the Bills. And Mitch Hoopes was the punter for the Cowboys for a few years.

Meanwhile, under Pepper Rodgers, UCLA had a new QB in Mark (CSI) Harmon, running the wishbone and handing off to Kermit Johnson and James McAlister, with Efren Herrera kicking FGs. They knocked off #1 Nebraska in their opening game and were ranked in the top 15 when the Wildcats came to the Coliseum for their third game of the season.

Arizona jumped all over them, scoring TDs the first three times they touched the ball. Bobby McCall’s running set up a short Marty Shuford plunge, but Charley Gorham’s extra point failed. Harmon threw a bomb off play action to take the lead. But Demory brought the Cats back with a ball control passing game, capped by a Shuford dive and Shuford two-point conversion to go up 14-7. Arizona had a fourth and three when Demory went for it and threw a 30-yard TD pass to leading receiver Barry Dean to take a 21-7 lead. UCLA came back, grinding away with their wishbone. Gorham managed a 42-yard FG early in the second half, but that only interrupted a string of three rushing TDs for the Bruins, as UCLA finally took the lead 28-24. In the fourth quarter, Arizona showed it wouldn’t go quietly into that good night, as Jim Upchurch capped a 72-yard drive with a one-yard run, and the Wildcats were back up 31-28. But, as we learned under Dick Tomey with Ronnie Veal, a good wishbone offense can eat up the clock and wear down a defense, and UCLA scored two more times to re-take the lead and then ice the game with the final 11-point margin.

The amount of talent on that team has always intrigued me. They showed some of their potential on that October night in Los Angeles, but they also showed why we brought in Jim Young the following year.

Wasn't Bill Demory the last UA QB to take a snap in the NFL until Nick Foles arrived?

I think you may be right. Tom Tunnicliffe may have gotten some snaps in pre-season games for the Seahawks, but then he was cut before the regular season. Can't think of anybody else. And before Demory, IIRC, there's only Eddie Wilson backing up Jack Kemp on the Bills, and Fred Enke as a backup on the Lions and Colts. (Cut to make room for Johnny Unitas.)

I recall Jason Johnson playing in the preseason.

If memory serves, Tunnecliffe's father told certain teams that he would not play for them, so typical helicopter dad ruined any chance he had for a NFL career.

Tunnecliffe reminded me a lot of Joe Montana. Didn't have the greatest arm or feet, but had this ability to win under pressure.

He was definitely smart and tough. But he was smallish and not particularly fleet of foot to avoid trouble, so I think he'd likely get stuck with the label of injury-prone, particularly with some of the defensive beasts in the NFL. Loved watching him run the Steve Axman offense in the early 80's, though.

Wow, show you how old I am I listened to that game on radio and we had season tickets that year (actually since 1968)

Oh yeah. I remember that team. I was in high school with Bill McKinley (at Pueblo) and was in a class at UA with Mark Arneson.

But that UA snake logo is the worst logo for any sporting team in the history of sporting team logos.