This is a photo of the Falcons' camp in 1966. I'm just to the right of Number 83, hands folded behind my back.

 The Real 'Badasses' of the NFL

A friend was chatting on Facebook today about some of the "badass" old-days NFL players/coaches and I came up with this remembrance:

Oh, my! You want some salty dudes? I covered the Atlanta Falcons' pre-season camp during their first year of existence in the summer, 1966, at Black Mountain, outside Asheville. TheFalcons' roster was composed of old-timers, rookies, overweight linemen, slow running backs and receivers and a quarterback (Billy Wade) who had won an NFL title, but was closer to Social Security than college.

Alex Hawkins, the hell-raising running back from the University of South Carolina, was probably the most colorful of the group, partying all night (and dragging along the rookies) and playing all day. A fullback named Ernie Wheelright reported to camp at 350 pounds and was ordered to get down to 275 before he could play. I watched him cry at lunch as he looked at the lettuce and cottage cheese he was served.

According to a story in thefalcoholic.com,

“No, the facilities certainly aren’t ideal. The boys have been very good about adjusting to the situation, though,” Falcons head coach Norb Hecker told the Charlotte News according to the book Tales from the Atlanta Falcons sideline by Matt Winkeljohn. “There are no gripes, and the spirit has been very good.”

The practice field reportedly had uncut grass, awful food, and a lot of mosquitoes.

“There were no screens on the windows and the mosquitoes were as big as birds,” Al Thomy of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said. “We almost had the first NFL players’ strike over the food. The hamburgers bounced off the floor. The players threatened to go on strike if they didn’t improve the food.”

It wasn’t just the field itself having problems, there was an apparent issue of players consuming alcohol. Newly acquired running back Alex Hawkins was expected to play a leadership role on the Falcons. At 5 a.m. one morning, head coach Norb Hecker found Hawkins on the back of a watermelon truck.

“Do you want to say anything on your behalf?” Norb Hecker asked.

“Would you believe I was kidnapped?” Alex Hawkins responded.

One little odd remembrance: I met TV's Dennis the Menace (Jay North) at practice one day. Nice kid. 'T'was a fun time for me.