Produced and Edited by Phil Tuckett three weeks later the ax fell and a very dissappointed young football player remembered the film maker’s words. Phil Tuckett’s interest in football goes back to his grade school days when he and the his neighborhood chums assumed names of favorite college football heroes and marched off to the local park to run, pass, kick, and dream. After establishing himself as a standout performer at Salt Lake City’s Olympus High school, Phil moved to the warm climes of St. George to play defensive back and wide receiver at Dixie Jr. College. He completed two outstanding years at Dixie and then moved to Weber State, with head coach Sarkis Arslanian. For two more years Tuckett roamed through opposing secondaries, driving defenders crazy with his moves and making the kind of receptions that make quarterbacks look good. In 1968 Phil was selected as a free agent by the San Diego Chargers and was given a chance to earn his lightning bolt and his bruises in professional football. Not being endowed with great speed or size, Tuckett knew he would have a tough time breaking into the San Diego line up. Add to the problem a veteran out of the University of Arkansas by the name of Lance Alworth and you can see the job cut : out for Mr. Tuckett. Phil was also, at the time of his signing, being granted an award that had even more bearing on his future and his present success. One of a select few NCAA graduate scholarships to outstanding student athletes awarded to the Weber State flanker, which he used to enroll in an English literature program at the University of Utah. Phil Tuckett survived the first year of individual combat and competition with the Chargers and was somewhat to his own surprise, retained on the San Diego taxi squad. Phil had been able to transfer his scholarship to San Diego State and while continuing his studies in the off-season, landed a part time job as a sportswriter for a small, local newspaper. One of the local columns came to the attention of the Charger publicity director who was instrumental in having the young rookies diary printed in Sport magazine. About the same time the anxious cloud of the ‘“‘cut”? began to grow and the signs of impending doom were appearing. Quite by chance Tuckett was introduced one day to Ed Sabol, President of NFL Films, Inc. Sabol was aware of the young mans talents on and off the football field, and asked Tuckett to call him should anything happen: in NFLgym game action the Tuckett catches re TEE ES le, ily MIG Oy A oe : . Vee Eee eae nee: remit vmttahe ts * + : es Miami excercise became a_ thoroughly boring practice session by the third quarter and ‘Profootball Pottstown, Pa’’ was heralded as one of the best football insides ever assembled. The applause was unanimous. The Boston Evening Globe heralded Tuckett’s “‘three gypsies’’ as the best show on TV. The Philadephia Daily News called the show the ‘‘Heart-and-Soul before the Super Bowl Opera,” and the New York Times listed the 60 minutes as a “Football Movie starring Reality.’’ One sports writer wrote that Tuckett had succeeded in presenting more of a sociological document than entertainment with characters more human than heroic, and further described it as ‘‘engrossing, exciting ... and enlightning.”’ The film in its final analysis is a fitting tribute to the thousands of also-rans in football today. And is also a strong plus for a very talented young man from Salt Lake City who drew on his own long years of football and frustration to know the Firebirds of Pottstown and be able to put together one of the “Best Sports Specials ever produced.”’ Our congratulations to Phil Tuckett for humanizing the glitter and glory of the often misunderstood, always overplayed life of the professional football player. presentation. The special aired, Sunday, January 16th, 1972. Just prior to the Super Bowl game between Dallas and Miami and was supposed to be a warm-up for the game of games. The end result was that the Dallas- WTO \* : eS uth ae sixty-minute et TE AE wane? ete f es 7 iM wie 4 Rite 8G 4 yo om ee was Tuckett recalls that he was so broke he had to place a collect call to Mr. Sabol in Philadelphia. He was then flown to the quaker city, where he was offered a job with NFL Films on the basis of his knowledge of football and his proven talents as a writer. Thus began the career of Phil Tuckett, writer, producer and photographer. Within three weeks Tuckett was editing and producing five minute spots for the CBS pre-game show on Sunday afternoon. For the next two years he worked, studied and learned more about his new career. He walked the sidelines of NFL games with a movie camera, turning a practiced eye to catch the best of the action, second guessing to follow the ball and often calling the play close enough to come up with great footage. In the fall of 1970, Phil was given the opportunity he had been waiting for, an opportunity that his years of player experience and a good creative background had left him well prepared for. The ‘“‘youngster”’ from Weber State was handed the assignment of producing, directing and even shooting much of the footage for a one hour special on the rigors and color of minor league football. For the entire 1970 season, Tuckett followed the Pottstown Pennsylvania Firebirds of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Firebirds were a collection bullies and second rate of weekend collegians who still thought somebody was looking for them. Three people in this assortment made up the core of Tuckett’s story: Pottsdown coach Dave De Fillipo; a brash, flashy, high rolling quarterback named Jim ‘‘King’’ Corcoran, and a huge Philadelphia Eagle reject by the name of Joe Blake. Tuckett displayed a fine eye for the unusual and much of his footage dramatized basic and the very the little known problems of the bruised, but ever-hopeful minor league football player. Phil agonized over which of the footage had to end up on the cutting room floor, but finally edited seven months of work into a & SU \ FR < . ees “gars eS tad? es ais ag ete wy its. »” wy we? . * S ee Art We we * ztss — SI: Le ¥ ; ~ 3S . 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