Throughout the rest of this summer, I have a short series planned that involves posting stories behind certain intriguing pictures related to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Most of these pictures will be still shots from actual games as well as being more than two decades old. These posts about the pictures I find intriguing will include a quick backstory of when they were taken and then filled around with quotes and accounts I researched online.
I will start this summer series off by passing along the story behind the above picture from George Gojkovich of Getty Images. It was taken at Three Rivers Stadium on September 25, 1977, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and during the Week 2 game between the Steelers and the Oakland Raiders. The picture is of Steelers veteran punter Bobby Walden kicking Raiders rookie cornerback Lester Hayes where the sun doesn’t shine.
The altercation between Walden and Hayes reportedly happened in the second quarter of that 1977 game between the Steelers and the Raiders and at the conclusion of a fourth down punt. The first account of the altercation comes courtesy of Bill Heufelder of The Pittsburgh Press as printed in that newspaper on Monday, September 26, 1977.
The only real fight involved a couple of unlikely combatants, Bobby Walden, the Steelers 39-year-old punter, and Raider rookie Lester Hayes.
Overzealous in his mission, Hayes unloaded on Walden after a second-quarter punt was settling in Neal Colzie’s arms.
“I hit him in the face,” Hayes said, demonstrating how he exploded his forearms up and into his target. “It was a clean blow. He felt his face and said, ‘I’m bleedin’. He was cussin’. Shoot, he was pretty mad.”
Walden, who had been loping upfield in the direction of the Steeler bench, charged Hayes and eventually knocked him down.
Insisting he was merely doing his Job lest Al Davis dispatch him to Texas A & M where he came from, the No. 5 draft choice said in a pleading tone, “That’s my man. I have to block him.”
The next account of that play comes courtesy of Bob Valli of the Oakland Tribune, as printed in that paper the day after the game.
The Iron City fanatics came out expecting a brawl. They were disappointed. The only blood drawn dripped from under the eye of Steelers’ punter Bobby Walden.
The lone incident in the fiercely competitive game came early after Walden punted from deep in his own territory. The grizzled veteran of 14 seasons and Oakland rookie Lester Hayes went at each other.
Walden lost by a TKO and resembled Rocky Balboa after the Apollo Creed fight.
“He tried to cut me after I punted,” said Walden. “Then he threw three elbows at my throat. I went after him and he hit me with his fist.”
A bandage covered a purple welt under Walden’s left eye.
“He had cause to swing at me,” admitted the 39-year-old kicker, “because I went after him. I’m not complaining that he popped me, but I can’t understand why the officials didn’t see him throw those elbows.”
Hayes’ version was similar.
“I hit him with my elbow and then he swung at me,” said the rookie. “That’s a grandfather out there. I kept backing away, I didn’t want to hurt him.”
The final account of that 1977 altercation between Walden and Hayes comes courtesy of Dan Jenkins of Sports Illustrated. That account was printed in the October 3, 1977 edition of the magazine.
The best chance for both squads to erupt from the bench and do unkind things to each other’s face masks came in the second quarter. The occasion was a nonfight between the Steelers’ Walden and Oakland rookie Lester Hayes, who had rushed him on a fourth-down punt. All Hayes did after Walden got the kick away was reverse his role and block Walden, who didn’t like it, for some reason, and went after Hayes. Had Hayes defended himself more earnestly, a gang war might have resulted. But the rookie did a nice job of keeping his temper, and the incident passed.
Thankfully, there is a short video clip of the 1977 altercation between Walden and Hayes and it comes courtesy of the old “This Is The NFL” series that was produced by NFL Films. You can watch that short clip below.
As for that 1977, Week 2 game between the Steelers and the Raiders in Pittsburgh, the home team lost the contest, 16-7. Raiders kicker Errol Mann had three field goals in the second quarter of that game and Oakland running back Mark van Eeghen chipped in a fourth quarter touchdown run of 8 yards.
The lone Steelers score in that game came in the fourth quarter and it was a 43-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Terry Bradshaw to tight end Benny Cunningham. A video of that play is below. Bradshaw, by the way, finished that game having completed 16 of his 32 total pass attempts for 268 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. He was also sacked five times in that game.
As for Walden in that 1977 loss to the Raiders, he punted four times in total, not counting his kick at Hayes. His four punts averaged 40.5 yards.
