Monday Night Football. November 18, 1985. Redskins vs. Giants. Football historians remember this game all because of one play. Washington’s quarterback Joe Theismann was sacked by linebacker Lawrence Taylor. While falling to the ground, Taylor’s knee drove right into Theismann’s lower right leg. As you can imagine, Theismann’s leg snapped like a twig. The compound fracture forced him to retire at age 36. Even though Taylor has apologized numerous times, Theismann has never blamed him for the career ending injury.
Little to no officially licensed merchandise depicting this iconic injury can be found. Its not uncommon for cards to feature both players. Photos of the play are the main item you’ll find.
Many years ago I came across this pin on eBay. There are no team names/logos, player names, or anything to officially connect the Giants, Redskins, Lawrence Taylor, or Joe Theismann to it. But just looking at it we all know what’s going on. The player who is suppose to be Joe Theismann even has a spring-loaded leg to recreate the classic break.
Who made this pin? How many were made? Who distributed them? These are all great questions. Unfortunately, I don’t have the answers. This is the only one I’ve seen.
Filed under: Pin Highlight | Tagged: pin, break, joe, taylor, lawrence, theismann, vs, highlight, spring-loaded, leg | Leave a comment »