I was only 6 at the time of the trade of Coy Bacon & RB Bob Thomas to San Diego for QB John Hadl, turned 7 in September of that year (1973). I was so mad that Bacon & Roman Gabriel were gone. Actually thought of changing teams because I felt Hadl paled in comparison to Roman Gabriel and I just loved Coy Bacon's name, what do you want from a 6-7 year old? Little did I know, this was a great trade for the Los Angeles Rams.
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 25 (AP) —The Los Angeles Rams, who suffered through a mediocre season with a sore‐armed Roman Gabriel at quarterback, today acquired John Hadl from the San Diego Chargers for Coy Bacon, a defensive end, and Bob Thomas, running back.
Hadl was available after the Chargers acquired John Unitas from the Baltimore Colts last Monday. He joins a Ram team that slipped after Gabriel suffered a collapsed lung and then had tendinitis in his right elbow.
Hadl, who'll be 33 years old this week, is an 11‐year pro who had been the Chargers' starting quarterback since 1964. He has passed for 26,938 yards, sixth highest in National Football League history, and has 201 touchdown passes.
Bacon, 29, was acquired from the, Dallas Cowboy taxi squad by the Rams in 1968 and was a Pro Bowl performer the last two years.
The 24 ‐ year ‐ old Thomas dashed for 144 yards in his first, starting assignment against New Orleans early last season. But he saw little action after that and wound up with 77 carries for 433 yards and three touchdowns.
The Rams' owner, Caroll Rosenbloom, who carried out the trade with his assistant, Don Klosterman, said that Gabriel “is a fine quarterback, but he was injured much of the time last year and this was a move to shore up the position.”
“I'm very happy to be traded to Los Angeles,” Hadl said, adding that he and Gabriel “have been buddies for a long time.
“We've both been around long enough to know that the main thing is to win. We'll both be fighting for the position.”
“The trade in no way should be interpreted as demeaning to Gabriel,” Klosterman said. “We now have two quality quarterbacks, and I believe this is necessary to win a championship.”
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www.nytimes.com]
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/31/2023 05:08AM by den-the-coach.
