RIP: Jimmy Corcoran
Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 12:29 pm
NFL Notebook: Long Live The King
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Sunday, July 19, 2009
By Ray Didinger
CSNPhilly.com
His name was James Patrick Corcoran, but he was better known as “The King.” Some fans may remember him as quarterback of the Philadelphia Bell in the World Football League. Folks in Pottstown know him from his days with the minor league Firebirds.
But anyone who crossed paths with the King – and it was hard not to cross paths with him, given the way he bounced around – has a story to tell. He was like a character from a Dan Jenkins novel. He lived large even though he played most of his career on a small stage.
The King died last month at age 65. The news did not make headlines. Indeed, it was hardly mentioned. The King passed quietly and that would have upset him. He never did anything quietly, on the field or off.
He had talent – he threw 31 touchdown passes for the Bell – but he is better known for his swagger. In Pottstown, while his teammates rode a bus, the King traveled in a Lincoln Continental with a mobile phone. He had seen a photo of Joe Namath in a limo talking on a phone and if it was good enough for Broadway Joe, the King figured it was good enough for him.
He and Namath were together briefly at the New York Jets’ training camp in 1967. To hear the King tell it, coach Weeb Ewbank cut him because he and Namath were having too much fun. “Weeb said, ‘One of you has to go,’” the King said. “I knew it wouldn’t be Joe.”
The King had a cup of coffee with the Patriots in 1968 – seven pass attempts, three completions, two interceptions – between stints with the Waterbury Orbits and Lowell Giants of the Atlantic Coast Football League. The next year, he signed with the Firebirds who were a farm team for the Eagles. (Yes, some NFL clubs had farm teams back then).
The King played well in Pottstown leading the Firebirds to two ACFL championships. He was invited to the Eagles’ training camp in 1971 but he so infuriated coach Jerry Williams with his showboating that Williams cut him even though he often outperformed the other quarterbacks, Pete Liske, Rick Arrington and Jim Ward.
Williams was determined to go with Liske, who played for him in the Canadian League, and he knew Arrington and Ward would do what good backups are supposed to do which is stand on the sideline and keep their mouths shut. But Williams saw the King as a giant pain in the butt, so he sent him back to Pottstown.
There were many King Corcoran stories at that summer camp, some involving linebacker Tim Rossovich, another wild character known for eating glass and setting his hair on fire. The King claimed he and Rossovich crawled into a ladies shoe store one day and startled the customers by biting their toes. Asked why, he said: “We were bored.”
True story? Who knows? With the King, it was hard to tell.
A native of Jersey City, Corcoran played at the University of Maryland, mostly as a backup to Dick Shiner. In 1964, he led the Terps to a 27-22 upset of Navy and Roger Staubach. He was a listed at 6-0 and 205 pounds, but he was closer to 5-10. He was oddly shaped for a quarterback -- a thick upper body perched on two stubby legs – but he had a major league arm. No one ever questioned that.
His biggest problem was a lack of discipline, an off-shoot of his enormous ego. If his team was 10 points ahead with four minutes to go, he would still be throwing the ball to pad his stats. When NFL Films did a documentary on the Firebirds – “Pro Football, Pottstown, Pa.” – it put a microphone on the King. At one point, he throws a touchdown pass and runs off the field, shouting: “Way to go, King baby.”
The Firebirds’ only loss in the 1970 season was the result of Corcoran defying the orders of coach Dave DiFilippo and throwing a pass on the one-yard line. It was intercepted and returned 99 yards for the decisive touchdown. DiFilippo was so enraged, he benched the King who was leading the league in every passing category.
When the Firebirds disbanded in 1971, Corcoran joined the Norfolk Neptunes. The next year, he signed with Montreal in the Canadian League. In 1973, the World Football League was born and the King was one of its first stars. He put up big numbers for the Philadelphia Bell (3,631 yards passing) but the league went bust after two seasons.
Some WFL players, such as Vince Papale and Keith Krepfle, found homes in the NFL. But at 32, with a reputation as a head-strong, high-maintenance playboy, the King was left out in the cold. He left football and pretty much dropped out of sight.
We stayed in touch for awhile. I covered the Eagles for the Philadelphia Bulletin in the ‘70s so I attended a number of Firebirds games. Frankly, they were more fun than the Eagles. The farm team was winning more – a lot more – than the varsity in those days with Corcoran throwing passes to Ronnie Holliday and Jack Dolbin, two receivers who would later play in the NFL, Holliday with San Diego and Dolbin with Denver.
There were times in 1971 when the Eagles were losing and my phone would ring. I’d pick it up and hear a familiar voice: “How are those quarterbacks doing? The guys who beat me out, how are they looking?”
It was the King calling to gloat. It didn’t matter that he was calling from a dusty trail somewhere in the Atlantic Coast League. He was calling from his Continental, on his mobile phone and that meant he was still the King. That part never changed.
Comment(2) Email Print Facebook Twitter
Sunday, July 19, 2009
By Ray Didinger
CSNPhilly.com
His name was James Patrick Corcoran, but he was better known as “The King.” Some fans may remember him as quarterback of the Philadelphia Bell in the World Football League. Folks in Pottstown know him from his days with the minor league Firebirds.
But anyone who crossed paths with the King – and it was hard not to cross paths with him, given the way he bounced around – has a story to tell. He was like a character from a Dan Jenkins novel. He lived large even though he played most of his career on a small stage.
The King died last month at age 65. The news did not make headlines. Indeed, it was hardly mentioned. The King passed quietly and that would have upset him. He never did anything quietly, on the field or off.
He had talent – he threw 31 touchdown passes for the Bell – but he is better known for his swagger. In Pottstown, while his teammates rode a bus, the King traveled in a Lincoln Continental with a mobile phone. He had seen a photo of Joe Namath in a limo talking on a phone and if it was good enough for Broadway Joe, the King figured it was good enough for him.
He and Namath were together briefly at the New York Jets’ training camp in 1967. To hear the King tell it, coach Weeb Ewbank cut him because he and Namath were having too much fun. “Weeb said, ‘One of you has to go,’” the King said. “I knew it wouldn’t be Joe.”
The King had a cup of coffee with the Patriots in 1968 – seven pass attempts, three completions, two interceptions – between stints with the Waterbury Orbits and Lowell Giants of the Atlantic Coast Football League. The next year, he signed with the Firebirds who were a farm team for the Eagles. (Yes, some NFL clubs had farm teams back then).
The King played well in Pottstown leading the Firebirds to two ACFL championships. He was invited to the Eagles’ training camp in 1971 but he so infuriated coach Jerry Williams with his showboating that Williams cut him even though he often outperformed the other quarterbacks, Pete Liske, Rick Arrington and Jim Ward.
Williams was determined to go with Liske, who played for him in the Canadian League, and he knew Arrington and Ward would do what good backups are supposed to do which is stand on the sideline and keep their mouths shut. But Williams saw the King as a giant pain in the butt, so he sent him back to Pottstown.
There were many King Corcoran stories at that summer camp, some involving linebacker Tim Rossovich, another wild character known for eating glass and setting his hair on fire. The King claimed he and Rossovich crawled into a ladies shoe store one day and startled the customers by biting their toes. Asked why, he said: “We were bored.”
True story? Who knows? With the King, it was hard to tell.
A native of Jersey City, Corcoran played at the University of Maryland, mostly as a backup to Dick Shiner. In 1964, he led the Terps to a 27-22 upset of Navy and Roger Staubach. He was a listed at 6-0 and 205 pounds, but he was closer to 5-10. He was oddly shaped for a quarterback -- a thick upper body perched on two stubby legs – but he had a major league arm. No one ever questioned that.
His biggest problem was a lack of discipline, an off-shoot of his enormous ego. If his team was 10 points ahead with four minutes to go, he would still be throwing the ball to pad his stats. When NFL Films did a documentary on the Firebirds – “Pro Football, Pottstown, Pa.” – it put a microphone on the King. At one point, he throws a touchdown pass and runs off the field, shouting: “Way to go, King baby.”
The Firebirds’ only loss in the 1970 season was the result of Corcoran defying the orders of coach Dave DiFilippo and throwing a pass on the one-yard line. It was intercepted and returned 99 yards for the decisive touchdown. DiFilippo was so enraged, he benched the King who was leading the league in every passing category.
When the Firebirds disbanded in 1971, Corcoran joined the Norfolk Neptunes. The next year, he signed with Montreal in the Canadian League. In 1973, the World Football League was born and the King was one of its first stars. He put up big numbers for the Philadelphia Bell (3,631 yards passing) but the league went bust after two seasons.
Some WFL players, such as Vince Papale and Keith Krepfle, found homes in the NFL. But at 32, with a reputation as a head-strong, high-maintenance playboy, the King was left out in the cold. He left football and pretty much dropped out of sight.
We stayed in touch for awhile. I covered the Eagles for the Philadelphia Bulletin in the ‘70s so I attended a number of Firebirds games. Frankly, they were more fun than the Eagles. The farm team was winning more – a lot more – than the varsity in those days with Corcoran throwing passes to Ronnie Holliday and Jack Dolbin, two receivers who would later play in the NFL, Holliday with San Diego and Dolbin with Denver.
There were times in 1971 when the Eagles were losing and my phone would ring. I’d pick it up and hear a familiar voice: “How are those quarterbacks doing? The guys who beat me out, how are they looking?”
It was the King calling to gloat. It didn’t matter that he was calling from a dusty trail somewhere in the Atlantic Coast League. He was calling from his Continental, on his mobile phone and that meant he was still the King. That part never changed.