A piece of cardboard can contain obscure informtion.
The 1973 Topps football card of Al Nelson led to some interesting research.
Nelson played nine seasons in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1965 to 1973.
On the back of Nelson’s final card, it’s stated that he had a 101-yard return of the missed field goal in 1971.
The historic play came at Veterans Stadium against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 26.
In what should have been shining moment, the return (listed at 102 yards on pro-football-reference) was the only touchdown for the Eagles in a 42-7 loss.
What’s missing from the story is the fact that Nelson tied the NFL record for the most missed field goal returns for a touchdown with two.
That’s right, Nelson did it twice.
In 1966, Nelson was in his second season as the Eagles entertained the Cleveland Browns at Franklin Field on Dec. 11.
The Eagles were on top 20-7 near the end of the first half when Nelson retured a field goal attempt by Lou Groza 100 yards for a score. Philadelphia would go on to win 33-21 over the Browns.
The First
As strange as it may be, Nelson is not the first NFL player to score twice on a missed field goal.
The first player to make a pair dashes to the end zone with a missed attempt was Carl Taseff.
Taseff’s first score came on a 96-yard run back for the Baltimore Colts in a 58-27 loss to the Chicago Bears on Oct. 21, 1956.
In Los Angeles against the Rams, Taseff established what was a league record on his 99-yard return as the Colts won 45-26 on Dec. 12, 1959.
Taseff played with the Browns (1951), Colts (1953-1961), Eagles (1961) and the Buffalo Bills (1962).
The Connections
In addition to both playing for the Eagles, Nelson and Taseff were born in Ohio and went to college in the state. Nelson was born in Cincinnati and Taseff in Parma.
Nelson played at the University of Cincinnati, while Taseff went to John Carroll University.
Taseff and Hall of Fame Coach Don Shula were roomates at John Carroll and also played together with the Browns and Colts.
After his playing days were over, Taseff was a coach for the Boston (New Eangland) Patriots, Detroit Lions and for many years the Miami Dolphins under Shula, which included the two win in the Super Bowl.
The Longest
The maximun yardage on any scoring play in the NFL is 109 yards.
San Diego’s Antonio Cromarte recorded that distance as he took a missed field goal by Minnesota’s Ryan Longwell to the end zone on Nov. 4, 2007.
The play at the end of the second quarter gave the Chargers a 14-7 advantage. Unfortunately for Cromartie and his teammates, they would end up losing to the Vikings 35-17.
The Most
Chicago’s Devin Hester had just one field goal miss that he turned into a score.
Hester’s touchdown was 108 yards on Nov. 12, 2006. That return early in the fourth quarter in the Meadowlands broke open a close game as the Bears went on to beat the New York Giants 38-20.
However, that feat was part of Hester’s all-time NFL mark of 20 non-offensive touchdowns set from 2006-2016 with the Bears, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks.