The day Jim McMahon beat up Browns GM Mike Lombardi
doubledragon
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Jim McMahon was on a sports show recently and he tells about the time he beat up Browns GM Mike Lombardi because Lombardi screwed him out of his money, and discusses the hit that messed him up pretty bad.
Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk just caught an interesting interview on 850 ESPN in Cleveland where former NFL quarterback, Jim McMahon, appeared and made some stunning revelations.
McMahon recalled a previous incident where Bill Belichick cut him in training camp prior to the start of the 1995 season, but told him that due to roster spots, they needed the room but planned on bringing him back.
The former QB then explained that he was told “we’re going to take care of you” while also claiming he was told “we’ll pay you to sit out.”
Whether or not the latter part is accurate remains to be seen, given that it’s a violation of league rules and may have been misconstrued. While the Browns did eventually bring him back, it didn’t happen right away and McMahon had to wait until the middle of the season.
However, at that point, he still wanted what he felt the team owned him and it apparently resulted in a physical altercation in the hallway with then GM, Mike Lombardi.
“I dressed three games — the eight, nine and ten weeks — and I got those checks,” said McMahon via PFT. “I confronted the G.M. at the time, what the hell was his name, Lombardi? He’s coming down the hallway and I said, ‘Hey man, I need my money. My wife was just in a wreck and I don’t want to deal with insurance.’ He looks at me and says, ‘Well, maybe we’ll pay you, maybe we wont.’ And I lost it. I just snapped. I grabbed him by the neck and threw his head against the wall and said, ‘You’re gonna pay me my money.” Then I started realizing what I was doing and I’m looking around the hallway to see if there were any cameras. I stopped hitting him and he slid down the wall.”
He claims he then requested to be cut and Belichick granted his wish.
The former Bears QB, who beat the Patriots during the Super Bowl following a memorable 1985 season, found out in 2012 that he was reportedly suffering from early stages of dementia.
He later claimed that the hit that started his issues came in November of the following season in 1986 when he was slammed to the turf by Packers defensive end Charles Martin.
The hit got Martin both ejected and suspended by the league.
That play was unbelievable. McMahon was under pressure on the play and attempted a pass downfield, which was ultimately picked off. However, despite the ball being long gone and McMahon essentially standing there for nearly 10 seconds watching Green Bay intercept the football, Martin simply walked up to him, picked him up, and slammed him to the turf.
“That was the start of all the problems with my head,” McMahon said. “When he slammed me, the first thing that hit the ground was the top of my head. It compressed my C1 and C2 (vertebrae). It actually twisted them and got them in opposite directions. I was having trouble with my spinal fluid flowing properly.”
Comments
Here is the video of Charles Martin slamming Jim McMahon to the ground.
That was an ugly scene, I remember watching that replay on Sportscenter
Yes, I remember when it happened, I couldn't believe he did it so long after the ball had left his hands. That was a straight up assault!
Egregiously late hit! Crazy!
We all know, at that time, the hits came in later.... But nothing like that.
Completely uncalled for, I still can’t believe none of his teammates attacked Martin after that
I couldn't believe that either, you have to stick up for your quarterback.
Joe "Turkey" Jones slammed Terry Bradshaw to the ground one time, it was pretty brutal.
I remember as a kid thinking Mcmahon and his sunglasses were the coolest thing going. this story just kind of solidifies it.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
That was savage BUT at least it was during a sack, obviously uneccesary and uncalled for but it’s still different than the McMahon “Assault”
I was looking for that in the video. @doubledragon Can you please follow up with more video, or perhaps discussion from teammates. No rush. Thank you.
Sure , he might have been cool. But there was nothing cool about that SB beat down we took.
Yes, at least it was a sack and Bradshaw still had the ball. That McMahon play was just a brutal attack.
Charles Martin was ejected from the game and suspended, and apparently Bears player Jim Covert did actually nail Charles Martin in retaliation. The footage doesn't show the retaliation from Covert. Here is an article about the incident.
THIRTY YEARS AGO, BEARS-PACKERS FEATURED THE DIRTIEST HIT IN NFL HISTORY
The Chicago Bears, Monsters of the Midway, and Green Bay Packers, rulers of the Frozen Tundra, have been arch-rivals seemingly forever.
The stage was set before kickoff of the Nov. 23, 1986 game, when Martin waved a white towel that had the numbers of some Bears players on it -- 9, 34, 83, 63, 29 ... McMahon, Walter Payton, Willie Gault, Jay Hilgenberg and Dennis Gentry. In simpler terms, a hit list. The Bears were the defending Super Bowl champs, and the Packers were on their way to a 4-12 season. Chicago had all the talent, and Green Bay had, well, the towel -- which Martin wore during the game.
Back where McMahon threw the ball, Martin approached the quarterback, well after the ball was released -- at least two full seconds, maybe more -- and suddenly grabbed him and viciously threw him to the rock-solid artificial turf of Soldier Field.
"It was at least 20 seconds after the interception," Jerry Markbreit, a retired NFL official who worked the game, told the Chicago Tribune, after Martin's death in 2005. "I don't think he had an awareness of how late it was, or that the play was over. McMahon was walking to the sideline, had relaxed, and he picked him up and smashed him to the ground."
Markbreit ejected Martin. In 2012, he recalled to ESPN.com the discussion after the act:
"I walked to the sideline and gave him to (Packers coach) Forrest Gregg and said, ‘This man is ejected from the game.' All Gregg said was ‘What did he do?' and with that I turned and ran back out onto the field. (Bears coach Mike) Ditka was out there and he was hollering, ‘There are two flags. What does that mean?'
"After the play, Jim Covert had come over and nailed Martin with a very late hit, and I said, ‘They're off-setting coach, you know the rules.' And Ditka said, ‘You've got to be kidding. My guy could be dead.'
"The line judge was Ben Montgomery, and I said, ‘You know what, Ben, pick up the flag. Covert was trying to protect his guy. We're not going to have an offset today.' There were a lot of late hits, but [Martin's] had to be 10 to 12 seconds after the play was over. It was the most violent act of its day."
The play had major repercussions: Martin was suspended for two games, the first such multi-game ban for an on-field incident in the NFL. McMahon, who had missed the prior four games due to a shoulder injury, suffered a torn rotator cuff and was lost for the season, and the Bears were one-and-done in the playoffs.
Commissioner Pete Rozelle, when announcing the suspension: ''It was a very serious act,'' Rozelle said. ''In other aggressive acts against quarterbacks, the quarterback at least still had the ball or the ball was in play. That wasn't the case this time.''
Ditka never forgave Gregg for Martin's act, which was quite something considering how many seasons they played and coached against each other.
“You can't try to hurt people, and they tried to hurt some of our guys. (Running back) Matt Suhey is lucky he didn't get hurt badly," Ditka said on the radio in 2011. "And when McMahon was picked up by Charles Martin and thrown down, he was lucky he wasn't hurt very badly.
“These things were after the play, after the fact. So either you are coaching that or your players are stupid. That's what I'm going to say. In this case I believe they were coached. That's why I never got along with Forrest Gregg. To this day, I don't respect him for that reason. . . . When the play is over and you pick somebody up and slam them on the ground. 'Oh, big deal' (Martin says). I'm a tough guy.' You're not a tough guy. You're a dumb guy.”
A family friend read a letter from one of Martin's former teammates, who used the infamous McMahon incident in an attempt to explain what made Martin tick.
" 'Too Mean' just didn't want to run across the field without hitting someone that day," the letter said according to the Chicago Tribune. "That's the way he was."
Double D just handles business 👍👍
Thank you @doubledragon . Good work!! You can clock out early if you want!!
Agreed! He works so hard here 👍👍
Always loved Jim. Ditka must have loved him too.
You know I can't leave, this is my playland!
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I was at the game where Jones nailed Bradshaw, it was a legal play, nothing wrong with it.
Unfortunately, it was men against boys that day. We got it handed to us and didn't deserve to be on the same field.
I think we have more than made up for it in the last 20 years though!
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I've nominated him for the @Coinstartled lifetime achievement award.
That is Meritorious!!! 🏆🥇🏵🎖
I second the nomination!
I third! Cheer Cheer 🍻
This is so hilarious it cannot be mentioned enough 😂😂😂😂
Oh, you guys are making me blush again!