Dickinson wins Brammer Football Tournament

By Mike Kane

Bloomington, Ill – Tournament Director Ron Dickinson used a stingy defense led by Bob Lilly to win the 2003 Ron "Mad Dog" Brammer Memorial Football Tournament here on Sunday, Sept. 27. Dickinson’s 1966 Dallas Cowboys defeated Paul "Bushwacker" Freidrich and the 1960 Cleveland Browns, 24-17 in the championship game. Dickinson allowed only 50 points in the four game round-robin portion of the tournament and was named Defensive Coach of the tournament. Friedrich’s Browns, led by the great Jim Brown, amassed 168 points in the round-robin to earn him Offensive Coach of the tournament.

 There were twenty-three entrants in this year’s tournament representing Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania and Florida. Four gamers made their initial appearance in the tournament, including Pete Shibley from Bloomington.

The round-robin portion of the tournament took place on Sept. 26 with each team playing four games. Division winners were Stan "Bone" Kowalski (1973 Dolphins), Walt Perry (1985 Bears), Steve "Trapper" Cornelius (2000 Ravens), Bill Waldheuser (1973 Vikings) and Paul "Bushwacker" Freidrich (1960 Browns).

The five division winners plus seven wild cards qualified for Sunday’s playoff bracket. The wild cards (in order of seeding) were Dickinson (1966 Cowboys), Nick Redell (1980 Chargers), Michael Kane (1993 Cowboys), Tony "Kid" Gross (1981 Bengals), Chuck Wolter (1991 Redskins), Paul Faits (1973 Bengals) and Brandon Perry (1962 Packers).

Chris Burse, the 2000 and 2002 champion, won the backup tournament with the 1961 Green Bay Packers, defeating Dave Heidecker’s 1967 Baltimore Colts, 24-22.

The tournament was sanctioned and sponsored by Strat-O-Matic.

The 2004 tournament is tentatively scheduled for the final weekend of September 2004 at the Ramada Inn in Bloomington, Illinois.

2003 Selection Order and Standings

Order Team           Owner                                W L  PF  PA  Margin Rank
1    75 Steelers      Chris Burse                         2 2  54  57   (3)     
2    72 Dolphins    Chris Knobbe          0 4  58 100  (42)      
3    73 Dolphins    Stan Kowalski          3 1  73  76   (3)            5  D
4    62 Packers       Brandon Perry                    2 2  69  57   12            12  W
5    66 Cowboys    Ron Dickinson                    3 1  86  50   36            6  W

6    85 Bears          Walt Perry                          4 0  82  62   20            2  D
7    84 49ers           Pete Shibley                       1 3  96 108  (12)       
8     68 Chiefs       Gary Powell                         0 4  94 136  (42)       
9     91 Redskins   Chuck Wolter                      2 2  95  77   18            10  W
10    93 Cowboys  Mike Kane                         3 1  96  80   16            8  W

11    00 Ravens     Steve Cornelius                   3 1 141  61   80            3  D
12    65 Bears       Dave Heidecker                   2 2  90  84    6        
13    94 Steelers    Mike Vander Goore            2 2  69 102  (33)       
14    79 Steelers    Larry Lavin                          0 4  47 126  (79)       
15    80 Chargers   Nick Redell                        3 1 131 105   26          7  W

16    98 Broncos    Chris Evans                        1 3 108 155  (47)       
17    81 Bengals    Tony Gross                          3 1 129 131   (2)          9  W
18    67 Raiders     Matt Lorenz                        1 3  69 103  (34)       
19    73 Vikings    Bill Waldheuser        3 1 108  57   41           4  D

20    60 Browns    Paul Freidrich                      4 0 168  75   93           1  D
21    90 Bills         Jim Brooker                         0 4  52 126  (74)       
22    73 Bengals    Paul Faits                             2 2 112  96   16           11  W
23    86 Seahawks Tim Jung                             2 2  78  81   (3)       

Playoff Results
1973 Dolphins def 1962 Packers 38-9
1981 Bengals def 1993 Cowboys 31-12
1966 Cowboys def 1973 Bengals 23-9
1991 Redskins def 1980 Chargers 38-0

1973 Dolphins def 1973 Vikings 20-17 OT
1960 Browns def 1981 Bengals 28-22
1966 Cowboys def 2000 Ravens 17-14
1991 Redskins def 1985 Bears 41-21

1960 Browns def 1973 Dolphins 21-14
1966 Cowboys def 1991 Redskins 16-6

3rd Place Game
1991 Redskins def 1973 Dolphins 35-14

Championship
1966 Cowboys def 1960 Browns 24-17

Madle Wins Third Straight Brammer Hockey Tourney

 

 

            It took overtime in the third game of a best-of-three finals to settle the five-man hockey tournament.

 

            Russ Madle won for the third straight year when Adam Foote flipped a rebound past Gerry Cheevers, as the 2000-01 Colorado Avalanche outlasted the 1970-71 Boston Bruins coached by Paul Trester.

 

            They were the best of a group that also included Dale Pauline’s 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens, John McTernan’s 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and John Gedwill’s 1966-67 Red Wings, a sentimental favorite after he once won the Stanley Cup in a ’66-67 replay with those Wings in non-tournament action.