Larry Centers Stories Please

[Gee!]

Was talking to someone last night that doesnt know who Larry is and what he means to Cards fans. Thought I would start a thread to get our stories and memories of him as a Card out.

For me the one thing I remember most is him hurdling a Cowboy.

Cowboy killer!

 

[Snakester]

I loved that hurdle as well. Nobody has ever shown more heart than Centers did playing the game. He was the ultimate team player. The best receiving fullback ever to play the game. He was also a great guy to the fans. Although I have never met him personally, I have read about many stories of how nice and respectful he is. I have never read anything bad about him from any other fan. All I have heard for years was how nice he was from fans that did get to meet him.

 

[Jasper]

Releasing him was the worst decision ever for this franchise.
Don't know who made it, or what caused the the team to be so over the salary cap, but that was just plain stupid.

 

[phillycard]

I remember the game against the Cowboys we won where on the last play he took the swing pass from Kent Graham and was in the damn wind! He carried like 3 Cowboys down to about the 10 and Deion kept trying to punch the ball out. Fool! He should have known he wasn't gettin the rock loose from those guns! Also there is the story about him telling Ricky Watters I think, at the Pro Bowl to shut up during team meetings. He was that intent on winning and becoming a better player. I STILL rock my Larry jersey with pride!

 

[Big D]

LC is one of my all time favorite Cardinals, for the 7-8 years he played here he was the one guy you could count on to show up and make plays every Sunday. 101 catches out of the backfield in '95, then 99 catches the next year. Nuff said...

 

[DevonCardsFan]

I remember when I was about 18 and working at a hotel in AZ, I was using the restroom and I look and the dude next to me taking a Wizz next to me, was Larry Centers. We both went to the sink at the same time and I said hey whats up Larry. He was tripped out by it and asked how he knew who he was. Just told him I was a Cards fan and after that he was the coolest dude. Took me outside to check out his car, met his cousin. That was the year he resigned with the Cards, this was like a couple days after he had signed, he told me he had 3 teams to pick from the Giants, the Cards or Raiders as a 3rd down back. It was cool we talked for like 45 minutes, I had to tell him I was on the clock and had to get back to work, but what a cool dude.It seemed like he was as happy to meet a fan of his, as I was to meet my Favorite Card. It kicked ass

 

[dylanbw]

Good stuff Philly Card and Devon....

"Gee!" - The Cowboy he hurdled was (Super Bowl MVP) Larry Brown, I believe.

Philly Card - That was great stuff from LC in that game....I believe that was the Sunday Night game where we finally broke the losing streak vs. the Boyz and the Cards fans carried the goal post out into the street (I had that photo as my screen saver for the longest time).....

Devon - Great story; I never new LC was such a cool guy to the fans....he was the man.

Jasper - I still remember sitting in a sports bar in NYC (Blondie's) on a Tuesday night when it came accross ESPN that Larry had signed with the Redskins.....felt like a kick in the onions.

My own personal favorite Larry Centers memories are, whenever he was called upon to release to the flat, he would always smash his shoulder into the chest of some unsuspecting DE (legal block) and lay the dude out - so much so that our OT would be left standing looking for something to do - just a small tidbit that the announcers never would comment upon, but you can be certain there are many DEs that will never forget #37!!!

 

[seesred]

I loved watching LC go up fie ld. I went on a road trip to New Orleans some years ago and met Larry and his family after the game. I have an autographed picture and it is one of my tresured Cardinals things. Larry always had a smile and always played hard. The very best RB out of the backfield with great soft hands. Oh and of course the leap.

GBR
40

Just finmished watching the home game vs. Dallas 1999. 35-28 seconds on the clock and Moore is beat, held, jumped on a no call and the game ends in the end zone. We were behind 28-7 into the third. Jake was great but Frank Sanders was a monster. Larry didn't have many touches and Micheal Irvin caught nothing shut out Williams. The stadium looks good sold out!

 

[vince56]

My own personal favorite Larry Centers memories are, whenever he was called upon to release to the flat, he would always smash his shoulder into the chest of some unsuspecting DE (legal block) and lay the dude out - so much so that our OT would be left standing looking for something to do - just a small tidbit that the announcers never would comment upon, but you can be certain there are many DEs that will never forget #37!!!

Charles Haley once said that the one player he hated to play against was Larry Centers. Centers' shoulder blocks were amazing. He'd lunge his whole body at the rushing DE. Usually the DE would be stumbling backwards or on his back from it. Centers was awesome.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Larry was awesome. If you put together a video of all the tackles he broke, it would go on forever.

I remember that hurdle against Dallas, too, but whenever I picture LC I see him out in the middle of the field breaking tackle after tackle and fighting for the first down.

 

[NickelBack]

What was the high point after leaving the Cardinals?

 

[Big D]

What was the high point after leaving the Cardinals?

Winning the Super Bowl last year with NE I'm sure.

 

[Jim O]

Here is the video that we put together for the stadium groundbreaking ceremony.

Larry's leap over Brown is at the 1:02 mark of the video.

Cardinals Groundbreaking Video

 

[New Mexico]

Every time Larry got one yard more than we needed on third down. My first memory of Larry was in a game against the Skins. The Skins were killing us, and we threw an interception. Larry absolutely crushed the defensive back that intercepted the ball and then flexed his guns. The announcers ragged on him a bit, but it was still pretty cool.

 

[RedViper]

Awesome video. It gave me chills.

My favorite Larry Centers moment came at the exact same moment I became a full blown incurable Cardinals fan. It was 1992. We were having a bad year and were winless five games or so into the season. Larry had come across Cards fan at Safeway before the game (I learned this after the game on the post game show). He told the Cards fan in essence, don't give up on us, I'll do everything under heaven to bring you fans a victory. That game was against the Superbowl champ Redskins. To get to overttime Larry had caught a pass in the redzone and essentially busted through a handfull of Redskins and broke through into the endzone. We won in overtime by a field goal. I was so freakin impressed with Centers and his promise and making good on it. That was the last home Cardinal game I ever had to listen to on the radio. I bought the rest of the season tickets that week and have been a STH ever since.

 

[vince56]

Here is the video that we put together for the stadium groundbreaking ceremony.

Larry's leap over Brown is at the 1:02 mark of the video.

Cardinals Groundbreaking Video

That's cool Jim, now if only it was in better quality video!

 

[phillycard]

Here is the video that we put together for the stadium groundbreaking ceremony.

Larry's leap over Brown is at the 1:02 mark of the video.

Cardinals Groundbreaking Video

That was awesome Jim! A few chills needless to say!

 

[Jim O]

That's cool Jim, now if only it was in better quality video!

The video is crystal clear on my real player at both the office and at home.

 

[vince56]

The video is crystal clear on my real player at both the office and at home.

hmm... it's dithered as all heck on my home pc. It's probably my settings then. I'll have to check it out when I get home tonight. Thanks for the reply, it's good to see you around, Jim

 

[AZCardsWin]

Awesome video. It gave me chills.

Red,
I was about to post the same same - how that video gave me the chills! Man oh Man what a video. One of my favorite Larry moments was very early in his career when the Cardinals were playing at Washington and getting blown out. On a T.Rosenbach interception Larry made the tackle of the Redskin and then flexed over him drawing a personal foul penalty.
Great Cardinal!

Tim

 

[BigRedVol]

Was talking to someone last night that doesnt know who Larry is and what he means to Cards fans. Thought I would start a thread to get our stories and memories of him as a Card out.

For me the one thing I remember most is him hurdling a Cowboy.

Cowboy killer!

 

[black]

In '98 after the playoff victory against the cowgirls, he was interviewed and was a class act. He said, "I'm very proud of my football team right now", at the same time he was so anxious to get back to the team. I still have video of this somewhere.