Denver Post Article

Rick Upchurch

Denver Post Article

Article Published: Wednesday, February 12, 2003 - 12:00:00 AM MST

Colorado Sports Hall Of Fame
A breathtaking Bronco
Upchurch turned all-purpose yards into dazzling art
By Irv Moss, Denver Post Sports Writer

When Rick Upchurch had a football in his hands, he could deliver a stirring motivational message without saying a word.

Upchurch caught passes and ran reverses, but his trademark became returning kicks. He was known by friend and foe as the most dangerous player in the NFL in his heyday, a game breaker who dazzled opponents with his speed, moves and fearlessness in his nine years with the Denver Broncos.

"You'd hold your breath," former Broncos wide receiver Haven Moses said. "Even if you were on the field and supposed to be blocking, you'd want to watch just to see what he was going to do. He could change the momentum of a game with one play."

For his accomplishments, Upchurch will be inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

Upchurch wasted no time introducing himself to the NFL. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound rookie from Minnesota opened his professional career in 1975 against the Kansas City Chiefs by setting a record for a first game with 284 all-purpose yards in a 37-33 victory.

"I remember that first game," Upchurch recalled recently from his home in Pueblo. "My helmet was split on one hit. My lip was busted up. I was looking out the earhole of my helmet once."

Upchurch's first game total included 153 yards on three pass receptions, 88 yards on three kickoff returns, 30 yards on a punt return and 13 yards on a reverse.

Upchurch gained a remarkable 3,008 yards on punt returns in his career. His eight touchdowns on punt returns tied an NFL record.

He looked at returning kickoffs and punts as his cup of tea.

"I loved it," he said. "That was the best part of my game. If you return kicks, you have to make a difference. It's a difficult job. You take unbelievable hits. But you still have to catch the ball, find everyone on the field in the blink of an eye and then make a decision of where you're going and how you're going to get there."

He knew opposing coaches would do anything to stop him.

"I had a couple of coaches on other teams tell me they had bounties on me because they knew I could take it all the way anytime," he said. "That was part of the game."

Upchurch made Pro Bowls after the 1976, '78, '79 and '82 seasons. The last one was a year before a neck injury ended his playing days.

Upchurch views his time with the Broncos as a cherished period in franchise history. He played a major role in the team gaining its first Super Bowl appearance, which completed the 1977 season.

"I think those years leading up to the first Super Bowl appearance was the best time of all for the franchise," he said. "We were able to show all America that Denver was more than a cowtown."

Although Upchurch's NFL memories are filled with exploits on the field, he also recalls a dark moment in franchise history. After a 9-5 season in 1976, Broncos players had a meeting, he said, and voted to send a message to ownership that they wanted John Ralston replaced as the head coach.

"That was one of the hardest things we ever had to do," Upchurch said. "It was difficult to talk about our coach like that. We believed that we were a better team than we showed, and we came to the conclusion that we had to do something about it."

Red Miller was named to replace Ralston and led the team to the Super Bowl in his first season.

"The Orange Crush defense was just getting started," Upchurch said. "We had a good offense, too, with (running back) Otis Armstrong, Haven Moses and (tight end) Riley Odoms.

"I remember at the meeting, (defensive end) Lyle Alzado talked, (place-kicker) Jim Turner talked, we all talked. Everybody felt like we needed to get a new coach. I know it unfairly made John Ralston appear to be a bad coach. He was a player's coach. He could recognize talent and draft players, and he could motivate. But when it came to the X's and O's of the game, John didn't have it."

The team felt the pressure to deliver for the new coach, he said.

"We knew we had to hold up our end," Upchurch said. "We didn't know anything about Red, but he turned out to be the cayenne pepper we needed to get us going. We revamped the offensive line a little bit, and we brought in an old, broken-down quarterback (Craig Morton, from the New York Giants). We weren't supposed to be very good, but we surprised a lot of people."

The 1977 Broncos won their first six games, lost 24-14 to Oakland, then won another six in a row before losing 14-6 at Dallas in the regular-season finale. Before 75,011, the largest crowd to watch a sporting event in Colorado to that point, they beat Pittsburgh 34-21 in the first round of the playoffs. Then, with Moses catching two touchdown pass from Morton, the Broncos beat the Raiders 20-17 in the AFC championship game in one of the great sporting events ever in Colorado.

But Dallas defeated Denver 27-10 in the Super Bowl.

After his playing days, Upchurch went home to Toledo, Ohio, where he grew up, looking for work, and then returned to Denver. He admits he struggled dealing with life after football.

"I was bitter and angry," he said. "I looked back and decided I didn't have anything to be angry about. I would have liked to play two or three more years, but I had nine great years of pro football."

Upchurch coached for a while at Tabor College in rural Hillsboro, Kan., about 50 miles north of Wichita, and at Thomas Jefferson High School in Denver. He and his second wife, Donna, live in Pueblo, where he's involved in football camps, motivational speaking and also does a radio show. Donna knew Rick many years ago but hadn't seen him for a decade when they met again about seven years ago.

"He's still the same person today that I knew a long time ago," Donna Upchurch said. "He wants to give back because of what the fans gave to him."

Rick Upchurch looks back on his days with the Broncos with only one regret.

"I would have liked to have won that first Super Bowl game," he said.

Broncos fans everywhere share that regret.

Taken From : http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0%2C1413%2C36~86~1173960~%2C00.html