1978 Shot of the Year Presentation NFL Football Phil Tuckett

This item is from Phil Tuckett’s personal collection.  It took several decades within his career to amass these rare collectibles at events. The highlight is that it includes autographs of the most prominent entertainers, historical figures, and sports players Tuckett met along the way.

Presented is an actual game (Taglibue) football that was presented to Phil Tuckett for his work in NFL Films. The official NFL football was hand-painted on one of the panels with the congratulatory, “1978 Shot of the Year”.  This “Shot of the Year” was “The Miracle of the Meadowlands.” Although the paint shows heavy crackling and the football doesn’t hold air, it is still wonderfully displayable and a nice piece of Tuckett’s NFL Films career.

Details about the “Shot of the Year”

The game was over. The New York Giants just had to run out the clock and the Eagles’ 1978 season would have effectively ended. On television, fans at the Meadowlands were seen walking up the stairs and out the exits as the credits projected over them.

Then, the unthinkable happened. The Giants didn’t take a knee, an unpopular practice at the time, and a botched handoff resulted in a fumble off the cold turf. Herman Edwards scooped up the ball and ran into the end zone with 20 seconds remaining to put the Eagles ahead 19-17.

The “Miracle of the Meadowlands” was born. But Mahan wasn’t totally alone in that end zone. Phil Tuckett, an NFL Films cinematographer, got the only video shot from that angle with Ed Mahan getting the other photo shot from the endzone. With the two of them behind the end zone was legendary Philadelphia sports writer Ray Didinger.

Phil Tuckett suited up for a single game for the San Diego Chargers in 1968, and his time as a professional football player consisted of a year-and-a-half spent mostly on the Chargers practice squad. One might surmise that Tuckett’s contribution to professional football was minimal, and they would be correct, until taking into consideration that after retiring as a player Tuckett spent the next 38 years working for NFL films. Tuckett won 30 individual Emmy Awards in 30 years while with NFL films documenting the NFL. Of particular note, Tuckett worked directly with Ed Sabol, the man who started and was a huge part of  NFL Films. NFL Films won its first Emmy in 1978 for “Road to the Super Bowl.” NFL Films won a total of 52 Emmy Awards during Sabol’s tenure from 1964-1995.

1978 Shot of the Year Presentation NFL Football Phil Tuckett