Same here. We practiced those over the shoulder bombs in the back yard countless times.
I always had to be Sullivan. My brother got to be Beasley. Somewhere my mom has a photo of me throwing to my brother, ball in the air and him looking back over his shoulder.
We were too little to really know much other than what we saw on the flickering, grainy black and white tv. I was maybe six or seven when I saw him play.
But we were Sullivan to Beasley for probably half a decade after in backyard ball.
These guys were larger than life, and it was especially magnified when you maybe got to see them a couple of times a year. You had to use the ole imagination when you could only listen to the game on the radio, or read about the exploits on the gridiron the next day. 23 Skidoo!!!
Sullivan to Beasley was even a phrase on bumper stickers. At that same time, Florida had a great duo in Reaves to Alverez. John Reaves and Carlos Alverez. Incredible connection between those two, but in 70' and 71', Sullivan to Beasley, beat the ever lovin' shit out of the Gators. Scored 63 in Gainesville.
In another bit of way back trivia, in the 1971' Gator Bowl, Auburn played none other than Archie Manning and Ole Miss. Yes, they were two SEC teams, but hadn't played each other in almost 20 years. I remember that game and thinking, Archie is good, but no way they hang with Auburn. It went right down to the wire, and Manning was their entire offense. Auburn won 35-28 with Sullivan throwing for over 350 yards.
Think about that. 350 yards passing in 1971.
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