- Sunflower League co-champions (with Shawnee Mission East)
- 7-1-1 with four shutouts
- Held opponents scoreless in first quarter
“I don’t think there is any question the 1966 team was the best team not to win the state championship,” Taylor still says 48 years later.
The 1966 team finished 7-1-1 with four shutouts. North tied for the Sunflower League championship with Shawnee Mission East after the two played to a 20-20 tie, made possible only by a North 29-yard field goal with 34 seconds remaining in the game. The loss was to Lawrence, 14-9, in a game that for several years determined the large school state champion.
The 1966 team had it all, and the statistics reflected it. In the nine games, North rushed for 3,149 yards while allowing a total of only 310 yards. The Indians averaged 37.7 points per game while giving up 6.8. The 1966 team did not allow a single point in the first quarter of the nine games.
The team was led by senior fullback Steelman, who rushed for 752 yards, a 6.1 average, and 10 touchdowns, earning high school All-America honors. Two other backs – senior Craig Pearson (576 yards and 6 touchdowns) and junior Dick Hertel (692 yards and 7 touchdowns) – also contributed to the offense.
Other all-stars included end Bob Hayes, center Jim Krebs, guards John MacRae and Mitch Sexton, and tackle Bud Hutton, all seniors, along with junior tackle Heath.
The offense was triggered by senior quarterback Phil “Skip” James, who rushed for 618 yards and 11 touchdowns, and passed for 682 yards and 7 more touchdowns. Long before kids across the country wanted to “be like Mike,” young athletes growing up in Johnson County wanted to “be like Skip.” And why not? He was blond, good-looking, athletic, left-handed, a three sport star during high school years (football, basketball and baseball in Kansas City’s summer Ban Johnson League), and a two sport star at the University of Kansas (football and baseball). He went on to play baseball professionally for nine years, including parts of two years in the Major League with the San Francisco Giants.
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