We’ve always admired the work of Bill Conlin, one of the greatest baseball writers ever. So some years back, when Conlin covered a Philadelphia Eagles football game for the Philadelphia Daily News we were not surprised that he uncovered “the rarely heard quintuple cliché.”

It came from defensive back Ray Ellis after the Eagles lost to the San Diego Chargers, 20-14.

“To sum it up in a nutshell,” Ellis told Conlin, “it’s been that kind of year. We’ve got to ride the tide out and, hopefully, turn the corner. But you’ve got to take your hat off to them.”

A collector’s item.