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The jersey Peyton Manning sent to Frank Tripucka had a positive juju last Sunday

(Courtesy of T.K. Tripucka)

Somebody, probably the guy on TV, said “…and the Broncos are going to New Jersey!” and suddenly Kelly Tripucka felt his face soften and his arms tingle as he stared at the flat screen.

He was in South Bend, taking part in a Notre Dame ceremony honoring Digger Phelps, and before long his cell phone was buzzing with messages like, “Frank brought it home!” and “Eighteen’s coming back to Jersey!” and perhaps a dozen more.

“Karma,” Kelly thought to himself. “This is what real karma is like.”

His big brother was home in Little Falls. At kickoff, T.K. Tripucka draped the family’s autographed Peyton Manning jersey across a chair and posted a photo of it on Facebook – “You know, for good mojo,” he explained – and when Manning was finished filleting the Patriots, T.K. turned to his companions and announced what everybody already knew.

“Ohhhh, man,” he said, “Dad would have loved this.”

Their mom, Randy, the quarterback’s wife, was a little more calculated.

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“If Frank was watching on Sunday, he would have said one thing: ‘Oh, my God! Look at that protection! I would have killed for that protection!’” she said. “But to have it end like this, are you kidding? Frank would have been thrilled. He would have absolutely been thrilled to see his team come here for a Super Bowl.”

* * *

As of now, the Broncos’ illustrious 54-year history begins at Frank Tripucka’s locker, and ends in Frank Tripucka’s backyard.

The Bloomfield legend died last Sept. 12 at age 85, leaving behind a legacy that belongs not only to Jersey but to Notre Dame and the city where he ushered in professional football way back in 1960. And the truth is, even in a time of mourning, Frank’s family – Randy and her seven kids -- had no choice but to ponder his bond with the Broncos, because their present quarterback seemed to insist on it.

It had been 18 months since Tripucka famously gave Manning permission to wear his retired No. 18 jersey, and the latter is always eager to share his gratitude. He had called the family a few times last summer, inviting Frank to a game, but by then Alzheimer's had forced Frank into a nursing home. On the morning he died, Manning tweeted a photo of himself (with backups Brock Osweiler and Zac Dysert) pointing at Frank's photo on the wall of the QB meeting room. And three days after Tripucka passed, Manning invited the family to the team's hotel in Short Hills on the morning of the Broncos' game against the Giants.

“I can’t be more thankful to your dad, because I’m old school and I believe retired numbers are sacred,” Manning told the three Tripucka boys (Mark, T.K. and Kelly) who visited with him. “I already had other numbers picked out, but the more I thought about it, the more superstitious I became. So that’s why it means so much to me.”

“Dad always said he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way,” Kelly replied. “And from the looks of it, it’s working out exactly how he planned it.”

Of course, little else about Frank Tripucka’s tenure in Denver went as planned.

Tripucka came down from the CFL club in Saskatchewan in the summer of 1960, because the coach of the Colorado entry of the new American Football league needed an assistant to tutor his young quarterbacks.

“Frank Filchock, the Broncos’ head coach, agreed to let him leave after the preseason,” Randy recalled. “Frank told him, ‘I want to be home with the kids,’ so he really planned on being back in Bloomfield by September.”

But then came the first exhibition game, when every Broncos quarterback was hopelessly overmatched, until Filchock had his light-bulb moment: “I really don’t want to lose this crowd,” he told Tripucka. “Please, try to give these people something to watch.”

So Tripucka put on a uniform, threw three touchdown passes, and a 33-year-old assistant coach became the starting quarterback – from 1960 through early 1963.

“He went there for three games, and ended up staying for three years,” Randy recalled. “And the owner (Bob Howsam) was so appreciative he retired Frank’s jersey number.”

It wasn’t without merit. Tripucka was an AFL All-Pro in ‘60, he was the first quarterback in AFL history to throw for 3,000 yards, and he made Lionel Taylor the first 100-catch receiver in 1961. And even though the Broncos didn’t win too often, Tripucka’s impact was undeniable. Taylor said it numerous times: "Without Frank, I don't know if the Broncos would have lasted or not.”

Tripucka’s affinity for Denver never waned. Present owner Pat Bowlen saw to that: Each year, he flew the original Broncos out to Denver for a game and a golf outing, “and Frank loved those reunions more than anything,” Randy said.

The truth is, Denver was home during those seasons. Three times, Frank and Randy crammed six kids and two dogs into a woodie station wagon and hauled them across seven states in an America where there was no I-80.

“I always thought those trips were great for our family,” Randy said. “Our oldest was about 12, and they got to see the country, and live in Colorado from July to December. Denver was a laid back and friendly city, and it always remained special to us.”

But here’s the best way to illustrate what those years meant to Frank Tripucka professionally:

“The one game I’ll always remember was the Jets-Colts Super Bowl, because of my dad,” T.K. said. “From the Denver experience, he was an AFL pioneer. So he even though he had (four) years in the NFL and was closer to the Johnny Unitas generation, there was no doubt he was rooting Joe Namath in ’69.

“Man, did he love the AFL. He was almost in tears when the Jets won that game – the cocky upstarts beating the old guard. It was just very emotional for him.”

Years earlier, of course, Tripucka had ranked among the greatest athletes in New Jersey history for his heroics at Bloomfield High – the Star-Ledger placed him at No. 15, one spot ahead of Kelly – and an All-American at Notre Dame. But this week, as they endeavor to win their third Super Bowl a few miles from Frank Tripucka’s hometown, the Denver Broncos and No. 18 think of him as their own.

“It’s almost closure, even if he’s not here,” Kelly said. “I know that he’ll be watching this game somewhere, probably with a bigger screen than you and I have. He’d be proud, intense, and smiling – and yeah, he’s wearing orange. His jersey probably won’t fit, but hey, you can’t stop him from wearing it anyway.”