This expression was said by Howard Cosell during a 1972 televised ABC broadcast on July 29, 1972 in reference to Mike Adamle, a running back for the Kansas City Chiefs in the preseason AFC-NFC "Hall of Fame" game between the Chiefs vs. New York Giants at Fawcett Stadium.
Until the appearance of the factual website about it, people mistakenly associated this sentence with a different football game in 1983. On September 5, 1983, during the season opening Monday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins, Howard Cosell made a second comment using the words "little monkey." In that game, Redskins wide receiver Alvin Garrett was playing a great game, and following Garrett's 6th pass reception while still in the first quarter, Howard Cosell commented to Don Meredith, "Joe Gibbs wanted to get this kid and that little monkey gets loose doesn't he?"
Until the appearance of the factual website about it, people mistakenly associated this sentence with a different football game in 1983. On September 5, 1983, during the season opening Monday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins, Howard Cosell made a second comment using the words "little monkey." In that game, Redskins wide receiver Alvin Garrett was playing a great game, and following Garrett's 6th pass reception while still in the first quarter, Howard Cosell commented to Don Meredith, "Joe Gibbs wanted to get this kid and that little monkey gets loose doesn't he?"
When a smaller physical stature NFL football player would run and dart around after getting his hands on the ball, Cosell would like to say "Look at that little monkey run!" It didn't matter if it was a white or black player.
by NFL Researcher May 30, 2011