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1969 - Football Clip - 100 Years NCAA Football - College Highlights · Retro Sports Radio: Classic Games from History

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This is Retro Sports Radio. Visit RetroSeasons
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.com for more sports history. These are the sounds
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of college football. The bark of the signals.
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Ball carrier colliding with tackler. The thud
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of foot meeting pigskin. These sounds come to
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life every Saturday afternoon in the fall, at
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any stadium, on any campus, when they mix with
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the roar of the crowd. Out of the huddle come
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the Buckeyes. Here's a decision for the young
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quarterback, Spencer. It's a T formation. Spencer
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is in close. Spencer takes that ball. He fades
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back. Going to throw a forward pass. It's intercepted.
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American, 1956 coach, a man who has gone through
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a back -breaking schedule, Mr. Thomas Ovecheski
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of the University of Iowa. The inside handoff,
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and it goes to Bob Cheeto, the 25, up to the
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30, and the 3, and the 35, the 40, the 45, the
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50, the 45, the 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 50, the 5,
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and into the end zone for a touchdown. It is
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therefore my extreme pleasure again to present
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the 34th annual Heisman Trophy to Mr. O .J. Simpson
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of the University of Southern California. A long
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-ago practice session from the hallowed football
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turf at South Bend, Indiana. home of the Fighting
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Irish of Notre Dame, and the fabled Newt Rockne.
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I remember this. You can't get any more out of
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this game than to play into it. Boys work hard,
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and then when we're playing it, have a lot of
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fun out of it. It's modern. Enjoy it. I want
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you to play football because you'll like it.
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If there's any fellow here who doesn't like football,
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I want him to turn in his suit and get away because
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he's wasting his time. Rockne. the cornerstone
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of American football, an immigrant boy who became
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even bigger than legend. I'm Lindsey Nelson,
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and for over 30 years, I've been reporting the
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color, the drama, the pageantry, and all the
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hysteria that surrounds this truly all -American
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game. It began, innocently enough, in 1869, when
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the men of Rutgers outpointed Princeton, six
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goals to four, on the commons of New Brunswick,
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New Jersey. It began in the East and slowly spread
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westward until it became a game for All -America.
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All -America, a name given to early greats such
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as Pudge Heffelfinger, Frank Hinckley, and Truxton
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Hare, chosen every year by the father of American
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football, Walter Kemp. The first great All -American
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of this century was Michigan's famed Willie Heston,
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the spark that ignited Fielding Yost's point
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-a -minute teams. Some 60 years after his final
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college game, the man who scored over 100 touchdowns
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recalled his arrival in Ann Arbor. I looked up
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the Athletic Association and found the athletic
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director who was then Charles Baird. And I asked
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Mr. Baird if I could see Coach Yost. And Baird
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told me that... Mr. Yost would not be in Ann
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Arbor for three days. So I stayed around the
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campus there for three days. On the afternoon
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of the third day, I went downtown on Main Street.
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I was standing on the corner of Main and Huron
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streets looking across at the bank when somebody
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booted me with his knee from the rear. And I
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turned around and there stood Yost. And the first
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thing Yost said to me was, Yarr, Martin, how
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do you happen to be here? I said, Coach, I came
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here to get that higher education you talked
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to me about. A Walter Kemp All -American selection
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in 1903 and 1904, Heston typified the sturdy
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and heroic qualities of the fictional Frank Merriwell
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of Yale. In Hollywood, The football player's
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image was somewhat different, with Jack Oakey,
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the dim -witted farm boy who went to college.
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Just name any means of transportation, Mr. Belenkovich.
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You may choose among steam, horse -drawn, or
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electrically propelled vehicles, Mr. Belenkovich.
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Order, please, order. Perhaps you don't understand
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the question, Mr. Belenkovich. How did you come
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to college this year? What? I said, how did you
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come to college this year? How did I come to
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this college? The Alumni Association for Blue
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Surin County sent me. What do you do to keep
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in shape? What do I do to keep in shape? Train.
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Correct, Mr. Blankowitz. You have passed 100%.
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What I seen was this whole raft of people are
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sitting on these two banks and are looking at
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one another across this pretty little green cow
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pasture. And I looked down there and I seen five
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or six Tronvics are running up and down and are
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blowing whistles. And about the time I got set
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down good, I looked down there and I seen 30
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or 40 men come running out of one end of a great
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big alf house down there. They did. And everybody
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where I was a -sitting got up and hollered and
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sat back down. Both bunches full of them men
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wanted this funny -looking little pumpkin to
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play with. They did, and I know, friends, that
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they couldn't eat it because they kicked it the
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whole evening, and it never budged. And, friends,
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I've seen that evening the awfulest fight that
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I have ever seen in my life. I did. They would
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run at one another and kick one another and throw
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one another down and stomp on one another and
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grind their feet in one another, and I don't
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know what all, and just as fast as one of them
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would get hurt, they'd tote him off and run another
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one. And I don't know, friends, to this day what
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it was that there's a doing down there, but I
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have studied about it. And I think that it's
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some kind of a contest where they see which bunch
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full of them men can take that pumpkin and run
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from one end of that cow pasture to the other
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without either getting knocked down or stepping
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in something. All these years I played myself.
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I was a center, but I had to quit. I was ticklish.
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Our quarterback was so unsanitary, I just hated
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him. I think it's a thrilling thing, you know,
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that the way this football has come along, and
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I'm just happy to hear about, I'm happy to see
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Joe Nameless's agent, Paul Bryant, here. I think
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Joe was here. I saw his Brinks truck outside.
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Now, that's amazing, though, isn't it? That $400
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,000 thing. I understand he's going to play in
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a business suit. Now, it must be embarrassing
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to the front office when a rookie player is in
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the same tax bracket as the owner. Now, I think
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it's a marvelous thing when you think $400 ,000
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for a quarterback with a limp. The locker room
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pep talk, as much a part of football as the touchdown
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and center snap. Some of our greatest leaders
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listen to just such a pep talk in their football
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playing days. In fact, football has been called
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the game of presidents. A year before his death,
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President John F. Kennedy attended the Army -Navy
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game in Philadelphia. Novak stumbles a little,
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dropping back. Bill has time to throw long. This
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is a great American game. It has given me personally
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some of the most pleasant moments of my life.
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Clint Frank, who I understand is sitting there,
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who I saw score five touchdowns against Princeton.
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Tom Harmon, who I saw score 21 points on his
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21st birthday in the first half in a game against
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California. Cliff Battles, who made George Marshall
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look good in Boston way back in the 30s. And
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Jay Berwanger, who's here tonight, who was, when
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Chicago was 10th in the Big Ten, more than everyone's
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all -American. In 1969, a game was played that
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aroused the national interest to such a peak
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that President Richard Nixon came to present
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a trophy to the winning team, Texas versus Arkansas,
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for the national championship. I just want to
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say this in presenting the plaque. I want to
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say first that the AP and the UPI will name Texas
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number one, as we know, after this game. And
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this is a great honor in the 100th year of football.
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I also want to say that having seen this game,
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what convinced me that Texas deserves that is
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the fact that you won a tough one. for a team
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to be behind 14 to nothing, and then not to lose
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its cool and to go on to win, that proves you
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deserve to be number one, and that's what you
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are. Another dynamic leader who loved football
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was General Douglas MacArthur. In all my own
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long public service, both in war and peace, It
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is in the football, men, I have found my greatest
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reliance. Just as on the gridiron, the very essence
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of success in war requires the same combination
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of strength and speed and skill. The same close
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coordination of men and maneuver. And the same
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indomitable courage which alone provides the
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will for victory. The early architects of football
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were the coaches. Percy Houghton. John W. Heisman.
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Pop Warner. Dr. Henry Williams. and the game's
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great innovator, Amos Alonzo Stagg, who coached
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for 56 years. It was Stagg who invented reverses,
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in -the -round plays, double handoffs, men in
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motion, the place kick, and numbers on jerseys.
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While coaching at the University of Chicago,
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Stagg and his tiny triple threat back, Walter
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Eckersall, swung football supremacy from the
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East to the Midwest. Another great early coach,
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Tuss McLaury explains why Pop Warner's great
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back at Carlisle, Jim Thorpe, was the greatest
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he'd ever seen. If I was to mention one, I would
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say Jim Thorpe. And for this reason, that I've
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seen him do more things in a superlative way
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than any football back that I have ever seen.
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One of the greatest things I ever saw Jim do
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was to punt, a long high punt, and beat his hands
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down and make the tackle. And he made the tackle
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just as the recipient received the ball. In the
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East, two of the immortal coaches were Columbia's
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Lou Little and Colgate's Andy Kerr, whose 1932
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team went unbeaten, untied, unscored upon, and
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uninvited. To me, one of the greatest satisfactions
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of my coaching is to live in the minds of the
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boys that have played for me. I have enough background
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to know that those boys have gone into life and
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played the game as well in life as they did on
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the football field. And I'm convinced that they
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would tell you as I tell you now that there are
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certain fundamental principles, certain intangibles
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which they learned on the football field that
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they have carried out in life. The 20s and 30s
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abounded in coaching success stories with Bo
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McMillan and his praying colonels of Center College.
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Pitts Jock Sutherland. Gloomy Gil Dobie. Howard
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and Tad Jones, the Gray Fox Bob Zupke, Bernie
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Bierman, General Bob Nealon, Wallace Wade, and
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Army's Earl Red Blake. I would say that the combination
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of Davis and Blanchard were the best inside and
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outside combination that college football ever
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knew. That's a big statement, I realize it, but
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if you review pictures today and see them in
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action. is far more difficult than people...
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Dog Blanchard and Glenn Davis. With the nation
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at war, these two destructive forces waged their
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own campaign through 27 consecutive opponents.
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They called Felix Blanchard Mr. Inside, a crunching,
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pile -driving runner who captured the 1945 Heisman
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Trophy. And the nifty, shifty Glenn Davis, Mr.
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Outside, who averaged 11 yards a carry in 1944.
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a year that Army throttled Notre Dame 59 to nothing,
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handing the Irish their worst defeat in history.
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Now there are 50 seconds remaining. Army cheering
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section right below us, jubilant over this one
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-sided victory which their team has scored. They've
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waited a long time for a win over Notre Dame,
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not since 1931. Has Army been victorious over
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the Irish, and not since 1938 have they even
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scored on the Irish? Today, they are reading
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59 -0 as we're in the last minute of the ballgame.
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Army won the national championship in 1944, outscoring
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arch -rival Navy 23 -7. Famed announcer Ted Husing
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was at the microphone. And that's when the big
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fullback steps over to the right. So now Bradley,
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the quarterback, is ready to start those plays.
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Scott's a quick push -cross play, gives it to
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Davis, a left half -back. Davis righted on the
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right, he's into the clear. He's on his way down
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the far sideline, he's been hit. The Irish tempers
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of Notre Dame were fuming after two consecutive
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lopsided shutout losses to Army, and it set the
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stage for their 1946 clash. billed as the battle
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of the decade, the century, and of all time.
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The kickoff will be coming in just a moment.
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The sidelines are jam -packed with humanity.
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George Conner comes forward. The game is underway,
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and the kick is up in the air. It's rolling down
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all the way to the Notre Dame 20 -yard line.
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It's taken on the 25 -yard line. in their key
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formation. In motion this time is Glenn Davis.
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Ball is given to Blanchard. Blanchard into the
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center line. He bubbles the ball. The ball is
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rolling around and it's recovered by Army. By
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the goal. Left center of Army. Recovers Army
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Notre Dame 49 yard line. Blue Jack. All I need
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signals is right down behind the center. It's
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Johnny back for the forward pass. Cox is on back
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left for the man. There goes a long Notre Dame
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pass all the way down to the right. The nothing
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-nothing tie was Army's only blemish in three
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seasons so powerful were the cadets. Their biggest
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scare occurred in the final game of the 1946
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season when underdog outmaned Navy almost pulled
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off the upset of the year. Years later, Dog Blanchard
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recalled the near upset. Having played three
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years and been undefeated, it looked like we
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were so close to letting a slip from us right
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at the last minute when we only had a couple
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of minutes to go. And we were all, or not all
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of us, but most of the guys that had started
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together in 1944 would be through college football.
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And to lose a game at this point is a very frightening
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thing, I think. For Davis, the Heisman winner
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in 1946, the game marked his top football thrill.
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The ball game started out, we made 21 points
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very easily. Went in at the half, and the score
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was 21 to nothing. And during the half, we figured,
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well, are we going to make it 60 to nothing or
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what? You know, we had a lot of confidence, weren't
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paying too much attention to what was going on,
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what the coach was saying. Went out the second
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half, fumbled a couple times, and by the time
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we woke up, the Navy had the ball on our one
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-yard line. The score was 21 to 18. This is the
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football game of the century. The ball's two
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yards away from a touchdown. Navy has scored
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all the points in the last half. Army led 21
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-6 as the third period started. Navy scored two
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touchdowns and now are striving violently to
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score their third. If they should score this
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one, they may break the reign of Army. The national
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champions meeting a team that's won one game,
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the Navy and the Army, and the ball's only two
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yards away from a possible winning touchdown.
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And time left to play one minute and 20 seconds
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as Navy comes out of the huddle. Basinger calling
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signals. Basinger to Tuning. Tuning is hit at
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the line of scrimmage and stopped by Bryant.
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Second down, still two yards to go for a touchdown.
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Bryant comes in for the Army as the Army team
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digs in on defense. They're talking it up along
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the line of scrimmage. One minute left to play
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in this game. One minute starts to sweep off.
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This is the final minute of play. Balance line,
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T -formation. Basinger calling signals. Basinger
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gives the ball to the fullback once more, tuning,
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and he stopped on the line of scrimmage by Barney
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Poole, who snaps in there to make the tackle.
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A great tackle by Poole. And now there's 40 seconds
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left, 39 seconds left. It's third down, still
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two to go for a touchdown. They lost a yard on
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the play. It's back to the three -yard line.
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Pete Williams comes back in. Hawkins comes back
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in. 32 seconds left to play in the game. Navy
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drew a five -yard penalty for taking too many
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times out, and that takes the ball back to the
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Army nine -yard line. Williams back. Ball goes
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to Hawkins. Hawkins to the backward pass to Williams.
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Williams is down to the five, and he's knocked
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to the bounds of the five -yard line. Picked
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up four yards, and it's fourth down. Five to
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go for a touchdown. Stops the clock with ten
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seconds left, and the scoreboard clock keeps
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moving. Four seconds, three seconds, two seconds,
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one second left. The score is 21 -18. They didn't
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go out of bounds. The goal posts are coming down.
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The Army remains undefeated. Navy had the ball
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four yards away from a touchdown and just missed
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breaking the Army rule. The voice of Newt Rockne,
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football coach, the most dominant and remarkable
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personality the game of football has ever known.
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Incomparable as a coach, a profound teacher,
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an All -American, an actor who played many parts,
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and an orator of the finest degree. In 13 years
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as the coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish,
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Rockne teams won 105, tied 5, and lost but 12.
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One of his greatest teams was the 1924 squad,
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quarterbacked by Harry Stuhldreher. Jimmy Crowley
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was at left halfback, Elmer Layton at fullback,
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and Don Miller at right half. And by the way,
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we got that name by giving us by Grandpa Rice,
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and it came in his write -up of our game with
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Army in New York in October 1924. He started
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out his lead by... outlined against a blue -gray
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October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again. The
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Rockne coach teams were the greatest attraction
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in America. It was Rockne who revolutionized
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the forward pass and invented the shift which
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opened up the game. As Sleepy Jim Crowley, a
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halfback on the Four Horsemen, explains, Rockne
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was a locker room spellbinder who coached, scolded,
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drove, and inspired. He had a dynamic personality,
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but he kindled that aggressiveness with human
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kindness. If you had a sprained ankle, it was
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Rock who taped your ankle. If you had an infected
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hand, it was Rock who got the bucket of hot water
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and held your hand in there. On the trips, he
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carried the keys to the trunks, and he'd dole
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out the sweatshirts and the sweat socks before
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the game. This was in 1924. at the polo grounds
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when we were playing the Army. And it was the
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first time that the game had been brought to
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New York. Now, the Army had a great football
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team in those days. That particular year, Rockne
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said it was the greatest team that ever came
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out of the plains of West Point. But naturally,
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before a big game like that, you're nervous,
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excited, and Rockne busted into the dressing
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room and... Right now in the kickoff, did we
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receive? When he was killed in a plane crash
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on a Kansas prairie in 1931 at the age of 43,
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the President of the United States said, his
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was a truly national loss. And though Notre Dame
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was his address, every gridiron, every athletic
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field in America was his home. With a nation
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in mourning, a movie was made on Rockne's life,
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which starred actor Pat O 'Brien in his greatest
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role. Now I'm going to tell you something about
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a young man, most of you too young to remember,
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George Skip. The first All -American to be named
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by Walter Camp at the school of Our Lady, Notre
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Dame. I was with George when he died. And when
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he was going out, he looked up at me and said,
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Coach, Coach, I'm not afraid, honest, I'm not.
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But rock, rock someday when the going's tough.
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And the boys aren't getting the breaks. Tell
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them to go out and make just one for the kipper.
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I don't know where I'll be then, coach. But I'll
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know about it. And I'll be happy. Rockne laid
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the foundation, and his coaching successors,
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Huck Anderson, Elmer Layden, Frank Leahy, and
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the present -day era Parsegian, continued the
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great Irish tradition. Notre Dame is synonymous
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with producing All -Americans, and their names
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are legendary. Caridio, Miller, Bertelli, Lujac,
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Horning, Hart, Lattner, Hanratty, and Theismann.
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Lujac calling signals. Lujac gives the ball to
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Kelly, and Kelly goes over for a touchdown for
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Notre Dame. With only 40 seconds left to play
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in the first half, Bob Kelly goes off to clean
31:08
right. tackle for the score, and Notre Dame leads
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6 -0. This time it's Jimmy Mello. Mello driving
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into the end zone for a touchdown for Notre Dame.
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Jimmy Mello scores again for the Lowrys. Keep
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it left halfback. Lattner's right halfback. Warden
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is fullback. Julio Mea ready to run his ball
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club now from the T -formation of Notre Dame.
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He takes the ball. He hands off to the right
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halfback, Lattner. He hits the right side and
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drives to the 50 -yard line where Johnson made
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the stop. Rivaling Notre Dame and Rockne in the
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20s were Ernie Nevers of Stanford, Franco Nagurski
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of Minnesota, and the glamour boy of football,
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Red Grange. Coached by Bob Zupke and aptly nicknamed
31:51
the Galloping Ghost, Grange was the most publicized
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player of the 20s. In a 1924 game, Grange ran
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for 402 yards with runs of 95, 67, 56, and 44
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yards. The first four times he touched the ball.
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as Illinois shocked the favorite Wolverines of
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Michigan. And yet, as a freshman, Grange felt
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he had a little chance to make it as a football
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player. I went down to Illinois, and my fraternity
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brothers, I was pledged to a fraternity, found
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out I had played football in high school, so
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they decided I should go out for football. I
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didn't make the decision. And I remember going
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over and taking a look. at the freshman football
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squad, and there must have been 300 kids out
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there. And I went back and I said, I don't have
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a chance with so many people out there. So they
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got the paddle down off the wall, and I decided
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to go out for football, which I did, that was
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years ago. They call the 20s the golden decade
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of sports, with Ruth, Tilden, Dempsey, and Jones.
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It was also the decade in which radio made its
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debut, and with it, the birth of broadcasting.
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Broadcasting changed the face of sports as it
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gave everyone in the country a chance to thrill
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to some of sports' greatest exploits. Let's recall
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some of them now as we flip back through the
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pages of football history and hear the great
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teams, the great players, and the remembered
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announcers like Harry Wismer, who broadcast the
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1945 Sugar Bowl, the greatest ever played. He's
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over again! And the score is 12 -7, Alabama lead.
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Harris coming back at the 40. He's on to the
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37, the 35. Still going at the 30. And tied up
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at the 24. The 20 -yard line! What a super human
33:48
effort that was as he goes all the way down to
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the Alabama 20 -yard line. Jim Malone, 5 '10",
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168 pounds, completely Oklahoma. You'd think
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he was Bronco Dacoste. He carried four men with
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him all the way to the 20 -yard line. The receivers
34:16
are down the field. Gilmer gets it away. It's
34:23
allowed. Every year, an award is given emblematic
34:52
of the top college performance of the year, the
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John W. Heisman Trophy, named after the illustrious
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coach of early football. The first to win it
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was Chicago's Jay Berwanger in 1935. In football,
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during the course of a 60 -minute game... You
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have your good times and your bad times. You're
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back on your goal line and you can come forward
35:18
and then you have success and then you have to
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look out that it doesn't catch up with you. You
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can relate those experiences that you get in
35:28
a hurry in football over the next 10 or 15 years.
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On the football map, the crossroads of American
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football. lie on the corner of Broad and High
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Streets in Columbus, Ohio, home of the Ohio State
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Buckeyes. They fill the giant horseshoe 80 ,000
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strong to view the scarlet and gray. And when
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the opponent is Michigan, the entire state comes
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to a standstill. Believe me, there's some tenseness
35:55
in this stadium at the moment. It's third down
35:57
now. The ball is on the three -yard line. Michigan's
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ball. Right there's the fullback with the play.
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And I believe he's... He may be stopped. He may
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be stopped. I don't believe he's in. We're all
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waiting. There's quiet here between 82 ,500.
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No signal from the field. It is fourth down coming
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up, and the ball is, well, it's about a foot
36:20
and a half. It's about a foot and a half. Right
36:25
in the middle, Ohio State now has a double wall.
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There it is. And he don't make it. He does not
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make it. I don't believe. The 1968 -69 and 70
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Buckeyes were rated among the best ever. On the
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first day of football's 100th year, they defeated
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USC. in the Rose Bowl. Jim Lawrence. Faster throw.
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Soggy. He looks downfield. Little swing pass.
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15. 15. Some of the best have played for Ohio
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State. Chick Harley, Wes Fessler, Les Horvath,
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Vic Janowitz, and Bob Ferguson. But there is
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one name that stands out above the rest. Howard
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Hopalong Cassidy. winner of the 1955 Heisman
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Trophy. I am overcome with joy and gratitude,
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and I just want this moment to thank Ohio State
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University and the newsmen and the newswriters
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and our fine coaching staff headed by Woody Hayes.
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And most of all, I want to thank that great ball
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team we had this year, which made it possible
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for myself to win this trophy. We must have a
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word from our great coach of the Buckeye Institutional
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Ohio State, Hoppy's coach, Woody Hayes. Congratulations,
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Hop, and I say that for myself and my staff and
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particularly for the boys who helped to put you
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there. And they put you there because they like
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to block for the kind of fellow. It's true that
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I've said that you're the greatest football player
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I've ever seen, but off the field, you're just
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a little bit better than that. And congratulations
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from all of us. Thanks a lot, coach. Perhaps
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the greatest dynasty in college football belonged
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to the Sooners of Oklahoma. Coached by Bud Wilkinson,
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the Sooners won 47 straight games, going undefeated
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in 1954, 55, and 56. And knocked a man down on
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the Oklahoma 45. 49 -yard punt return by Jack
39:58
Mitchell. Burst intent for Oklahoma now on the
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Kansas State 21 -yard line. Score 14 -0 in favor
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of Oklahoma. Mitchell takes the ball. Laterals
40:07
it out to Royal. Royal throws a quick pass out.
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It's complete to go. He's over. Touchdown, Royal.
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throwing to Bobby Goode to ride in. Missed the
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lateral back to Royal. Royal started wide, flipped
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it to Goode, who took it on the run of the two
40:21
-yard line, dipped in the end zone, and the score
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is 20 -0 in favor of Oklahoma. Now the shooters,
40:27
Darrell Royal, six, with his 11th pass out of
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24 attempts this year. And Darrell Royal is now
40:34
throwing three touchdown passes this season.
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Taking over from Oklahoma as the premier team
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were the Hawkeyes of Iowa, coached by Forrest
40:43
Evershefsky. Iowa first reached the spotlight
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in 1953 when they tied top -ranked Notre Dame
40:49
in one of the most controversial games ever played.
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They called it the Fainting Game. A Notre Dame
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man is down. The clock is starting to run, and
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I believe there's some faking going on down on
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the field. The Notre Dame man came into the line.
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He was standing up, and all of a sudden, he's
41:07
hurt. So if Eric Guioni has helped off the field,
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he doesn't need much help to get off there. It's
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fourth down coming up for Notre Dame and nine.
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Fading to throw. Guilherme tosses. And it is
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complete for Notre Dame. We have 30 seconds left
41:24
to play. The clock is still running. Two Notre
41:27
Dame men are down flat on their back. But once
41:31
again, we suspect the Irish may be using those
41:33
injuries to stop the clock. Notre Dame on a fastball.
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Fabulous aerial march from their 43 -yard line.
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Now he's down on the Iowa 9 -yard line where
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they have the ball. First down at 10. 12 seconds
41:46
exactly left on that scoreboard clock. Between
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now and possibly one of the greatest upsets in
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history. Here goes Guglielmi. He's fading the
41:54
throw. It's a bullet cast into the air. for a
42:12
Notre Dame touchdown. Here's the kick attempt,
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and it is good. It's Notre Dame 14, Iowa 14.
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In 1956, the proud and powerful Buckeyes of Ohio
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State journeyed to Iowa with the longest victory
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streak in Big Ten history, 17 straight as their
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calling card. What resulted helped to launch
42:35
the resurgence of Iowa football. Four seconds,
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they're up to the line of scrimmage. But one
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of the Buckeyes is offside. Two seconds, one
43:00
second. This game is history. The Hawkeyes are
43:03
on the field, swarming their teammates. The flags
43:07
are down, but this ball game is over. Iowa is
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up to Ohio State. Six to nothing, breaking the
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longest winning streak in Big Ten history. And
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Iowa now has at least a share of the Big Ten
43:19
championship. This is the greatest moment in
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Iowa football history in 34 years. One of the
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legendary stories of college football revolves
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around the 1939 Iowa team, led by Niall Kinnick
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and his famed Ironmen, 14 men who played an entire
43:38
season upsetting the likes of Notre Dame and
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Michigan. The inspirational Kinnick, later killed
43:44
in action as his fighter plane crashed at sea,
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was awarded the Heisman Trophy by the Downtown
43:50
Athletic Club. I want you to know that I'm mighty,
43:53
mighty happy to accept this trophy this evening.
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And a finer bunch of boys and a more courageous
43:58
bunch of boys never graced the good arms of the
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Midwest than that Iowa team in 1939. Finally,
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if you'll permit me, I'd like to make a comment
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which in my mind is indicative perhaps of the
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greater significance of football and sports emphasis
44:14
in general in this country. And that is, I thank
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God I was warring on the good arms of the Midwest.
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and not on the battlefields of Europe. I can
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speak confidently and positively that the players
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of this country would much more, much rather,
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struggle and fight to win the Heisman Award than
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a croix de guerre. Thank you. And now with the
44:38
plaudits of thousands ringing in his ears, Niall
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Kenning, 5 '8". 170 pounds of fine American young
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manhood, Phi Beta Kappa scholarship material,
44:48
retires to his seat. With the 50s dominated by
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Oklahoma, Ohio State, and Iowa, and players such
44:59
as Dick Kazmaier, Billy Vessels, Tommy McDonald,
45:03
Jimmy Brown, Paul Horning, and Pete Dawkins,
45:07
college football reached an all -time high in
45:10
popularity. And it carried right on over to the
45:13
60s with Alabama, Michigan State, Notre Dame,
45:17
Ohio State, and Texas topping the polls. The
45:22
greatest Rose Bowl of them all was played in
45:25
1963 as number one Southern Cal took on number
45:29
two Wisconsin. It was fitting that the game be
45:33
played in the shadow of Hollywood, land of make
45:36
-believe. For what happened gave living proof
45:39
to the adage, that truth is stranger than fiction.
45:43
There is Vanderkellen being rushed, rolling out,
45:46
trying to find Vernon, who finds it. He's to
45:48
the 10, he's going to keep going, and he's going
45:51
to go all the way. Ron Vanderkellen, Southern
45:57
California, 42, Wisconsin, 14. The Badgers have
46:02
got to move with this one. And Vanderkellen passes,
46:06
and it is. Number one meant number two, and there
46:48
was only five points separating them as the final
46:51
score was SC 42, Wisconsin 37. Back in the 20s,
46:56
Coach Tad Jones of Yale told his team, Gentlemen,
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you are about to play football for Yale against
47:03
Harvard. Never in your lives will you ever do
47:06
anything so important. Jones' remark came to
47:09
mind again in 1968 as Harvard met Yale in what
47:13
is simply referred to as the game. 29 for Yale,
47:17
21 for Harvard. And the game has been just that
47:21
today. Three seconds left. The Harvard -Yale
47:24
game, 1968, has come down to one last play. Champy
47:32
into his count. The quarterback takes it. He
47:35
fades back. He's looking. He's scrambling. He's
47:37
back at his 15. He throws the ball. Touchdown!
47:52
They obviously now must go for the two points.
47:56
And if they get the two, these two undefeated
48:00
football teams will wind it up in a tie. They're
48:03
ready to go for it now as they come out into
48:06
the T formation. Champy the quarterback. He's
48:10
fading back to throw. He fires it to Barney and
48:12
it's tied! The Nittany Lions of Penn State had
48:34
the country's longest winning streak in the late
48:36
60s, but were passed over in the balloting in
48:39
favor of Texas and Ohio State. Penn State supplied
48:42
the fireworks in the 1969 Orange Bowl, one of
48:46
the most exciting ever played. Swat to the left,
49:12
lone setback is Cherry. Burkhart now, waits for
49:15
the snap, he gets it, he rolls to his right,
49:17
the rush is on, he throws, it is incomplete,
49:20
and Kansas is ahead 14 -13 with 15 seconds to
49:25
go. But wait, Kansas had 12 men on the field.
49:29
Penn State gets another chance. All right, here
49:32
is the try for fourth, they're going for two,
49:34
the handoff is the Cavaliers. Football, just
49:55
a game, but as important a game as life itself.
49:59
Whether it be Harvard against Yale, Ohio State
50:03
against Michigan, or Tufts against Wesleyan.
50:07
Big school or small school, on a field 100 yards
50:11
long, 11 men on a side, where legends are born,
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success is meshed with defeat, and where boys
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become men. On the fields of friendly strife
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are sown the seeds which on other fields and
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other days will bring forth victory.