Latest / Retro Sports Radio: Classic Games from History / 1950 • Football Clip • The Red Grange Show - Football Stars

Transcript

1950 • Football Clip • The Red Grange Show - Football Stars · Retro Sports Radio: Classic Games from History

• 0:00
  This is Retro Sports Radio. Visit RetroSeasons.com for more sports history.
• 0:07
  The Red Grange football show with that all-time All-American Red Grange.
• 0:11
  Yes, football fans, it's time to step into the huddle once again,
• 0:15
  while Red Grange relates interesting inside stories behind the football headlines,
• 0:19
  interviews outstanding gridiron personalities,
• 0:22
  and predicts the winners of all the top college and professional games.
• 0:26
  Now here he is, the man they call the galloping ghost from Illinois,
• 0:29
  Mr. Football himself, Red Grange.
• 0:31
  Thanks, Bob Finnegan.
• 0:33
  Well, fans, the season is far enough along now for us to single out the really outstanding players
• 0:38
  of this topsy-turvy football campaign.
• 0:41
  We'll be back in a moment with our nominations for the great stars of 1950.
• 0:45
  We'll also have our predictions on all the outstanding college and professional games.
• 0:50
  But first, a brief timeout for an important message from our announcer.
• 0:55
  One of the interesting things about football is that teams and players never quite develop the way
• 1:00
  that the experts and coaches predict that they will in their preseason estimates.
• 1:05
  Now, for example, down at Illinois this fall, the talk was all about Johnny Karas.
• 1:09
  Of course, Johnny broke the Big Ten ground-gaining record last season as a sophomore.
• 1:14
  But even though Karas has played brilliantly again this year,
• 1:17
  The biggest ground-gainer for Illinois has been a fullback named Dick Raklewicz.
• 1:22
  Dick was converted from quarterback to fullback more or less as a desperation move.
• 1:27
  Now, our guest today probably follows the ups and downs of the star players
• 1:31
  as closely as anyone in the country.
• 1:33
  He's Bill Fay, sports editor of Colliers Magazine.
• 1:37
  And each fall, Bill works with the American Football Coaches Association
• 1:41
  in selecting Colliers All-American team.
• 1:44
  Bill, have you noticed any surprises this year?
• 1:47
  Any players who have unpredictably developed into stars?
• 1:52
  Well, there's a boy named Andy Hillhouse down at Texas A&M.
• 1:56
  Andy is a draft choice of the New York Giants, and he might have gone into pro football this fall,
• 2:01
  but instead, at the last moment, he went back to school.
• 2:05
  They were so surprised to see him down there that they didn't have his name in any of the preseason releases,
• 2:10
  and I don't think his name was even in the opening game program.
• 2:14
  But since then, he's been one of the four or five outstanding ends in the country.
• 2:18
  Red, can I break in here with a question?
• 2:20
  You mentioned Raklewicz a few minutes ago, and it brings up a question
• 2:23
  which came in this week in a listener's letter.
• 2:25
  The question is this, Red, how can Raklewicz, who probably doesn't weigh 180 pounds soaking wet,
• 2:30
  play fullback and do such a good job?
• 2:33
  Bob, I think that there's a misconception about fullbacks in the key formation.
• 2:38
  Now, they don't have to be the same type of big, heavy, powerful runner
• 2:42
  that you need in that single wingback.
• 2:44
  That just isn't so.
• 2:46
  I think the big assets of a key formation fullback are probably, well, let's say three.
• 2:52
  He must be speedy, he must be able to run and get outside of those ends,
• 2:56
  he must have maneuverability to get around, and he must be able to go each way,
• 3:01
  that is, to his right or to his left.
• 3:04
  He has just about the same plays that the halfbacks have going each way.
• 3:08
  Of course, a key fullback must have a fair amount of power,
• 3:11
  but his big assignment is to be able to get outside the end, and I mean either end.
• 3:16
  Actually, powerful halfbacks who are a step closer to the scrimmage line when the play starts
• 3:22
  usually are the most effective in the key formation, even more so than the fullback.
• 3:28
  Red, when the Bears were introducing the key back in 1940,
• 3:31
  I think their most potent runners on quick openers were the halfbacks McAfee and Galernow,
• 3:38
  whereas Phil Osmanski, their famous fullback, is the man who started that business of running around the end.
• 3:44
  That's right. Bill could really move, and he was a great fullback, Bill.
• 3:48
  And getting back to our midseason size up of the outstanding stars,
• 3:51
  I was wondering, Bill, who seems to be shaping up in the coaches' scorecard as the player of the year?
• 3:57
  Well, first I'd say Janowitz of Ohio State.
• 4:00
  He's a one-man backfield, he does almost everything.
• 4:03
  And right behind him, there's Heath of Oklahoma, the man they call Yuletrain out at Oklahoma.
• 4:08
  Good word for it, I guess.
• 4:11
  But, Bill, every year, Bill, it seems you can find a few players who seem to stand out by virtue of their color as well as their ability.
• 4:18
  And thinking back, I can always remember fellas like Jack Cannon,
• 4:22
  The old Notre Dame guard who played out there without a headgear, and little Albie Booth of Yale.
• 4:28
  Has 1950 produced anyone as colorful as, say, Cannon?
• 4:32
  Well, there's Bud McFadden. I think he plays guard, the same position that Cannon used to play.
• 4:38
  Bud's down at Texas. He weighs 245 pounds.
• 4:41
  He weighs a size 48 suit coat.
• 4:45
  And he ambles around the campus in blue jeans, boots, and t-shirts.
• 4:50
  Bud also plays the fiddle left-handed and goes on the radio.
• 4:55
  And he's quite a guard. I think he's an outstanding candidate for All-American.
• 4:59
  And a little story about Bud when he was first thinking about coming down to Texas.
• 5:04
  He wrote a letter and wanted to bring his horse to school.
• 5:07
  And they wrote back and said that Bud could have the scholarship, but he'd have to leave the horse at home.
• 5:13
  Well, thanks, Bill Faye, for being our guest. We've enjoyed it very, very much.
• 5:18
  And we'll be looking forward to seeing you again in about a month to talk over the final 1950 All-America selection in Coggers,
• 5:25
  who the players are, and why the coaches picked them.
• 5:28
  Now, fans, let's take a quick rundown on the team still in the running for the national championship.
• 5:33
  In the East, ArmyThe Army got over its last big hurdle by beating Pennsylvania.
• 5:38
  I think they have a pushover with New Mexico this coming week.
• 5:41
  And undoubtedly, they will go through the season undefeated on tide,
• 5:45
  but probably will not be the mythical national title holders because they played too easy a schedule.
• 5:51
  Ohio State, I think that they're looking better each Saturday and probably right now are the best team in the country.
• 5:57
  Down south, it's Kentucky. But Kentucky-like Army have not played too robust a schedule.
• 6:03
  They'll have to win convincingly over Tennessee two weeks hence to merit real national championship consideration.
• 6:09
  In the Southwest, Oklahoma's on top by virtue of an earlier 14 to 13 win over Texas.
• 6:16
  And that looms more impressive in light of Texas upsetting Southern Methodist 23 to 20 last Saturday.
• 6:22
  Now, you have to rank Oklahoma on top on account of the scores. But actually, all three are so closely matched
• 6:29
  that the results would probably be different every time they played.
• 6:32
  Out in the far west, California. California's on their way to their fourth straight Coast title.
• 6:38
  They have one big obstacle coming up this Saturday, and that's beating UCLA. And UCLA really have a tough line.
• 6:45
  Summing up, Brad, how do you rate the top team?
• 6:48
  Well, I think the best team is Ohio State. Now, fans, we'll be back in a moment with our predictions
• 6:54
  on all the big college and professional games. But first, a brief timeout for an important message from our announcer.
• 7:01
  And now for those predictions. Down east, Army may have a hard time against New Mexico.
• 7:06
  Hard time keeping the score down to 70 points, that is.
• 7:10
  New Mexico, you fans may recall, is the powerhouse that coach Earl Blake added to the Army schedule to replace Notre Dame.
• 7:18
  Clemson to whip Boston College. Cornell to win over Colgate.
• 7:22
  Although Cornell has been disappointing to its followers ever since the upset by Princeton.
• 7:28
  Dartmouth to edge out Columbia. Now, Lou Little's Lions have had two tough Saturdays.
• 7:33
  First Army, then Cornell. And even though they surprised everyone by beating Cornell,
• 7:38
  I don't think that they can stay up emotionally this week. So we're picking Dartmouth.
• 7:43
  Fordham to beat Georgetown. Princeton over hapless Harvard.
• 7:47
  Tulane to defeat Navy. West Virginia to edge out Penn State.
• 7:52
  And Penn to win over Brown without too much trouble.
• 7:55
  In the Midwest, there's an important Big Ten clash between Ohio State and Wisconsin.
• 7:59
  Well, Wisconsin is a resourceful team. Now, the Badgers have an alert defense, and they capitalize on fumbles and interceptions.
• 8:07
  However, Michigan moved through them for three or four touchdowns.
• 8:11
  And I think that indicates that their line has a weakness, and a weak line isn't going to stop Ohio State from scoring.
• 8:18
  We'll take the Buckeyes, and I don't think it's going to be too close.
• 8:21
  Let's say 35 to 6. I think that'll be a good guess.
• 8:25
  Now, elsewhere in the Midwest, it's Michigan State over Minnesota. Nebraska to edge out Kansas State.
• 8:31
  Michigan to beat Indiana. Although the Wolverines are having a lot of backfield injuries up there,
• 8:38
  and Indiana could win if the Chili can click as he did against Notre Dame.
• 8:43
  Illinois to top Iowa. Northwestern to beat Purdue. Iowa State to win over Drake, despite Johnny Bright's powerful running.
• 8:51
  Drake should set a big, new, intercollegiate record for total offense in this game.
• 8:56
  And I like Notre Dame to beat Pitt.
• 8:59
  Red down south, unbeaten Kentucky goes after its ninth straight against Mississippi State.
• 9:04
  Yes, and I think the Kentucky Wildcats are going to get number nine.
• 9:08
  With Dave Perilla passing and Bill Laskovar picking up plenty of yardage at fullback,
• 9:14
  they'll have entirely too much offense for Mississippi State.
• 9:17
  Alabama to top Mississippi Southern. Georgia to edge out Florida. Louisiana State to beat Vanderbilt.
• 9:24
  Although Vanderbilt's passing attack with Bill Wade tossing to Bucky Curtis makes this game a definite upset possibility.
• 9:32
  Now, Curtis, I think, is the best pass catching in to come out of the south since Ken Kavanaugh.
• 9:37
  He's the boy the Chicago Bears have, you know. And I think that this boy is definitely an All-American.
• 9:45
  Maryland over North Carolina in a close one. And I like South Carolina to top Citadel.
• 9:50
  Tennessee to win over Tennessee Tech. And Georgia Tech to defeat VMI.
• 9:55
  How about that West Coast battle between California and UCLA?
• 9:59
  Well, here's one I'm going to stick my chin out on, Bob.
• 10:02
  Now, California, which beat Washington last Saturday, seems well on its way to another Pacific Coast Conference Championship.
• 10:09
  Now, we have a hunch that UCLA will stop California's ground attack, and they might squeak through to a close victory.
• 10:16
  Let's say it'll be 7-6 or maybe even 6-0 with that good defensive club that they have.
• 10:22
  Now, also out on the West Coast, we're picking Wyoming over Brigham Young.
• 10:26
  Washington to top Oregon. Santa Clara to defeat San Francisco. And Oregon State to whip Idaho.
• 10:33
  In the National Pro League Red, those New York Yankees will try to protect their one game lead over the Chicago Bears this Sunday in the Western Division.
• 10:40
  The Yanks upset the Bears in New York two weeks ago. You think they can repeat this trick in Chicago?
• 10:45
  Well, I think they have a good chance, Bob, and I'm going to pick the Bears to take the Yanks.
• 10:49
  I like the Eagles to beat Washington, the Steelers to take Baltimore, the Browns to lick the San Francisco 49ers,
• 10:57
  The Giants to take the Chicago Cardinals, and the Rams over Green Bay.
• 11:02
  Well, fans, those are our predictions on all the top college and professional games coming up this weekend.
• 11:08
  Now, here's Bob Finnegan.
• 11:09
  Thanks, Red. Football fans, Red Grange will be back again next week at the same time with more interesting inside stories about your favorite teams and players,
• 11:17
  and his exclusive predictions on all the outstanding games.
• 11:20
  This is Bob Finnegan inviting you to listen next week to the Red Grange Football Show.
• 11:25
  Till then, so long, football fans.