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Golden Gophers Football During the Cal Stoll Era, 1972-1978 (with Tom Madigan) · Hangin' Out with Bob

0:07
OK, hello and welcome to Hanging Out with Bob,
0:10
a podcast hosted by me, Bob Edholm. Thanks for
0:16
joining us and let's get started. Well, I'm really
0:21
looking forward to this podcast. My guest today
0:23
is Tom Madigan, a friend of mine since the mid
0:25
-1970s. He joins me today in the palatial recording
0:29
studio of my apartment in Columbia Heights, Minnesota.
0:34
Tom is up here in the Twin Cities, Blaine, Minnesota,
0:37
when the weather isn't winter. He spends the
0:41
other six months in the day, basically in Gold
0:44
Canyon, Arizona, in the greater Phoenix area.
0:47
If you recall during our previous podcast with
0:49
him, I usually addressed Tom by his nickname,
0:52
Dog. So, Dog, welcome back to Hanging Out with
0:54
Bob. Hey, it's great to see you again. Mr. Madigan
1:01
and I share love for the University of Minnesota's
1:04
sports teams, and today our focus will be on
1:06
the seven seasons that Cal Stahl was head football
1:09
coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers, an era
1:12
that started in 1972 and ended in 1978. I wanted
1:16
to record a podcast about Cal Stahl for two reasons.
1:20
First, both you and I, Doug, were attending the
1:22
University of Minnesota when Cal Stahl was head
1:25
football coach there. So the players in that
1:27
squad were around our age, fellow boomers, fellow
1:30
students who went to classes on the east or west
1:33
banks of the campus in Minneapolis just like
1:35
you and I did. And second, I get the sense that
1:38
many of the younger fans of go for football,
1:41
the Gen Xers, the Millennials, even Gen Zs have
1:44
little or no idea of who Cal Stahl even was.
1:47
Who? Cal Stahl? At the same time, I'm thinking
1:51
of the many go for football fans of our age,
1:53
the boomers who were around when Cal Stahl was
1:56
coaching in the 1970s, who may have forgotten
1:58
how those teams did during that time at Minnesota.
2:01
It's been almost 50 years. So what I hope a dog
2:04
that you and I can do during this podcast is
2:05
show that Cal Stahl was actually a pretty good
2:08
football coach when he was here with some pretty
2:09
decent teams, all things considered. Now, just
2:13
some background on Cal Stahl. And Doug, I know
2:16
you probably did some research too. Did you see
2:18
where Cal Stahl is from? He's from Page, North
2:22
Dakota. P -A -G -E, North Dakota, yep. A little
2:25
farm up there in December 1923 is when he was
2:28
born. And he started playing football. Uh, when
2:33
he was, well, he played football as a fullback
2:36
for his six man team. Yeah. It's pretty remarkable.
2:39
Six man team. Not even nine man, like I have
2:41
in Minnesota for the smalls. It was six men.
2:43
I mean, it'd be like three on the line and a
2:45
quarterback and a couple of receivers or runners
2:48
or something. So it'd be fun to watch a game.
2:50
I'm sure on YouTube, we could see a six man game
2:53
because they still play it. I understand in North
2:55
Dakota. So back to Cal Stahl at age 17 in June,
2:59
1941, he enlisted in the U S Navy. And with the
3:03
outbreak of World War II, Stahl's tour of duty
3:06
was extended to 1947. During World War, he served
3:10
in the Pacific Theater. Stahl also played football
3:13
for the Memphis Navy and Seattle Navy squads
3:15
during his time in the service. And after he
3:18
was discharged from the Navy in January of 1947,
3:22
Stahl enrolled for winter quarter at the University
3:24
of Minnesota. He was a 23 year old freshman.
3:28
You and I, we were both graduated from the U
3:30
by the time we were 23 out in the working world,
3:32
but then we didn't serve in the military or go
3:34
overseas to a war. So he just got a later start.
3:38
Stahl would play in for the Gophers in the 1948
3:40
and 1949 seasons. And because it was the 1940s,
3:44
I'm guessing he played and on both offense and
3:46
defense, the single platoon football as they
3:49
played back then. But then in 1950, Stahl actually
3:52
elected to forego his final year of football
3:55
eligibility so he could graduate early with a
3:58
bachelor of science degree in education from
4:00
the U. And the reason he wanted to graduate early,
4:03
Doug? He wanted to get a job. He wanted to coach
4:06
football. He wanted to coach it. He'd played
4:08
it, and I wanted to coach it. So a month before
4:11
he actually graduated from the U in June of 1950,
4:14
he was named the head football coach at? Mound.
4:17
Mound High School in Mound, Minnesota. And today
4:20
it goes by Mount West Tonka, but it's still the
4:22
same school. But he was successful there, that
4:25
UV coach. He guided the Mount High School football
4:27
team to a 6 -1 record and a Lake Conference co
4:30
-championship. And after that one successful
4:33
season of coaching high school football in 1950,
4:36
Stahl jumped to the college ranks, where he served
4:38
as an assistant coach for the next 18 seasons
4:41
from 1951 through 1968. His stops as an assistant
4:46
coach included Utah State, Denver, Georgia, and
4:51
Michigan State. At MSU, Stahl helped the Spartans
4:54
achieve back -to -back national championships
4:56
in 1965 and 1966. And his connections to the
5:01
state of Michigan, in fact, would help him with
5:03
recruiting high school players from Michigan
5:05
when he came to Minnesota, but more on that later.
5:08
So finally, after 18 seasons as an assistant
5:11
coach at four different programs, Stahl was named
5:14
head football coach at Wake Forest. where he
5:17
stayed from 1969 to 1971. And Doug, what's the
5:21
nickname for Wake Forest? Demon Deacons. Oh,
5:23
very good. I can't remember that name. I always
5:27
think of the, is it the Blue Demons for Duke?
5:32
Blue Devils. Blue Devils, okay. Demons, Devils,
5:35
whatever. But the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
5:38
And anyway, in 1970, Cal Stahl led the Demon
5:42
Deacons of Wake Forest to the first ACC football
5:45
championship. And fittingly, Stahl was named
5:48
ACC Coach of the Year. So, with Murray Warmath
5:51
retiring as the Gophers head football coach at
5:54
the end of the 1971 season, it turned out to
5:56
be the right time for Stahl to return to his
5:58
alma mater, Minnesota, in 1972. So, on to the
6:07
seven seasons of the Cal -Stahl era and the Minnesota
6:10
Gophers from 1972 through 1978. In this podcast,
6:16
we're going to cover these points regarding the
6:18
seven seasons of the CalStall era. First, we'll
6:21
tell you the Gophers' record in each season,
6:23
overall record where they finished in the Big
6:25
Ten, their record at home, and their record on
6:27
the road. Second, we'll let you know which team
6:30
won the Big Ten Conference in each season, as
6:33
well as which team was College Football's national
6:35
champion that year. Third, we'll give you the
6:38
average attendance figures for the Gophers home
6:40
games played at Memorial Stadium in each of those
6:43
seven seasons, as well as the home game with
6:45
the largest attendance in each season. My source
6:48
for these attendance figures, by the way, is
6:50
Gophersports .com, the website for University
6:53
of Minnesota Athletics. And fourth, we'll tell
6:55
you how the Gophers did in the Calistale era
6:58
in their trophy games against their three biggest
7:00
rivals in the Big Ten, which were the Michigan
7:03
Wolverines, and that trophy was the Little Brown
7:06
Jug, and the Iowa Hawkeyes, Floyd of Rosedale,
7:10
and the Wisconsin Badgers, the Paul Bunyan Axe.
7:13
Very good, very good. Listeners, you can go online
7:16
to see photos of these trophies, but yes, the
7:18
Floyd of Rosedale trophy really is a pig. Bronze
7:21
pig that goes by the name of Floyd and Floyd
7:24
the actual trophy weighs about a hundred pounds
7:27
So when those guys are hoisting the trophy at
7:29
the end of the game, I didn't realize it weighed
7:31
that much. It's a big sucker. Yeah Fifth we'll
7:34
give you the names of consensus of unanimous
7:36
all -americans that the Gophers played against
7:38
in each season of Cal Stahl's tenure at Minnesota
7:41
You'll recognize many of these players because
7:44
they went on to professional football careers
7:46
in the NFL or elsewhere And sixth, finally, we'll
7:49
list the names of Gopher players who received
7:52
individual honors in each of those seasons, from
7:55
the team's own MVP award to anyone who was named
7:58
to the All Big Ten teams. So, on to the 1972
8:07
football season. You know, 1972 was the year
8:10
McDonald's came up with the Egg Muffin Breakfast
8:13
Sandwich. So Doug, how did the Gophers do in
8:18
1972, their first season under Kalstall? Well,
8:21
given that the fact that it was his first season,
8:23
it was a tough start and a slow start. They lost
8:26
their first five games of the season, three of
8:28
them at home. They were four and seven overall,
8:31
four and four in the Big Ten, and they ended
8:33
up in fifth place. three and four at home and
8:36
one and three on the road. And who did win the
8:39
Big Ten in 1972? Well, it was tied. Michigan
8:42
and Ohio State tied at 7 -1 records because Ohio
8:47
State beat Michigan 14 -11 in their head -to
8:50
-head game. The Buckeyes went on to the Rose
8:52
Bowl. The Buckeyes played undefeated and top
8:56
-ranked Southern Cal in Pasadena on New Year's
8:59
Day and got thumped. 42 to 17. Not surprisingly,
9:04
Southern Cal won the national championship in
9:06
72. They had some talent. Alright, thanks. What
9:10
kinds of crowds did the Gophers draw at Memorial
9:12
Stadium in that 1972 season? Well, average attendance
9:15
was around 37 ,000 for the six home games. The
9:19
season high attendance was a game against Iowa,
9:22
44 ,196. As you know, Bob, you get a lot of folks
9:26
from Iowa that came up to those games and still
9:28
do today. The Gophers won that game 43 -15 to
9:32
claim Floyd Rosedale. Floyd's date in Minneapolis,
9:35
okay. Just a note on that, Bob. capacity of Memorial
9:39
Stadium is 52 ,736 and they could seat actually
9:43
up to 56 ,000 so it gives a little perspective
9:46
on on how well they actually filled the stadium
9:49
in each game. Yeah, yeah. They didn't fill it.
9:52
No, no, no. Yeah, we did a previous podcast,
9:54
even during the warm -up area, and they were
9:56
years where average attendance was like 60 ,000.
9:59
You know, they had even more people in the stadium
10:01
then, but yeah, it was quite a dramatic. Well,
10:04
and as you and I have talked, you know, pro sports
10:07
and the Vikings had a big impact, I think, on
10:10
attendance at Gopher Football. Yeah. No, I agree.
10:14
That most definitely. How did they do, Gog and
10:16
their other two trophy games that year? Well,
10:19
they split. The Gophers lost to Michigan 42 -0
10:22
in the battle for the little brown jug. But they
10:26
won at Wisconsin 14 -6 to bring Paul Bunyan's
10:31
axe back to Minneapolis. Okay, thanks. Here the
10:34
consensus of unanimous all -americans that the
10:37
Gophers faced in 1972. First, let me define my
10:40
terms. A consensus all -american is a player
10:43
who was named first team all -american by at
10:46
least half of the recognized selectors. By selectors,
10:49
I mean like the Associated Press, UPI, American.
10:52
There were six altogether, but if you were at
10:54
least half of those, you were consensus. And
10:56
then of course, unanimous means that you were
10:58
a first team all -american by all the lists.
11:01
And these players would be... of the crop of
11:04
that year. And in 1972, there were three unanimous
11:08
All -Americans that the Gophers played against.
11:10
First was Johnny Rogers from Nebraska. He also
11:13
won the Heisman Trophy that year. Incidentally,
11:16
Nebraska beat the Gophers 49 to nothing that
11:18
game. Johnny Rogers was great. I remember him
11:22
really well when he played. You know, it's funny,
11:24
he went to Montreal to play pro football. He
11:27
was with the Alouettes. He played there for four
11:30
years, and then he signed with the Chargers in
11:32
1977, but he was limited because of injuries.
11:35
He played like 17 games over two seasons, so
11:38
in the NFL he was kind of a bust. But he was
11:40
an exciting dynamic, got college player. The
11:43
second unanimous All -American was Rich Glover,
11:46
a senior middle guard also from Nebraska. He
11:49
played just two seasons in the NFL and won in
11:52
that world football league, if you remember that.
11:54
So again, another Nebraska All -American, but
11:56
with a very short pro career. And the third unanimous
12:00
All -American the Gophers faced in 72 was a guy
12:02
named Brad Van Pelt. He was a defensive back
12:05
from Michigan State, and a good player. And the
12:08
Gophers had... beat Michigan State that year,
12:10
14 to 10. But Van Pelt was a player I definitely
12:14
had heard of because he was big 10. Nebraska
12:16
wasn't back then. And I remember that name. And
12:18
he was selected by the Giants in the NFL. And
12:21
he played 14 seasons as a linebacker. He had
12:23
a good career. Yep. And then the seven consensus
12:26
All -Americans. Boy, I tell you, this was a year
12:28
when they played a lot of All -Americans. A guy
12:30
named Willie Harper from Nebraska, he was a defensive
12:33
end. He played 11 seasons in the NFL. There was
12:36
a guy named Dave Butts. He was a senior defensive
12:39
tackle from Purdue. He played first with the
12:42
Cardinals and then with the Redskins. I think
12:44
he played in three Super Bowls. And he was a
12:47
great player with Washington. He was later named
12:49
as one of the 70 greatest Redskins in franchise
12:52
history, when they were still called the Redskins.
12:55
But he had a good career. And did you know, dog,
12:58
that Dave Butts was actually the nephew of Earl
13:00
Butts? Don't know if you remember that name off
13:03
the top of your head, but I recall it. He was
13:05
a Purdue University He was a Purdue University
13:08
professor, but he's probably best known for serving
13:10
as a US Secretary of Agriculture That's right
13:14
Nixon and for I remember when you first saw that
13:16
name but that's not a real common name And then
13:18
I'll send yeah robots as his uncle so all right
13:21
the other the next all -american was the guy
13:22
named Otis Armstrong He was a senior running
13:25
back from Purdue, also a very good player. He
13:28
played in the NFL for several seasons. And then,
13:32
you remember Randy Gratichar? He was a linebacker
13:34
from Ohio State. I'll have more on him in the
13:39
1973 season. Next was Colin Bryant, a senior
13:43
defensive back from Colorado. They played Colorado
13:45
that year. So he was the name of the American
13:48
team, and he played 13 years in the NFL. Another
13:51
guy named Paul Seymour. He was a tackle from
13:54
Michigan, which beat the Gophers 42 to nothing
13:56
as you had mentioned. He also played in the NFL.
13:59
He played for the Bills five seasons. And then
14:02
finally a Randy Logan. He was a senior D back
14:05
from Michigan and he was selected by the Eagles
14:08
in the NFL draft and played 11 seasons there.
14:11
So a lot of good. a lot of good players that
14:13
they schedule some really good games. I mean,
14:16
Nebraska, Colorado, and, you know, Michigan,
14:19
Ohio State, all that stuff. Yeah, a couple of
14:21
big 12 schools. Yeah, yeah, they did. In fact,
14:24
I got more to say about their scheduling later
14:26
in this podcast because I think it's pretty significant.
14:30
You know, there was a lot of excitement when
14:31
Cal Stal was named the new head football coach
14:34
of the Gophers. Then athletic director Paul Geel,
14:38
who was a gopher star tailback himself in the
14:40
early 50s, and he was actually runner for Heisman
14:42
Trophy in 1953, which I forgot until I was looking
14:45
this up again. He really worked hard to drum
14:47
up excitement and support from local businesses
14:50
and alumni when this new coach came. In fact,
14:52
they got new uniforms that year. They kind of
14:55
wore the maroon and gold stuff, but they got
14:59
these uniforms that were actually purchased by
15:02
Hal Greenwood. Do you remember that name? Oh,
15:03
sure, yeah. He was the chairman and CEO of Midwest
15:07
Federal and a lifetime Gopher Athletic fan, and
15:10
he actually purchased the uniforms. They were
15:12
kind of a gold, they were all gold when they're
15:15
home, you know, jerseys and pants were gold.
15:17
It was supposed to be reminiscent of the the
15:19
mustard gold uniforms worn by the great teams
15:21
of 30s and 40s. That was the idea. The helmets
15:24
looked great too. The helmets were gold and the
15:27
the M's were maroon and they had like white outlines
15:29
on the outside. So it was a cool looking helmet.
15:32
I just remember you know going to games. with
15:36
those New Yorkers, it was such a change from
15:37
before then. Because Dave and I, my brother Dave,
15:39
we had season tickets when Wormath was still
15:41
there and they had their traditional maroon jerseys
15:44
with the white helmets and the numbers on the
15:46
side. I think they still wear those sometimes
15:49
for games now, but it was just a big change.
15:52
A little side note on Paul Geel. I think he was
15:55
from Winona. He was. And he went to Winona Cotter,
15:58
I believe. And my dad knew his dad. Oh, wow.
16:02
Yeah. Wow. Yeah, because my dad worked on a railroad.
16:05
Was he a railroad gatekeeper? Well, he had some
16:08
connection with the railroad. And my dad, you
16:11
know, the train track went from my hometown of
16:14
Wasika to Winona, and my dad used to run that
16:17
line, and he'd spend overnight, you know, whatever,
16:19
and come back the next day from Winona. And he
16:24
knew his dad. Wow, wow, wow. About Hal Greenwood,
16:28
I just want to bring this up because it was news
16:31
back then. He was one of the few savings loan
16:33
officials to actually be sentenced to prison
16:36
in the savings loan meltdown in the late 80s.
16:39
He spent 46 months in prison and was ordered
16:42
to forfeit $3 .6 million, but that's perhaps
16:45
another podcast for another podcaster. I remember
16:48
Hal Greenwood, he always would put himself in
16:51
the commercials too. He'd talk about the gophers,
16:53
but he'd be sitting there talking to Bill Musselman
16:56
or something. He loved the attention, but...
16:59
Alright, well back to the Gophers and Cal Stahl
17:01
in 72. We learned that those great -looking new
17:04
uniforms don't automatically translate into victories,
17:07
even if they look cool. It was a tough start
17:10
for Stahl in his first year, like you had mentioned,
17:12
four and seven overall. And for as much excitement
17:16
as there seemed to be about the new era in gopher
17:18
football... Average attendance was like $37 ,000
17:22
a game. That was really quite low. Like I said
17:25
in previous podcasts we've done, there were years
17:27
in the 40s, 50s, and 60s where average size crowds
17:30
were $60 ,000. So the Memorial Stadium, the brick
17:34
house wasn't filled up as often once we got into
17:38
the 70s. I just want to mention a few gopher
17:41
players that received honors. There was a junior
17:43
fullback from Harvest, Alabama named John King.
17:47
He actually led the Big Ten in rushing that year
17:51
in 72. He was named to the the All Big Ten first
17:55
team, you know, John King. And then there was
17:57
a defensive back named Tim Alderson from Mankato,
18:00
who would later get drafted by the Packers, and
18:03
he was named to the second team of All Big Ten
18:05
that year. And then John King again, he was the
18:08
team MVP award. They always would have that banquet
18:10
at the end of the year, so. On to 1973. That
18:20
was the year, dog, that the first cell phone
18:22
call was made. by a Motorola engineer while he
18:25
was standing on Sixth Avenue in New York City.
18:27
That's right, I remember that story. Well, after
18:31
a challenging start in 1972, Doug, how did the
18:33
Gophers do in their second season under Cal Stoll?
18:36
Well, it was a big improvement from 72. They
18:39
ended up 7 -4 overall, 6 -2 in the Big Ten in
18:42
third place, 4 -2 at home, and 3 -2 on the road.
18:46
And who won the Big Ten in 1973? I'll let you
18:49
guess. Ohio State of Michigan. We're Coach Amps
18:53
again. They played a 10 -10 tie in 73 and both
18:56
teams ended up the season at 7 -0 -1 -1 in the
18:59
Big Ten and 10 -0 -1 -1 overall. Because their
19:02
game ended in a tie, the Big Ten athletic directors
19:04
voted 6 -4 to send Ohio State to the Rose Bowl.
19:08
Michigan athletic officials and fans were outraged,
19:11
of course, with even the Vice President of the
19:13
United States, Gerald Ford, who went to Michigan,
19:16
speaking out against the decision. Ford was on
19:20
the national championship squads at Michigan
19:22
in 32 and 33. At the Rose Bowl on New Year's
19:25
Day, Ohio State routed Southern Cal 42 to 21.
19:29
It would have been the only win for the Big Ten
19:31
in the Rose Bowl in the 1970s. Notre Dame and
19:34
Alabama shared the national championship in 73.
19:37
Yeah, wow. And how was attendance in 73 then,
19:40
Doug? 41 ,000 average season high attendance.
19:44
was Nebraska, of course, because they were a
19:47
powerhouse back then. $56 ,782, which is pretty
19:51
much capacity. But they got their, you know what,
19:54
48 to 7 to Nebraska. Nebraska is like Iowa. Their
19:58
fans travel really well. Yes, they do. And in
20:01
Minnesota, it wasn't that far for them to go.
20:03
So when you think back on it now, it was a logical
20:06
geographical choice for them to join the Big
20:08
Ten, because it just made sense geographically
20:11
to have them. How did they do in 73 in their
20:14
trophy games? Well, let's see. They won two out
20:19
of three. The Gophers won on the road at Iowa
20:23
31 to 23, but they lost at home 34 to 7 at Michigan.
20:28
And of course they beat Wisconsin. at home in
20:32
1917 to maintain the Axes. Okay, that's good.
20:37
Okay, in 73 there were three unanimous All -Americans
20:40
that played against the Gophers. First one is
20:42
a guy named John Hicks. He was a senior offensive
20:45
tackle with Ohio State. He played three seasons
20:48
in the NFL. Randy Gratishaw, who I mentioned
20:52
earlier, from Ohio State, he played for the Broncos
20:56
for 10 seasons. He was very good. He was on that
20:59
orange crush defense in the 70s when the Broncos
21:01
had a run there. And he's been elected to both
21:04
the college football and the pro football hall
21:06
of fame. So he was quite a football player. And
21:09
then the other unanimous All -American was a
21:11
guy named John Dutton, a defensive end with Nebraska.
21:15
And he went on to play five years in the NFL.
21:18
No, five years with the Colts and nine seasons
21:21
with Dallas. He played for a long time in the
21:22
NFL. And three consensus All -Americans. And
21:26
this guy, I have to admit, I don't remember him.
21:28
His name is David Jaynes. He was a quarterback
21:31
with Kansas. And they had beaten the Gophers
21:33
34 to 19 in a non -conference game. He was drafted
21:37
by the Kansas City Chiefs, but he only played
21:39
two games. And he... through two passes and one
21:43
was intercepted and that was it. That's as far
21:46
as I went for pro football. What a great career
21:47
in NFL. The second guy was Dave Gallagher with
21:53
Michigan. He actually, it's interesting, he had
21:56
a long football career but he also was going
21:58
to medical school and he for 31 years he was
22:01
an orthopedic surgeon. So after he became Dr.
22:05
Dave Gallagher in addition to football he was
22:07
a doctor. And you notice those first two guys
22:09
names were Dave and the third consensus All -American
22:12
is also named Dave Brown. He was a junior defensive
22:16
back from Michigan and I'll have more on him
22:18
later because he he was All -American the next
22:20
season. I'm going to tell you a quick sidebar
22:23
dog about that Michigan Ohio State football game
22:25
in 1973. I was one of many millions of people
22:29
who watched that game on TV which was played
22:31
in Ann Arbor, Michigan before a crowd of 105
22:34
,200 23 people. At the time, that was an NCAA
22:38
record. But I watched a game on the television
22:41
in Kaiserslautern, West Germany. Oh, for heaven's
22:44
sakes. I had a cousin who was in the US Army,
22:48
and he was stationed there. There was a base
22:49
there in Kaiserslautern. And he and his family
22:51
lived in a house a little close to the base.
22:54
And because of the six -hour time difference,
22:57
What was an afternoon game here was in the evening
22:59
when we were watching it, you know, when it came
23:01
on TV. The Armed Forces made American TV shows
23:04
available to soldiers that were there. So we
23:06
were able to see the ABC telecast. And the announcers
23:09
were Chris Schenkel and Duffy Doherty, who was
23:12
Cal Stahl's boss when he was the assistant. Duffy
23:15
Doherty was Michigan State's coach when they
23:17
won those championships. And anyway, Duffy. Let's
23:21
see, he was at Michigan State from 54 to 72 the
23:24
same year as Mary Wormath was at Minnesota as
23:26
it turned out. And then Stahl, you know, was
23:29
his assistant and had a lot of success there,
23:32
so. I remember Chris Schenkel was the guy that
23:36
was the... announcer or whatever for American
23:40
Sportsman. I don't know if you remember that
23:42
show. I think it was on Sundays. He did a lot
23:44
of stuff. He did NBA basketball and he did boxing
23:47
matches and he was, he did, if there was an event,
23:51
he was there, Khrushchenko. So yeah, I remember
23:54
that name well. So, well, like you said, the
23:57
Gopher season in 73, they definitely showed improvement
23:59
over the year before and average attendance was
24:02
a little better than last year. And they did
24:04
finish the season strong with four straight wins,
24:07
so that helped their record, so. Two Gophers
24:10
made the All -Big Ten team that year. First team,
24:13
in fact, it was a senior linebacker named Steve
24:16
Neils from St. Peter, Minnesota. He went on to
24:19
play seven seasons in the NFL with the Cardinals.
24:21
And then senior tight end Keith von Horst. I
24:25
remember that name. Yeah, I remember. Big guy.
24:26
I remember him on campus, actually. But he had
24:29
14 seasons with the 49ers. He was on those Super
24:31
Bowl teams. Yeah, he had a lot of success in
24:34
football. Very good. Yep. Yep. And I definitely
24:37
remember him on campus. You noticed him. He was
24:40
just a big, big guy. And then two other gophers
24:44
made the second team, all Big Ten. Senior linebacker
24:49
named Darrell Bungie from La Crosse, Wisconsin.
24:52
Sorry, I'd never heard him before. And then this
24:54
guy I'm thinking you did hear of. He's a junior
24:56
wide receiver named Rick Upchurch. Oh, yeah.
25:00
I've got more on him later too. The Gophers actually
25:03
gave out two MVP awards that year. It seemed
25:05
like they gave one to defense and one to offense.
25:07
But the defensive player that got the MVP was
25:09
Steve Neils, who I mentioned earlier. And then
25:12
an offensive tackle named Matt Hurkanoff from
25:14
Melrose, Minnesota. He went on to play 10 seasons
25:17
in the NFL with the Chiefs. He had a good long
25:19
career. Yeah, I wasn't at the UN 74. I was at
25:23
Winona State that fall. Yeah. I transferred up
25:25
to the UN 76. Okay. Okay. Okay. All right. On
25:34
to the 1974 season. 1974 was also the year that
25:38
one of our all time favorite movies, Blazing
25:41
Saddles, premiered. Gotta mention that. Just
25:44
watched it the other day. Yep, yep. Okay, so,
25:48
Doug, how did the Gophers do in 74, their third
25:51
season under Cal Stahl? Well, they had a little
25:53
bit of a drop. They didn't do as well as 73.
25:55
They were 4 -7 overall, 2 -5 in the Big Ten,
25:59
3 -8 tie for seventh place with Iowa and Northwestern,
26:03
3 -3 at home and 1 -4 on the road. Oof, they
26:06
weren't. Road Warriors. And I almost know the
26:10
answer already, but who won the Big Ten in 74?
26:12
I'll give you three guesses. The first two don't
26:14
count. Michigan and Ohio State were co -champs
26:16
at 7 -1. However, the Buckeyes earned the Rose
26:19
Bowl berth with a 12 -10 victory over Michigan.
26:22
You can understand the rivalry, even today, between
26:26
those schools. I can see why. Rose Bowl that
26:31
year was against Southern Cal again and Cal beat
26:34
them 18 to 17. And Cal ended up sharing the national
26:39
championship in 74 with Oklahoma. And then how
26:45
was attendance at the home games in 74? Well,
26:48
they averaged about $37 ,500 and season -high
26:53
attendance was Iowa at $48 ,579, which the Gophers
26:58
won 23 -17, so they kept the Florida Rosedale
27:02
again. How about the other two trophy games?
27:05
Well, they lost them both. They got walloped
27:08
in both games. The Gophers lost to Michigan 49
27:12
-0 at Michigan and at Wisconsin 49 -14. They
27:18
only kept Floyd. Tough one. Tough one. Yeah,
27:22
a lot of points given up. Yeah, a lot of points
27:24
given up. And the Gophers played against two
27:26
unanimous All -Americans in 74. The first one
27:29
was Archie Griffin. Junior running back with
27:31
Ohio State, which beat the Gophers 34 to 19 at
27:34
Memorial Stadium. Griffin would go on to win
27:37
the first of two straight Heisman trophies in
27:40
1974. I'll have more on him when we talk about
27:43
the 75 season. And then we mentioned him for
27:46
73, Dave Brown. This time he was a senior D back
27:49
with Michigan. He was the first round pick of
27:51
the Steelers. And he went on to play 11 seasons
27:54
in the NFL. And actually, his greatest years
27:59
were with Seattle. He played there for, I think,
28:02
11 seasons and he... His 50 career interceptions
28:06
with the Seahawks remains a club record. Yeah,
28:08
I remember him when he was with the Seahawks.
28:10
Yeah, good deep back. And there were two consensus
28:14
All -Americans, a guy named Marvin Crenshaw from
28:17
Nebraska, which beat the visiting gophers 54
28:20
to nothing. He talked about all those points
28:22
they were given. He played. And then a guy named
28:25
Steve Myers, he was a center with Ohio State.
28:29
He made consensus All -American. Yeah, that still
28:33
wasn't as bad as a game that your brother and
28:35
I went to against Nebraska. Oh, yeah. Yeah. During
28:37
the Joe Salem era. 84 to 13. Yeah. If I ever
28:40
do a podcast on Salem era, that one will get
28:43
mentioned a lot, I'm sure. So anyway, the 74th
28:46
season, they not only suffered through a losing
28:48
season, there was another dip in attendance at
28:51
home games, averaging about $37 ,500 a game.
28:55
And one of those Gophers four wins that year
28:57
was against North Dakota, which then was a Division
28:59
II school. Okay, so they won maybe three games
29:04
against Division one teams the whole year and
29:06
I did do some checking on this They were outscored
29:10
by a combined 332 to 161 so they they gave up
29:15
more than twice as many points as they scored
29:17
all season. And those games against Michigan
29:20
and Wisconsin, 49 points each, and Nebraska 54.
29:23
Those are blowouts in any sense of the word.
29:27
That's for sure. That's a Swiss cheese defense.
29:33
Were you at school in 74 or was it the next year
29:36
that you transferred up? I transferred up in
29:38
76. Oh, 76. Yeah, 74 and 75. I was one on a state.
29:42
I actually went to one game during the 74th season.
29:45
I had a friend of mine that I knew from Anoka
29:47
Ramsey. In fact, he was a teacher at Anoka Ramsey
29:49
Community College, but he had tickets. It was
29:51
a game against Illinois. It was in November 16th,
29:53
so it was a week or so before Thanksgiving. The
29:57
Gophers lost 17 to 14. 31 ,000 people at that
30:02
game. Cold. You could almost sit wherever you
30:06
wanted. You could just move around. But it was
30:10
just that type of year. They didn't win a whole
30:12
lot of games. There was a player, though, that
30:14
they really missed. Do you ever remember a guy
30:16
by the name of Larry Powell? He was from Michigan.
30:19
He was a running back, and he had a lot of promise.
30:21
They were really high on this guy. They thought
30:24
he was going to be great, but he ended up getting
30:26
sick. And later it was found that he had Guillain
30:31
-Barre syndrome. That kind of like paralyzes
30:34
your legs and I don't think he ever really recovered
30:37
the use of his legs so sad. He had a chance to
30:39
be a good football player. Yeah, usually it affects
30:41
the face. Yeah. You get numb in the face. He
30:46
was hospitalized. I mean, well, they didn't even
30:48
know what was wrong with him at first. You know,
30:50
later it came out that they thought it was Guillain
30:52
-Barré, so. Wow. Regarding individual honors
30:55
for the Gophers team, there were a few that made
30:57
the second team All Big Ten team, a junior tackle
31:00
named Keith Simons. From Belleville, Michigan.
31:03
We'll talk about him a little bit more next season
31:06
for 75 season There was a senior Latin backer
31:09
named Ollie Bakken. He was from St. Paul. He
31:11
went to Harding High School He played six years
31:13
in the Canadian Football League after school
31:15
and then we'll talk about him now Rick Upchurch
31:19
He was made into the all -big -ten second team
31:21
for the second straight year And he would go
31:23
on to become an all -pro receiver and kick returner
31:26
during his nine seasons with the Broncos and
31:29
actually was quite good. I mean, he was great
31:30
in the NFL. Yeah, he was a great player. Especially
31:33
his returning punts. He could sniff out the end
31:36
zone. Here's something about Rick Upchurch that
31:38
I found. Maybe you read it too. I don't know.
31:41
But during his first two seasons with the Broncos
31:44
in 75 and 76, he was dating someone who was working
31:48
on her PhD in political science at the University
31:52
of Denver, where she had received her Bachelor
31:54
of Arts degree at age 19. Wow. Any guess of who
32:00
this person was? I have no idea. None other than
32:04
former U .S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
32:07
Oh, is that right? I never would have guessed.
32:09
You can't make that up. I never would have guessed
32:12
that. Wow. Was dating Condoleezza Rice? Yes,
32:16
yes. Wow. According to Condoleezza Rice's biographer,
32:23
Marcus Mabry is the name, but there's a quote.
32:26
She, Condoleezza Rice, knew the relationship
32:28
wasn't going to work and so they didn't get married.
32:31
Upchurch, I guess, when I looked him up, is married
32:34
and had four children. But I just thought that's
32:37
a couple I never would have thought about. Well,
32:39
she's a good athlete in her own right. Yeah,
32:41
she was. And wasn't she on some kind of committee
32:45
that would pick these playoff teams, like when
32:47
they had the college football playoffs? And she
32:49
was high up in George W. Bush's government. So
32:53
yeah, I mean, a very accomplished person. But
32:56
I was very surprised when I saw that. I think
32:58
she is on the board at Stanford now, isn't she?
33:02
Could be. I think so. It's my recollection. Yeah.
33:06
And then that 74th season, actually, of all the
33:11
players in that team, again, Ollie Bakken, that
33:13
kid from Harding High, he was the go first team
33:15
MVP. On to the 1975 season, which happened to
33:25
be my senior year at the U. 1975 was also the
33:29
year that Saturday Night Live premiered on NBC.
33:33
So, 50 years and 167 cast members later, as of
33:37
2024 at least, SNL is still going. So, Doug,
33:41
how did the Gophers do that season? That was
33:43
the fourth year under Cal Stahl. Well, they had
33:45
two more wins than they did in 74. They ended
33:48
up 6 -5, 3 -5 in the Big Ten tied with Iowa for
33:51
7th place, 5 -2 at home and 1 -3 on the road.
33:55
They were still struggling on the road. I should
33:58
probably just record a drop of you saying this,
34:00
but who won the Big Ten in 1975? Ohio State won
34:06
the conference with an 8 -0 record. They finished
34:09
11 -1 overall. That one loss to the Buckeyes
34:12
came on New Year's Day when they lost to UCLA,
34:17
23 -10. Oklahoma won the national championship
34:20
in 75. Oklahoma had some tremendous stuff back
34:23
then. Yeah, Oklahoma was always tough. Some great
34:25
running backs back then. And what was the attendance
34:27
like in the 75 season? They averaged 31 ,440.
34:32
Season high was a game against Michigan State
34:35
at 39 ,202. Which to go for his loss, 38 to 15.
34:40
The average attendance is 31 ,000. 31 ,000. They're
34:43
dropping. Wow. And the trophy games, how did
34:48
that go? Well, they had two wins and one loss.
34:50
They hung on to keep the Floyd or Rosedale by
34:53
defeating Iowa. On the road, 31 -7, they recapture
34:58
Paul Bunyan -Zachs with a 24 -3 win at home over
35:02
Wisconsin, but the Gophers miss their chance
35:04
to recapture the little brown jug after a close
35:06
loss at home to Michigan, 28 -21. They played
35:12
Michigan tough. That would have been nice if
35:14
they could have won that one. All right in 75
35:17
there was one unanimous all -american that played
35:20
against the Gophers and that was Archie Griffin.
35:21
This time he was a senior. He won the Heisman
35:23
again and to date he's still the only NCAA football
35:27
player to win the Heisman Award twice. He was
35:30
selected in the first round 24th overall by the
35:33
Cincinnati Bengals in 1976. He played all seven
35:36
seasons in the NFL with the Bengals, but as remarkable
35:40
as his college career was, his time in the NFL
35:42
was not all that memorable. He never had a thousand
35:45
yard rushing season. He played in Super Bowl
35:48
16 with the Bengals. That was in 1982. And he
35:52
finished the game with one carry for four yards
35:54
and muffed a kick return in the 26 -21 loss.
35:57
It's funny though, as somebody as promising and
36:00
dominant as he was in college, it doesn't necessarily
36:04
mean you're going to be a great pro. We've seen
36:06
that. Running backs, quarterbacks. Yeah, absolutely.
36:11
I'll mention quickly the three consensus All
36:14
-Americans. A guy named Tim Fox, a defensive
36:16
back from Ohio State. He played 11 years in the
36:19
NFL. Another guy, Ted Smith, from Senior Guard,
36:23
also with Ohio State, didn't play any pro football.
36:27
I'm not sure what the reason was, but he spent
36:30
31 years as a highway construction superintendent
36:33
in Ohio after football. Maybe just that was it,
36:36
you know. Could have been injured. I don't know.
36:38
I couldn't find further information. And then
36:40
Wisconsin had a tackle named Dennis Lick. He
36:43
was the first round draft pick for the Bears
36:45
in 1976 and played six seasons with the Bears.
36:48
So that those were the consensus all Americans
36:52
you mentioned dog that average attendance was
36:54
less than 32 ,000 for seven home games And they
36:58
said the Brickhouse could easily at one time
37:00
held over 60 ,000 fans, which means they were
37:02
playing to half empty houses for home games.
37:05
So it's a good thing they had schools like Nebraska
37:07
and Iowa every now and then to come up, because
37:09
that would at least boost it a little bit. So
37:11
now did you go to, okay, so you were still at
37:13
Winona State? Okay, okay. 75 I was. You know,
37:16
it's funny. I didn't go to a single home game
37:19
that year. I was a senior and I was really bearing
37:21
down to get through school. You know, I had a
37:23
lot of credits to make up. I didn't go to the
37:26
game, but the day that the Gophers beat Iowa
37:29
in Iowa City, I was in Iowa, but I wasn't at
37:32
the game. I was at a football stadium in Des
37:35
Moines, Drake Stadium, watching a football game.
37:38
And they were playing, Drake was playing the
37:39
Long Beach State, whatever they were, I can't
37:41
remember the nickname. And the only reason I
37:43
bring it up is, you know, there's a PA announcer
37:46
at the stadium that was giving scores of games.
37:48
And when he enlisted the score of the Gopher
37:50
game, which the Gophers won 31 -7, like you said,
37:53
I think I was the only one in the stadium that
37:55
cheered. I'm sure. You were in Iowa. Yeah, exactly.
38:02
That's just funny when I think about it. And
38:04
then that 75 season, Keith Simons again, he made
38:08
the All Big Ten first team. And he went on to
38:10
play four seasons in the NFL with the Chiefs
38:12
and the Cardinals. And after his playing days
38:14
were over, he moved back to St. Paul. And then
38:17
you probably recognize these names. The Gophers
38:20
had two players on the All Big Ten's second team.
38:23
First one was a quarterback named Tony Dungy.
38:27
He's a junior from Jackson, Michigan. I'll have
38:30
more on him when we talk about the 76 season.
38:32
And then a senior safety named Doug Bedoyne from
38:35
Jamestown, North Dakota. He went on to play six
38:38
seasons in the NFL and then another two years
38:40
in the USFL, the fledgling other league. And
38:44
Tony Dungy was also awarded the Gophers team's
38:46
MVP award in 75. Okay, on to the 1976 season.
38:56
1976, that was the year that the U .S. marked
38:58
its bicentennial. And the average cost of a new
39:02
car in 1976, average car, was $5 ,400. Yeah,
39:06
my mom turned 50 in 1976. In 76, okay. On July
39:10
4th. Oh wow, interesting. So that was the fifth
39:14
year for Cal Stal, as Gophers has coached. How
39:17
did they do in 76, Darden? Same overall record
39:20
as 75, and a little better in the Big Ten. They
39:23
were 6 -5 overall, 4 -4 in the Big Ten, a four
39:26
-way tie for third place with Illinois, Indiana,
39:29
and Purdue. 4 -2 at home, 2 -3 on the road. Which
39:34
of the two teams won the Big Ten in 76? Well,
39:37
we had a tie again. Michigan, Ohio State, 7 -1
39:40
records. Michigan won their first eight games
39:43
and spent most of the season ranked first in
39:45
the polls until they were upset 16 -14 to Purdue.
39:49
However, they went on to beat Ohio State 22 -0
39:53
to earn a berth in the Rose Bowl. But on New
39:57
Year's Day, the Wolverines fell to Southern Cal
39:59
14 -6. It was the third consecutive win for the
40:03
Pac -8. I believe it was Pac -8 back then in
40:07
the Rose Bowl. And the seventh of the last eight
40:10
Rose Bowl games against the Big Ten. So, you
40:13
know, the Pac -8 was obviously very dominant.
40:16
The Rose Bowl, yeah. It really did. Pittsburgh,
40:19
which had the Heisman Trophy winner, by the name
40:22
of Tony Dorsett. won the national championship
40:25
in 1976. I wonder if that's their only championship.
40:29
I don't remember them ever winning. Pittsburgh?
40:31
Yeah, Pittsburgh. They had teams, good teams,
40:33
but I can't remember. They had good teams, yeah.
40:34
And I tore a course door set when I had a great
40:36
career in Dallas. Yeah, oh yeah, absolutely.
40:40
And how did the Gophers draw at home in 76? They
40:43
averaged 43 ,000 at Memorial. Season high was
40:48
Iowa 53 ,222. which the Gophers lost by a score
40:53
of 22 to 12 after leading 12 to nothing, the
40:59
tough loss. And then their other trophy games,
41:02
how'd they go? Well, they were blown out at Michigan
41:07
45 to nothing and they lost to Wisconsin. 26
41:11
to 17, they got swept. Wow, wow. And they're.
41:15
No trophies that year. Trophies, yep. Tough year,
41:17
so. Yep. Well, in 76, the Gophers played against
41:20
four consensus All -Americans. No one was a unanimous
41:24
All -American, but these were still good players.
41:26
There was a guy named Rob Lytle from Michigan,
41:28
a running back. Great, great player. Great running
41:30
back, yeah. Played in the NFL too, seven seasons
41:32
with the Broncos. Broncos. Guy named Mark Donahue,
41:35
he was a junior guard, also from Michigan. I'll
41:38
have more on him in the 77 season. Chris Ward,
41:42
a junior offensive tackle with Ohio State, which
41:44
beats the Gophers 9 -3 in a low -scoring game
41:47
at Memorial Stadium. I actually saw that game.
41:49
I'm going to talk about that in a bit. And more
41:51
on Chris Ward, too, because he was only a junior
41:53
that year. And then a guy named Bob Brzezinski,
41:56
senior defensive end also with Ohio State. He
41:59
played in the NFL for 13 seasons, four with the
42:03
Rams and nine with the Dolphins. So in 1976,
42:07
even the Gophers 4 -4 finish in the Big Ten was
42:10
a slight improvement over the 75 season. They
42:12
didn't win the Little Brown Jug, Floyd, or Paul
42:15
Bunyan's Axe. And I know that moral victories
42:18
still wind up in the loss column, but the Gophers
42:20
did give Ohio State all they could handle in
42:22
that low -scoring 9 -3 loss at home. I actually
42:25
saw that game. Even though I was working on the
42:28
newspaper in Iowa by then, I came home that weekend.
42:30
I went with my brother Dave and Steve Durant.
42:33
We had tickets, went to the game, saw that. And
42:35
it was a senior day, I remember, because it was
42:38
the last game for Dungey and all that class.
42:41
But it was a close game. But nine to three is
42:44
how it finished up. And regarding individual
42:47
honors for the Gophers in 1976, Strong Safety
42:50
George Adzic. from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, would
42:54
go on to play a couple of years with the Seahawks.
42:56
He was named to the Olympic 10 first team. And
42:59
then three other gophers were named to the Olympic
43:01
10 second team. Senior quarterback, no, senior,
43:04
Tony Dungy, he made the Olympic 10. And then
43:08
he went on, of course, to become a Super Bowl
43:11
winning coach in the NFL. And now he serves as
43:13
an analyst on NBC's Football in America. He's
43:16
kind of a commentator. Senior defensive lineman,
43:20
George Washington. I don't really remember him.
43:22
He's a Michigan guy. But he was named to the
43:26
second team, all Big Ten. And then this guy,
43:29
senior wide receiver, Ron Koulis. from my hometown
43:32
of Columbia Heights, Minnesota. I've known Ron
43:34
since brother Dave and I were in grade school.
43:37
I still see him every once in a while at events
43:40
in Columbia Heights. Yeah, I saw him not too
43:41
long ago, too. Yeah, yeah. Actually, I think
43:44
I saw him at a state fair, of all places. Yeah.
43:46
He and Tony Dungey were actually really good
43:47
friends. I think they're still good friends,
43:49
but they played together in Minnesota, and they
43:51
did well. And for the second straight season,
43:54
Dungey was awarded the Gover team's MVP award.
44:02
On to 1977, the year the first Star Wars movie
44:06
was released, becoming a major cultural phenomenon.
44:10
In the nearly 50 years since, there have been
44:12
11 Star Wars movies made, not including animated
44:16
series or made for TV movies. Anyway, Dog, how
44:19
did the Gophers do during their sixth season
44:21
understall? Well, they played in their first
44:24
bowl game since 1961. They were seven and five
44:28
overall, four and four in the Big Ten, fifth
44:30
place, six and one at home. one and four on the
44:33
road. OK, and well, the Big Ten champion. Well,
44:38
once again, Michigan All -State tied for the
44:40
championship, 7 -1 records, but the Wolverines
44:42
beat the Buckeyes 14 -6 during a trip to the
44:45
Rose Bowl. Michigan would lose the Rose Bowl
44:49
game on New Year's Day to the Washington Huskies
44:52
that year. who were led by a quarterback named
44:56
Warren Moon, who was a Viking. Yes, yes. Notre
45:00
Dame led by quarterback Joe Montana won the national
45:03
championship in 77. I remember that year now.
45:07
Here's those names. He won Ando San Francisco
45:09
in the NFL. And then how was attendance at Memorial
45:13
Stadium in 1977? Well improved. It was 35 ,302
45:17
average. The high was Michigan at 44 ,165. The
45:23
Wolverines were ranked number one when they met
45:25
the Gophers on that day, but the Gophers prevailed
45:28
with a 16 to nothing upset victory. Think about
45:31
that. One of the biggest wins. Yeah. Yeah, it's
45:34
still the last Gophers victory at home over Michigan.
45:39
I remember they beat Michigan at Michigan. Yeah,
45:41
on the road. Yeah, the Gophers never beat Michigan
45:44
at HHH over at H Humphrey Metrodome and still
45:49
haven't beaten them at Huntington -Bakes Stadium.
45:50
No, they have not. And then the other two trophy
45:55
games that year then? Gophers lost at Iowa 18
46:00
-6. And they beat Wisconsin at home 13 to 7.
46:06
OK, great, great. And in 77, there were three
46:09
unanimous All -Americans that played against
46:10
the Gophers. Chris Ward, senior offensive tackle
46:13
at the Ohio State, which beat the visiting Gophers
46:16
38 to 7. Ward was a consensus All -American in
46:20
76 as well, and he was selected in the first
46:22
round in the NFL draft by the Jets. He played
46:25
six seasons. A guy named Mark Donahue, this time
46:28
a senior guard at Michigan, selected in the seventh,
46:32
excuse me, the 11th round of the 78 NFL draft
46:35
and only played two years. And then there were
46:38
a couple consensus All -Americans. Jerry Robinson
46:41
was a junior linebacker with UCLA, which the
46:44
Gophers beat 27 to 13 at Memorial Stadium. More
46:47
on him when we talk about 78. And then Tom Cusano,
46:51
a linebacker with Ohio State. And we'll talk
46:53
a little bit more about him in 78 season. And
46:56
back to the Gopher 77 season. That 16 -0 win
46:59
over Michigan was amazing. And you were at that
47:03
game? No, I was okay. Okay. It's my brother that
47:06
went dad. Yeah. No, I was not at that game Wow.
47:08
Hey, I was deep in studying. I was in the engineering
47:11
program Yeah, yeah, there was a lot of time.
47:14
I didn't I never went to a game when I went went
47:16
to school there You know, obviously we had season
47:19
tickets after I graduated and we're at the Metrodome
47:22
and that but no I never got to a game I remember
47:25
Dave just saying, it was one of those games where
47:28
it actually started to fill up as the game went
47:29
on. I think people must have been listening on
47:31
the radio. And when they realized that Gophers
47:33
were winning, a lot of students just started
47:36
showing up. And by the end of the game, it was
47:38
almost full. Well, what was the attendance again
47:41
for that? You told me what it was. I forgot it
47:42
was. But I think people must have been sneaking
47:45
into the game or something, because that stadium,
47:47
you said, it almost looked like it was capacity.
47:49
44 ,165. It really filled up as the game went
47:52
on. Oh gosh. So, huge win. It's funny because
47:58
the game is 16 to nothing and all 16 of Minnesota's
48:02
points were scored either by sophomore kicker
48:04
Paul Rogan with his field goals and running back
48:07
Marion Barber Jr. That's where all the points
48:10
came because then Rogan would kick the extra
48:12
point and that's how they got all their points.
48:14
I remember I had my window open in my dorm room
48:18
and I was living on the West Bank in Middlebrook
48:20
Hall. And I could hear you could share it from
48:23
the West Bank. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Remember
48:26
how I said earlier in the podcast that Cal stalls
48:28
connections to Michigan would help him with recruiting
48:31
players from there when he came to Minnesota.
48:32
I'll just list a quick give you a quick list
48:35
of players that we've already mentioned quarterback
48:38
Tony Dungy of course Jackson Michigan the tackle
48:41
Keith Simons he was from Michigan kicker Paul
48:44
Rogan defensive lineman George Washington and
48:48
running backs Larry Powell and Marion Barbara
48:50
Jr. All those guys were from Michigan, I'm sure,
48:54
like so with Cal Stull's connections. He was
48:56
able to get those kids to come up here, you know,
48:58
so. Okay, and you know that when Michigan had
49:02
shut out 16 -0, and that was the first time in
49:04
112 games, dated all the way back to 1967, you
49:07
know, 11 seasons since it had even been shut
49:09
out, so. Wow. I saw one gopher game on the road
49:13
that year. I saw them play at Iowa. It was the
49:16
first of my two trips. You and I were with a
49:18
bunch of guys in 79, I remember. We did. I went
49:21
with Dave in 77 to see them play. And they actually
49:24
didn't look that good that day. They lost 18
49:26
to 6. And I thought, oh, it was a season. Well,
49:30
they did go a bowl game. So I mean, they won
49:32
some games. But it's like, that was a game they
49:34
definitely should have won. They should have
49:36
had more than seven wins. That was a good team.
49:39
By the way, have you, besides Kinnick Stadium
49:42
in Iowa City, have you ever been to any other
49:44
Big Ten games? I have not. I haven't either.
49:46
Dave's been to like three or four places, but
49:48
I have not been to any of those, so. But, you
49:50
know, the seven wins that did give them a nod,
49:53
they were invited to the Hall of Fame Classic
49:55
at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. I think
49:58
we should also be noting that two of those wins,
50:01
those non -conference wins, came against Pac
50:04
-8 teams, UCLA and Washington, which beat Michigan
50:08
in the Rose Bowl. So I mean, those are good wins.
50:13
So two gophers made the All Big Ten first team,
50:16
sophomore kicker Paul Rogan, and then the senior
50:18
defensive tackle Steve Midbow of Barron, Wisconsin.
50:22
And then the guy that I know you know, because
50:25
I know him too, on the second team, senior defensive
50:28
tackle Mark Merrill. Yes, I knew Mark. I remember
50:31
him playing, I remember playing pool with him
50:33
in the basement of your home in Columbia Heights.
50:35
You had some kind of party and he was there with
50:37
a bunch of Heights guys and we were playing pool
50:39
down there. Yeah, he was friends with a guy I
50:43
worked with at the city of Columbia Heights by
50:45
the name of Jim Molinaro. Okay, yeah. And Jim
50:47
and Mark lived together in Fridley. Yeah, yeah.
50:51
Yeah, I used to get invited once in a while to
50:54
go out with those guys on the town and it was...
50:59
Yeah, Mark generated a lot of interest from women.
51:02
I can't believe it. I can't believe it. Big stud,
51:04
you know. Yeah. We played seven years in the
51:07
NFL, so he was quite an athlete. And then the
51:11
senior center in that team, that guy named Mark
51:14
Slater from Crosby, North Dakota, he also made
51:16
that second All Big Ten team. And he played six
51:19
years in the NFL. I used to see Mark over at
51:23
Sensors in Roseville. You know, I'd go in for
51:26
a luncheon or whatever. he'd be sitting at the
51:29
bar. And he actually had a sandwich named after
51:31
him, Sensors. I think it was like a tuna sandwich,
51:35
if I remember. It was on the menu. It was Merrill's,
51:38
it was called Merrill's. Well, he was from Roseville,
51:42
so that was a good promotion. The Sensors was
51:44
in Roseville. And then there was a senior, I
51:48
forgot to mention him, a senior defensive back
51:50
named Bobby Weber from Arden Hills, Minnesota.
51:53
And you might not remember him so well, but I
51:55
bet you remember his son, Adam Weber? Oh, sure.
51:59
He was Brewster's quarterback. Poor kid played
52:03
quarterback for four years, and I think he had
52:05
a different offensive coordinator each year.
52:07
Yeah. He played a tough time to play at the U,
52:11
but he was the quarterback for four years. And
52:12
he did play a few seasons in the, he was like
52:16
an NFL practice squad, and he played in Canadian
52:18
football for a while. He's actually a pretty
52:19
good quarterback. Yeah, he was fine. He was a
52:21
good player. And then it's Steve Midbaugh, who
52:23
I had mentioned earlier. He was actually the
52:25
team MVP that year in 77. Okay, on to 1978. The
52:35
first year the test tube baby was born, or the
52:38
first test tube baby was born, the first Ben
52:40
and Jerry's ice cream shop opened in Burlington,
52:44
Vermont, and the first non -Italian since 1523
52:48
was elected Pope John Paul II of Poland. I'm
52:52
kind of reluctant to even bring this up, the
52:54
78 season, because it turned out to be the final
52:56
season in their Cal stall, but we got to talk
53:00
about it. So tell us, how did the Gophers do
53:02
in 1970? CRI graduated from the university. Not
53:06
great. Five and six overall, four and four in
53:09
the Big Ten, fifth place, four and two at home,
53:11
one and four in the road. Well, who did win the
53:16
Big Ten? Well, it was a little different. It
53:17
was Ty again, but it was Michigan and Michigan
53:20
State that year. 7 of 1 records, Michigan State
53:23
beat Michigan 24 to 15. When they met, the Wolverines
53:27
earned a Rose Bowl berth because the Spartans
53:29
were on probation. recruiting violations. Surprise,
53:33
surprise. Illegal fundraising, providing players
53:35
with unauthorized benefits like cars and gifts.
53:38
Which are all legal now. Yeah, exactly. In fact,
53:43
in 1978, Purdue finished third in the Big Ten
53:46
at 6 -1 -1. Ohio State, which had won or share
53:51
the conference championship in six of the first
53:53
seven seasons of 1970s finished fourth at six
53:56
and two. Michigan would lose to Southern Cal
53:58
17 -10 in the Rose Bowl. The loss was Michigan's
54:02
third straight in the Rose Bowl and fourth consecutive
54:05
in major bowls. Southern Cal and Alabama share
54:07
the national championship in 78. That's amazing
54:10
for as dominant as Michigan and Ohio State were
54:14
in the Big Ten. throughout the 70s in the one
54:17
-year Michigan State Cup, and they didn't have
54:19
much luck in the Rose Bowl. They just, the Pac
54:21
-8, it didn't matter who it was. Washington,
54:23
Stanford, USC, UCLA, they'd always beat them,
54:26
so. Well, we've talked about this, you know,
54:29
there's a different brand of basketball, or basketball,
54:32
football. You know, you had, you know, really
54:35
a power running in the Big Ten, and then you
54:39
had the speed and the wide receivers. More passing,
54:41
yeah. And passing, although, you know, Southern
54:44
Cal had some great running backs. Oh, yeah, yeah,
54:47
yeah, yeah. Yeah, from O .J. Simpson to... Yeah,
54:50
it's pretty remarkable the talent they had there,
54:53
no doubt. You're right, you're right. And then,
54:56
78 at home, how did they draw? 39 ,678 average.
55:01
Season high was against Ohio State, 55 ,200,
55:05
which the Gophers lost 27 to 10. Okay. And then
55:09
there are three trophy games. They won... One
55:12
of the three, they beat Iowa 22 to 20 at home.
55:17
They lost at Michigan 42 to 10. So they didn't
55:21
keep the, or didn't get the little brown jug.
55:24
And, and it turned out that Cal's last game as
55:27
Gophers head coach, they lost 48 to 10. So they
55:31
did not get blown out. That was at Wisconsin.
55:36
Yeah. Yep. Yep. And I think there was talk about
55:39
that too, even though I lived in Iowa, I remember
55:40
reading saying that there was talk that this
55:42
might be stalls last year because they were struggling.
55:45
And so. Okay, they played against three consensus
55:49
All -Americans in 78. First one was Tom Cusano.
55:52
He was a senior linebacker with Ohio State. He
55:55
had a good pro career as well, both in the NFL
55:58
and in the CFL. This Jerry Robinson that we mentioned
56:01
in 77, he was a senior linebacker that year with
56:05
UCLA and he played six seasons for the Eagles
56:08
in the NFL and then played Even longer. I think
56:13
he played with the Raiders too for seven years
56:14
He played he had a long career in the NFL Jerry
56:16
Robinson, then a guy named Kenny easily He was
56:19
just a sophomore D back with UCLA He's he had
56:23
a great career in the NFL. In fact, I think he's
56:25
he's actually in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
56:27
So he he was a great player in college and in
56:30
the pros So well regarding that 78 season I said
56:34
a tough one for Cal stall and they started out
56:36
one and three including losses at home to Ohio
56:39
State and Oregon State They climbed back to 500
56:42
with the win at home over Iowa and on the road
56:44
at Northwestern, but then they went two and three
56:47
the rest of the way with losses on the road to
56:49
Michigan, Michigan State, and Wisconsin. Four
56:53
Gophers, though, made the All -Big -10 first
56:55
team. First team, so that's good showing by them.
57:00
Sophomore tailback Marion Barber from Detroit.
57:02
He went on to play with the Jets. from 82 to
57:06
89, a junior kicker Paul Rogan, that was his
57:08
second straight year on the first team, senior
57:11
defensive back Keith Brown from St. Louis, he
57:13
was drafted by the Jets, but I'm not sure if
57:15
he ever played in the NFL. And then there was
57:17
a senior defensive end named Stan Sitzma from
57:20
Hutchinson. I remember Sitzma, yeah, for sure.
57:24
He played a couple of years with the NFL with
57:25
the Falcons, so. And then the Gophers had two
57:29
players on the Albuquen second team, senior nose
57:33
guard Doug Freiburg and a senior defensive tackle
57:36
named Jim Ronan. It doesn't appear that either
57:39
of those guys played any football after college.
57:42
And then Marion Barber received the Gophers team
57:44
MVP award for 78, which I can see. I think I
57:47
mentioned something about Barber and I'm sure
57:48
you remember this as I bring it up. He had three
57:52
sons that played for the Gophers, Marion Barber.
57:55
The first one was Marion Barber III, who was
57:58
a pro ball running back for the Cowboys. He actually
58:01
passed away a few years ago. Yeah, he passed
58:03
away. He was working out like on an exercise
58:05
bike or something in his apartment. It was like
58:07
91 degrees or something. I think he had some
58:10
mental health issues going on at the same time.
58:12
He did. His death was ruled an accident, but
58:14
I know he had had some issues. But it's sad because
58:16
he was a great pro, a great pro running back.
58:19
And, you know, it's just tough. The second son
58:23
to wear the maroon and gold, his name is Dominique
58:25
Barber. He was a safety... who went on to play
58:29
for the Texans for a while in the NFL. And then
58:31
the third son, I don't remember much about him,
58:34
but his name is Thomas Barber. He was a linebacker
58:37
for the Gophers and now he's part of the University
58:39
of St. Thomas football coaching staff. He's an
58:41
assistant. So, but I'm thinking, you know, three
58:44
sons that all played for the Gophers. So that's
58:46
cool. And then the other thing about Marion Barber,
58:48
which is neat, you know, his last year of football
58:50
with the Gophers was in 1980, but he graduated
58:53
from the U with a degree in youth studies. in
58:57
2017, almost 40 years after his last game in
59:01
the Ruin and Gold. So, you know, I did a podcast
59:03
with my brothers about the Gopher football teams
59:06
back in the Murray -Warmouth era. And Bobby Bell,
59:08
he went 50 some years before he got his degree.
59:11
You know, he graduated in 62. And then in the
59:16
2000s, he got one of the greatest Gophers of
59:19
all time. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You
59:21
have to listen to the podcast, Doug. We talk
59:23
a lot about Bobby Bell, so. Okay, Doug, let's
59:31
talk about the trophy games now. They played
59:34
Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan every year during the
59:37
stall area. How did they do overall in those
59:40
games? Well, against Iowa, the Gophers were 5
59:43
-2, 4 -1 at home, 1 -1 on the road. Against Wisconsin,
59:47
the Gophers went 4 -3, 3 -0 at home, and 1 -3
59:51
on the road. And against Michigan, the Gophers
59:54
were 1 -6, 1 -2 at home, and 0 -4 on the road.
59:58
Okay, okay. You know, I get some interesting
1:00:00
stats. I'll say in their meetings, well, since
1:00:04
in the 37 meetings between the Gophers and Michigan,
1:00:07
since Stahl left Minnesota after the 78th season,
1:00:11
the two teams stopped playing every year starting
1:00:13
in 1999. But Michigan holds, which you might
1:00:17
say, a slight edge. 34 wins, 3 losses. And it's
1:00:22
even more lobs at all time. They've played 106
1:00:25
times over since the 1890s or whatever. The Gophers
1:00:29
have 25 wins, 78 losses, and three ties. 25,
1:00:35
78, and three. The Michigan's won more than three
1:00:38
times more games than the Gophers have. I guess
1:00:41
Wisconsin, now that in the 46 times Minnesota
1:00:45
and Wisconsin have met since Cal Stalls last
1:00:47
season, Wisconsin has dominated the series. They've
1:00:50
gone 31 and 15 with two of those wins in overtime.
1:00:54
But all time in the 134 meetings between the
1:00:56
two teams, I think that's the longest continuous
1:00:59
rivalry, too. It is. It's exactly tied. Each
1:01:02
one 63 games. and there have been eight ties.
1:01:06
The last one came in 1956 because they don't
1:01:08
even have ties anymore. But it's amazing after
1:01:11
all those years and all those continuously games,
1:01:14
it's 63, 63, and eight. Then finally, the Iowans,
1:01:18
Iowa. Since Stahl left in 78, in the 46 times
1:01:23
Minnesota and Iowa have met, Iowa has also dominated.
1:01:26
They've gone 31 and 15, just like Wisconsin.
1:01:29
But all time in the 118 meetings between the
1:01:32
two schools, The first game being in 1891, Minnesota
1:01:37
still holds a lead of 63 wins, 53 losses and
1:01:40
two ties. But it's been such a change since,
1:01:44
you know, since the late seventies. It's both
1:01:46
Wisconsin and Iowa just own the Gophers, you
1:01:48
know, record wise. So after that 78 season with
1:01:53
a combined record of 33 wins and 96 losses, we
1:01:56
cannot say that the Gophers had done better against
1:01:59
Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa after Carol Stahle
1:02:01
left. He served as head football coach at his
1:02:09
alma mater the U from 72 to 78. His most notable
1:02:13
season was in 77 when he led the Gophers to that
1:02:15
16 -0 shutout victory over top -ranked Michigan
1:02:18
and a trip to the Hall of Fame Classic Bowl.
1:02:21
He finished his career at Minnesota after the
1:02:23
78th season, compiling a career college football
1:02:26
record of 54 and 56. And during his seven seasons
1:02:30
as Gophers head coach, had an overall record
1:02:33
of 39 wins and 39 losses. In the Big Ten, they
1:02:37
won 27 games, lost 29. 11 players were named
1:02:41
to the All Big Ten first team, 16 gopher players
1:02:44
were named to the All Big Ten second team, and
1:02:47
12 gophers were named Academic All Big Ten. But
1:02:50
just a few takeaways about Stahl during his time.
1:02:54
Without a doubt, it was a much different landscape
1:02:56
now than it was when he was coaching. For example,
1:03:00
when Stahl took over as head coach in 72, only
1:03:02
one Big Ten team was allowed to go to a bowl
1:03:05
game. From 72 to 74, for example, Michigan had
1:03:08
records of 10 -in -1, 10 -0 -in -1, and 10 -in
1:03:12
-1, and stayed home all three years. Well, when
1:03:16
you only have one bowl. Oh, right, right, right,
1:03:19
right. And then, of course, those three years,
1:03:22
Ohio State went. It was literally, well, not
1:03:26
literally, but virtually Big Two and Little Eight.
1:03:29
For years. Yeah, it was which of those two teams
1:03:32
to go in the big ten the rest of them will see
1:03:33
what happens So, you know, they said with with
1:03:36
no other bowl games you were that's I think that's
1:03:38
probably why schools would schedule tougher Non
1:03:42
-conference games because they did back when
1:03:44
stalls. I mean they were playing UCLA and Washington
1:03:47
and they weren't playing rattle, you know Louisiana
1:03:51
Monroe or some of these teams that the Gophers
1:03:53
were patting your stuff. Yeah cupcake games.
1:03:56
So It was a different time Today the goal in
1:04:00
major college football isn't so much to be bowl
1:04:03
eligible, but to avoid not being bowl eligible,
1:04:07
right? You know if you can't get to a game It
1:04:09
would have to be a bad year because you have
1:04:11
to you need six wins to get in to play It's a
1:04:14
season game. So it's it's just a different time.
1:04:17
So Okay, about Stahl himself. After that 78 season,
1:04:26
people say, well, what happened to Kal Stahl?
1:04:27
What did he do after he got done with that? Well,
1:04:30
in the spring of 1986, so that was eight years
1:04:33
after his last season, he relocated to Italy
1:04:36
to become a head coach of an Italian amateur
1:04:39
football team called the Warriors Bologna. And
1:04:43
they won the Italian bowl, the Italian bowl six
1:04:46
in 1986. Sadly though, that one season with Warriors
1:04:50
Bologna, would turn out to be Cal Stahl's last
1:04:52
football coaching role, as serious health problems
1:04:55
forced him into retirement. He was 62 years old
1:04:58
at the time, and after returning to the U .S.,
1:05:01
he was diagnosed with idiopathic cardiomyopathy,
1:05:05
which is a degeneration of the heart muscle.
1:05:07
Stahl underwent a heart transplant in July 1987,
1:05:11
at the University of Minnesota, of course, his
1:05:13
alma mater. In 1988, Stahl and other fellow heart
1:05:18
transplant recipients started a group called
1:05:20
Second Chance for Life. It was a support group
1:05:23
for heart transplant patients. And also in 1988,
1:05:27
Stahl was inducted into the Minnesota Football
1:05:29
Coaches Association Hall of Fame. In August 2000,
1:05:33
13 years after his heart transplant, Stahl passed
1:05:36
away after a month -long illness due to heart
1:05:39
complications. He was 76 years old. In 2001,
1:05:43
the Minnesota Football Coaches Association, or
1:05:46
MFCA for short, established the CalStall Award.
1:05:50
The CalStall Award is given annually by MFCA
1:05:53
to an individual connected to football in the
1:05:55
state of Minnesota who has overcome adversity.
1:05:59
And here's a good trivia question for your dog.
1:06:01
Which coach with a Minnesota connection at the
1:06:03
time won the CalStall Award in 2014? I can't
1:06:08
answer it. Jerry Kill. Oh, Jerry. 2014, sure,
1:06:13
2014. He was the head coach at Minnesota for
1:06:15
at least five or six years, I think. Right. But
1:06:17
he was afflicted with epileptic seizures. Right.
1:06:21
And, you know, I remember there were times where
1:06:23
he wouldn't coach or couldn't coach. Other times
1:06:26
where he's up in the press box and Claes was
1:06:29
on it. Tracy Claes was coaching him. But he had
1:06:31
some real issues, some health issues. So he actually
1:06:34
won that Cal Stone Award that one year. As a
1:06:43
lifelong Gopher football fan dog, how do you
1:06:45
think Cal Stahl should be remembered during his
1:06:47
time as head football coach at Minnesota? Well,
1:06:51
I think he brought a lot of respect back to the
1:06:52
program, in my opinion. I mean, the win against
1:06:56
Michigan was huge. You look at when we just talked
1:07:01
about the record against Michigan and to be able
1:07:04
to pull that off is just remarkable and to win
1:07:06
16 to nothing Yeah, yeah, it's just a remarkable
1:07:09
game. Yeah, so he brought you know If you look
1:07:12
at his record he did better when he wasn't at
1:07:15
the U in terms of his success as a coach Really?
1:07:18
Yeah, truly and he have to wonder was it Cal
1:07:20
or was it the program itself? That's the problem
1:07:24
at the University and you can make that argument
1:07:26
a lot of with a lot of the coaches at the University
1:07:29
of Minnesota over the years, is it the way the
1:07:32
structures, the administration, how things are
1:07:34
handled, the quality of the facilities, whatever,
1:07:37
or is it the coach? And so I think Cal showed
1:07:42
that he was a success at other schools and did
1:07:46
well at other places and he did. pretty remarkably
1:07:50
well at the university, all things considered.
1:07:52
Yep. I think his two seven -win seasons and his
1:07:56
two six -win seasons in the 70s were actually
1:07:59
a bigger accomplishment than six -win or seven
1:08:03
-win seasons are today. Yeah, because of the
1:08:05
quality of the teams that were playing. Yep.
1:08:07
Yep. So I say hats off to... That's off to Cal
1:08:12
Stahl. I think he was a great coach and he's
1:08:15
worth remembering. I feel bad in a way that he's
1:08:18
been kind of forgotten. That's why I wanted to
1:08:20
do this podcast. Well, this has been fun, dog.
1:08:29
Great to get together again with you to share
1:08:30
memories of those seven seasons that Cal Stahl
1:08:33
was... Brings back a lot of memories, bud. Yep,
1:08:34
yep. So thanks again for joining me on this podcast.
1:08:37
Appreciate it. Appreciate it. And again, to our
1:08:43
listeners, thanks for hanging out with me, Bob
1:08:45
Edholm, and Tom Madigan. We hope you'll join
1:08:48
us for the next episode of Hanging Out with Bob
1:08:50
wherever you listen to your podcasts. Until then,
1:08:53
bye.