H U S K E R D A N
RETURN OF THE CHAMPIONS
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A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY
Forty years ago, the world was a much different
place. There were no PCs, no cell phones, no HDTV, no remote controls, no
Internet or cell phones, no iPods, BlackBerrys or GPS navigation systems.
Color TV was just emerging. The median household income in current U.S.
dollars was $8,734. The unemployment rate stood at 3.5%. The
federal debt was $381 billion. A first-class stamp was 6
cents. Richard Nixon was president and the
population of the United States was 205 million.
In 1970, the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super
Bowl. The New York Knicks beat my Lakers (augggh!) for the NBA
championship. John Wooden's UCLA Bruins defeated Jacksonville for the
NCAA collegiate basketball title. Monday Night Football premiered on ABC
with Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford and Don Meredith.
The Beatles broke up. "Midnight Cowboy" won
best picture. George C. Scott won Best Actor for his performance in the
movie "Patton." Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Sonny Liston died.
The Record of the Year was "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In" by the Fifth
Dimension.
NEVER
LAND
And during the 79 years prior to 1970,
the University of Nebraska football program had never won a national
championship. Twenty-six coaches tried; all had failed. But when
head coach #27, Bob Devaney arrived in Lincoln in 1962, dramatic changes were
about to happen.
It's true, Nebraska had fielded some good teams in
those early days. Bummy Booth's 1902 and 1903 teams went 19-0-0, and Jumbo
Stiehm's 1913-1915 Husker teams went 23-0-1 but despite that, there still were
no national championships.
SEVEN AND
3.4
And what a mess Devaney inherited. In the 20
years prior to 1962, Nebraska averaged just 3.4 wins a year and during
that span, had gone through 7 head coaches. Digest that for a
minute. Husker fans were down and out, and thoughts of national
championships back then were just pipe dreams.
But in 1970, in just his ninth year at Nebraska,
Bob Devaney ended 80 years of frustration by leading Nebraska
to its first national championship with a 17-12 Orange Bowl win over
#5 LSU January 1, 1971. (Theoretically the Huskers split the national
championship that year with Texas. But Darrel Royal's
Longhorns were awarded the title at the end of the regular season
and before their 24-11 New Year's Day loss to Notre Dame in the Cotton
Bowl.)
HUSKER
LEGENDS
Members of that team were honored Saturday,
August 14th during the "Legends Radio Show" hosted by Gary Java
and former Husker linebacker Jerry Murtaugh at Tiger Tom's
at 72nd and Military in Omaha. ("Legends" is broadcast
live on 590AM from 9:00 to 10:30 every Saturday morning.)
Husker fans began arriving well before 9:00 to get
autographs and to honor those players who long ago made Husker
history. (Omahan Mike Gates had the players sign the hood
of his Big Red 1978 (?) Ford Pinto hatchback.)
And there they were-the "1970 Legends"-quarterback
Jerry Tagge, Heisman winner Johnny "The
Jet" Rodgers, running back Jeff Kinney, linebacker Johnny
Pitts, quarterback Van Brownson, offensive guard and tackle Wally
Winter, running back Dan Schneiss, offensive guard Dick
"Slippery" Rupert, left cornerback Joe Blahak, safety Dave
Morock and the always funny former Husker assistant coach John
Melton.
All the players got a chance to talk on air about
what it was like to be part of that great Husker football
team.
Jerry Tagge, who competed with Van Brownson for the
starting quarterback slot offered this. "I still don't know why I
played as much as I did back then. Van Brownson was a great player.
I was lucky to have been a part of that 1970 team."
Every one of the players I talked with was excited
about the Huskers joining the Big 10 next year. And to a man, they
confessed their total contempt for the Texas Longhorns.
Losing Nebraska's annual showdown with the
Oklahoma Sooners seemed to be the focus of their anger.
"They (Texas) got to keep their rivalries with
Oklahoma and Texas A&M, but ours was taken away.
Playing OU on a two-game-on and two-game-off basis isn't the same. When
the Big 8 became the Big 12, it was the end of football the way we knew
it."
STOGIES AND
STORIES
After the radio show, I went outside on the
patio where burgers were being served. I grabbed a can of ice cold
Colorado Kool-Aid and spent the next two hours listening to and
laughing at the stories told by John Melton, Jerry Murtaugh, Wally Winter and
safety Dave Morock about their days at Nebraska. We
all puffed on cigars as the stories kept coming one after the other.
(John's wife isn't supposed to know about the cigars.)
Melton, now in his 80s, was quick to point
out that being Jerry Murtaugh's position coach back then was difficult, to
say the least.
"You used to call me stupid back then," Murtaugh
complained.
Melton defended himself. "I never once called you
stupid. You were a lot of things, but not stupid."
"Doesn't 'dumbass' mean the same
thing?"
"I'd never have gray hair if it hadn't been for
you," Melton said of Murtaugh.
"At least you have hair. I'm bald," Murtaugh
laughed.
"I was a model player back then," Jerry said with a
straight face. "I think 'Saint Jerry' has a nice ring to it, don't you
think so?"
Of Murtaugh's reputation for
always managing to get into trouble, Melton confessed, "Whenever
the phone would ring after 10 p.m., I'd say a 'Hail Mary'."
SOCCER
FAN
After about an hour of this banter, Jerry
Murtaugh's daughter, Heather, stood up and told a story about her dad and
Jerry's 16 year old granddaughter.
"For years, he would never come to any of her
soccer games," she noted. "'Soccer is too boring,' he'd say. So
one day he finally decides to come to one. He's watching the game and
all of a sudden, his granddaugher is called for a penalty. 'Tell that
little son-of-a-bitch to get out of my way!' she yells.
And then Jerry got this big grin on his
face. He hasn't missed one of her games since."
There were many more stories, most of which can't
be repeated. But for this long time Husker football fan, it will be a
day I'll always treasure.
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SUH-VENIER
We are auctioning off on Ebay, a #93 XL
Husker jersey that was signed by Ndamukong Suh (I witnessed the
signing). The proceeds from this auction will be used for our
third annual "Husker Fans' Salute To The Troops" celebration to be held the
weekend of September 18th-19th at the Cornhusker Marriott Hotel in Lincoln,
Nebraska. We will be honoring veterans, troopers and their families with a
tour of Memorial Stadium, a special Tunnel Walk experience and a Husker Football
Watch Party Saturday afternoon (Nebraska at Washington) at the hotel. The
fantastic Husker Elvises will be there to entertain the crowd.
There will be a Sunday morning brunch on the 19th
that will include a special color guard ceremony. Husker assistant Ron
Brown will do the blessing and former Husker wingback, Anthony Steels will sing
the national anthem.
Larry the Cable Guy, who is one of the event
sponsors, invites you to join him in supporting this great event. If
you'd like to donate to help honor our men and women of the armed forces, please
go to www.huskersalute.org.
Send your comments to [email protected]. For past Husker Dan columns, click here.
