ILLINI SOPH STARS OF 1953

Transcription

1 PAGE 14 ILLINI SOPH STARS OF 1953 By Dick Parker In an earlier issue of CFHS, the first decade of Ray Eliot's 18-year coaching career at Illinois was reviewed. Taking over from the legendary Bob Zuppke in 1942, Eliot was to become the second winningest - and losingest - coach in Mini football history. My prior article concluded with a retrospective on the 1951 team's 8-04 season, its first place finish in the then still Big Nine Conference, and its resounding 40-7 defeat at the hands of Stanford in the 1952 Rose Bowl game, The 1952 season itself, however, was not to turn out well for Illinois. Gone from the conference champs were such stalwarts as running back and consensus All-American Johnny Karras and key linemen - all named Chuck -- Ulrich, Studley, and Boerio. There were experienced returnees, such as captain-elect and record-setting pass interceptor Al Brosky, quarterback Tommy O'Connell, backfield men Pete Bachouros and Stan Wallace, guard Bob LenMni, and quality pass catchers in John "Rocky" Ryan and Rex Smith. The void that developed in 1952 in the running attack, along with a rash of injuries, were the main reasons for the Illini finishing for the season (2-5-0 in conference). The offense was led almost exclusively by the passing combo of O'Connell to Ryan and Smith - each of whom caught 45 throws. The Illini recruiting forces had been active though, and what would turn out to be a dynamic prospect was a spindly-legged flash of a running back on the 1952 freshmen team named J.C. (for James C.) Caroline from Columbia, South Carolina, who agreed to travel north to play for Coach Eliot. A second fleet halfback that caught the attention of the Illini scouts was Melvin "Mickey" Bates, who, along with Kewanee, Illinois, high school teammate Emerit "Em" Lindbeck, would join Caroline as part of a promising freshmen group. In keeping with Coach Eliot's wishes, the wraps were pretty much kept on this frosh unit - no need to give the media an opportunity to over ballyhoo such potential stars. So, hopes were high at Illinois for the 1953 season and a return to the glory of two years prior. Yet the football media did not particularly see the Illini as a threat in the Big Ten. Street and Smith magazine commented that Coach Eliot was facing a major problem in finding a quarterback replacement for O'Connell, and that, while his team was expected to show some improvement in 1953, on paper his charges did not appear as strong as even the 1952 team. The magazine also took note of the many candidates out for the halfback spots, and barely mentioned the names of Bates and Caroline in the midst of the other players, The season of 1953 was to be noteworthy as the newest conference member, Michigan State, would now be eligible to compete officially within the once-again Big Ten; the school having become a member in The 1953 season also would see the return to single-platoon football which, it was felt, would bolster fan interest for many - seeing players prove they could perform on both sides of the ball which had to make for a better game. But, of course, there were dissenters such as Coach Red Blaik of West Point, who had unquestioned success with the pure two-platoon football which had been in place for nearly a decade during the 1940s. Illinois' 1953 slate began at home against Big Seven Conference rival Nebraska. The last time the teams had met was in also a season opener in Champaign - with the Cornhuskers gaining a 14-0 win against the Red Grange-captained Illini, on the occasion of the first defeat for Illinois in its new Memorial Stadium. On this 1953 venture, Coach Eliot's team was trying to extend a 10-year unbeaten record in opening games. Nebraska, coached by a former 1936 Pitt All- American guard named Bill "Biff Glassford, gave up the game's first score in the opening quarter

2 PAGE 15 when soph HIM quarterback "Em" Lindbeck capped off a 63-yard drive with a six-yard scoring pass to senior end Cliff Waldbeser. Ken Miller converted for a 7-0 lead. Early in the second quarter the Illini were again threatening when Korinek of Nebraska picked off a Lindbeck pass on the Huskers' seven, and the visitors then followed up with a 93-yard drive with Bordogna scoring from one yard out and then kicking the tieing point-after. With the first half almost over, Caroline, helping out in the Illini defensive secondary, allowed a Nebraska touchdown pass -- Bordogna to Smith - and at half time Nebraska had a 14-7 lead Illinois had an early opportunity to tie the score in the third period but Caroline, who had been running well, fumbled the ball away on the Nebraska one yard line and defender Rex Fischer recovered for a touchback. Another Illini fumble, this one by halfback Ken Swienton, led to Nebraska's third and final touchdown early in the final quarter, with Smith going over from 20 yards out. Then Caroline, somewhat vindicating his earlier mistakes, ran for a 73-yard touchdown and the Nebraska lead was down to seven. A Cornhusker fumble then gave the Illini the break they needed, and it was a five-yard scoring run by Bates and Miller's third PAT that produced the deadlock Time finally ran out on Nebraska as they had the football on the Illini seven yard line The following Saturday, again at home, the Illini came from behind in the final quarter and defeated Stanford. The visitors scored twice in the opening period for a 14-0 lead; first on quarterback Bob Garrett's 16-yard TD pass to Sam Morley and then on a one-yard plunge by Ron Cook Led by the dazzling runs of Caroline and Bates, the Mini's first score came on a threeyard burst by quarterback Elry Falkenstein to make it 14-7 at intermission. The Illini then tied the score when Falkenstein tossed a pass to Rocky Ryan that produced a 21-yard scoring play to knot the score. Still in the third quarter, Stanford's Jarvis Watson put his team back ahead with a 10-yard run for a lead In the final quarter the Illini comeback got going as Falkenstein threw a pass toward Ryan, who scored on the 18-yard play after grabbing the tell when it was tipped by Stanford's Ted Tanner. The home crowd had to be thinking of the week before when the Illini had to settle for a tie, but this game would end differently. First, Wally Vernasco of the Illini intercepted a pass and returned it down to the five, and two plays later Miller carried it in for the TD to give the Big Ten outfit the lead before he missed the point-after attempt. For insurance the Illini scored a final touchdown after another pass interception - this one coming as Bates shook off several defenders on a 27-yard scoring jaunt to close out a win for Illinios. The Illini next visited Columbus to play undefeated and #3 nationally ranked Ohio State, and as usual, Ohio Stadium was packed with a crowd of 81,745 - the largest ever to watch an OSU- Illinois clash to that point. After Caroline led an opening drive that was finally stopped by an offside penalty, the Illini came right back with a short drive on their next possession that was capped off when Bates carried it in from two yards out for the TD. On the next series Rocky

3 PAGE 16 Ryan of Illinois intercepted a pass, and two plays later Bates bolted in for another six-pointer to make it 14-0 over the stunned and heavily-favored Buckeyes. Ohio State finally got on the Scoreboard with a short run by Bobby Watkins after recovering a fumble by Bates at the Illini 12, but soon the Buckeyes again turned over the football and this time Caroline broke loose with a change of pace gallop of 64 yards for a third Illinois touchdown. OSU managed to rally with a pair of scores before half time, and the Illini were clinging to a narrow lead at the break In the second half the Illinois defense held Ohio scoreless to seal the eventual rout, as Bates tallied two more touchdowns while Caroline tacked on another. When the gun sounded on the shocking win for Illinois, Caroline had finished with 192 yards of rushing while Bates added 147 more while registering four touchdowns, and the Illini had piled up a whopping 432 rushing yards for the day. Writer Jack Clarke of the Chicago Sun-Times had noted before the game that relatives of the Illinois players had "hoped only that their loved ones would escape with their lives." Afterward Clarke described the Illini win as "one of the great upsets in Big Ten history," and called the Bates-Caroline duo "as elusive as quicksilver." Wilfrid Smith of the Chicago Tribune described the Illinois win as "amazing" and called the pair "two of the fastest sophomore backs ever to play Western Conference football." Still undefeated heading into game four and now rated #9 in the country by Associated Press, the Illini played host to a Minnesota team coached by former great Ohio State end Wesley Fesler. At half time the Golden Gophers found themselves clinging to a 7-6 lead, after a touchdown on a one-yard sneak by quarterback Gino Cappelletti that was set-up by the running of 1953 All-American back Paul Giel. But Illinois had a new hero in Stan Wallace, as he recovered two Minnesota fumbles and made several key tackles to help frustrate the Gophers the rest of the way. The Illini had tallied in the first half on a 49-yard scoring gallop by Caroline, and in the second half Bates reached the end zone for a pair of six-pointers while Wallace added another in the third quarter to wrap up the 27-7 win. Afterward, writer Charles Bartlett of the Chicago Tribune described the Caroline-Bates combo as "one of the greatest acts ever to strike the collegiate football circuit," and added that Caroline had "jumped, danced, and sashayed" past the Gophers while rushing for 205 yards on 21 carries. Next up at Champaign was Syracuse before the smallest home crowd of the season - just 30,076 fans. After a scoreless first quarter the Orangemen crossed the goal first on a seven-yard TD pass from Pat Stark to Bob Leberman for a 6-0 lead. But the Illini answered in the same quarter as Falkenstein connected with Ryan on a scoring pass, but Syracuse took the lead right back with a scoring plunge by Stark. Then midway through the third quarter - with Bates and Caroline both stymied on offense - Wallace burst up the middle and raced 55 yards to a touchdown to reclaim the lead at In the fourth quarter Wallace added the clinching score when he galloped 44 yards to paydirt, and the Illini prevailed by a 2043 score. Remaining at home for another week, the Illini took on a below average Purdue team that was coached by Stu Holcombe and Bates broke loose for a 35-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Then in the fourth period Illinois finally broke through again against the tough Boilermaker defense with the help of turnovers, and scoring runs by Falkenstein and Lindbeck rounded off the 21-0 win by the Illini. The game was particularly noteworthy because Caroline gained 157 yards on 27 carries to advance his rushing mark to 891 yards through six games for the season, breaking Buddy Young's school-record of 829 yards which was set over ten games back in Then Michigan came calling at Champaign, and while it was not one of Coach Bennie Oosterbaan's better teams at Ann Arbor, the Wolverines would be accorded a #20 ranking by Associated Press at the 1953 season's end. Michigan had lost its three previous encounters with

4 PAGE 17 Illinois, and on this day the Wolverines were held to a lone 29-yard first quarter field goal by sophomore Lou Baldacci and, more impressively, to a net rushing figure of just 65 yards for the day. Once again Caroline stole the spotlight as he rushed for 184 yards on 30 carries, while Bates increased his season total to 11 six-pointers as he reached the end zone for tallies in the first and third quarters. The other Illini points in the relatively easy 19-3 win came in the second quarter when end Steve Nosek fell on a fumble in the Michigan end zone for a touchdown. Wilfrid Smith wrote that Caroline "has to be seen to be believed," and added that the shifty Illini back was "possessed of speed and a change of direction beyond adequate description." Now sitting alone atop the Big Ten standings, and rated #3 in the country by AP with a overall record, Illinois journeyed up to Madison's Camp Randall Stadium to take on a Wisconsin team that was led by Coach Ivan "Ivy" Williamson. The Badgers had compiled a overall record to date in the Big Ten - that included a narrow loss to Ohio State. This game turned out to be the Illini's Waterloo as the Wisconsin defense put them to rout and allowed only a first quarter score on a short plunge by Ken Miller. The Badgers quickly tied the score in the same stanza on a short plunge by quarterback Jim Miller, while the sparkling halfback duo for Illinois was pretty much held in check for the day by the burly and aggressive Badger defensive line. Meanwhile, Wisconsin's junior fullback Alan Ameche - a year away from his Heisman Trophy season - rushed for 145 yards in 17 tries and was not thrown for a single loss. In the second quarter the Badgers went on top 14-7, and then in the final quarter they turned the game into a rout as they scored three more times to round off their 34-7 win over the stunned and - according to Irving Vaughan of the Tribune - the "supposedly invincible" Illini outfit. The trouncing from Wisconsin had indeed scuttled the Illini's hopes for an outright conference title - also dropping them to a #7 ranking from AP - but by soundly beating Northwestern at Evanston in the season finale, Coach Eliot's team was able to salvage a tie for the Big Ten crown with first year member Michigan State. The final game had little suspense for Illinois as the Wildcats yielded points in every quarter but the last. Ryan fell on a blocked punt in the Northwestern end zone for the first Illini touchdown, while Miller scored on a nine-yard run and Falkenstein passed to Ryan for another six-pointer to make it 18-0 at half time. In the third quarter Illinois broke things open with touchdowns by Jim Troglio, Wallace (on a 46-yard jaunt), and Caroline to close out the scoring. And so Illinois ended the 1953 season with a conference record of 54-0 and a share of the Big Ten title, a 7-14 overall record, and a national ranking of #7 in the final Associated Press poll. With future Hall of Fame coach Clarence "Biggie" Munn in his seventh and final season as Michigan State's head man, the Spartans had lost only to eighth place Big Ten finisher Purdue, 6-0, in a defeat that ended their 28-game winning streak The upset loss forced the Spartans into a tie with Illinois for the Big Ten crown, along with an overall regular season record of and a #3 national ranking by AP. Wisconsin also had a shot at a share of the Big Ten crown but ended their schedule with a tie with Minnesota, and the Badgers finished with a conference record of 44-1 Writer Edward Prell of the Chicago Tribune told his readers that the Illini were "thought to have the inside track to the New Year's day spectacle" at the Rose Bowl, but Michigan State ultimately received the game assignment as Illinois had made the trip to Pasadena just two years earlier. The Spartans represented the Big Ten well in the Rose Bowl game as they defeated UCLA by a score of on January 1, For the remaining six years of Ray Eliot's tenure as Illinois head coach, no team of his would be

5 PAGE 18 as successful as the 1953 outfit. Post-season honors for 1953 included J.C. Caroline being named a consensus First Team All-America back after he led the nation in rushing with 1256 yards on 194 carries (a 6.5 yard average) and in all-purpose yardage with a mark of Caroline also established a new Big Ten rushing record in conference games with 919 yards. Mickey Bates led the Big Ten in scoring and finished the season with 11 touchdowns while also rushing for 602 yards on 138 carries, and he was given a Second Team All-Big Ten berth. Street & Smith sportswriter Tommy Devine would later note that the dynamic backfield duo had given Illinois "a one-two punch that wasn't matched by any conference rival." Other Mini receiving Big Ten recognition included tackle Bob Lensini, end Rocky Ryan, and guard Jan Smid. The following two seasons for Caroline, Bates, and Illinois would be plagued with problems, as the Blue and Gold finished with an overall record of in 1954 after coming in as the preseason favorite for the Big Ten title, and then improving slightly to in Caroline compiled a consistently good season in 1954, but the struggles of the team overshadowed his play and precluded any special recognition. Meanwhile, in the 1954 season Eliot switched Bates to a fullback spot while also playing him at linebacker, both disastrous changes, and he was returned to the more logical halfback position in Caroline would demonstrate his overall football talent when he moved on to play 10 seasons for the Chicago Bears, during which he was considered to be one of the top defensive backs in the NFL. He was subsequently elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in BOOK REVIEW Boyles, Bob and Guido, Paul. Fifty Years, of College Football: A Modern History of America's Most Colorful Sport. Wilmington, Delaware: Sideline Communications, Pp Includes notes on source material. $39.95 pb. Fifty Years of College Football was released this past summer as the second entry in this year's derby of new college football encyclopedias, and it takes a more unique look at the sport's past than the other two recent reference works. Although Fifty Years opens with 16 pages of general information and commentary on the complete history of college football, the work's primary focus is providing plenty of data strictly on the seasons of The most interesting part of the encyclopedia for researchers will no doubt be the season-byseason in-depth reviews that are provided for the 50 year period. For each year from the authors provide a page of general information about the season, and then move into week-byweek highlights of the top games during the campaign along with the weekly Associated Press rankings. Each season's chapter is concluded with the final standings for the major conferences, accounts of the major bowl games, All-Americans and other award winners, and the top rounds of the pro football drafts. After working through to the 2004 season, the book then presents an extensive section of byschool data - arranged by conference - for each season of the period. Included for each team for each year are such items as game scores, the usual starting players, and stat leaders for rushing, passing, scoring, and receiving, A listing of the schools all-time statistical leaders in various categories is also presented. Fifty Years represents a monumental amount of research work on the part of the authors, and the book certainly provides a considerable amount of information to assist college football historians having a primary interest in the sport's modern era. R.S.