INTERCOLLEGIATE FOOTBALL RESEARCHERS ASSOCIATION ™ The College Football Historian ™ ISSN: 1526-233x Vol. 2 No. 4 circa Jan. 2008 Tex Noel, Editor ([email protected] ) http://www.secsportsfan.com/college-football-association.html IFRA Congratulates 2009 COLLEGE the... FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME MAJOR COLLEGE CLASS of INDUCTEES PLAYERS • Gino Torretta- QB, Miami (Fla.) (1989-92) • Pervis Atkins - HB, New • Curt Warner- RB, Penn Mexico State (1958-60) State (1979-82) • Tim Brown - WR, Notre • Grant Wistrom - DE, Dame (1984-87) Nebraska (1994-97) • Chuck Cecil - DB, Arizona (1984-87) * Selection from the FBS Veterans Committee, deceased • Ed Dyas- FB, Auburn (1958-60) COACHES • Major Harris - QB, West Virginia (1987-89) • Dick MacPherson - 111-73- • Gordon Hudson - TE, 5 (.601) - Massachusetts Brigham Young (1980- 83) (1971-77), Syracuse (1981- • William Lewis* - C, 90) Harvard (1892-93) • Woodrow Lowe - LB, • John Robinson - 132-77-4 Alabama (1972-75) (.629) - Southern California • Ken Marrerum- WR, (1976-82, 1993-97), Stanford (1977-80) Nevada-Las Vegas (1999- • Steve McMichael - DT, 2004) Texas (1976-79) • Chris Spielman - LB, Ohio * * * State (1984-87) • Larry Station - LB, Iowa Ø ATTENTION! IFRA (1982-85) Members…if you have a • Pat Swilling - DE, Georgia website, a blog, wrote a book—or Tech (1982-85) all these—as it relates to college game that has generally The College Football Historian-2- surpassed the "grunt them out running games" of long ago. football, please email Tex where it can be found. TCFH will help you Where and when did this with your efforts to promote college influential game changing football!! football strategy arise? Read on! v 108 Members The 1913 Notre Dame-Army Used by permission of Craig Football Game Most fans and Hicks, Denison University SID. many sportswriters accept the common gridiron lore that the THE HISTORICAL TIMES forward pass as a game-winning strategy originated under the QUARTERLY OF THE shadows of the famous golden GRANVILLE, OHIO, dome in South Bend, Indiana. HISTORICAL SOCIETY Tradition holds that the famous Notre Dame player and later Volume XVI Issue 3 Fall 2002 coach, Knute Rockne, was on the receiving end of aerial bombs thrown by the Irish quarterback, A Backward Glance at Gus Dorais, in the rout of the the Forward Pass: cadets from Army on November Giving Credit Where 1, 1913. This November upset of the highly favored Army team Credit is DU! launched Notre Dame into its nearly unstoppable drive toward The story of the Denison national prominence as a football University Contribution to the powerhouse. Forward Pass Revolution in Modern Football. References to the significance for the development of football © Anthony J. Lisska strategy initiated in this Notre Denison University Dame-Army contest abound.' Fox Granville Historical Society News recently claimed that Notre Dame "changed the game The forward pass has made forever by utilizing the forward football livelier and more pass for something other than exciting, especially for the fans. desperation.” While erstwhile Ohio State USA Today this year claimed that football coach and Denison against Army, Note Dame alumnus, Woody Hayes [DU employed "an innovative game `35], was known for his playing plan." The "Great Football theory of "three yards and a Games" account boldly asserts: cloud of dust," it's the passing The College Football Historian-3- "revolution" in college football. As you will see, it's also false. What happened on November 1" 1913 is a single incident that in Historical evidence demonstrates American football annals is without a doubt that Gus Dorais separated as both a highlight and and Knute Rockne must step a turning point in the aside and cede Denison development of the sport.... The University's George Roudebush Dorais-Rockne pass combination and Dave Reese this niche in the made headlines on every sports historical narrative of college page [and] a new conception was football. born. The Groundless Notre Dame Eastern sports writers raved Legend about the forward pass. Further tradition has it that the The Baltimore Sun, for instance, Dorais-Rockne passing had a six-column headline combination was finely honed on stating that "Notre Dame Shows the Cedar Point shores of Lake the Most Sensational Football the Erie during the summer of 1913, Nation Has Ever Seen." The when both Notre Dame gridders New York Evening Telegraph worked as bus boys at the warm November 1" sports pages weather resort. The passing plan contained the following account: developed over the summer was It took a so-called smaller college executed with perfection later to come East and display an that year as the Irish blasted the attack so versatile and dazzling Cadets in what former Columbus that it may revolutionize the style Citizen Journal sportswriter Kaye of offensive play throughout this Kessler called "Notre Dame's 35- section of the country. 13 stunning of Army in November 1913 at West Point." The football historian for "The Most Memorable Games" claimed Dorais became the first that this contest on the banks of consensus All American football the Hudson "was an epochal player at Notre Dame, and event in football [and] marked a Rockne served as captain of that turning point in football history." fabled 1913 Irish team. An interesting historical sidelight is that a young Cadet gridder In his My Notre Dame, Thomas sitting on the bench that fateful Stritch writes that on the Notre November afternoon was Dwight Dame campus "baseball David Eisenhower. remained more important till Dorais and Rockne shocked the Dorais/Rockne combination Knights of West Point out of their coached by Harper has received moleskins in 1913. From that singular credit for this The College Football Historian-4- * * * day on Notre Dame and football became inseparable." much-overlooked role of Denison Long-time Columbus Dispatch University. sports editor, Dick Fenlon, writing in 1985 about this End of Part 1 of 4 development in modern day * * * football of the forward pass, began his discussion with the **Michigan’s 1901 eleven is often selected, No.1 retroactively…but, by these three polls, clearly it was only the third best in one and not ranked by the other two—interesting! Three Actual Polls from the * * * 1901 College Football Season* ALL-SPORTS DATABASES Caspar Interested in where your team Whitney** has been ranked in the final AP 1. Harvard 11. Columbia Poll; or information on the Notre 2. Yale 12. Pennsylvania Dame Fighting Irish? 3. Michigan 13. Minnesota 4. Wisconsin 14. Dartmouth 5. West Point 15. Williams A searchable database created by 6. Princeton 16. Northwestern IFRA member George Macor 7. Cornell 17. Illinois has this information and other 8. Lafayette 18. Chicago sports. 9. Annapolis 19. Iowa 10. Syracuse 20. Tennessee George has a database on the college basketball tournament; Charles Patterson when a team has been in the 1. Harvard 7. Annapolis Final Four ; the MLB World 2. Yale 8. Syracuse Series (curious how many times 3. Princeton 9. Columbia your favorite pitcher won or lost 4. West Point 10. Pennsylvania in the Series, it's there) and also 5. Cornell 11. Dartmouth a database on The Majors plus 6. Lafayette 12. Williams British and US Amateur Golf Tournaments. New York Sun 1. Harvard 5. Cornell NY 2. Yale 6. Lafayette All this information can be found 3. Army 7. Syracuse by going to George's website: 4. Princeton http://www.georgemacor.com/ *First college football poll to include teams from * * * other parts of the country. The College Football Historian-5- games of the tournament. The next issue will stage the remaining games of round one. THE ROSE BOWL – THE GRANDADDY OF Please note that all years listed pertain to THEM ALL!! the January bowl date and not the season. Thus, the first Rose Bowl was played in January of 1902, but was for Part I of IV the 1901 season. By Patrick M. Premo TIE BREAKERS: College football has a long history of First of all, the 1922 tie breaker game; bowl games. And the one that seems to the original ended in a 0-0 tie. draw the most attention is the Rose California 24 Bowl, the one that most (Keith Jackson, Washington and Jefferson 10 for sure!) refer to as “the granddaddy of them all.” I thought it would be fun to Both teams scored this time, but have all the past winners of the Rose California’s offense and defense rose (no Bowl play in a single elimination pun intended!) to the occasion. tournament to determine the greatest Rose Bowl winner of all time. It should 1924 originally saw a 14-14 tie. be noted that three Rose Bowls have ended in ties (1922, 1924, and 1927) so Navy 17 those ties will need to be settled in order Washington 24 for the tournament to take place. Again, more scoring than the original, My Fast ‘N’ Furious College Football but Washington prevailed by a Game will be used to simulate all these touchdown. games. The format will be a chronological one: the winner of the first There was a 7-7 tie in 1927. Rose Bowl will play the winner of the second Rose Bowl, the third winner will Alabama 14 play the fourth, the fifth will play the Stanford 28 sixth, etc. Then the first-second winner will play the third-fourth winner, etc. Stanford surprisingly handled Alabama until only one team is left standing. In quite easily this time around. the early days, the Rose Bowl did not match up the winners of the Big Ten and Now we are ready for the first round the Pac-10 Conferences (that began in match-up games! 1947); with the advent of the BCS, the Rose Bowl again no longer necessarily ROUND ONE: follows that formula.