MCguidance
Footballguy
Maybe an off topic post (well still football related of course) but interesting (at least to me) nonetheless. It's a bit long so I hope you don't mind.
I listened for years about my dad's coaching days in Jersey City, NJ, how his teams were tough, disciplined, and would go to battle in one of the country's toughest areas in which to grow up. I heard him over and over reference players and people, talk about games, championships, and moments of glory. He was lucky enough, he said, to coach one of the best players ever to play, something I often rolled my eyes at. Growing up, my father loved football, still does, and would always say, man when I coach at Dickinson....over and over. Out of curiosity the other day I wanted to hear more. I remember him telling me about a guy by the name of Rich Glover.
"Glover," he would say, "was the best player I ever coached. He wasn't that smart, but God was he instinctive. I used to yell at him to try harder, that he wouldn't get anywhere without hard work." It wasn't long before every major college coach either called my father or came to visit his house. My dad's Sicilian parents would make big dinners for every one of those coach's visits, and the coaches would try to woo my father into convincing him to send Glover to their school. Eventually he told Glover that Nebraska and Devaney was the place he should go. Glover didn't want to go all that much, but went with some convincing and a nice scholarship.
You may now be asking, "Who cares?" Well, fast forward about 40 years, and the conversation came up again tonight, except this time I wanted to know more. It was the first time I started paying really close attention. I decided to look up Richie Glover, something I had never done. What I found shocked me. He is largely considered the most dominant middle guard in college football history. He dominated college football over a two year stretch and was 3rd in the Hesiman voting in 1972, the same year he won the Lombardi Trophy and the Outland Trophy. Admittedly, he wasn't much of a prop and fizzled out after a short amount of time. But the stats are incredible and the awards numerous.
My dad told me of a story where he told his team, "Bring a metal garbage lid with you tonight for the game." When asked why, he said, "Just do it, you'll thank me later." Doing a bit of research, I couldn't believe it, here the story was: click here.
Glover dominated a game the likes of which will probably never be seen again by an interior defensive lineman: 22 tackles in the "Game of the Century" against Oklahoma...and an All-American Center Tom Brahaney.
Many of us here, myself included, are probably too young to remember or know about the game, but I thought it was interesting how my father's stories came full circle and taught me a really interesting peice of college football history. I hope even one of you is one tenth as interested as I was. Thanks for reading.
I listened for years about my dad's coaching days in Jersey City, NJ, how his teams were tough, disciplined, and would go to battle in one of the country's toughest areas in which to grow up. I heard him over and over reference players and people, talk about games, championships, and moments of glory. He was lucky enough, he said, to coach one of the best players ever to play, something I often rolled my eyes at. Growing up, my father loved football, still does, and would always say, man when I coach at Dickinson....over and over. Out of curiosity the other day I wanted to hear more. I remember him telling me about a guy by the name of Rich Glover.
"Glover," he would say, "was the best player I ever coached. He wasn't that smart, but God was he instinctive. I used to yell at him to try harder, that he wouldn't get anywhere without hard work." It wasn't long before every major college coach either called my father or came to visit his house. My dad's Sicilian parents would make big dinners for every one of those coach's visits, and the coaches would try to woo my father into convincing him to send Glover to their school. Eventually he told Glover that Nebraska and Devaney was the place he should go. Glover didn't want to go all that much, but went with some convincing and a nice scholarship.
You may now be asking, "Who cares?" Well, fast forward about 40 years, and the conversation came up again tonight, except this time I wanted to know more. It was the first time I started paying really close attention. I decided to look up Richie Glover, something I had never done. What I found shocked me. He is largely considered the most dominant middle guard in college football history. He dominated college football over a two year stretch and was 3rd in the Hesiman voting in 1972, the same year he won the Lombardi Trophy and the Outland Trophy. Admittedly, he wasn't much of a prop and fizzled out after a short amount of time. But the stats are incredible and the awards numerous.
My dad told me of a story where he told his team, "Bring a metal garbage lid with you tonight for the game." When asked why, he said, "Just do it, you'll thank me later." Doing a bit of research, I couldn't believe it, here the story was: click here.
Glover dominated a game the likes of which will probably never be seen again by an interior defensive lineman: 22 tackles in the "Game of the Century" against Oklahoma...and an All-American Center Tom Brahaney.
Many of us here, myself included, are probably too young to remember or know about the game, but I thought it was interesting how my father's stories came full circle and taught me a really interesting peice of college football history. I hope even one of you is one tenth as interested as I was. Thanks for reading.
