The 1955 College All-Star Game
In
a “vicious attack” the College All-Stars of 1955 swept over the
Cleveland Browns as 75,000 stunned spectators watched in cool weather on
August 12 at Soldier Field in Chicago. In for the first time for the
All-Stars was a professional coach, Curly Lambeau, now retired from the
Green Bay Packers. One report stated, “His team jelled into a hard-nosed
aggregation as a result of a free-for-all that climaxed a scrimmage
against the Chicago Cardinals and went on to upset the Cleveland Browns,
30 to 27…”
The first score of the game came when Tad Weed, “a diminutive kicking
specialist from Ohio State,” booted a 21-yard field goal for the
All-Stars. Later in the first quarter, Cleveland intercepted a Ralph
Guglielmi pass, which set up a 64-yard Brown drive ending with
quarterback George Ratterman carrying the ball into the endzone from the
1-yard line. Lou Groza added the extra point giving the Browns a 7 to 3
lead. To begin the second period, the Stars regained the lead by driving
from the Cleveland 14-yard line to the endzone when Frank Eidom of
Southern Methodist crashed over from the 2-yard line making the score 10
to 7. Cleveland then took the ball 76 yards in 10 plays to score with
Ray Renfro making a 17-yard touchdown run around left end. Lou Groza
kicked the extra point. The All-Stars came back with a drive of their
own. They took the ball 80 yards in 13 plays and scored on a pitch from
Guglielmi to Henry Hair of Georgia Tech from five yards out. Weed added
the point after and the score was now 17 to 14 with less than two
minutes remaining in the first half. Ratterman engineered a passing
drive that ended with a 25-yard TD pass to Renfro. Frank Bernardi of
Colorado blocked Groza’s extra point attempt and the incredible
seesawing first half ended with Cleveland ahead 20-17.
The All-Stars took the second half kick-off 71 yards only to stall at
the Cleveland 14-yard line where Weed completed his second field goal of
the night to tie the
score
20-20. The fourth period provided the final showdown of the game. After
Guglielmi’s 19-yard pass to L.G. Dupre on the 1-yard line, Mel Triplett
of Toledo plunged over for the score on the third play from scrimmage.
The extra point was scored on a faked kick and quarterback Dave Legget
of Ohio State ran wide and to the endzone, bringing the score to 27-20.
Midway into the final quarter the Stars were able to move the ball to
the Browns’ 34-yard line and Weed kicked his final field goal defining
the margin of victory for the game. The Browns’ last score came after an
80-yard drive late in the game with Fred “Curly” Morrison smashing from
the 5-yard line for a TD. Groza’s extra point left them 3 points behind
and the All-Stars won for the first time in four years, 30-27.
Ohio State’s Bobby Watkins and Wisconsin’s 1954 Heisman Trophy winner
Alan Ameche also figured in the game, but as one AP report stated, “…it
was the passing of Notre Dame’s Guglielmi and the great running and
receiving of Baylor’s Dupre that broke the back of the Browns.” Their
talent combined with that of Tad Weed of Ohio State made for the highest
scoring All-Star team to date, breaking the record set in 1940 when the
Stars lost to the Green Bay Packers 45-28. The 1955 team also set two
records for most first downs (20) and most first downs by rushing (14)
for an All-Star team in the game’s history. Guglielmi was voted the
game’s Most Valuable Player.