January 1, 1948
The Best New Year's Day Ever
Excerpted from an article
by Bernie McCarty
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Wallace Triplett breaks through the SMU defense—and the color barrier—at the 1948 Cotton Bowl |
This writer enjoys arbitrarily awarding the label "greatest" to
something-or-other concerning his favorite sport, and looks forward to
rebuttals, articulate or hysterical. Regarding the sheer number of
brilliant players produced, the year 1947 represents one of the greatest
seasons in college football history. That fact was emphasized by the
sensational climax to the season Jan. 1, 1948. It was the best of all
bowlgame days.
No
complete backfield unit ever presented on New Year's Day, and this
includes the second team, compared to the show staged by Michigan in its
49-0 Rose Bowl rout of Southern California. This was not a poor USC
outfit, The Trojans featured two bonafide All-Americans up front and
three-deep backfield talent. Michigan was just that good. Some "experts"
consider this the best of all Michigan teams. But then the same experts
rate Notre Dame of 1947 the finest of all Irish teams. Notre Dame ranked
#1 in the AP poll at the end of the regular campaign. In a special
unofficial poll after the bowl games, Michigan grabbed the top spot.
In an attempt to promote more debate, this writer considers the 1946
team Notre Dame's best. And how could anybody overlook the awesome
Willie Heston inspired 1901 Michigan team which piled up the same score,
49-0, in the very first Rose Bowl contest?
Bob Chappuis, Michigan's All-America tailback, literally exploded
against USC. Hobbled by a pulled leg muscle, Chappuis felt he "couldn't
seem to get going," He completed 14 of 24 passes for 188 yards and two
touchdowns, and rushed 13 times for 91 yards, a 7.0 average. Chappuis'
279 total yards set a new Rose Bowl standard. His scoring tosses went to
QB Howard Yerges and All-America HB Chalmers (Bump) Elliott. Fullback
Jack Weisenburger, one of the more underrated gridders of 1947, smashed
over for three Wolverine TDs. It was Weisenburger's spinner moves that
launched the bewildering, blazingly-fast Michigan attack. To round out
the Wolverine scoring, Yerges passed 29 yards to end Dick Rifenburg, and
Gene Derricotte sprinted to paydirt with a pass from Henry Fonde, the
play covering 45 yards.
Kansas City Star sports editor C.E. McBride authored many columns
lauding the all-around ability of Kansas U. star Ray Evans. In 1947
Evans was named college player of the year by the New York Sun. McBride
indicated one of his goals in attending the '48 Rose Bowl game was to
compare Evans and Chappuis. McBride wrote: "Having seen Bob Chappuis,
Michigan's Mr. All-America, in fiery action, we still abide with K.U.'s
Ray Evans as the better all-around football player, but we place a
higher rating on the Wolverine back than we had before seeing him. He's
quite a boy on the field. Chappuis showed your reporter something beside
hitting a target with a football. He can run like a blue streak, jet
propelled and hula-hipping. He is a better ball runner than Evans,
although Evans is an excellent carrier. He is a better passer than
Evans, although Evans is a splendid passer. Only on defense does the
Kansas star rise superior."
Georgia
Tech, loser only to Alabama, ruled a heavy favorite over unbeaten
Kansas, Big Seven Conference co-champ, in the Orange
Bowl. The
Jayhawkers surprised by nearly pulling off an upset
before finally
bowing 20-14. Quarterback Jim Still was the game's standout, passing for
all three Engineer tallies, two to HB Jim Patton (photo, left). The game-winner proved
to be a five-yard, fourth-down pitch from Still to Patton who came up
with a one-handed grab in the endzone. Tech led 20-7 after three
quarters. Kansas dominated in the final period. Evans rammed 12 yards
through guard and booted the conversion to close the gap to 20-14. With
five minutes left the Jayhawkers recovered a fumble at Tech's 42. QB
Lynne McNutt ate up moat of the distance with two passes to end Otto
Schnellbacher. Evans ran for eight yards, then McNutt fumbled away a
chance for victory at the one-yard stripe. Evans was fairly well
contained by the Engineers, but he scored both Kansas TDs and his
43-yard heave, nearly 60 yards in the air, enabled the Jayhawkers to
enjoy a statistical edge even in passing.
The most eagerly anticipated game of the day involved Texas and Alabama
in the Sugar Bowl. Even this writer, who had yet to choose football as
his favorite sport, tuned in the radio broadcast. Operating at center
stage were superstars QB Bobby Layne of the Longhorns and TB Harry
Gilmer of Alabama, performing for the last time as collegians. What a
disappointment. Layne dazzled,
as expected, but Gilmer was overwhelmed by the Texas forwards. The lone
Longhorn setback during the season was by one point to Southern
Methodist. The Crimson Tide, after a slow start including two losses,
emerged as the classiest club in the Southeastern Conference. Texas
walked off with a 27-7 triumph. The contest was truly much closer than
the score indicates, with all the breaks turning in Texas' favor. Both
lines were potent, and Alabama thwarted Layne-inspired advances at the
Tide one-foot line and twice around the 10-yard stripe. There were only
two successful sustained drives, one by each team in the first half.
Texas scored first. Billy Pyle ran 15 yards, then pulled down a long
pass from Layne for 45 yards.
Layne hit Jim Canady for eight yards, Tom
Landry cracked to the five for a first down, and Layne flipped the last
four yards to Peppy Blount. Norm Moseley returned a punt 39 yards to the
Texas 42. Gilmer passed for 11 yards, Red Noonan peeled off 23 yards in
two carries, and Gilmer passed eight yards for the tally to Ed White who
wrestled the ball away from a defender.
The Longhorns went ahead 14-7 in the third period when Vic Vasicek
recovered a blocked punt in the Tide endzone. In the fourth stanza end
Lewis Holder returned an interception 19 yards for a score, and it was
Holder who set up the final TD by recovering a fumble at Alabama's five.
Layne tallied on two keepers.
Layne completed 11 of 26 passes for 195 yards, rushed with eight carries
for 34 net yards. Gilmer played both ways, returned kicks and punted. To
illustrate how bad things went for him, Gilmer broke free with nobody in
front of him except blockers, and stumbled after a 17-yard run.
Unbeaten
Penn State, the East's powerhouse outfit, accepted an "unconditional"
bid to face unbeaten Southwest Conference champ Southern Methodist in
the Cotton Bowl. The contest was unconditional because it allowed black
players to compete against white players in athletics for the first time
in the southwest area. A tradition of racism was shattered, but it was
no big deal as far as the Cotton Bowl organizers were concerned. SMU had
competed against black players starting at least 10 years earlier in
other sections of the country.
The Mustangs had a fabulous sophomore named Doak Walker. Penn State,
however, had the better team in the line and backfield. And the duel
ended in a 13-13 draw. In the first quarter Walker uncorked a
cross-country pass to Paul Page, the play covering 53 yards, and Walker
kicked the conversion. SMU went ahead 13-0 in the second period. Gil
Johnson completed two passes, Dick McKissick contributed a 19-yard run,
and Walker climaxed the march by cracking three yards off tackle.
The Lions scored just 18 seconds before intermission. Tailback Elwood
Petchell completed three passes along the way, including a 37-yarder to
Larry Cooney for the TD on fourth down. Ed Cjekaj booted the extra
point. Penn State fullback Fran Rogel ripped the Mustang line to shreds
in a 44-yard third-quarter drive, but SMU held at the one-inch stripe.
The Lions forced a punt and Petchell returned 27 yards, setting up his
four-yard scoring toss to Wally Triplett. Like Walker, Cjekaj missed his
second conversion attempt. Walker did everything for the Mustangs, as
usual. He completed five of nine passes for 69 yards, rushed 18 times
for 56 net yards, got off a 59-yard quick kick, dropped another punt out
of bounds at the Lion five, recovered an enemy fumble and authored a key
interception late in the fourth quarter. Rogel, with 95 yards in 25
carries, outrushed the entire SMU ground attack.
That takes care of the four major bowl games. Up to this point, except
for the number of legendary stars involved, many bowl games days were at
least as exciting. The advantage goes to the 1948 bowl games based on
the "other" contests of the day.
Southeastern conference champ Mississippi (8-2 overall record)
challenged Texas Christian in the first Delta Bowl game. The Horned
Frogs, despite their 4-4-2 record, were a solid club capable of tying
the Southwest Conference champ and beating and tying the Big Seven loop
co-champs. Led by the amazing Charlie Conerly, the Rebels pulled off the
top rally of the day by scoring two TDs in the final period to jolt TCU
13-9.
Briefly, tailback Lindy Berry paced the Frogs to a 9-0 lead after three
quarters. Conerly lofted a 30-yard TD pass to Joe Johnson, then hurled a
50-yarder to Johnson, setting up his 13-yard pass to Earl Howell for the
winning score.
There were 16 more games Jan. 1, 1948. Space limits the remainder of
this essay to short reviews. Georgia rallied from a 20-7 deficit to
tally two fourth-period TDs and tie Maryland 20-20 in the Gater Bowl. Lu
Gambino produced the day's top rushing performance as he galloped for
165 yards in 19 carries and scored all three Terrapin TDs. For Georgia,
HB Joe Geri and QB Johnny Rauch, a future All-American, were the
standouts. Rauch passed to HB John Donaldson for the tying score, and
the Bulldogs were at the Maryland four when the game ended.
In yet another thrilling rally, Arkansas nipped William & Mary 21-19
in the first Dixie Bowl without much help from famed speedster Clyde
Scott who was sidelined by an injury. Two other swift tailbacks, Aubrey
Fowler and Kenny Holland, filled in admirably for Scott. And Leon
Campbell was a crusher at FB for the Razorbacks, comparing favorably
with Jack (Flying) Cloud, W&M's All-American FB. The lead bounced back
and forth as Cloud roared twice into the endzone for the Indians, Buddy
Lex, the rushing leader with 118 yards, dashed 28 yards to set up his
short TD pass, giving W&M a 19-14 lead in the third quarter. The
Razorbacks scored on two sensational plays. Holland passed to Ross
Pritchard for 59 yards, and end Melvin McGaha returned a pass theft 70
yards. Late in the fourth period passes by Fowler and Gordon Long
ignited a 97-yard Arkansas drive, and Campbell carried twice from the 15
for the winning TD. Fowler kicked the decisive conversions.
Tommy Kalmanir and QB Leon Heath, a 1948 All-American, were the stars as
one of Nevada's greatest teams tripped surprisingly rugged North Texas
State 13-6 in the first Salad Bowl. Heath completed 11 of 16 aerials for
247 yards. In the game's big play, Heath fired a long pass from his own
endzone to the fleet Kalmanir who ran away from pursuit to complete a
97-yard maneuver.
Other games: Eddie DeBaron, labeled a 17-year old "Wonder Boy", guided
College of Pacific to a 26-14 win over Wichita in the Raisin Bowl.
Wilton (Hook) Davis, an 18-year old freshman HB, tore off 81 and 44-yard
gallops as Hardin-Simmons crushed San Diego State 53-0 in the Harbor
Bowl. Miami of Ohio nipped Texas Tech 13-12 in the Sun Bowl, and in
another one-pointer. Hawaii turned back Redlands 33-32 in the Pineapple
Bowl. In the Cigar Bowl, Missouri Valley scored its 32nd consecutive
victory, 26-7 over West Chester (Pa.) State. And Wilberforce marched 90
yards late in the fourth quarter to defeat Grambling 27-21 in the Vulcan
Bowl.
Cartoon from The Sporting News
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