SWC75
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HONORS
On Tuesday, November 20th, Collier’s Magazine announced its All-America team and Jim Brown became the first Syracuse back ever to be named a first team All-American and the first SU player at any position since Vic Hanson in 1926. Rip Engle of Penn State declared him “The East’s most powerful back since Doc Blanchard. The other backs on the team were Tommy McDonald of national champion Oklahoma and Johnny Majors of #2 Tennessee, (both 10-0 teams) and John Brodie of Stanford. (Nope- no Paul Hornung.)
“No runner in college football matched Jim Brown for sheer straight-away power. Brown launched his hard-hitting campaign for All-America rating by grinding out 154 yards against Maryland’s massive line and kept on churning for big yardage as Syracuse churned through one of the nation’s toughest schedules. …He’s 20, majoring in recreation, (?!?) and may pay football for the New York Giants.” Or he might not…. Later INS, (International new Service), AP (Associated Press), and UPI (United Press International), followed suit and the Pigskin Club of Washington named him Player of the Year, as did Cleveland’s Touchdown Club- after the Browns had drafted him. Jim was also named first team All East the same day the Lambert Trophy was awarded to Syracuse. He was the only Orangeman to make the top All-East team, although Jim Ridlon and Dick Lasse made the second team. Bill Brown was honorable mention.
One article wondered when Jim Brown would ever get to practice with his schedule. He was to attend the Pigskin Club’s gala in Washington on Friday, December 7th, Collier’s banquet in New York City on Saturday the 8th, followed by an appearance on the Perry Como and Ed Sullivan Shows. Jim, in his autobiography, “Out of Bounds”, recalled “Ed made us come onstage in our football uniforms and sneakers so we wouldn’t scratch the stage. Bad look.” Per the article, Chancellor Tolley, Lew Andreas and Ben Schwartzwalder would also be in the Sullivan Show to receive the Lambert Trophy but a previous article in the Post Standard showed them already in possession of it. Syracuse had received 12 of the 15 first place votes. Pittsburgh got 2 and Yale got 1. The Panthers struck a blow for Eastern prestige on December 8th by winning the last game of the college football regular season against Miami, 14-7. The Hurricanes had come into the game 8-0-1 and ranked #6 and were the home team. The Panthers finished a strong 7-2-1 and ranked #13/#12 in the two polls. But those rankings were before this game was played. Pitt would go on to lose again to Georgia Tech in the Gator Bowl, by the same margin as their loss in the previous year’s Sugar Bowl, this time 14-21.
Arnie Burdick announced “Jim Brown, according to this prejudiced observer, is the best back playing college football. It also says here that Big Jim should crack the color line and become the first Negro ever named as winner of the Heisman Trophy, which goes annually to the nation’s outstanding collegiate gridder. “ Arnie reminisced about his years as Syracuse’ SID, when he tried and tried to get national recognition for Syracuse players, saying he shed tears sometimes when they didn’t get it. He lauded the work of the current SID, Val Pinchbeck but recalled the words of Kenny Malloy, who told him before Jim ever showed up on campus that he’d be an All-American. “And those who trafficked with Malloy know he’s rarely wrong.” Arnie recalled that Jim showed up for his first varsity practice and found out he was the 6th string left halfback. Ol’ Ben sure knew how to recruit! He added: “Congratulations, Jim Brown, you’ve done a world of good for your Alma Mater and your race!”
There was some regret that Jim Brown’s 27 yard touchdown run against Colgate was called back. Not only would it have been a record 7th touchdown but it would have put him over the 1000 yard rushing mark for the season- in only eight games. Instead he wound up with 986, an average of 123 yards per game, (which would be 1,479 over today’s 12 game season). He was also leading the nation in scoring with 106 points, (Clendon Thomas of Oklahoma would surpass him with 108- in ten games). Of course, there would be another game coming but in 1956, (and Brown would re-pass Thomas since Oklahoma didn’t play in a bowl due to a conference no-repeat rule), they didn’t count bowl games in the official stats has they do now, (they should do it retroactively). Beyond that, there was the artistic nature of the run: “It was twisting, dodging affair, during 10 yards of which Jim was barely able to keep his balance and it ended with a characteristic plunge in which carried a couple tacklers with him into the end zone.” It sounds as if there was no need to clip anybody.
Brown was also voted AP “Back of the Week”. Amazingly it was close vote because Notre Dame’s Paul Hornung had scored all 21 of his team’s points in a 21-14 win over North Carolina. “Hornung moved the Irish 63 yards with time running out and plunged across for the deciding touchdown against North Carolina in another one of his one-man crusades for a Notre Dame team wallowing in its worst season.”
At the end of the year, Jim won an “Athlete of the Year” poll conducted jointly by the Herald-Journal and Post Standard. An accompanying article described Kenny Molloy’s role in getting him to Syracuse and how Jim had stated as a 6th string back to become an All-American. It also discussed his triumphs in track and field, lacrosse and basketball. In each case, people didn’t know what he was capable of and wound up in awe of him. His prize for this would be “a handsome trophy from Mr. San Chiodo of the Brown Jug Restaurant” where the banquet would be held after the New Year.
Bill Reddy reported that Jim Brown, as a lieutenant in the ROTC program, would have a two year military obligation coming up but that “he isn’t slated for call until February 1958. Big Jim would like to have a fling with the New York Giants and the Giants would like to have him but some other team might grab him first in the draft.” They did. Ben Schwartzwalder said “He’s just starting to get good. He just 20 years old and will get a lot better. He weighs about 214 now but he’ll be up to about 225 next fall. With his speed and the improvement he has shown here, he could be one of the greatest ever.” He was. Reddy lamented that because of Big Jim, other players on the team, especially Jim Ridlon, were not getting the attention they were due. “When a selector puts Jim Brown on the team, he tends to close the book on Syracuse.“
On Sunday, December 16, there was an interview with Jim in the Herald Journal. “Mental attitude is the key to All-American success. If you’re happy in your play and have the right mental attitude. You produce a much better game than would normally be possible. Encouragement given me on and off the campus helped put me in the right mental frame of mind more than anything else. These All-American laurels have brought about a great many pleasant responsibilities.” He was referring to his many speaking engagements. But he felt “an obligation to kids. The kids notice everything you do. They’re real sharp and pick up many little things that ordinarily go unnoticed.”
“At Syracuse Brown is known for his booming power which often allows him to shake free. It hasn’t always been that way. In high school at Manhasset, LI, Jimmy was a ‘Fancy Dan’ type of runner. It was a style he learned. “Level is a famous fight word at Syracuse”, reveals Brown and “If you expect to gain ground not only the backs, but the linemen must level. You can’t pussyfoot around.” Jim admits lowering his shoulder into an opponent has its advantages. “He has a tougher time getting a shot at you then.” West Virginia Coach Art Lewis called him a ”marvel”. Boston University coach Buff Donelli said he was “the finest back I’ve seen since Glenn Davis”. Others compared Jim to Davis’s partner, Doc Blanchard, because of his power. Maybe that was the best comparison: he was Blanchard AND Davis, combined in one man.
Next to the article there was a picture of Jim running with a lacrosse stick. The caption read “LOYALTY. Jim Brown’s Syracuse All-America football player, will wind up his collegiate career playing lacrosse in the spring.” Jim had been invited to the Hula Bowl but had declined the invitation to remain eligible for lacrosse. “I really wanted to play in that game but only because of Roy Simmons did I turn down the offer. There’s pay connected with the game and that would make me a pro and ineligible for any more sport in school. Roy coaches lacrosse and he doesn’t get too many men to turn out for the sport. He and the team need me so I told him I’d play with the stickmen this year” The 1957 Syracuse Lacrosse team was, of course, one of the great teams in the sport’s history, going undefeated and fiinsihing#1 nationally in the coach’s poll. Here’s a brief clip of Jim playing what some say was his best sport:
.
The same article said that lacrosse wasn’t Jim’s only spring sport: he’d been on the track team since he attended the Boy’s Club back in Manhasset. He’s finished 5th in the national decathlon championships in 1956 and considered going to Melbourne to compete in the 1956 Olympics. But Australia is in the southern hemisphere, where the seasons are reversed. The Olympics were held in November. Jim would have had to skip the 1956 football season to compete there. Milt Campbell, also a football player who had played at Indiana, won that Olympic decathlon, beating out Rafer Johnson, (who went on to win 1960), and was also drafted by the Cleveland Browns. Milt was a rookie halfback in the 1957 Browns, while Jim was a rookie fullback. Milt was a similar size, at 6-3,217 and had similar speed but the best he could do was rush for 23 yards and return some kicks, (sometimes lined up next to Jim on kick-offs). Campbell wound up playing for several years in Canada.
The article said that Jim’s downfall in the decathlon was the 1500 meters. It didn’t give his time but he’s quoted as saying “That’s always the last event and I could never beat five minutes. You need 4:30 or better for many points.” The article also did not quote his time in the 110 meter hurdles. But it gave the following stats for the other eight events, (apparently these are his career bests):
100 meters: 11 seconds, (Campbell in Melbourne ran 10.8)
Long Jump: 22 feet even, (Campbell did 24 even)
Shot Put: 48 feet even, (Campbell: 48 feet, 6 inches)
High Jump: 6 feet 3 inches, (Campbell: 6 feet 2 inches)
400 meters: 53 seconds (Campbell: 48.8)
Discus: 155 feet (Campbell: 147 feet, seven inches)
Pole Vault: Both were 11 feet, 2 inches
Javelin: 185 feet, (Campbell 187 feet 3 inches)
Campbell did the 1500 meters in 4 minutes, 50.6 seconds and the 110 meter hurdles in an excellent 14.0 seconds.
Jim Brown was a bit stronger than Milt Campbell but Milt was a bit faster and had more endurance for the long sprint. It’s doubtful Jim could have won in Melbourne or even medaled. But perhaps if he’d devoted as much time to the decathlon that Campbell and the others did, (Milt was three years older and was no longer at Indiana), he coulda been a contendah.
An article in the Post said that Brown was a sure-fire pro but that other players on the team were also drawing NFL interest, primarily Jim Ridlon and Bill Brown. “The agile Ridlon was the top receiver with 8 receptions for 153 yards and 2TDs, the number 1 pass interceptor with 6 snatches for 70 yards and the team’s best punter with a 38.4 yard average. Sculptor and artist Jim is at his best on defense where he is a sure tackler and a quick-reacting pass defender. Many a pro club could use a defensive back of his ability….Bill Brown must be regarded as just about the best center in the East. His quick offensive thrust opened wide holes in enemy lines…(he) was a top defensive linebacker throughout the year as well...Ridlon at 187 pounds and Brown at 203 pounds, both have the size needed for pro warfare…..Other Syracuse seniors who are eligible for the pro draft and may be beckoned are tackle Jerry Cashman, guard Rudy Farmer and fullback Al Cann. “
On November 26th, Jim Brown was picked in the first round of the NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns. But the Browns picked 6th. The other teams that could have had him: Green Bay, who picked Paul Hornung, the Rams (Jon Arnett), the 49ers (John Brodie), the Packers again, (Ron Kramer), and the Steelers, (Len Dawson). Those are all good players but…
Jim Ridlon was picked in the 4th round, (39th overall in those days of 12 teams) by the 49ers and played for 8 seasons for them and the Cowboys, being named first team All-Pro in his final year of 1964. Bill Brown was picked in the 9th round, (108th) by the Bears but his only pro action as with the 1960 Boston Patriots. Jerry Cashman was picked in the 14th round by the Eagles, (158th) but never played pro football. Neither did Cann.
Jim Swink was drafted 25th overall in the 1957 NFL draft, (which was the second round back then.) He opted to attend medical school instead and became an orthopedic surgeon. He did give the AFL a try in its initial season of 1960, gaining 15 yards in 10 carries and catching 4 passes for 37 yards. He also returned a kick-off for 36 yards but he failed to score a pro touchdown. Then he went back to the bones.
Chuck Curtis was the last player picked in the 7th round of the draft, (85th overall). The Giants had him on the roster as a back-up quarterback to Charlie Conerly but he never saw any action, then opted for a coaching career. A year spent with Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry, (the Giant’s offensive and defensive coordinators) held him in good stead as he began a 30 year coaching career, mostly in Texas high schools, where he won three state titles.
Norm Hamilton went undrafted and played in the CFL for a year with the Montreal Alouettes. Jim Shofner was the first round pick of the Cleveland Browns in 1958 and would be Jim Brown’s teammate for 6 years. He would alter become TCU’s head coach and, briefly, the Brown’s interim head coach. I’d always assumed he was Del Shofner’s brother and had to cover his brother whenever the Browns and Giants played in those days but it turns out, (like Dwight and Darrell Evans a or Leonard and Elmer Bernstein), they are not related, (both were born in Texas, Del in 1934, Jim in 1935 – Del went to Baylor so they would have played against each other in college, too). In the 9th round Ken Wineburg was selected by the Packers and John Nikkel by the Lions. Buddy Dike went in the 12th round to the Eagles and Vern Hallbeck in the 29th round by the 49ers, (there were 30 rounds in those days, with only 11 teams). None of them ever played pro football.
On Tuesday, November 20th, Collier’s Magazine announced its All-America team and Jim Brown became the first Syracuse back ever to be named a first team All-American and the first SU player at any position since Vic Hanson in 1926. Rip Engle of Penn State declared him “The East’s most powerful back since Doc Blanchard. The other backs on the team were Tommy McDonald of national champion Oklahoma and Johnny Majors of #2 Tennessee, (both 10-0 teams) and John Brodie of Stanford. (Nope- no Paul Hornung.)
“No runner in college football matched Jim Brown for sheer straight-away power. Brown launched his hard-hitting campaign for All-America rating by grinding out 154 yards against Maryland’s massive line and kept on churning for big yardage as Syracuse churned through one of the nation’s toughest schedules. …He’s 20, majoring in recreation, (?!?) and may pay football for the New York Giants.” Or he might not…. Later INS, (International new Service), AP (Associated Press), and UPI (United Press International), followed suit and the Pigskin Club of Washington named him Player of the Year, as did Cleveland’s Touchdown Club- after the Browns had drafted him. Jim was also named first team All East the same day the Lambert Trophy was awarded to Syracuse. He was the only Orangeman to make the top All-East team, although Jim Ridlon and Dick Lasse made the second team. Bill Brown was honorable mention.
One article wondered when Jim Brown would ever get to practice with his schedule. He was to attend the Pigskin Club’s gala in Washington on Friday, December 7th, Collier’s banquet in New York City on Saturday the 8th, followed by an appearance on the Perry Como and Ed Sullivan Shows. Jim, in his autobiography, “Out of Bounds”, recalled “Ed made us come onstage in our football uniforms and sneakers so we wouldn’t scratch the stage. Bad look.” Per the article, Chancellor Tolley, Lew Andreas and Ben Schwartzwalder would also be in the Sullivan Show to receive the Lambert Trophy but a previous article in the Post Standard showed them already in possession of it. Syracuse had received 12 of the 15 first place votes. Pittsburgh got 2 and Yale got 1. The Panthers struck a blow for Eastern prestige on December 8th by winning the last game of the college football regular season against Miami, 14-7. The Hurricanes had come into the game 8-0-1 and ranked #6 and were the home team. The Panthers finished a strong 7-2-1 and ranked #13/#12 in the two polls. But those rankings were before this game was played. Pitt would go on to lose again to Georgia Tech in the Gator Bowl, by the same margin as their loss in the previous year’s Sugar Bowl, this time 14-21.
Arnie Burdick announced “Jim Brown, according to this prejudiced observer, is the best back playing college football. It also says here that Big Jim should crack the color line and become the first Negro ever named as winner of the Heisman Trophy, which goes annually to the nation’s outstanding collegiate gridder. “ Arnie reminisced about his years as Syracuse’ SID, when he tried and tried to get national recognition for Syracuse players, saying he shed tears sometimes when they didn’t get it. He lauded the work of the current SID, Val Pinchbeck but recalled the words of Kenny Malloy, who told him before Jim ever showed up on campus that he’d be an All-American. “And those who trafficked with Malloy know he’s rarely wrong.” Arnie recalled that Jim showed up for his first varsity practice and found out he was the 6th string left halfback. Ol’ Ben sure knew how to recruit! He added: “Congratulations, Jim Brown, you’ve done a world of good for your Alma Mater and your race!”
There was some regret that Jim Brown’s 27 yard touchdown run against Colgate was called back. Not only would it have been a record 7th touchdown but it would have put him over the 1000 yard rushing mark for the season- in only eight games. Instead he wound up with 986, an average of 123 yards per game, (which would be 1,479 over today’s 12 game season). He was also leading the nation in scoring with 106 points, (Clendon Thomas of Oklahoma would surpass him with 108- in ten games). Of course, there would be another game coming but in 1956, (and Brown would re-pass Thomas since Oklahoma didn’t play in a bowl due to a conference no-repeat rule), they didn’t count bowl games in the official stats has they do now, (they should do it retroactively). Beyond that, there was the artistic nature of the run: “It was twisting, dodging affair, during 10 yards of which Jim was barely able to keep his balance and it ended with a characteristic plunge in which carried a couple tacklers with him into the end zone.” It sounds as if there was no need to clip anybody.
Brown was also voted AP “Back of the Week”. Amazingly it was close vote because Notre Dame’s Paul Hornung had scored all 21 of his team’s points in a 21-14 win over North Carolina. “Hornung moved the Irish 63 yards with time running out and plunged across for the deciding touchdown against North Carolina in another one of his one-man crusades for a Notre Dame team wallowing in its worst season.”
At the end of the year, Jim won an “Athlete of the Year” poll conducted jointly by the Herald-Journal and Post Standard. An accompanying article described Kenny Molloy’s role in getting him to Syracuse and how Jim had stated as a 6th string back to become an All-American. It also discussed his triumphs in track and field, lacrosse and basketball. In each case, people didn’t know what he was capable of and wound up in awe of him. His prize for this would be “a handsome trophy from Mr. San Chiodo of the Brown Jug Restaurant” where the banquet would be held after the New Year.
Bill Reddy reported that Jim Brown, as a lieutenant in the ROTC program, would have a two year military obligation coming up but that “he isn’t slated for call until February 1958. Big Jim would like to have a fling with the New York Giants and the Giants would like to have him but some other team might grab him first in the draft.” They did. Ben Schwartzwalder said “He’s just starting to get good. He just 20 years old and will get a lot better. He weighs about 214 now but he’ll be up to about 225 next fall. With his speed and the improvement he has shown here, he could be one of the greatest ever.” He was. Reddy lamented that because of Big Jim, other players on the team, especially Jim Ridlon, were not getting the attention they were due. “When a selector puts Jim Brown on the team, he tends to close the book on Syracuse.“
On Sunday, December 16, there was an interview with Jim in the Herald Journal. “Mental attitude is the key to All-American success. If you’re happy in your play and have the right mental attitude. You produce a much better game than would normally be possible. Encouragement given me on and off the campus helped put me in the right mental frame of mind more than anything else. These All-American laurels have brought about a great many pleasant responsibilities.” He was referring to his many speaking engagements. But he felt “an obligation to kids. The kids notice everything you do. They’re real sharp and pick up many little things that ordinarily go unnoticed.”
“At Syracuse Brown is known for his booming power which often allows him to shake free. It hasn’t always been that way. In high school at Manhasset, LI, Jimmy was a ‘Fancy Dan’ type of runner. It was a style he learned. “Level is a famous fight word at Syracuse”, reveals Brown and “If you expect to gain ground not only the backs, but the linemen must level. You can’t pussyfoot around.” Jim admits lowering his shoulder into an opponent has its advantages. “He has a tougher time getting a shot at you then.” West Virginia Coach Art Lewis called him a ”marvel”. Boston University coach Buff Donelli said he was “the finest back I’ve seen since Glenn Davis”. Others compared Jim to Davis’s partner, Doc Blanchard, because of his power. Maybe that was the best comparison: he was Blanchard AND Davis, combined in one man.
Next to the article there was a picture of Jim running with a lacrosse stick. The caption read “LOYALTY. Jim Brown’s Syracuse All-America football player, will wind up his collegiate career playing lacrosse in the spring.” Jim had been invited to the Hula Bowl but had declined the invitation to remain eligible for lacrosse. “I really wanted to play in that game but only because of Roy Simmons did I turn down the offer. There’s pay connected with the game and that would make me a pro and ineligible for any more sport in school. Roy coaches lacrosse and he doesn’t get too many men to turn out for the sport. He and the team need me so I told him I’d play with the stickmen this year” The 1957 Syracuse Lacrosse team was, of course, one of the great teams in the sport’s history, going undefeated and fiinsihing#1 nationally in the coach’s poll. Here’s a brief clip of Jim playing what some say was his best sport:
.
The same article said that lacrosse wasn’t Jim’s only spring sport: he’d been on the track team since he attended the Boy’s Club back in Manhasset. He’s finished 5th in the national decathlon championships in 1956 and considered going to Melbourne to compete in the 1956 Olympics. But Australia is in the southern hemisphere, where the seasons are reversed. The Olympics were held in November. Jim would have had to skip the 1956 football season to compete there. Milt Campbell, also a football player who had played at Indiana, won that Olympic decathlon, beating out Rafer Johnson, (who went on to win 1960), and was also drafted by the Cleveland Browns. Milt was a rookie halfback in the 1957 Browns, while Jim was a rookie fullback. Milt was a similar size, at 6-3,217 and had similar speed but the best he could do was rush for 23 yards and return some kicks, (sometimes lined up next to Jim on kick-offs). Campbell wound up playing for several years in Canada.
The article said that Jim’s downfall in the decathlon was the 1500 meters. It didn’t give his time but he’s quoted as saying “That’s always the last event and I could never beat five minutes. You need 4:30 or better for many points.” The article also did not quote his time in the 110 meter hurdles. But it gave the following stats for the other eight events, (apparently these are his career bests):
100 meters: 11 seconds, (Campbell in Melbourne ran 10.8)
Long Jump: 22 feet even, (Campbell did 24 even)
Shot Put: 48 feet even, (Campbell: 48 feet, 6 inches)
High Jump: 6 feet 3 inches, (Campbell: 6 feet 2 inches)
400 meters: 53 seconds (Campbell: 48.8)
Discus: 155 feet (Campbell: 147 feet, seven inches)
Pole Vault: Both were 11 feet, 2 inches
Javelin: 185 feet, (Campbell 187 feet 3 inches)
Campbell did the 1500 meters in 4 minutes, 50.6 seconds and the 110 meter hurdles in an excellent 14.0 seconds.
Jim Brown was a bit stronger than Milt Campbell but Milt was a bit faster and had more endurance for the long sprint. It’s doubtful Jim could have won in Melbourne or even medaled. But perhaps if he’d devoted as much time to the decathlon that Campbell and the others did, (Milt was three years older and was no longer at Indiana), he coulda been a contendah.
An article in the Post said that Brown was a sure-fire pro but that other players on the team were also drawing NFL interest, primarily Jim Ridlon and Bill Brown. “The agile Ridlon was the top receiver with 8 receptions for 153 yards and 2TDs, the number 1 pass interceptor with 6 snatches for 70 yards and the team’s best punter with a 38.4 yard average. Sculptor and artist Jim is at his best on defense where he is a sure tackler and a quick-reacting pass defender. Many a pro club could use a defensive back of his ability….Bill Brown must be regarded as just about the best center in the East. His quick offensive thrust opened wide holes in enemy lines…(he) was a top defensive linebacker throughout the year as well...Ridlon at 187 pounds and Brown at 203 pounds, both have the size needed for pro warfare…..Other Syracuse seniors who are eligible for the pro draft and may be beckoned are tackle Jerry Cashman, guard Rudy Farmer and fullback Al Cann. “
On November 26th, Jim Brown was picked in the first round of the NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns. But the Browns picked 6th. The other teams that could have had him: Green Bay, who picked Paul Hornung, the Rams (Jon Arnett), the 49ers (John Brodie), the Packers again, (Ron Kramer), and the Steelers, (Len Dawson). Those are all good players but…
Jim Ridlon was picked in the 4th round, (39th overall in those days of 12 teams) by the 49ers and played for 8 seasons for them and the Cowboys, being named first team All-Pro in his final year of 1964. Bill Brown was picked in the 9th round, (108th) by the Bears but his only pro action as with the 1960 Boston Patriots. Jerry Cashman was picked in the 14th round by the Eagles, (158th) but never played pro football. Neither did Cann.
Jim Swink was drafted 25th overall in the 1957 NFL draft, (which was the second round back then.) He opted to attend medical school instead and became an orthopedic surgeon. He did give the AFL a try in its initial season of 1960, gaining 15 yards in 10 carries and catching 4 passes for 37 yards. He also returned a kick-off for 36 yards but he failed to score a pro touchdown. Then he went back to the bones.
Chuck Curtis was the last player picked in the 7th round of the draft, (85th overall). The Giants had him on the roster as a back-up quarterback to Charlie Conerly but he never saw any action, then opted for a coaching career. A year spent with Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry, (the Giant’s offensive and defensive coordinators) held him in good stead as he began a 30 year coaching career, mostly in Texas high schools, where he won three state titles.
Norm Hamilton went undrafted and played in the CFL for a year with the Montreal Alouettes. Jim Shofner was the first round pick of the Cleveland Browns in 1958 and would be Jim Brown’s teammate for 6 years. He would alter become TCU’s head coach and, briefly, the Brown’s interim head coach. I’d always assumed he was Del Shofner’s brother and had to cover his brother whenever the Browns and Giants played in those days but it turns out, (like Dwight and Darrell Evans a or Leonard and Elmer Bernstein), they are not related, (both were born in Texas, Del in 1934, Jim in 1935 – Del went to Baylor so they would have played against each other in college, too). In the 9th round Ken Wineburg was selected by the Packers and John Nikkel by the Lions. Buddy Dike went in the 12th round to the Eagles and Vern Hallbeck in the 29th round by the 49ers, (there were 30 rounds in those days, with only 11 teams). None of them ever played pro football.
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