SWC75
Bored Historian
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THE AFTERMATH
“The Saltine Warriors of Syracuse filed into their dressing room slowly, dry-eyed, grim, heart-broken. There was lamp-black under their eyes, green grass stains and sweat on their soiled, white jerseys. They’d gone down fighting. They’d given their all. It wasn’t enough- by the barest of margins, an extra point kick.”
“Jim Brown, the magnificent All-American halfback, was the last to reach his spot on a bench in the corner of the room. He’d had a time getting away from the well-wishers and the autograph-seekers. Chuck Curtis, the Texas Christian quarterback, and the man he’d beaten out in the balloting for the Most valuable player award, skipped in right after him to offer his congratulations to a great, though, losing opponent. Norman Hamilton, the husky TCU tackle, also paid his respects.”
“Quietly, intelligently, a genuine All-American answered reporter’s questions shot at him from three directions, ignoring the frantic flashing of camera bulbs.“ JB: “Their passing attack was the difference. Our boys blocked well today. They worked hard but I just wish we could have done a little better on pass defense. I wish we could have tied it. And I wish we could have won it. We concentrated on the runners a little I guess. They had such a balanced attack, we had to watch them. Even Curtis ran well when he had to and he was a great passer. They were a good club. They hit hard but I do not believe they hit as hard as Pitt. It’s more of a power team. TCU could run and pass and it gang-tackled well. Hamilton is one I remember. He was so low he was hard to block out and he got you around the ankles.”
“Schwartzwalder had come off the field, his face looking white in the bright sunlight and chewing gum in a determined way. Now he had relaxed somewhat, though he would play this game over a thousand times in his mind.” He was asked if there was a turning point in the game. “Yes, our fumbles… Their balance makes it tough. They’ve got good running inside and outside. We had to cheat a little on our pass defense to keep those runners from getting away. Big Jim can run but the rest of us are a little slow. We can move the ball, though, if we can keep it. They were inviting us to pass with their defenses but we preferred to keep the ball. But we gave it away twice and that hurt. …I didn’t know Curtis could run that fast. He had to run once the way our end came up on him and I knew he was going to run on that touchdown. I don’t know what happened to our end on that play.“ He didn’t think Curtis was a better passer than Penn State’s Milt Plum or Colgate’s Guy Martin. “He’s all right but those fellows can hit you in the eye with the ball so what more do you want?”
In the video series “The Rites of Autumn”, Jim describes the Syracuse offense as being “a little out-dated. The plays were, limited.” and says “I had a good game but I didn’t reach my peak. That was the first time a lot of people had ever seen me on TV “. The same interview was used in “The Legend of 44” He talked about the Mendoza block: “To be realistic, there was a change of assignment between my fullback and my end and I don’t think the fullback got the change. A guy by the name of Chico Mendoza came through and blocked the kick so we lost the game. A lot of people give me a lot of credit for that game. I guess it was the first time they saw me on national TV. “
Ben didn’t know what happened with the blocked conversion. “I saw my fullback (Alan Cann) fussing with my end (Dick Lasse) about something- I guess they were talking about what they were going to do and this fellow slipped past Lasse.” Which is interesting because Lasse was the end. Jim Brown thought it was the fullback who got beat.
Chuck Zimmernan said “TCU’s downfield blocking is as good as we’ve seen.” Ferd Kuczala compared them to Penn State, saying “They had a good, strong line. And Hamilton is very good.” He felt Curtis “played an exceptionally fine game and he’s a great passer.”
“The room was quieting down now. The players, their bruises daubed, their hair combed and their ties noted neatly, were beginning to drift out to the bus that would take them to the awards dinner….A latecomer, pencil poised, asked “What do you think beat you?” Schwartzwalder smiled softly as he murmured “The score.”
In the TCU locker room “they were giving all the credit to the forward pass…and it seemed quite appropriate for a school that had practically served as a proving ground for that lethal gridiron weapon 20 years before under a couple of scientists named Baugh and O’Brien. And a goodly collection of Horned Frog fans who saw the latest demonstration of air power no doubt will speak of three great passers in all future arm-chair strategy sessions. For Chuck Curtis, lanky Frog field general who could well have been made from the same mold as the immortal Sammy Baugh, had an aerial ball against a Syracuse team that most of the Horned Frog players emphatically tabbed as the best team they’d played this year. There was absolutely no doubt among the Frogs that passing had been the difference and that Curtis had picked a fine time to have one of his best days ever. “
Abe Martin: “Yeah, their pass defense was a little lacking. We felt if we were going to gain consistently it would be with the pass. We also felt it would be a real good offensive game and it was…..Any man who wouldn’t call Brown a great player would have to ignorant or blind.”
One questioner, with pad and pencil in hand, asked, "Coach do you think that Hamilton played worth a damn?" Martin recognized that it was Norm Hamilton who had grabbed the pad and pencil and asked the question about himself. “Martin mussed Hamilton’s hair with about as much affection as a coach could show to a brutish giant with a face marked with the bruises and scratches of battle. “You played a great game. Now go on down there and have a good time.”
Curtis described it as his “finest hour” in throwing the ball. “But I had a lot of help. The blocking was great. Those receivers were maneuvering real good and they were catching it, too. Boy, didn’t that O’Day Williams make one? That’s why. We thought we could throw against them but we did think it was going to be a little tougher. They weren’t crashing their linebackers as much as we thought they would. That’s why I tried the screens quite a bit, to try to make them hesitate before they crashed. It helped slow down their rushing so I usually had plenty of time.”
End John Nikkel said “They were playing three deep men. It let us put two receivers on one man most of the time and he’d have to try to cover both of them. Of course Chuck had a great day. Boy, he was throwing them right in there. “
The Horned Frogs said Syracuse had a missing ingredient that prevented them from being a great team. Vernon Hallbeck: "That’s their trouble. They don’t’ throw enough. They could use a little more speed, too. But they are powerful. That Jim Brown, he’s just the greatest. They rely on him a lot but he can take it. He’s sure good on those off-tackle plays. He’d make a helluva fullback.” Buddy Dike: “He’s the best we’ve played. He can really pick his holes. You seldom get a clear shot at him. That’s why he always seems to get two or three yards after you hit him.”
In The Rites of Autumn, a photographer named Marvin Newman is interviewed. He talks about the reaction of the TCU players to Jim Brown: “They all acknowledged that he was the best ballplayer they’d ever come up against. They didn’t speak about him being black, white or green. He was just the best football player they’d ever played against.”
Cotton Bowl President called it “The best Cotton Bowl game we’ve ever had here.” And they’d never had one anywhere else. Bill Rives: “The 8 touchdown game was a thriller, one of the best in the 21 year history of the Cotton Bowl. It justified the wisdom of the Cotton Bowl selection committee and it probably brought sudden death to all snide comments about the quality of Eastern football.” Unfortunately it didn’t. For years afterwards, whenever an Eastern team beat a strong team from another section of the country, the coach would always be asked “Do you consider this to be a blow for the prestige of Eastern football?” or something similar. Coaches of teams from other parts of the country were never asked this. There were a lot of “blows for the prestige of Eastern football” over the years but reporters would keep asking the question.
Jim Ridlon took a dim view of the situation in a conversation years later in a conversation with Ken Rappoport: “We had a lousy football team and if it weren’t for Jimmy Brown we would have had nothing. Oh, we had a few good football players but really, it wasn’t a very good team. We didn’t have the depth. In two platoon football, we would have been out to lunch. The TCU team was so good that we cheered their movies when we watched them. It was the greatest entertainment for us. We didn’t belong on the same field with them. That’s the reason the TCU game was such a standout , because we shouldn’t have been in the ballgame with them, but we were. There’s no doubt about it, without Brown we would have made a lousy showing in the Cotton Bowl.” Without Brown, they wouldn’t have showed up in the Cotton Bowl at all.
Bill Reddy: Even in defeat, Brown further established himself as one of the greatest halfbacks of modern times…That Brown, the only Negro in the game, received the ungrudging admiration and praise of everyone, including the Texans who opposed him, was a milestone in the gradual breaking down of racial barriers. That Big Jim, a marked man on every play, stood up under constant battering and still was going strong at the finish, is a tribute to the durability of this tremendous athlete from Manhasset, Long Island. Big Jim played all but about two minutes of the 60.”
The documentary “The Legend of ‘44” shows some shots of an old-fashioned minstrel show playing outside the Cotton Bowl. Jim is asked if he saw that and what is reaction to it was. “No I actually didn’t see any minstrel bands. I wasn’t aware of that at all. I really didn’t need to see that. I don’t think the whole thing was based on race. There were good people there. Good people participated. Some of the players were real fine human beings. The #1 thing on my mind was race and it shouldn’t have been.”
Chuck Zimmerman said in the documentary that when they were set to leave Norman for Dallas, some Cotton Bowl officials told them that everything was all set, that they had a hotel for the team to stay in and “another one down the street for Jim Brown”. Zimmerman said that Ben Schwartzwalder and Jim Decker told them that “If Jim Brown doesn’t stay with us, we don’t stay there”. JB: I enjoyed the game. They had a couple of All-Americas, a real great running back by the name of Jim Swink. It was just an experience I have had mixed feeling about because it was…political. We did find a hotel we could stay in. We did lose the game by a point.”
An article in the 1/3/57 Post Standard is entitled “SU, TCU don’t plan on ’58 bowl bids”. Abe Martin said “They ought to pick me for the bottom next season. Then, when I win a game, I’ll be called a miracle coach.” The Horned Frogs had 18 seniors on their first two teams. But they had some good sophomores moving up. Martin conceded: “We’ll have a good team but it couldn’t possibly be like the team we had this season” Ben Schwartzwalder said that he couldn’t imagine his 1957 team returning to the Cotton Bowl, although he would like to. SU only lost 10 players form their first two teams but one of them was #44. Both teams would take a step backwards in 1957: TCU went 5-4-1, SU 5-3-1, but be back in major bowls in in 1958, the Horned Frogs tying undefeated Air Force in the Cotton Bowl and the Orange losing to mighty Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. Abe Martin would continue as the TCU coach until 1966 and then became the school’s athletic director. His 1959 team was the only team to beat Texas in the regular season, (14-9) and went to the Bluebonnet Bowl. His 1961 team spoiled the otherwise perfect records of Ohio State (7-7) and Texas 0-6). But the coming of two platoon football in 1964 made it harder for private schools to recruit in the necessary depth to be a national power and competing with the top schools became more difficult for both schools. TCU had only four winning seasons from the 1960’s to the 1980’s. Frog fans would look back with pleasure on the 1955-58 era when their team went to three Cotton Bowls and lost by a point, won by a point and played a tied game.
There was a report that Indiana was interested in having Schwartzwalder and his staff transfer their careers to Bloomington, much as Biggie Munn had done with his staff a decade before, going to East Lansing to turn Michigan State into a national power. “That Indiana has been seeking Schwartzie is one of the best-kept secrets of the pre-bowl campaign. Ben didn’t want to have a word said about it until after the big game because he didn’t want anything which could possibly detract from all-out preparations for the bowl tilt. He was afraid that any such talk might possibly upset the players in their bid for victory and his request was honored.” Nowadays, coaches leave their teams before the bowl game to begin putting things together at their new school. Ben had planned to go to Bloomington after the game to confer with officials there but instead decided to return to Syracuse with his team. He arranged a stop-over at Bloomington on his way back from the NCAA convention in St, Louis the next week.
Bill Reddy: “Undoubtedly Ben is interested in any offer which would be considered an advancement in his chosen profession and the opportunity to coach in the Big Ten presents a challenge which may be hard to resist…..He would like to see some Improvements if he is to stay at Syracuse, however. Principally, he’d like to have the University support bigger salaries for his staff, which he has repeatedly called “the finest staff in the country.” With that staff, Schwartzwalder’s teams have become increasingly attractive at the gate so that every year has seen greater attendance and higher receipts from football than each preceding year. Ben would like to have a regular training table set up for his players as is done at most major colleges. He’s like to have a vast improvement in housing for his players so that the Syracuse set-up might compare provided for the gridmen in virtually all major colleges.” And he’d like that Field House to get built.
“A reward for the Texas Christian coaches was made known Thursday when the TCU trustees voted to give Coach Abe Martin and his staff a 10 percent bonus on their salaries. Nothing official was reported about similar action for the Syracuse coaches.”
Reddy reported that Syracuse will realize approximately $135,000-$140,000 from the Cotton Bowl, although “expenses have been heavy”. TCU, which had to share with the members of its conference, would get about $70,000. That would be about $570,000 in 2014 money and SU’s take about twice that, (despite being the losers).
Despite being drafted by the NFL, Jim Brown’s and Jim Ridlon’s days as Syracuse University athletes were not yet over. Lacrosse season was coming up. Both Jims- Brown and Ridlon, we’re looking forward to suiting up again for the lacrosse team. “We don’t want to miss all that fun on the lacrosse field .” It’s a game as tough as football in some respects, more demanding than football in some ways but these two are looking forward to it for the fun they have in the old Indian pastime." And fun they had. The team went 10-0, out-scoring their opponents 137-46, and was voted #1 in the coach’s poll, their first national lacrosse title since 1925, while Jim Brown tied for the national scoring lead. In his last day competing for Syracuse University, Jim competed in three field events for the track team, winning two of them, and then starred in a winning lacrosse game against Army, 8-6.
Jim Brown was selected by the Optimist’s Club for their “Friend of the Boy” award. “Jim has been selected for this award because of his fine sportsmanship and inspiration to the youth of Central New York”. He was praised for his “eagerness to help whenever called on in furthering the youth program of the club. More than 3,000 Onondaga County boys take part in one of the largest programs of its kind in the country.”
Ben Schwartzwalder made a speech at that luncheon and described Jim as “a boy who conquered a lot of problems.” He said that all the boys on the team have problems and that the coaching staff tries to help them with their problems. “Big Jim had one. Ben only hinted as to what the problem was.” He stressed that at age 20, Jim was one of the youngest seniors in college. (One wonders if he was even of college age when he came here under that scholarship paid for by the people of Manhassett.) “Ben conceded that many of the Manhasset halfbacks’ problems were thrust upon him because of his abilities in many phases of football as well as other sports. The Syracuse coach was somewhat wistful when he commented that everything in Brown’s ability was just starting to fit.” Ben: “It’s a shame the games didn’t last longer so we could have done more. Now Jim is mature and strong. I predict Jim will become one of the greatest in pro football. He is just beginning to approach his potential.” It was a correct prediction.
In the documentary “The Legend of 44”, Jim says “I’m grateful for my years at Syracuse and I say that honestly, I’m very happy for the negative experiences and for the positive experiences. I had to learn a lot and I had to reconcile a lot. I had to be understanding and versatile and it made me a man because I vowed never to let anyone tell me what I couldn’t do. They told me I couldn’t play football at Syracuse. Then it was on because whatever I faced after that I knew they weren’t going to tell me I couldn’t fight it. So I have a great appreciation for the days I spent there.”
Jim Ridlon: “He was a black person in a white world. That’s the way he saw it there. I don’t think his teammates saw it that way. When I went to high school most of the players were black. So it never occurred to the rest of us that he was having this internal struggle with a structure that cheated him- and he felt cheated...He brought to the sport an energy source not many people have. He was driven by demons of the past that surfaced in anger he could control and he turned it into physical energy that made him run a little bit faster and hit a little bit harder and I think that’s what made him special.”
Jim Brown in his memoir, “Out of Bounds”, says “I went to Syracuse believing I was on scholarship, when actually I was there on a trial basis…(Kenny Malloy) had been treated well at Syracuse, thought I would be, too. He didn’t know because they didn’t tell him: Syracuse did not want black athletes….First day of freshman practice, I earned some things although I didn’t comprehend their significance. I was the only black on the freshman team. And the only player living at Skytop. All my freshman teammates lived in a dorm called Collendale, in the heart of campus. I was so naive, I never thought of race. I thought it was strange, left it at that. My next discovery was also puzzling. All my teammates were given meal tickets that entitled them to eat at Slocum Hall. I was a big kid, always hungry but my meal ticket was different- I was not to eat at Slocum but at Sims and my ticket provided for half as much food.”
Jim pledged at a fraternity “My freshman coach found out, told me to quit. He said it would take up to much of my time. Down the hill at practice I was largely ignored. When someone finally spoke more than two words to me, it was to tell me I couldn’t be in a frat. Then I was issued a warning. The freshman quarterback walked over, said, whatever I did, I should not be like Vada Stone….Vada was black and flashy. He had messed around with the prettiest white girl in school, then left. Now, because I was black, too, they were going to kick my ass, because they couldn’t kick his.”
“In a certain way, the people of Manhasset had set me up for this. I don’t mean by sending me to Syracuse, which was done with every good intention. It was precisely that- their goodness- that had set me up. When I came to Manhasset High School, I was never denied an opportunity. I was living among all these white people, receiving all this warmth and support. It lulled me to sleep. I believed everyone would be as good as the people of Manhasset. At eighteen, I wasn’t prepared for the venom. “
“I couldn’t even fight back with my talent. I was the fastest back on the freshman team, probably the strongest, but if a coach addressed me at all, it was to needle me. One coach told me I had no future as a runner. He said I should think about playing line. One coach said I should learn how to punt. Punt? PUNT? When I realized what was happening, I recall thinking: Okay, you racists. I know you’re lying to me, because I know I can play football. So F___ you.”
“My anger was healthy, kept me strong. But each time I left Skytop and my friends, went down to suit up, my spirit shrank a little more. My anger got tired, doubt started creeping in. I went to practice one day, didn’t want to be on a football field for the first time in my life. Now perfect: they didn’t want me there either. I was given nothing to do but watch the other guys drill. I wanted to cry…I decided to quit. Give them what they wanted. I was no good anyway. Not like I’d be missed.”
Dr. Raymond Collins, the superintendent of Manhasset schools, drove to Syracuse and convinced Jim to stick it out and that he could make it at Syracuse. “Crucial moment? I believe it was. Had I dropped out of college then, I might have turned to anything. With my drive, I was going to something but I doubt it would have been in sports and I don’t know if it would have been something good. Back in Manhasset, the Gaylords, (a street gang), were getting older and more dangerous. They might have looked best to a kid who’d just had his dream killed. I might have become one hell of a gangster. I might also be in a jail or a corpse.”
“The last day of my freshman year…I was summoned by the varsity coach, Ben Schwartzwalder. Ben called me into his office, told me he wanted me back as a sophomore but he wanted me back as an end. I told Ben I didn’t want to play end. Never played it, never wanted to. I was a runner. I wanted to carry the football. Ben persisted, so did I. Finally, he shrugged, said he’d give me a try in the backfield. In retrospect, Ben wasn’t a bad guy. He was just Schwartzwalder. The head coach. And Ben kept his promise: at my first varsity practice, the coaches had posted a depth chart. I was at halfback. Fifth string and I could live with that. My fate would now be determined by my running, all I’d been asking for.”
“It took time, but today I’ve reconciled completely with the University of Syracuse. The process, as it usually is with these things, was gradual. After Syracuse accepted me, they asked me to help them recruit…In later years Syracuse earned a reputation for its abundant use of black athletes… I’ll always appreciate and love Ed Walsh, (his high school coach). And Ken Molloy. And Dr. Collins. And Roy Simmons, (the only coach at Syracuse who was good to me from the day I arrived). Those men literally changed my life. I can’t think them here the way they deserve to be thanked. Had it not been for them, going to college, which should be a privilege, might have been the most damaging time of my life. Instead, it was the most important. When I went from fifth string to Al-American, earned my degree, I made myself a promise: for the rest of my life, I will never let anyone tell me what I can and cannot accomplish.”
12 year old Terry Morris sent in a picture of Jim Brown signed by himself and 50 friends as a petition to get the #44 retired in honor of Jim, similar to what Illinois had done with Red Grange’s #77:
“My name is Terry Morris. I am 12 years old and go to Grant Junior High School. I am writing you this letter to let you and Jimmy Brown know what he means to us kids. Jim has been an inspiration to all of us because he has carried all his glory with modesty and because of his determination and courage in taking those beatings of those power lines he ran against all season. “
“You see, my father works at the stadium and I have seen all the games Jimmy Brown has played in and I even went to Maryland just to see him play and I know all that yardage he gained was done with sweat and hard work and- no doubt- a few tears. We admire and respect Jimmy Brown for his fine example for not only being a great football player but still having time to be a good guy.”
“Because long after Jimmy is forgotten as a great football player, we will always remember him as a swell guy. He must be to have all those swell fellows block and play so hard to make it possible for him to an All-American. So please, let us kids do something for Jimmy. We want you to use these signatures, (there aren’t many: I could get thousands if my Dad would let me), to retire for all time the unforgettable number ‘44’ as a present to Jimmy Brown (the Brown Blizzard) from us kids.”
Fortunately the University did not accede to Terry’s sincere request. For there were #44s to come.
“The Saltine Warriors of Syracuse filed into their dressing room slowly, dry-eyed, grim, heart-broken. There was lamp-black under their eyes, green grass stains and sweat on their soiled, white jerseys. They’d gone down fighting. They’d given their all. It wasn’t enough- by the barest of margins, an extra point kick.”
“Jim Brown, the magnificent All-American halfback, was the last to reach his spot on a bench in the corner of the room. He’d had a time getting away from the well-wishers and the autograph-seekers. Chuck Curtis, the Texas Christian quarterback, and the man he’d beaten out in the balloting for the Most valuable player award, skipped in right after him to offer his congratulations to a great, though, losing opponent. Norman Hamilton, the husky TCU tackle, also paid his respects.”
“Quietly, intelligently, a genuine All-American answered reporter’s questions shot at him from three directions, ignoring the frantic flashing of camera bulbs.“ JB: “Their passing attack was the difference. Our boys blocked well today. They worked hard but I just wish we could have done a little better on pass defense. I wish we could have tied it. And I wish we could have won it. We concentrated on the runners a little I guess. They had such a balanced attack, we had to watch them. Even Curtis ran well when he had to and he was a great passer. They were a good club. They hit hard but I do not believe they hit as hard as Pitt. It’s more of a power team. TCU could run and pass and it gang-tackled well. Hamilton is one I remember. He was so low he was hard to block out and he got you around the ankles.”
“Schwartzwalder had come off the field, his face looking white in the bright sunlight and chewing gum in a determined way. Now he had relaxed somewhat, though he would play this game over a thousand times in his mind.” He was asked if there was a turning point in the game. “Yes, our fumbles… Their balance makes it tough. They’ve got good running inside and outside. We had to cheat a little on our pass defense to keep those runners from getting away. Big Jim can run but the rest of us are a little slow. We can move the ball, though, if we can keep it. They were inviting us to pass with their defenses but we preferred to keep the ball. But we gave it away twice and that hurt. …I didn’t know Curtis could run that fast. He had to run once the way our end came up on him and I knew he was going to run on that touchdown. I don’t know what happened to our end on that play.“ He didn’t think Curtis was a better passer than Penn State’s Milt Plum or Colgate’s Guy Martin. “He’s all right but those fellows can hit you in the eye with the ball so what more do you want?”
In the video series “The Rites of Autumn”, Jim describes the Syracuse offense as being “a little out-dated. The plays were, limited.” and says “I had a good game but I didn’t reach my peak. That was the first time a lot of people had ever seen me on TV “. The same interview was used in “The Legend of 44” He talked about the Mendoza block: “To be realistic, there was a change of assignment between my fullback and my end and I don’t think the fullback got the change. A guy by the name of Chico Mendoza came through and blocked the kick so we lost the game. A lot of people give me a lot of credit for that game. I guess it was the first time they saw me on national TV. “
Ben didn’t know what happened with the blocked conversion. “I saw my fullback (Alan Cann) fussing with my end (Dick Lasse) about something- I guess they were talking about what they were going to do and this fellow slipped past Lasse.” Which is interesting because Lasse was the end. Jim Brown thought it was the fullback who got beat.
Chuck Zimmernan said “TCU’s downfield blocking is as good as we’ve seen.” Ferd Kuczala compared them to Penn State, saying “They had a good, strong line. And Hamilton is very good.” He felt Curtis “played an exceptionally fine game and he’s a great passer.”
“The room was quieting down now. The players, their bruises daubed, their hair combed and their ties noted neatly, were beginning to drift out to the bus that would take them to the awards dinner….A latecomer, pencil poised, asked “What do you think beat you?” Schwartzwalder smiled softly as he murmured “The score.”
In the TCU locker room “they were giving all the credit to the forward pass…and it seemed quite appropriate for a school that had practically served as a proving ground for that lethal gridiron weapon 20 years before under a couple of scientists named Baugh and O’Brien. And a goodly collection of Horned Frog fans who saw the latest demonstration of air power no doubt will speak of three great passers in all future arm-chair strategy sessions. For Chuck Curtis, lanky Frog field general who could well have been made from the same mold as the immortal Sammy Baugh, had an aerial ball against a Syracuse team that most of the Horned Frog players emphatically tabbed as the best team they’d played this year. There was absolutely no doubt among the Frogs that passing had been the difference and that Curtis had picked a fine time to have one of his best days ever. “
Abe Martin: “Yeah, their pass defense was a little lacking. We felt if we were going to gain consistently it would be with the pass. We also felt it would be a real good offensive game and it was…..Any man who wouldn’t call Brown a great player would have to ignorant or blind.”
One questioner, with pad and pencil in hand, asked, "Coach do you think that Hamilton played worth a damn?" Martin recognized that it was Norm Hamilton who had grabbed the pad and pencil and asked the question about himself. “Martin mussed Hamilton’s hair with about as much affection as a coach could show to a brutish giant with a face marked with the bruises and scratches of battle. “You played a great game. Now go on down there and have a good time.”
Curtis described it as his “finest hour” in throwing the ball. “But I had a lot of help. The blocking was great. Those receivers were maneuvering real good and they were catching it, too. Boy, didn’t that O’Day Williams make one? That’s why. We thought we could throw against them but we did think it was going to be a little tougher. They weren’t crashing their linebackers as much as we thought they would. That’s why I tried the screens quite a bit, to try to make them hesitate before they crashed. It helped slow down their rushing so I usually had plenty of time.”
End John Nikkel said “They were playing three deep men. It let us put two receivers on one man most of the time and he’d have to try to cover both of them. Of course Chuck had a great day. Boy, he was throwing them right in there. “
The Horned Frogs said Syracuse had a missing ingredient that prevented them from being a great team. Vernon Hallbeck: "That’s their trouble. They don’t’ throw enough. They could use a little more speed, too. But they are powerful. That Jim Brown, he’s just the greatest. They rely on him a lot but he can take it. He’s sure good on those off-tackle plays. He’d make a helluva fullback.” Buddy Dike: “He’s the best we’ve played. He can really pick his holes. You seldom get a clear shot at him. That’s why he always seems to get two or three yards after you hit him.”
In The Rites of Autumn, a photographer named Marvin Newman is interviewed. He talks about the reaction of the TCU players to Jim Brown: “They all acknowledged that he was the best ballplayer they’d ever come up against. They didn’t speak about him being black, white or green. He was just the best football player they’d ever played against.”
Cotton Bowl President called it “The best Cotton Bowl game we’ve ever had here.” And they’d never had one anywhere else. Bill Rives: “The 8 touchdown game was a thriller, one of the best in the 21 year history of the Cotton Bowl. It justified the wisdom of the Cotton Bowl selection committee and it probably brought sudden death to all snide comments about the quality of Eastern football.” Unfortunately it didn’t. For years afterwards, whenever an Eastern team beat a strong team from another section of the country, the coach would always be asked “Do you consider this to be a blow for the prestige of Eastern football?” or something similar. Coaches of teams from other parts of the country were never asked this. There were a lot of “blows for the prestige of Eastern football” over the years but reporters would keep asking the question.
Jim Ridlon took a dim view of the situation in a conversation years later in a conversation with Ken Rappoport: “We had a lousy football team and if it weren’t for Jimmy Brown we would have had nothing. Oh, we had a few good football players but really, it wasn’t a very good team. We didn’t have the depth. In two platoon football, we would have been out to lunch. The TCU team was so good that we cheered their movies when we watched them. It was the greatest entertainment for us. We didn’t belong on the same field with them. That’s the reason the TCU game was such a standout , because we shouldn’t have been in the ballgame with them, but we were. There’s no doubt about it, without Brown we would have made a lousy showing in the Cotton Bowl.” Without Brown, they wouldn’t have showed up in the Cotton Bowl at all.
Bill Reddy: Even in defeat, Brown further established himself as one of the greatest halfbacks of modern times…That Brown, the only Negro in the game, received the ungrudging admiration and praise of everyone, including the Texans who opposed him, was a milestone in the gradual breaking down of racial barriers. That Big Jim, a marked man on every play, stood up under constant battering and still was going strong at the finish, is a tribute to the durability of this tremendous athlete from Manhasset, Long Island. Big Jim played all but about two minutes of the 60.”
The documentary “The Legend of ‘44” shows some shots of an old-fashioned minstrel show playing outside the Cotton Bowl. Jim is asked if he saw that and what is reaction to it was. “No I actually didn’t see any minstrel bands. I wasn’t aware of that at all. I really didn’t need to see that. I don’t think the whole thing was based on race. There were good people there. Good people participated. Some of the players were real fine human beings. The #1 thing on my mind was race and it shouldn’t have been.”
Chuck Zimmerman said in the documentary that when they were set to leave Norman for Dallas, some Cotton Bowl officials told them that everything was all set, that they had a hotel for the team to stay in and “another one down the street for Jim Brown”. Zimmerman said that Ben Schwartzwalder and Jim Decker told them that “If Jim Brown doesn’t stay with us, we don’t stay there”. JB: I enjoyed the game. They had a couple of All-Americas, a real great running back by the name of Jim Swink. It was just an experience I have had mixed feeling about because it was…political. We did find a hotel we could stay in. We did lose the game by a point.”
An article in the 1/3/57 Post Standard is entitled “SU, TCU don’t plan on ’58 bowl bids”. Abe Martin said “They ought to pick me for the bottom next season. Then, when I win a game, I’ll be called a miracle coach.” The Horned Frogs had 18 seniors on their first two teams. But they had some good sophomores moving up. Martin conceded: “We’ll have a good team but it couldn’t possibly be like the team we had this season” Ben Schwartzwalder said that he couldn’t imagine his 1957 team returning to the Cotton Bowl, although he would like to. SU only lost 10 players form their first two teams but one of them was #44. Both teams would take a step backwards in 1957: TCU went 5-4-1, SU 5-3-1, but be back in major bowls in in 1958, the Horned Frogs tying undefeated Air Force in the Cotton Bowl and the Orange losing to mighty Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. Abe Martin would continue as the TCU coach until 1966 and then became the school’s athletic director. His 1959 team was the only team to beat Texas in the regular season, (14-9) and went to the Bluebonnet Bowl. His 1961 team spoiled the otherwise perfect records of Ohio State (7-7) and Texas 0-6). But the coming of two platoon football in 1964 made it harder for private schools to recruit in the necessary depth to be a national power and competing with the top schools became more difficult for both schools. TCU had only four winning seasons from the 1960’s to the 1980’s. Frog fans would look back with pleasure on the 1955-58 era when their team went to three Cotton Bowls and lost by a point, won by a point and played a tied game.
There was a report that Indiana was interested in having Schwartzwalder and his staff transfer their careers to Bloomington, much as Biggie Munn had done with his staff a decade before, going to East Lansing to turn Michigan State into a national power. “That Indiana has been seeking Schwartzie is one of the best-kept secrets of the pre-bowl campaign. Ben didn’t want to have a word said about it until after the big game because he didn’t want anything which could possibly detract from all-out preparations for the bowl tilt. He was afraid that any such talk might possibly upset the players in their bid for victory and his request was honored.” Nowadays, coaches leave their teams before the bowl game to begin putting things together at their new school. Ben had planned to go to Bloomington after the game to confer with officials there but instead decided to return to Syracuse with his team. He arranged a stop-over at Bloomington on his way back from the NCAA convention in St, Louis the next week.
Bill Reddy: “Undoubtedly Ben is interested in any offer which would be considered an advancement in his chosen profession and the opportunity to coach in the Big Ten presents a challenge which may be hard to resist…..He would like to see some Improvements if he is to stay at Syracuse, however. Principally, he’d like to have the University support bigger salaries for his staff, which he has repeatedly called “the finest staff in the country.” With that staff, Schwartzwalder’s teams have become increasingly attractive at the gate so that every year has seen greater attendance and higher receipts from football than each preceding year. Ben would like to have a regular training table set up for his players as is done at most major colleges. He’s like to have a vast improvement in housing for his players so that the Syracuse set-up might compare provided for the gridmen in virtually all major colleges.” And he’d like that Field House to get built.
“A reward for the Texas Christian coaches was made known Thursday when the TCU trustees voted to give Coach Abe Martin and his staff a 10 percent bonus on their salaries. Nothing official was reported about similar action for the Syracuse coaches.”
Reddy reported that Syracuse will realize approximately $135,000-$140,000 from the Cotton Bowl, although “expenses have been heavy”. TCU, which had to share with the members of its conference, would get about $70,000. That would be about $570,000 in 2014 money and SU’s take about twice that, (despite being the losers).
Despite being drafted by the NFL, Jim Brown’s and Jim Ridlon’s days as Syracuse University athletes were not yet over. Lacrosse season was coming up. Both Jims- Brown and Ridlon, we’re looking forward to suiting up again for the lacrosse team. “We don’t want to miss all that fun on the lacrosse field .” It’s a game as tough as football in some respects, more demanding than football in some ways but these two are looking forward to it for the fun they have in the old Indian pastime." And fun they had. The team went 10-0, out-scoring their opponents 137-46, and was voted #1 in the coach’s poll, their first national lacrosse title since 1925, while Jim Brown tied for the national scoring lead. In his last day competing for Syracuse University, Jim competed in three field events for the track team, winning two of them, and then starred in a winning lacrosse game against Army, 8-6.
Jim Brown was selected by the Optimist’s Club for their “Friend of the Boy” award. “Jim has been selected for this award because of his fine sportsmanship and inspiration to the youth of Central New York”. He was praised for his “eagerness to help whenever called on in furthering the youth program of the club. More than 3,000 Onondaga County boys take part in one of the largest programs of its kind in the country.”
Ben Schwartzwalder made a speech at that luncheon and described Jim as “a boy who conquered a lot of problems.” He said that all the boys on the team have problems and that the coaching staff tries to help them with their problems. “Big Jim had one. Ben only hinted as to what the problem was.” He stressed that at age 20, Jim was one of the youngest seniors in college. (One wonders if he was even of college age when he came here under that scholarship paid for by the people of Manhassett.) “Ben conceded that many of the Manhasset halfbacks’ problems were thrust upon him because of his abilities in many phases of football as well as other sports. The Syracuse coach was somewhat wistful when he commented that everything in Brown’s ability was just starting to fit.” Ben: “It’s a shame the games didn’t last longer so we could have done more. Now Jim is mature and strong. I predict Jim will become one of the greatest in pro football. He is just beginning to approach his potential.” It was a correct prediction.
In the documentary “The Legend of 44”, Jim says “I’m grateful for my years at Syracuse and I say that honestly, I’m very happy for the negative experiences and for the positive experiences. I had to learn a lot and I had to reconcile a lot. I had to be understanding and versatile and it made me a man because I vowed never to let anyone tell me what I couldn’t do. They told me I couldn’t play football at Syracuse. Then it was on because whatever I faced after that I knew they weren’t going to tell me I couldn’t fight it. So I have a great appreciation for the days I spent there.”
Jim Ridlon: “He was a black person in a white world. That’s the way he saw it there. I don’t think his teammates saw it that way. When I went to high school most of the players were black. So it never occurred to the rest of us that he was having this internal struggle with a structure that cheated him- and he felt cheated...He brought to the sport an energy source not many people have. He was driven by demons of the past that surfaced in anger he could control and he turned it into physical energy that made him run a little bit faster and hit a little bit harder and I think that’s what made him special.”
Jim Brown in his memoir, “Out of Bounds”, says “I went to Syracuse believing I was on scholarship, when actually I was there on a trial basis…(Kenny Malloy) had been treated well at Syracuse, thought I would be, too. He didn’t know because they didn’t tell him: Syracuse did not want black athletes….First day of freshman practice, I earned some things although I didn’t comprehend their significance. I was the only black on the freshman team. And the only player living at Skytop. All my freshman teammates lived in a dorm called Collendale, in the heart of campus. I was so naive, I never thought of race. I thought it was strange, left it at that. My next discovery was also puzzling. All my teammates were given meal tickets that entitled them to eat at Slocum Hall. I was a big kid, always hungry but my meal ticket was different- I was not to eat at Slocum but at Sims and my ticket provided for half as much food.”
Jim pledged at a fraternity “My freshman coach found out, told me to quit. He said it would take up to much of my time. Down the hill at practice I was largely ignored. When someone finally spoke more than two words to me, it was to tell me I couldn’t be in a frat. Then I was issued a warning. The freshman quarterback walked over, said, whatever I did, I should not be like Vada Stone….Vada was black and flashy. He had messed around with the prettiest white girl in school, then left. Now, because I was black, too, they were going to kick my ass, because they couldn’t kick his.”
“In a certain way, the people of Manhasset had set me up for this. I don’t mean by sending me to Syracuse, which was done with every good intention. It was precisely that- their goodness- that had set me up. When I came to Manhasset High School, I was never denied an opportunity. I was living among all these white people, receiving all this warmth and support. It lulled me to sleep. I believed everyone would be as good as the people of Manhasset. At eighteen, I wasn’t prepared for the venom. “
“I couldn’t even fight back with my talent. I was the fastest back on the freshman team, probably the strongest, but if a coach addressed me at all, it was to needle me. One coach told me I had no future as a runner. He said I should think about playing line. One coach said I should learn how to punt. Punt? PUNT? When I realized what was happening, I recall thinking: Okay, you racists. I know you’re lying to me, because I know I can play football. So F___ you.”
“My anger was healthy, kept me strong. But each time I left Skytop and my friends, went down to suit up, my spirit shrank a little more. My anger got tired, doubt started creeping in. I went to practice one day, didn’t want to be on a football field for the first time in my life. Now perfect: they didn’t want me there either. I was given nothing to do but watch the other guys drill. I wanted to cry…I decided to quit. Give them what they wanted. I was no good anyway. Not like I’d be missed.”
Dr. Raymond Collins, the superintendent of Manhasset schools, drove to Syracuse and convinced Jim to stick it out and that he could make it at Syracuse. “Crucial moment? I believe it was. Had I dropped out of college then, I might have turned to anything. With my drive, I was going to something but I doubt it would have been in sports and I don’t know if it would have been something good. Back in Manhasset, the Gaylords, (a street gang), were getting older and more dangerous. They might have looked best to a kid who’d just had his dream killed. I might have become one hell of a gangster. I might also be in a jail or a corpse.”
“The last day of my freshman year…I was summoned by the varsity coach, Ben Schwartzwalder. Ben called me into his office, told me he wanted me back as a sophomore but he wanted me back as an end. I told Ben I didn’t want to play end. Never played it, never wanted to. I was a runner. I wanted to carry the football. Ben persisted, so did I. Finally, he shrugged, said he’d give me a try in the backfield. In retrospect, Ben wasn’t a bad guy. He was just Schwartzwalder. The head coach. And Ben kept his promise: at my first varsity practice, the coaches had posted a depth chart. I was at halfback. Fifth string and I could live with that. My fate would now be determined by my running, all I’d been asking for.”
“It took time, but today I’ve reconciled completely with the University of Syracuse. The process, as it usually is with these things, was gradual. After Syracuse accepted me, they asked me to help them recruit…In later years Syracuse earned a reputation for its abundant use of black athletes… I’ll always appreciate and love Ed Walsh, (his high school coach). And Ken Molloy. And Dr. Collins. And Roy Simmons, (the only coach at Syracuse who was good to me from the day I arrived). Those men literally changed my life. I can’t think them here the way they deserve to be thanked. Had it not been for them, going to college, which should be a privilege, might have been the most damaging time of my life. Instead, it was the most important. When I went from fifth string to Al-American, earned my degree, I made myself a promise: for the rest of my life, I will never let anyone tell me what I can and cannot accomplish.”
12 year old Terry Morris sent in a picture of Jim Brown signed by himself and 50 friends as a petition to get the #44 retired in honor of Jim, similar to what Illinois had done with Red Grange’s #77:
“My name is Terry Morris. I am 12 years old and go to Grant Junior High School. I am writing you this letter to let you and Jimmy Brown know what he means to us kids. Jim has been an inspiration to all of us because he has carried all his glory with modesty and because of his determination and courage in taking those beatings of those power lines he ran against all season. “
“You see, my father works at the stadium and I have seen all the games Jimmy Brown has played in and I even went to Maryland just to see him play and I know all that yardage he gained was done with sweat and hard work and- no doubt- a few tears. We admire and respect Jimmy Brown for his fine example for not only being a great football player but still having time to be a good guy.”
“Because long after Jimmy is forgotten as a great football player, we will always remember him as a swell guy. He must be to have all those swell fellows block and play so hard to make it possible for him to an All-American. So please, let us kids do something for Jimmy. We want you to use these signatures, (there aren’t many: I could get thousands if my Dad would let me), to retire for all time the unforgettable number ‘44’ as a present to Jimmy Brown (the Brown Blizzard) from us kids.”
Fortunately the University did not accede to Terry’s sincere request. For there were #44s to come.
