SWC75
Bored Historian
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- Aug 26, 2011
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In the days of old, when knights were bold
Every city had its warrior man.
In the days of new, when fights are few
You will view them from a big grandstand.
In our college town one has great renown
If the game of football he should play.
With his pig-skin ball he is cheered by all,
He's the Saltine Warrior of today.
The Saltine Warrior is a bold, bad man,
And his weapon is a pigskin ball,
When on the field he takes a good, firm stand,
He's the hero of large and small.
He will rush toward the goal with might and main
His opponents all fight, but they fight in vain,
Because the Saltine Warrior is a bold, bad man,
And victorious over all.
We are early in a new era in SU football- the Doug Marrone era. 60 years ago, another era began- the Ben Schwartzwalder Era, during which SU rose from its greatest depths to its greatest heights, and then all the way back down again. It was the era into which I was born, the one I remember from my youth. I can still recall listening to the games on the radio and waiting until Tuesday to see the grainy black and white films of the previous Saturday’s games on the local news. The music played over these highlights was not “Down, Down the Field”. It was “The Saltine Warrior”. My Dad thought he knew the beginning of it and would sing “The Saltine Warrior was a bold, brave man”. I later found that the line was “bold, bad, man”. But that’s not the way I learned it and it’s not the way I like it. My heroes were not “bad” men. They were “brave” men. They were the “Bold, Brave Men of Archbold”.
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Pre-Season
This season marked a significant change in Syracuse’s scheduling. Gone were Villanova, Cornell and Fordham, replaced by Pittsburgh, (first of 57 straight contests and counting), national Power Maryland, (who would go undefeated in the regular season that year for the third time in five years), and West Virginia, (also the first of 57 straight but the counting has stopped), Ben‘s alma mater. Illinois was also replaced by Army, a school we hadn’t played since “The Massacre of the Plains”, a brawl that took place at West Point in 1926.
We were playing a “big boy“ schedule now- and had to be a big boy to meet the challenge. Jack Slattery of the Herald Journal asked Ben Schwartzwalder if he’d ever faced such a rugged schedule. “You can answer that one for yourself. Now give me one, (a question) where you’ll need some help from me.” Thinking better of his reply, Ben declared the 1955 schedule to be “the toughest schedule ever taken on by Syracuse University.”
But the team had more talent and depth than previous Schwartzwalder teams, as Ben grudgingly admitted. And some new faces were pushing for playing time. They tended to be bigger than their elders. Ed Bailey at guard was being pushed by Chuck Strid, “an exceptionally powerful boy”, who was “15-20 pounds heavier”, (Both were 6-1. Bailey was 190, Strid 205- those were the days when linemen were like free-style wrestlers, not sumo wrestlers). Gerry Hershey at 6-3 214, was challenging 6-1 200 Jim Brill at tackle. End Tommy Richardson, 5-11 192, was trying to fight off Dick Lasse (6-1 201). The most improve lineman in spring practice was Ralph Farmer, who was battling Cal Smith for the other guard spot. Farmer was 6-3, 210, Smith 6-1 188.And then there was the junior halfback, Jim “First Down” Brown, who at 6-2 212, was as big as anybody on the team.
Pete Schwert was the star of the line at center. Backing him was future Maryland coach Joe Krivak. Ed Coffin was pushing Don Laacksonen for playing time at fullback and Dick Aloise and Mike Bill were pushing him. Ben said that “Coffin looks like he could be a fine linebacker, which means he could win the job.” In those one platoon days, being a fine linebacker was part of a fullback’s job. Jerry Cashman, Glenn Preising and Bob Musgrave, Bob Federchuck, Ken Tuttle, provided line depth. Sophomores Fred Kuczala, Dan Ciervo, Paul Hoftower and Ed Schreible did the same in the backfield.
Besides Brown and Laacksonen, the backfield veterans were quarterback Eddie Albright, wingback Jim Ridlon, halfback and punter Don Althouse, returning to the team after a couple of years away.
Bill Reddy summarized the team at the lose of spring practice: “It shapes up as a team with a big line that should be fairly strong with improved quarterbacking with perhaps somewhat less overall backfield speed. Facing a tremendous 1955 schedule that opens with Pitt September 24th, the Orange will need everything including plenty of depth, and it’s that last item that constitutes the big problem.”
Ben Schwartzwalder talked about his quarterback, Eddie Albright. “The season I played Eddie at fullback I told him the time away from quarterbacking would delay the point when he would reach his peak as a quarterback. But I told him, too, that playing the position would make him a much better player in all respects. It has worked that way with Eddie, who showed signs of the things expected of him late last season and has progressed amazingly. And the season he spent at fullback has made him a fine blocker and doubled his worth as a defensive player. “
Unlike 1954, when the University was trying to follow the lead of the Ivy league, Ben was allowed to hold spring practice for 20 days. We weren’t playing the Ivy league any more and the schools we needed to emulate were the ones we were playing. When Ben Started in 1949, he was allowed to give out only 12 athletic scholarships, less than half of what the big time schools offered. In 1952, Chancellor Tolley, at Ben’s pleading, increased the total to 16. With the increased difficulty of the schedule, this was increased to 22 and later to 25.
56 players reported for fall practice. The emphasis was in developing a passing game, which was ”virtually non-existent” in 1954. SU had completed 23 of 81 passes for 301 yards in 8 games in 1954. They were also sacked for 119 yards in losses.
Injuries began to impact the team. Pete Schwert got hurt and Joe Krivak moved into his spot, backed up by Joe Rose and Steve Ringo. Jerry Hershey separated his shoulder and looked to be lost for the season. Ed Schreible, how had been in the mix for back-up quarterback, left the team.
The line-up was solidified. Jim Brown and Billy Micho would be the starting halfbacks, although senior Mark Hoffman was pressing Micho after two years in the Army. Speedy Ron Tyler and Lyle Carleson were back-ups. Ed Coffin moved ahead of veteran Don Laacksonen, Bill Brown and Gus Zaso for the fullback job. Jim Ridlon and Tom Richardson had won spots as the starting ends. Eddie Albright would be the quarterback.
Next week: Pittsburgh
Every city had its warrior man.
In the days of new, when fights are few
You will view them from a big grandstand.
In our college town one has great renown
If the game of football he should play.
With his pig-skin ball he is cheered by all,
He's the Saltine Warrior of today.
The Saltine Warrior is a bold, bad man,
And his weapon is a pigskin ball,
When on the field he takes a good, firm stand,
He's the hero of large and small.
He will rush toward the goal with might and main
His opponents all fight, but they fight in vain,
Because the Saltine Warrior is a bold, bad man,
And victorious over all.
We are early in a new era in SU football- the Doug Marrone era. 60 years ago, another era began- the Ben Schwartzwalder Era, during which SU rose from its greatest depths to its greatest heights, and then all the way back down again. It was the era into which I was born, the one I remember from my youth. I can still recall listening to the games on the radio and waiting until Tuesday to see the grainy black and white films of the previous Saturday’s games on the local news. The music played over these highlights was not “Down, Down the Field”. It was “The Saltine Warrior”. My Dad thought he knew the beginning of it and would sing “The Saltine Warrior was a bold, brave man”. I later found that the line was “bold, bad, man”. But that’s not the way I learned it and it’s not the way I like it. My heroes were not “bad” men. They were “brave” men. They were the “Bold, Brave Men of Archbold”.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pre-Season
This season marked a significant change in Syracuse’s scheduling. Gone were Villanova, Cornell and Fordham, replaced by Pittsburgh, (first of 57 straight contests and counting), national Power Maryland, (who would go undefeated in the regular season that year for the third time in five years), and West Virginia, (also the first of 57 straight but the counting has stopped), Ben‘s alma mater. Illinois was also replaced by Army, a school we hadn’t played since “The Massacre of the Plains”, a brawl that took place at West Point in 1926.
We were playing a “big boy“ schedule now- and had to be a big boy to meet the challenge. Jack Slattery of the Herald Journal asked Ben Schwartzwalder if he’d ever faced such a rugged schedule. “You can answer that one for yourself. Now give me one, (a question) where you’ll need some help from me.” Thinking better of his reply, Ben declared the 1955 schedule to be “the toughest schedule ever taken on by Syracuse University.”
But the team had more talent and depth than previous Schwartzwalder teams, as Ben grudgingly admitted. And some new faces were pushing for playing time. They tended to be bigger than their elders. Ed Bailey at guard was being pushed by Chuck Strid, “an exceptionally powerful boy”, who was “15-20 pounds heavier”, (Both were 6-1. Bailey was 190, Strid 205- those were the days when linemen were like free-style wrestlers, not sumo wrestlers). Gerry Hershey at 6-3 214, was challenging 6-1 200 Jim Brill at tackle. End Tommy Richardson, 5-11 192, was trying to fight off Dick Lasse (6-1 201). The most improve lineman in spring practice was Ralph Farmer, who was battling Cal Smith for the other guard spot. Farmer was 6-3, 210, Smith 6-1 188.And then there was the junior halfback, Jim “First Down” Brown, who at 6-2 212, was as big as anybody on the team.
Pete Schwert was the star of the line at center. Backing him was future Maryland coach Joe Krivak. Ed Coffin was pushing Don Laacksonen for playing time at fullback and Dick Aloise and Mike Bill were pushing him. Ben said that “Coffin looks like he could be a fine linebacker, which means he could win the job.” In those one platoon days, being a fine linebacker was part of a fullback’s job. Jerry Cashman, Glenn Preising and Bob Musgrave, Bob Federchuck, Ken Tuttle, provided line depth. Sophomores Fred Kuczala, Dan Ciervo, Paul Hoftower and Ed Schreible did the same in the backfield.
Besides Brown and Laacksonen, the backfield veterans were quarterback Eddie Albright, wingback Jim Ridlon, halfback and punter Don Althouse, returning to the team after a couple of years away.
Bill Reddy summarized the team at the lose of spring practice: “It shapes up as a team with a big line that should be fairly strong with improved quarterbacking with perhaps somewhat less overall backfield speed. Facing a tremendous 1955 schedule that opens with Pitt September 24th, the Orange will need everything including plenty of depth, and it’s that last item that constitutes the big problem.”
Ben Schwartzwalder talked about his quarterback, Eddie Albright. “The season I played Eddie at fullback I told him the time away from quarterbacking would delay the point when he would reach his peak as a quarterback. But I told him, too, that playing the position would make him a much better player in all respects. It has worked that way with Eddie, who showed signs of the things expected of him late last season and has progressed amazingly. And the season he spent at fullback has made him a fine blocker and doubled his worth as a defensive player. “
Unlike 1954, when the University was trying to follow the lead of the Ivy league, Ben was allowed to hold spring practice for 20 days. We weren’t playing the Ivy league any more and the schools we needed to emulate were the ones we were playing. When Ben Started in 1949, he was allowed to give out only 12 athletic scholarships, less than half of what the big time schools offered. In 1952, Chancellor Tolley, at Ben’s pleading, increased the total to 16. With the increased difficulty of the schedule, this was increased to 22 and later to 25.
56 players reported for fall practice. The emphasis was in developing a passing game, which was ”virtually non-existent” in 1954. SU had completed 23 of 81 passes for 301 yards in 8 games in 1954. They were also sacked for 119 yards in losses.
Injuries began to impact the team. Pete Schwert got hurt and Joe Krivak moved into his spot, backed up by Joe Rose and Steve Ringo. Jerry Hershey separated his shoulder and looked to be lost for the season. Ed Schreible, how had been in the mix for back-up quarterback, left the team.
The line-up was solidified. Jim Brown and Billy Micho would be the starting halfbacks, although senior Mark Hoffman was pressing Micho after two years in the Army. Speedy Ron Tyler and Lyle Carleson were back-ups. Ed Coffin moved ahead of veteran Don Laacksonen, Bill Brown and Gus Zaso for the fullback job. Jim Ridlon and Tom Richardson had won spots as the starting ends. Eddie Albright would be the quarterback.
Next week: Pittsburgh
