I have no idea if Tommy Casanova was popular with the ladies, as his name might indicate. But, he was extremely talented in football and was LSU’s one and only 3 time All American.
As many great players that LSU has had, being the only 3 time All American is a pretty huge accomplishment.
But, jokes aside about his last name, Tommy Casanova was one of the smart guys. He used football to improve his life off the field, while being really good at the game.
Growing up in the small southern Louisiana town of Crowley, I can only assume at this point that Casanova wanted to play for the Tigers of LSU. But, since he attended Notre Dame High School in Crowley, there’s the chance that he dreamed of playing for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. No matter where his early dream school was located, Casanova wound up at LSU and the rest is history.
As a true freshman in 1968, Casanova had to play on the freshman team where he was a two way player and a standout. He played running back on offense and safety on defense. To top that off, he also returned punts and kicks.
That continued on the LSU Tiger varsity as a sophomore, but to a lessor degree.
The LSU Tigers of 1969 were a good football team. They were maybe one of head coach Charlie McClendon’s best, if not his very best in his 18 seasons as the head coach of LSU.
Paul Dietzel won the national championship at LSU in 1958 with a perfect 11-0 record. But, for some strange reason, after the 1961 football season, Dietzel stepped down to take the head job at Army. He became the first non-Army graduate to coach their football team.
When he stepped down, his assistant coach, Charlie McClendon was named his replacement.
McClendon’s first season in Baton Rouge resulted in a 9-1-1 finish, and he never really bettered that other than his 9-1 finish in 1969.
Offensively, the Tigers used several quarterbacks and running backs. Senior Mike Hillman, junior Buddy Lee and Butch Duhe all played at quarterback with Hillman leading the way. At running back, Eddie Ray, Allen Shorey and Jimmy Gilbert led the way, but sophomore Tommy Casanova moved over from safety and carried the ball 24 times for 101 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Casanova also returned punts and kicks, but it was at safety where he really stood out for a really good LSU defense. Tommy Casanova at safety and George Bevan at linebacker were both All Americans in 1969.
Although the Tigers started the 1969 season off unranked, they were 6-0 after they beat 14th ranked Auburn and played their way to the 8th spot in the Associated Press Poll. It was then, that they were surprised by unranked Ole Miss and their super junior quarterback Archie Manning.
LSU recovered enough to beat Alabama, Mississippi State and Tulane to finish their season 9-1. The Tigers felt that they deserved a chance to play Texas in the Cotton Bowl for the national championship. But, the Cotton Bowl representatives decided to take Notre Dame for several reasons. The Fighting Irish had banned bowls for almost 50 years and their ending that streak was a huge deal. Plus, Notre Dame was just Notre Dame, and in spite of the fact that LSU had a better record than Notre Dame, the Irish were rated higher.
It became a case of the Cotton Bowl, or bust, for the Tigers and they were home for the holidays in 1969.
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Texas came from behind and beat the Fighting Irish and captured the national title in 1969. Who knows how things would have turned out with the Tigers in the Cotton Bowl?
The LSU Tigers finished 9-3 in 1970 and they doubled up on their use of Tommy Casanova at running back. Casanova received 48 carries instead of 24 and he ran for about 200 yards. Buddy Lee stepped up at quarterback playing in front of future NFL star Bert Jones there. Art Cantrelle took over at running back and ran for just under 900 yards.
Casanova had been an All American in 1969 as a sophomore, but in 1970 he was a consensus pick. He was joined on the All American team that season by teammates Mike Anderson at linebacker and John Sage at defensive tackle. Anderson was also a consensus pick.
On December 5th of 1970, Tommy Casanova returned two punts for touchdowns against Ole Miss to help LSU beat the Rebels 61-17 and gain a small measure of revenge for their only loss in 1969. But, it was just sweet to beat Ole Miss and they poured it on.
Bevan and Anderson were gone in 1971 and the Tigers used Casanova on defense only. He was a
consensus All American yet again. Just like today, LSU was all about defense and defensive tackle Ronnie Etsay joined Casanova on the All American teams.
The 1971 season didn’t begin well for the Tigers with 9th ranked LSU losing to unranked Colorado in the season opener, but the Buffaloes finished the season ranked 3rd. LSU improved to 5-1 before losing to that pesky Ole Miss again, by 2 points, 22-24 in Jackson, Mississippi.
The following week, the 18th ranked Tigers lost to 4th ranked Alabama, 7-14.
LSU fought back after falling to Alabama and finished their season 8-3. They were invited to the Sun Bowl where they beat a good Big 8 team in Iowa State team, 33-15.
Iowa State came into the game with 3 losses in the regular season. They lost to Nebraska, Oklahoma and Colorado and the Huskers won the national title with the Sooners finishing 2nd and the Buffaloes 3rd.
After his college playing days were over, Casanova was picked in the 2nd round by the Cincinnati Bengals. Casanova was the same kind of special player in the NFL that he had been at the college level.
He played 6 seasons at safety and as a punt returner. During his rookie season, he had 5 interceptions and returned a punt for a touchdown. After his third season, Casanova was a Pro Bowler his final three seasons and his last year could have been his best.
After 6 seasons, Tommy Casanova walked away from the NFL at the top of his game. He went to medical school and became a very successful ophthalmologist back in his home town of Crowley, Louisiana. He also ran for state senator where he won and served a single term in office.
Tommy Casanova was a standout high school, college and NFL football player. But, that’s not all he was. He used football to gain an education and to better his life.