My goal is to make Collegefootballcrazy.com the site you go to when you want to find info about historical facts and heroes of yesteryear going back to the time I first started closely watching the game in 1967.
But, also check back for current events, great players and great teams.
QB: Gary Beban – UCLA: The Heisman winner in 1967. I wrote about him on this site previously: Beban Also, in the 1967 game against USC labeled the Game of the Century just one year after the http://collegefootballcrazy.com/18-saturdays/ Beban was a bust in the NFL, but he was clearly a very good college football player, a team leader and a smart guy. He threw for numbers that would disappoint today’s fans, but those were different days and times.
previous Game of the Century:
RB: Larry Csonka – Syracuse: This school was famous for outstanding Running Backs such as Jim Brown, Ernie Davis and Floyd Little. Csonka was a pure Fullback and a bruiser. In 1967, Csonka capped off a brilliant career at Syracuse with 1,127 yards rushing. During his 3 seasons of eligibility at Syracuse, Csonka ran for 2,934 yards. Csonka was the 8th pick of the 1st round by the Miami Dolphins and he was a major part of the 1972 undefeated Dolphin team. Not only that, but Csonka is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
RB: Leroy Keyes – Purdue: I wrote about Keyes earlier here: Keyes A two year All American in 1967 and 1968 Keyes played Defensive Back and Running Back at Purdue. In 1967, Keyes ran for 986 yards and 13 Touchdowns. He also caught 45 passes for 758 yards and another 6 Touchdowns.
RB: OJ Simpson – USC: The bad side of the Simpson story is well known. He transferred to USC after playing at San Francisco City College and he just dominated. His junior season of 1967, Simpson ran for 1,543 yards and scored 13 Touchdowns as the Trojans won the national championship. Simpson, like Keyes was an All American in 1967 and 1968, but he went on to win the Heisman Trophy and was the 1st pick in the NFL Draft and is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
WR: Dennis Homan – Alabama: Homan is from Muscle Shoals, Alabama and a star Running Back in high school when he was recruited to Alabama. He moved to Wide Receiver for Bear Bryant and
the Crimson Tide. During his senior season, in 1967, Homan caught 54 passes for 820 yards and 9 Touchdowns. Over his 3 seasons at Alabama, Homan caught 87 passes for 1,495 yards and 18 Touchdowns. The Dallas Cowboys liked Homan enough to pick him with their first pick in the 1968 NFL Draft. Homan played a little with the Cowboys and replaced speedster Bob Hayes when he was injured. But, Hayes was the fastest man in the world and he regained his job. At the end of the season, Homan asked to be traded and was sent to the Chiefs. After 2 less than spectacular seasons at Kansas City, Homan retired from the NFL. But, he was back with the World Football League with the Birmingham Americans and he was one of the best Receivers in the WFL before it folded.
WR: Ron Sellers – Florida State: Sellers put up huge numbers for his day and still holds Florida State receiving records. He was a two time All American sharing the team with Leroy Keyes and OJ Simpson. In 1967, Sellers caught 70 passes for 1,228 yards and 8 Touchdowns. Sellers had an even bigger season in 1968.
OL: Edgar Chandler – Georgia: The Cedartown, Georgia native was a high school All American as an Offensive Lineman. He stayed home and attended Georgia where he played Offensive Tackle and was named an All American in 1966 and 1967. After being drafted in the 4th round by the Buffalo Bills who strangely moved him to Middle Linebacker. He played 5 seasons for the Bills, then went to the Boston Patriots. Chandler finished his football career on the same team as Dennis Homan with the Birmingham Americans.
Sadly, Chandler passed away in 1992 at the age of 46 with cancer.
OL: Bob Johnson – Tennessee: Johnson was an early day beast at 6-5, 265 an was all SEC and All American in 1966 and 1967. Johnson finished in 6th place in the Heisman voting in 1967 which is highly unusual for not only an Offensive Lineman, but especially a Center. A brilliant man, Johnson graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering. He was the Cincinnati Bengals first draft pick when they started up in 1968. Bob Johnson played for the Bengals during his entire impressive 12 year NFL career.
OL: Harry Olszewski – Clemson: The Big ‘O’ played Guard for Clemson and was a consensus All American in 1967. Olszewski was picked by the Cleveland Browns in the 3rd round of the 1968 NFL Draft, but he never played there, or in the NFL at all. He did play a few years in Canada.
Olszewski died of a heart attack in 1998 at the age of 52.
OL: Rich Stotter – Houston: The game has changed so much in my lifetime. Stotter was only 6-0, 225 and a made consensus All American as an Offensive Guard. The Houston Oilers drafted the Shaker Heights, Ohio native with their 14th round pick and he played Linebacker there for one season. Stotter was the University of Houston’s first consensus All American and a part of the
resurgence of that program as a 3 year starter from 1965 through 1967. Stotter passed away in May of 2015 at the age of 70.
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OL: Ron Yary – USC: One of the greatest Offensive Linemen of all time. Yary was the very first pick in the NFL Draft of 1968 just ahead of Center Bob Johnson who was 2nd. Yary was the Left Tackle for USC that blocked for OJ and he became a fixture at Offensive Tackle for the Minnesota Vikings. With the Vikings he started for 14 years at Offensive Tackle and he finished his career in Los Angeles with the Rams.
He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001.
DL: Dennis Byrd – North Carolina State: Back in the 1960’s clearly technology was not like it is today. Byrd was an All American and a great one, but he injured his knee during his senior season. He was drafted by the then Boston Patriots, but he was only on the team for one season because his knee did not heal properly as they often didn’t back in those days. The Patriots picked him with their first pick which was 6th and it cost them dearly. Byrd left the playing field, but got into high school coaching and was successful up until his retirement in 2004. Byrd was a big man for his day playing Defensive End at 6-4, 260.
DL: Ted Hendricks – Miami: The Mad Stork as he was nicknamed because of his size, was a
legend. Before the Miami Hurricanes became such an awesome college football program of the 1980’s, 1990’s and part of the 2000’s, Hendricks was a great one for them. In 1967, Hendricks was a junior and he would repeat just like several others on this list. Hendricks was drafted in the 2nd round by the Baltimore Colts and he played there, for 5 seasons. The Colts traded him to Green Bay and then Al Davis and the Raiders traded for him. He was part of 4 Super Bowl winning teams and is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The 6-7, 220 Hendricks was a Linebacker in the NFL.
DL: Granville Liggins – Oklahoma: Not only was Liggins and All American football player, but he was also a college wrestler and an All American in that as well. Liggins was small at 6-0, 225, but he was really, really quick. Liggins had the opportunity to play against Tennessee All American Bob Johnson in the Orange Bowl that year and he was simply way too quick for Johnson and the Vols were forced to double team him. At his size, he was not drafted until the 10th round by the Detroit Lions. But, he decided on playing in Canada which he did very well for 11 years with Calgary and Toronto. After football, Liggins decided he loved Canada and became a citizen.
DL: Wayne Meylan – Nebraska: Meylan was from Bay City, Michigan when he signed with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He was an All American in 1966 and 1967 as a Nose Guard. Playing that position, he set Nebraska records for most tackles in a season and most in a career, which is impressive for a down lineman. Meylan was drafted in the 4th round of the NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns and he played in the NFL for seasons before returning to Nebraska to finish his degree. After starting his own business, Meylan was tragically killed when his plane crashed in 1987 at the young age of 41.
DL: Tim Rossovich – USC: One of my all time favorite bad boys of football. I wrote about him here: crazy While at USC, Rossovich roomed with future star actor Tom Selleck and he is also the brother of actor Rick Rossovich. Naturally, after making consensus All American and being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1st round and playing in the NFL, Rossivich would get into acting after football. Rossovich played 7 years in the NFL and 2 years in the World Football League before hanging up his cleats.
LB: Don Manning – UCLA: Manning and Gary Beban were both consensus All Americans in 1967 making that the first year in the history of the school for 2 to make the team. They both participated in the 1967 version of the Game of the Century which USC won in a tough battle and won the national championship. Manning was 6-2, 205 and was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 17th round of the draft. But, he never made the team and was out of football after that.
LB: Adrian Young – USC: Irish born football player, Young grew up in California before signing with the Trojans. He was the 4th Trojan on the All American team indicating just how good their team was that season. The Philadelphia Eagles took teammate Rossovich with their 1st pick and Young with their 3rd round pick. Young played for the Eagles, the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears for 6 seasons before signing with the Hawaii franchise of the World Football League.
DB: Dick Anderson – Colorado: Playing high school football in Boulder, Anderson decided to stay home to play his college football and it paid off with a consensus All American selection in 1967. Anderson was a 3rd round pick of the Miami Dolphins and he was a major factor in their 1972 undefeated season. He was the NFL Defensive player of the year in 1973 and he played all of his 9 year career with the Dolphins. During his career, Anderson picked off 34 passes and returned 3 of them for Touchdowns. I suppose he enjoyed Florida and he stayed there and became a businessman and was a Florida State Senator.
DB: Bobby Johns – Alabama: A native of nearby Birmingham, Johns was All SEC every year he played at Alabama and he finished up as a consensus All American in 1967. Alabama won the national championship in 1965 and went undefeated in 1966. Johns was picked in the 12th round but he decided to go ahead and get into coaching since that was what he wanted to do. His last job was as the head coach at Western Alabama where he resigned in 2000.
DB: Frank Loria – Virginia Tech: Loria was from Clarksburg, West Virginia and he signed with the Hokies of Virginia Tech. As a Hokie, he played in the same Defensive Backfield as recently retired Frank Beamer. Loria was a consensus All American in 1967 and he got into coaching. His first job was as the Defensive Back coach at Marshall and then Loria was killed along with many others on the famous flight 932 that killed most of the Marshall football team in 1970. Those who knew Loria, such as Frank Beamer, declared that Loria would have been an outstanding coach.
DB: Tom Schoen – Notre Dame: Schoen was a high school Quarterback from Cleveland when he signed with the Fighting Irish. The Irish coaches kept him at Quarterback during his first two seasons before he moved to Safety as a junior. After making All American in 1967, Schoen went into the military. He had been drafted by his hometown Cleveland Browns but didn’t get to play for them until 1970 and he only lasted 1 season. After football, he got into coaching high school football.