I (Wayne) turned out for football at “Prin” during my Sophomore year in college. When I got to campus prior to classes starting, it was hot and humid. On the first day of practice we ran a 2 mile. Jim Crafton was the coach. In the Fall of 1975, he intended for us to run an offense that we used during the preceding Spring Football practice. It was decided that we were not going to use the Wishbone offense we used in 1974. This would be “Prin’s” second year in the College Athletic Conference (CAC), in NCAA Division III.
During my Sophomore season, I started on offense (guard) and defense (end). This was not new for me, as I played both ways in High School during part of my Junior and Senior years.
1975 was a tough season for us, but we had some memorable games. The most memorable game was against Eureka College. We won that (home) game 21-8. During that game I distinctly remember blocking a defensive player; I looked to my right and I saw our halfback (Robert, see Note 4 also) hurdle a would-be-tackler, and then going for a long touchdown (TD) run. Although reference 1 mentioned the 74 yard TD run, it did not mention that he hurdled a potential tackler.
During a “Prin” (home) game against Southwestern [at Memphis, aka SAM] (now named Rhodes College) the step father of a teammate of mine brought a nice camera with telephoto lens to the game. He took a photograph of Kevin and I playing defense that day (see reference 2). Kevin was playing right cornerback, and I was the right end. Kevin later gave me the aforementioned black & white photograph, which was much appreciated.
My folks (Doris & Vermont) flew out to see “Prin’s” last home game in 1975. It was against Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. “Prin” did not win that game. I remember telling my folks after the game that I wished they could have seen our previous game against Eureka, as we won it. My Dad took some nice photos on campus at “Prin” that week (see reference 3).
Another game that was memorable to me was the last game of the season. And it was my last football game (as a player). Coach Crafton put in a new play for our offense to be used against Illinois College. He named the play “Mickey Mouse Special”, which was a clever and funny name for a trick play. During that (away) game, I remember the quarterback calling the play, and I smiled to myself, but was able to keep a straight face as I walked to the line-of-scrimmage. It was important for us to not give away information that could inform the other team that a trick play was called. Although we lost that game 28-14, the trick play went for a TD (see description in reference 4).
References:
1. “Principia trips Eureka College", The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois), 26 October 1975
2. “Prin” vs. Southwestern game photo, Courtesy of Kevin (#42), 4 Oct. 1975
3. “Prin” vs. Rose-Hulman (home) game and campus photos, by Vermont, week of 1 Nov. 1975
4. “Illinois College Ends with 28-14 Triumph", Journal Courier (Jacksonville, Illinois), 16 November 1975
5. “Heart Stoppers and Hail Marys: The Greatest College Football Finishes (since 1970)", by Ted Mandell, Published 2006
Note 1: The “Illinois" web page can be viewed by selecting Sitemap->States (US)->Illinois from menu bar at top.
Note 2: The “My College Football Photos [Part 1]" web page can be viewed by selecting Sitemap->States (US)->Illinois->My College Football Photos from menu bar at top.
Note 3: There is an interesting section in reference 5 regarding a subsequent exciting 1985 game between “Prin” and Illinois College.
Note 4: The “Sport of Track & Field" web page can be viewed by selecting Sitemap->Sport of Track & Field from menu bar at top.
