Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside

In December of 1944 near the end of World War II, Germany launched a ferocious counteroffensive against American troops in the dense woods of the Ardennes Forest ... the resulting struggle came to be known as the Battle of the Bulge.

Amidst reports that English-speaking German troops were disguising themselves as Americans behind the Allied lines, American GIs developed a unique and quick way of identifying themselves to each other.

"Blanchard" one weary soldier would call.

The accurate and relieved response?

"Davis."

Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside. Felix "Doc" Blanchard and Glenn "Mr. Outside" Davis of Army. Those two won back-to-back Heisman Awards in 1945 (Blanchard) and 1946 (Davis) and led the Cadets to national championships in 1944 and 1945.

College Football Early Stars

Like the other sports we've discussed in class, college football includes too many significant people and events to include on the blog (that's why class attendance is important!).

Here are a few more early noteworthy people ...

Jim Thorpe (top picture) was voted the greatest American athlete of the first half of the 20th century. A great all-around performer (as we recall from our Olympic section), Thorpe first starred at Carlisle Indian School for legendary coach Glenn "Pop" Warner (third picture from top).

Amos Alonzo Stagg (second picture from top) was the "grand old man" of college football and coached for 57 years and lived to 102!

The most flamboyant and successful of the pre-1950s coaches was Knute Rockne of Notre Dame. Rock was known for great teams and his fiery speeches. He became the prototype of the modern coach. Rockne is pictured fourth from top.

Finally, Red Grange ... the "Galloping Ghost" from Illinois was so popular as a college football player that he almost single-handedly helped bring professional football into acceptability in the late 1920s.

Early College Football

The first intercollegiate football game was played in 1869 when Rutgers defeated Princeton 6-4 (top picture below).

The game was more similar to a very rough soccer style game than football as we know it. Over the next two decades rules changes would be implemented that would "Americanize" college football.

In 1874, a pair of games between McGill University of Montreal and Harvard (second picture from top) influenced early rules. McGill preferred a rugby style (allowing running with the ball). After the games, Harvard players came to favor the rugby style and over the next several years other Eastern schools finally agreed to play that style.

As discussed in class, Walter Camp of Yale introduced a series of rules changes in the 1880s to further distinguish American football from its rugby and soccer predecessors. Camp is pictured as a Yale player and in later life.

College Football - The Campus Game

Perhaps America's most exciting sport (and certainly the most popular campus sport), college football's origins can be traced to the early and mid-1800s. A restrictive atmosphere on campuses of the era led students to seek diversions ... one of the most prominent being a so-called "class rush" which typically pitted incoming freshmen against rising sophomores in competitions the first week of fall term. The most famous example of a class rush was "Bloody Monday" at Harvard. These were very rough and tumble forerunners of the game that would dominate the campus scene by the 1880s.