Yale Football Lore of Yore
May 6, 2019 in Notes
YALE FOOTBALL LORE OF YORE
from Scottie Addison (MC)
Despite my brief stint in jersey #33, I am still in-the-loop of the Yale Football Association, get all the jock news and Coach Reno’s rah-rah posts — and there has been a bourgeoning of old gridder paeans & reveries since last Fall. Tom Kokoska ’82 has undertaken an ambitious compilation of fables, photos and remembrances, mostly about his latter era peers around the Bowl. He also keeps up with related festivities in all the best places, and I could not help noticing:
Classmate’72 Jack Ford keeps showing up at all the coolest Yale Football scenes… duly noted, his color commentary for The Game at Fenway Park in November, and more recently as a ceremonial maestro at the Ivy Football Association Dinner on 1/24/19. The Program screesnshot is below —
— it caught my eye because it featured 2 illustrious gents with whom I have collided, literally::: of course Jack, as a teammate in practices Freshman year, in lots of whacks & tackles on a daily basis… and Ed Marinaro, as an adversary who was already famous as a fast & nasty running back at Cornell. We heard about him before that game… he would be coming right at me.
I was the Monster LB on defense that season, until I got hurt — staked out on the strong/wide side of the opposing offense, usually head-up on their biggest Tackle, Inside+Outside+Flat responsibilities, controlling the corner, reading the flow of the play. Lots of big bodies to bump, and ground to cover.
We played those guys in Ithaca, mid-season. I was having a good game, beating blockers to their moves, forcing runs inside and shutting Marinaro down — until one play the the 3rd quarter:
I was lining up to leverage the RT, looking inside when I heard Russ Cangelosi holler from our bench, “Look Out Scottie!” ~~ their flanker had snuck down the line into a close slot position, blind-sided me with a crack-back block from the outside, and Big Red Ed raced around My Corner Dammit…
I bounced & spun off the block, saw the number on has back roaring downfield, took off in a mad chase and hauled him down from behind. He got about 15 yards, and I was pissed, then it hit me:
How did I even catch that guy?… I had never run so fast in my life.
Ah, Football Zen, all the little miracles, exceeding ourselves.
We know that Ed Marinaro went on to Ivy League and NFL fame, and it should be remembered that Jack Ford took over as Yale’s Monster LB the following season. After my fateful confrontation with Coach Cozza’s Ohio politics, I was purged from the team, and ruefully had to watch ‘my position’ from the stands. One must say Jack comported himself well on the field, and later on in his career, even as a legal commentator on NBC. Obviously he persists in his good work & demeanor.
Somehow last week I was led to an amazing ‘youtube’ video:
Football at Yale: The Story of a Tradition, Part 1 of 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa2V9cosuOs
This is a documentary produced by sentimental alums in the late 1960’s, I believe, including old photos & renderings, and the first film footage of guys playing football, ever. It has florid history of Yale’s role in the origins of the American game, the evolution of the “scrum” to “scrimmage”, of course a bit Campy at times… (yes, a bad pun on the legendary Walter Camp, Class of 1880).
Maybe we can track down Parts 2,3,&4 of this cool film.
All my best to Old Blue Compadres!
_scottie addison ’72
[EDITOR’S NOTE: This post was sent to me by Scottie Addison on April 8, but somehow got lost in my Yale files. I’m posting it now with my apologies. – WIF]
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