The Way It Used To Be

Football personalities share their experiences on the gridiron before laptops, charter jets and mega-million dollar facilities
by: Rex Lardner
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American Football Monthly recently sat down with a few of the game’s greatest personalities for a peek inside the ever-changing world of football. From their first job to their last, their first championship season to their first losing season, AFM has captured it all – football insiders provide AFM with an exclusive journey down memory lane. Maybe you can’t walk in their shoes, but perhaps you can at least try them on. So sit back and enjoy the game of football “the way it used to be.”

Bob Stoops
Head Coach Bob Stoops begins his sixth season this fall at the University of Oklahoma. Last January the Sooners lost the BCS Championship game to LSU, 21-14. Stoops follows a venerable line of coaches in Norman and has already one National Championship under his belt, beating Florida State in the 2001 title game. His reflections on how college football has evolved...

“What’s needed to win championships years ago is still the same as it is today: a physical football team that is fundamentally sound and is strongly disciplined. That really hasn’t changed from when I played at the University of Iowa.

“What really has changed is the growth of today’s student-athlete. The quality of the student-athlete has improved almost yearly-they come from strong academic backgrounds with solid character. Today’s version of a college athlete is sharper, brighter and more academically sound than 20 years ago.

“One thing I feel needs to happen in our game is that both fans and the media understand that college football is not the professional game the NFL is. Most of the athletes that play on a Saturday afternoon will not be playing professionally on Sunday. We need to understand that they are playing for their university or college and also receiving an education at the same time.”

Tubby Raymond

Recent College Football Hall of Fame inductee Tubby Raymond spent 36 seasons as Head Coach for the University of Delaware. During his tenure the Blue Hens won 300 games, three national championships, and 14 Lambert Cup trophies. He became the ninth coach to achieve the 300-win milestone and the fourth to record 300 wins at the same school. He offers these reflections on his years at Delaware and how the game has changed.

“One of our great players was Quarterback Rich Gannon (1984-86, former NFL MVP with the Oakland Raiders) who was a sophomore in 1984. We were about to play Temple at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia and were a decided underdog. Rich told me, ‘don’t worry, coach. I always play well on this field.’ He had played well as a Philadelphia preps player and brought his team, St. Joe’s Prep to the state championship. Sure enough he had the game of his career and we won, 34-19.

“College football has changed over my years at Delaware in a number of ways the first of which is the passing game. Years ago we’d face an outstanding passer every once in awhile but now, it’s every week. The passing game has opened up offenses across the board at all levels of the game.

“The second big change is in the use of film; from 16mm film that used to show the entire team we’ve evolved into video digital editing with each coach having a copy of his opponents specialties. Now, all position coaches can show their players specific plays. So, week-in, week-out, we’re better prepared.

“The athletes themselves are more committed to the sport than ever before. Football has become a 365 day a year job with less and less problem kids. I look at myself as a Father Flanagan type that likes all players and, over the years, I’ve had very few problems with Delaware players.”

Steve Richardson

Steve Richardson is currently the Executive Director of the Football Writers Association of America and a free-lance journalist. He has been a sports writer for over 25 years, having worked at the Kansas City Star and Dallas Morning News. The University of Missouri graduate offers this perspective on how college football has changed over the last quarter-century.

“ Clearly the major change in college football is television. Twenty or so years ago exposure for the sport was much less and there were limited team appearances per year as governed by the NCAA. In-stadium attendance has not been affected by television; while more people are watching the sport than ever before, fans still want to see their team play and be there in person.

“I remember an Arkansas-Texas game being blacked out while I was working in Shreveport. Now, multiple games are on and the difference is huge; every major game is televised and available to watch. That wasn’t the case until the court ruling in 1984 overturned appearance limitations.

“Print coverage of the game has changed, though, over the years. Many writers were standard-bearers for the sport and their reporting made games the biggest event of the day-writers like Edwin Pope, Ray Harmon, Furman Bisher, and Fred Russell covered the sports and were icons of the game.

“Now, over the years, pro football and pro basketball have made great strides and both sports have grown enormously.

“The use of the internet has helped the print media a great deal but investigative journalism has changed. Everyone is a little more suspicious with the web everywhere as well as recruiting services. We now have a culture where many coaches have their own web site and information is instantly available. It wasn’t like it was 30 years ago.”

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