What would you think of a college football game if all blockers had to keep their hands against their chests, if African-American players were not welcome, if fumbles couldn’t be advanced by the defense?
What if defensive pass interference was a penalty whether the ball was catchable or not? What if crack-back blocks and chop blocks were legal and even celebrated? What if nobody had heard of instant replay or TV timeouts or overtime? What if no one paid attention to possible concussions, giving players knocked unconscious smelling salts and sending them back into games? What if it didn’t matter how much a player was bleeding if he stayed on the field? What if field goal attempts were kicked off a two-inch tee?
That was college football 50-plus years ago when I covered it for the first time. The changes over the years have been dramatic, and most have been for the good of the game.
In 1976, the blocking rules were changed to allow a half extension of the arms for retreat blocking. In 1980, offensive linemen were allowed to fully extend their arms, but only on retreat blocking.
Finally, in 1985, the retreat blocking term left the rulebook. Players were allowed to fully extend their arms when blocking anywhere on the field. It was those changes that set the stage for modern college football passing offenses. Just imagine trying to block today’s edge rushers with arms held tightly to the chest.
The biggest change in those 50 years was the overdue influx of African-Americans into the game. And, no, it didn’t start with running back Sam Cunningham’s big game against Alabama in the 1970 season-opener. It had already started. Just imagine all the great players and great people we would have missed out on seeing if the “white’s only” sign had remained on college football in the South.
In 1969, a 250-pound lineman was considered huge. As late as 1979, Alabama won a national championship without an offensive lineman who weighed as much as 250 pounds. Linebackers and running backs often didn't weigh 200 pounds. In 1972, Auburn threw just six passes in a 17-16 win over Alabama. Today, a 250-pound linebacker is not unusual.
Football is a violent game, and it will never be totally safe for those who play it. But it’s much safer today than it was 50 years ago.
Terry Beasley was knocked out cold against Alabama in 1970, got smelling salts on the sideline and returned to help lead an Auburn comeback from a 17-0 deficit to win 33-28. Later, he didn’t remember the second half. Tommy Wade, who delivered what was then perfectly legal blow, would have been called for targeting today and thrown out of the game.
Some old men still have knee problems after multiple surgeries that came from chop blocks. As much as fans complain about interference calls, imagine if a call was made on a ball not even in the realm of being catchable.
Over the next 50 days, I will write about my memories from each of those seasons, one each day focusing on one memory but touching on others as well. It’s a series only an old dude could do, and I look forward to sharing those memories.
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COMING TUESDAY: A Gator trap in 1969
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March 23, 2020 at 01:09PM
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A half-century of dramatic changes in college football - 247Sports
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