@MIZZOU ASKS YOU

Football Devotion

@Mizzou readers share stories about their most memorable Tiger football games …

Although I had lived in Kansas my entire life, I was born and bred a Missouri Tiger. I started going to football games as early as two years old when I attended pigskin preschool (a program started in 1975 by MU’s Human Development and Family Studies department). I remember crawling all over the big, white rock “M” in Memorial Stadium and going to the bookstore to check out all of the Mizzou gear (a fantasy land for someone who grew up in Jayhawk country). My most memorable football game was the second game of my freshman year in fall 1998 when we played KU. There was absolutely no way to describe how amazing it felt to finally be part of the greatest college ever, one I’d wanted to attend my entire life. As I was standing among all of the students getting sunburned and chanting, “Rock, Chalk, Chickenhawk,” I knew I was home. We won that game 41-23 – thanks to the amazing talents of Corby Jones – and tore down the goalposts at the end. What a way to be inaugurated as a true Mizzou fan!

– Julie Donald, BS Ed ’02

My most memorable game was one I didn’t even attend: Mizzou’s 1972 upset over powerhouse Notre Dame, 30-26. I had come home to Kansas City for the weekend (the game was in South Bend, Ind.) and that Saturday afternoon, while driving around with one of my friends, decided to check on the game just to see how badly we were getting beaten. I was hoping it wasn’t too embarrassing. To my shock and surprise, Mizzou was ahead; I couldn’t believe my ears. For a while, I kept thinking I must be hearing it wrong. We arrived at my home and sat in the car parked in the driveway to listen to the last quarter and the final seconds of what was one of the biggest upsets ever in college football. The memory is still as fresh as if it were yesterday.

– Mark Smith, BS BA ’75

I was a freshman in 1978, and during the first weekend of the fall was an away game against Notre Dame. We listened intently to the game, quite a defensive battle in South Bend, Ind. There were a number of goal line stands, but Mizzou prevailed 3-0. The dorms went wild. I lived in McDavid Hall and ran to Memorial Stadium to participate in the festivities as a new freshman. There wasn’t much security to protect the grounds. Little did I know that I would be present when the goalposts came down for the first time after an away-game win. I remember seeing parts of the goalposts paraded through campus and downtown Columbia. The celebration continued well into the night and during the next morning.

– J. Mark Beard BA ’82, MD ’86

The most memorable Mizzou football game I attended while I was in school was the 1973 Nebraska game, which Mizzou won 13-12. Herris Butler blocked at least one extra-point kick in the game, maybe two. As I recall, he played middle guard and was only about 5 feet 7 inches tall, but he was solid and quick. Both teams entered the game unbeaten, and it turned out to be a beauty.

An even more memorable Mizzou game for me, though, came a few years after I graduated. It was the 1976 game at Ohio State. I am from central Ohio and still live in the Columbus area, so I’ve been buried in Buckeye baloney for a long, long time. In ’76, Steve Pisarkiewicz was the Tigers’ quarterback, but he was injured. Big Pete Woods from University City, Mo., stepped in. The Tigers were down 21-7 late in the fourth quarter, but mounted a furious comeback, scoring to make it 21-20 with about a minute left. Mizzou went for the win, passing for a two-point conversion. It fell incomplete, but my favorite all-time Buckeye, a guy named Joe Allegro, was called for holding. With the ball a yard and a half closer to the goal line, Woods sneaked in for a 22-21 victory. The group of Mizzou fans I was with whooped it up big time while the Buckeye fans slunk into the shadows. The only bad thing about the day was that one of my buddies was busted by the Columbus cops for running onto the field after the game (I was on the field, too, but I guess I ran faster than the cops.) So, we had to go bail him out of the city jail.

– Kirk Arnott, BJ ’73

Mizzou vs. Ohio State in 1976 at Ohio State was a fantastic game in a giant, killer year. Mizzou won in the last seconds of the game in front of 80,000 Ohio State fans. It was the most awesome college game that I’ve ever witnessed.

– Chris Abel BJ ’77

I am almost sure it was 1969, and the Tigers were behind in a game against Air Force. We had the ball with only 1 minute and 7 seconds remaining. Terry McMillan was the quarterback, and he lead a drive (I believe for about 70 yards) in the pouring rain on a grass field for the winning pass to Mel Gray in the end zone. For me it was best game ever; I don’t even remember getting wet.

– Charles D. Hall, BS Ed ’76

I remember James Wilder dragging two Nebraska defensive backs across the goal line for a Mizzou 35-31 victory at Lincoln in 1978. I was the team physician for Sikeston when James came out for football his junior year. We called him Mule Wilder.

– Max Heeb, BS MED ’51

Actually, my most memorable visit to Memorial Stadium involved a football game, but no game was played that day.

On the occasion of my graduation from Mizzou in June 1962, the entire graduating class was seated in the west stands, from 30-yard line to 30-yard line. Seated behind and on both sides of the graduating class were family and friends of the Class of ’62.

The commencement speaker that day was the chief executive officer of AT&T, a Missouri engineering graduate. As the commencement speaker delivered a long and ponderous address, full of challenges and admonitions, he paused at one point to allow a particularly salient point to sink in. In that brief moment of silence, a crystal clear, young voice rang out and echoed through the cavernous stadium, saying, “When’s he gonna’ shut up so they can start the football game?”

The entire assemblage, including the commencement speaker, erupted in laughter. The spell was broken. But for me it was an embarrassment because I immediately recognized the voice as that of my 5-year-old son, Mark. It made the day all the more memorable.

– Paul R. Hollrah, BS CiE ’62

The most exciting game ever had to be the Nebraska game in 1997, my senior year. The infamous game and “kick” play that will be replayed on ESPN forever. The fans were screaming, the crowd rushed the field, and then everyone had to go back into the stands to see the unfair loss. That whole turnaround season had some exciting games, but Nebraska was the most memorable, especially because I screamed so much during the game that I lost my voice for a month!

– Katie Kelley, BJ ’98

I have many memories when I was attending the University, especially during the Dan Devine era (1958-70), but the most stunning and memorable game was the 1997 Nebraska game in which Mizzou lost on that stunning deflected/kicked pass reception. I was sitting with the fans in the end zone on the white rock “M.” People charged the field thinking we had won the game. It was the most eerie feeling. It felt like time had stopped. Since then I have seen that play about 100 times on national TV, and it is still played on ESPN Classic occasionally.

– Bob Schauwecker, BS BA ’67

It was 1948 when MU upset SMU 20-14 and their fabled Doak Walker (the 1948 Heisman Trophy winner) in a fabulous game at Memorial Stadium. Led by quarterback “Bus” Entsminger and fine halfback Richard Braznell (who could both run and pass), the Tigers played very exciting ball. I could swear that on a long run punctuated by breathtaking laterals, one Tiger carried the ball twice! SMU had a long winning streak, and Walker was, of course, one of the greatest players in football history. SMU – and the spectators – were stunned.

For nearly an hour after the game ended, Columbia was pretty quiet, as we absorbed what had happened. Then all heck broke loose as we celebrated like nobody had ever celebrated before.

– Gordon E. Parks, BA ’50, MA ’55

The year was 1960. I was 16 years old. My dad went to Columbia to see the MU vs. KU game. I didn’t know at that time that I would be a student there one day. Two things stand out in my mind about that day. It was dark and cold. The other was that my dad kept referring to one of KU’s running backs as “that horse legged boy.” He told me that he called him that because he ran like a horse. KU won the game, however, it was later forfeited to MU because KU had an ineligible player in the game. Whenever you look at MU stats from the past, you’ll see an asterisk next to that score. The player’s name was Bert Cohn, also known as “that horse legged boy.”

– Bill Latta, MS ’71

A memory that was submitted after the October issue of @Mizzou was published…

I found the @Mizzou Asks You section about big news stories so very entertaining. It certainly brought back many memories for me. Starting off with the JFK assassination, I recall that I was in between classes and spending time as usual in the Christian Church house (which is no longer there) in the middle of campus just steps away from the library. I was dating a girl from Stephens who lived in Dallas. She took the assassination very hard and cancelled our date that evening. She invited me to Dallas for New Year’s, and we visited the infamous site. I was in that same house when I was asked if I wanted a blind date with a Mizzou Alpha Phi sorority sister. I accepted. Not only is this the year of my 40th reunion, but it also is my 40th wedding anniversary to that Alpha Phi, Nancy Woods DeLisle, BS Ed ’64.

Your other stories reminded me of when I went to the Savitar Frolics (or was it the Miss Mizzou skits?) which were cancelled in the middle of the performance because people would not clear the aisles. When I entered that performance, my feet did not touch the ground as the closeness of the crowd carried me in. I watched from afar the activities that took place after the cancellation. I was close enough to observe the men of Westminster conducting a magnificently planned raid on the women of William Woods. I could smell the tear gas as it chased a group of guys through a window, and I knew it was time to remove my William Woods date from the area.

So many memories from the great Mizzou experience! And the memories continue next month with South Florida Alumni Night and the enjoyment of former Mizzou athletes Keyon Dooling of the Miami Heat and Anthony Peeler of the Washington Wizards.

– Doug DeLisle, BA ’64

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Last Update: November 15, 2007