April 12, 1870 - Fort Barrancas, Florida - Marks the birth of Winchester Osgood who played halfback for Cornell from 1888 to 1889 then again 1891 to 1892 also played for the Penn Quakers in 1893 and 1894. He seemed to always enjoy gridiron success too as Cornell had a 28-8 record in his playing time, Pennsylvania went 24-3. His bio on the FootballFoundation.org site goes on to say that in 1893 Penn lost to Yale 14-6 but Osgood was acclaimed because he scored a touchdown for Penn. It was the first touchdown scored against Yale in three years. In 1894 Penn went 12-0 and was national champion. His athletic prowess was on full display at Cornell, where Osgood received a medal as the school's best all- around athlete. He ran the 440 and shot put for the track team, was an accomplished gymnast, boxer, wrestler, tennis player, and set a record of 5:28 for the 2-mile bicycle race. The legendary Yale gridder Pudge Heffelfinger, who was also the first paid pigskin player who became a writer, gave this description of Osgood: "It was downright uncanny to watch him run, opponents missed him by inches. His body undulated like a snake's. He was the Red Grange of the pioneer era. Winchester Osgood was honored with induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1970 after the National Football Foundation tallied their votes.
April 12, 1944 - Los Angeles, California - Southern Cal’s bellcow halfback of the era of 1963 to 1965, Mike Garrett celebrated his day of birth. This celebrated back was in the top ten of the nation’s rushing leaders each year he played college football. He was so good in fact that according to the FootballFoundation.org website bio on Mike his career 3221 yards, broke the national record set 15 years earlier by Ollie Matson at the University of San Francisco. Mike also crossed the goal line stripe 30 times but besides his rushing gains, the versatile Garrett in his career caught 36 passes, returned 43 punts, returned 30 kickoffs and threw 6 passes! The open field is where he really thrived as the 1965 game against Cal proved where Mike G. returned punts 87 and 74 yards for scores. During his collegiate career Garrett averaged 23 yards in kickoff returns. As one can imagine, the accolades of such a player did not go unnoticed. "Iron Mike" was All-America his last two years, a unanimous choice in 1965 and in that magical season he also won the Heisman Trophy, Veit Memorial Award, and the Pop Warner Award. He was named Athlete of the Year by the YMCA and North American Athlete by the Helms Foundation. Mike Garrett’s collegiate football records are celebrated in the College Football Hall of Fame after his induction in 1985. After graduation Mike moved on to the Pro level of the gridiron where he played with Kansas City and San Diego 1966-73 and was all-pro halfback.
April 12, 1966 - Hollywood, Florida - Lorenzo White the standout Michigan State Spartan running back from 1984 through the 1987 season was born. Lorenzo rewrote the school and Big Ten conference record books and remains the Spartans’ all-time leading rusher even to this day. The National Football Foundation shares that White holds nearly every Michigan State career rushing record, including his 1082 rushing attempts, 4887 rushing yards, 43 rushing touchdowns and his 23 100-yard rushing games. At the end of his career, his 4,887 rushing yards were the second most in Big Ten history, and they still rank in the top 10. He also owns two of the top three single-game rushing performances in school history, including a career-best 292 yards against Indiana in 1987. White led the Spartans to the Big Ten title in 1987 and an invite to the Rose Bowl against USC where he had a top notch performance. White capped his stellar career with a 113-yard, two-touchdown performance in a win over No. 16 USC to help Michigan State earn the No. 8 final ranking. Lorenzo was a First Team All-American, earning unanimous honors in 1985 and a consensus selection in 1987 while finishing fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting in both seasons. The College Football Hall of Fame proudly placed a display in honor of Lorenzo White into their legendary museum in 2019. Lorenzo was a first round pick of the Houston Oilers in the 1988 NFL Draft, and he played seven seasons in Houston including a stellar Pro Bowl season in 1982 before one final season with the Cleveland Browns in 1995.
