January 5, 1891 - Monaca, Pennsylvania - The fantastic end from the University of Pittsburgh, Hube Wagner was born. The National Football Foundation selected Hube Wagner to enter into their College Football Hall of Fame in 1973.
January 5, 1892 - Eightmile, Oregon - John Beckett the tackle from Oregon celebrated his birth. Both of Beckett's teams, Oregon in 1916, and Mare Island in 1917, were undefeated. John Beckett is the only player to captain two different Rose Bowl teams. The College Football Hall of Fame welcomed John Beckett into their museum of collegiate gridiron legends in 1972.
January 5, 1901 -Massena, New York - Cornell tackle Frank Sundstrom arrived into this life. After the 1923 season Frank was named to Walter Camp's All-America team according to the NFF. Frank Sundstrom was placed into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1978.
January 5, 1910 - Gonvick, Minnesota - Ed Widseth a tackle of the Golden Gophers of the University of Minnesota was born. The National Football Foundation explains how Ed was a disruptive force on defense for the Gophers. In fact in every one of Widseth's varsity seasons, the Gophers claimed national championships. They lost but once in 24 games, the blemish a 6-0 upset decision to Northwestern in 1936. He was a three- time All-America tackle and the College Football Hall of Fame inducted him in 1954.
January 5, 1919 - Garfield, New Jersey - Al Blozis the Georgetown Hoya tackle was born. The NFF Bio on Al on the NFF’s website says that he was a large powerful man who stood 6’-6” tall and weighed 245 pounds which was extremely large for a man in that era. In 1986 the NFF voters sent Al Blozis and his stats to the College Football Hall of Fame. After college he joined the New York Giants and was an all- pro tackle because he was too tall to join the US military.
January 5, 1921 - Bronx, New York - Paul Governali the halfback from Columbia University found his way into this world. The National Football Foundation calls Paul a “skillful passer” and the accolades he received really prove that to be true. Paul won honors as an All-American from multiple sources including the Associated Press, Colliers and United Press. He also earned the AP Best All- Around Eastern College Athlete, was the 1942 Maxwell Memorial Award Winner and First Runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. The College Football Hall of Fame welcomed Paul Governali to their lodge of legends in 1986. After giving his service to the US Marines, Paul played football for two years for the Boston Yanks and the New York Giants.
January 5, 1924 - Calhoun Falls, South Carolina- The nifty Army and University of Miami Florida Quarterback Arnold Tucker was born. Tucker was the recipient of the 1946 Sullivan Award, won All-American honors that same year and was a member of three Army National Championship teams of 1944 through 1946. In fact Arnold had never experienced a loss while playing for the Cadets. The NFF raises the case that he may have played in the best backfield ever assembled on the gridiron as the other members were Tom McWilliams and Heisman Trophy winners Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis. In 2008 Arnold Tucker was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
January 5, 1926 - Chicago, Illinois - The terrific Illinois halfback Claude Henry K. "Buddy" Young arrived into this world. Buddy Young was a terrific back at Illinois and in fact he challenged many of Red Grange’s records at the school. The Footballfoundation.org website states that Buddy rushed for an average of 8.9 yards a carry in 1944, finishing second among the nation's ball carriers. He was blessed with blinding speed and could ran the 100 yards in 9.5 seconds. Buddy was an All-America selection in 1944 and was accepted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968. After college Young embarked on a nine-year professional career, playing for teams in New York, Dallas, and Baltimore. As a pro, Buddy scored 44 touchdowns and gained 9,419 yards, an average of more than 1,000 yards per season. Later after his playing days were over Buddy served on the staff of the National Football League Commissioner. My friend and fellow partner on the Sports History Network, Warren Rogan has a great episode on his Sports Forgotten Heroes Podcast dedicated to Buddy Young that I invite you to check out that goes into some great detail.
January 5, 1932 - Cleveland, Ohio - Four time Super Bowl winning Coach, Chuck Noll was born. He didn’t get his feet wet coaching in the NFL, in fact he played guard and linebacker on some great Cleveland Browns teams of the 1950s under the guidance of Paul Brown. After his playing days were complete, Chuck was an assistant coach in San Diego and in Baltimore before landing the Steelers job according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s website bio on him. It wasn’t also rosey for Noll who took over a franchise that had never even won an NFL playoff game before he arrived. In Noll's first season, the Steelers were a dismal 1-13 on the season. Chuck took all of those lemons of poor finishes of the Steelers and made lemonade as he used the advantageous draft position to fill his sidelines with stars. Noll paced the sidelines of the Pittsburgh Steelers for 23 seasons and unlike most of his peers in that profession walked away from the position on his own accord. He won 4 Super Bowls in a six year period in the 1970’s and coached countless Hall of Fame Players. Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Chuck Noll as a contributor in their class of 1993.
January 5, 1938 - Wausau, Wisconsin - The great center from the University of Miami, Jim Otto was born. Otto anchored the Oakland Raider offensive line for 15 seasons according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s website bio on him. He was a great blocker and was voted as an All-League player in 12 consecutive years in respectively in the AFL and NFL. The Pro Football Hall of Fame fitted Jim Otto for his gold jacket in 1980.
January 5, 1938 - Schulenburg, Texas -Texas Tech’s great center/linebacker E. J. Holub was born. He entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986.
January 5, 1964 - Gainesville, Florida - Tracy Ham, Georgia Southern’s fine quarterback celebrates his birth. The NFF tells of how Ham was a dual threat. When his career ended he was the only collegiate player to have ever run for 3,000 yards and passed for 5,000 yards. College Football Hall of Fame in 2007. Georgia Southern had his #8 jersey retired. Tracy then enjoyed a long career in the Canadian Football League. In 1989, he won league MVP honors. In the CFL he played for 13 seasons and appeared in two Grey Cups.
