Football Daily

Born May 21, 1940 - Bryan, Texas - James Saxton Jr. the great university of Texas halfback from 1959 to 1961, arrived via stork delivery. The NFF states that Saxton was one of the quickest players in college football history. Longhorn’s Coach Darrell Royal envisioned James, who was also referred to as the "Rabbit," as a running quarterback but moved him to running back in 1960. Saxton would go on to lead the team in rushing that season with 407 yards and an average of 5.4 yards per carry. Saxton thrived in the running back role and by the time his senior season rolled around he had tallied up nine touchdowns and was leading the high-scoring Longhorn attack with runs of 80, 79, 66, 56, 49 and 45 yards. A unanimous selection that year, he became the first running back in Longhorn history to become an All-American and finished third in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, trailing only Hall of Famers Ernie Davis (Syracuse) and Bob Ferguson (Ohio State). Oh and the way he completed his college career! It ended with a 12-7 victory over Ole Miss in the 1962 Cotton Bowl Classic as the pivotal play of the contest may have been a record setting 73-yard quick kick from Saxton to ice it. James Saxton Jr. was honored with induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996 after the National Football Foundation tabulated their votes. James was chosen as the 146th pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in the NFL’s 1962 Draft and the 75th pick of the Dallas Texans of the AFL. He signed with Dallas, but after one season he decided to enter the banking business.

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Michigan State Spartan RB Lorenzo White had a huge footprint on Spartans football that led him to induction to the College Football Hall of Fame

Born May 5, 1941, in Pine River, Minnesota, was Oregon State’s quarterback from 1960 to 1962, Terry Baker. The National Football Foundation says Terry is the only athlete to win the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, Scholar-Athlete Award from the National Football Foundation and Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year Award in the same year. Yes 1962 was a special one for Baker as he won the Liberty Bowl's Most Valuable Player Award as his 99 yard run was the only score in a 6-0 win over Villanova. Terry Baker’s collegiate football records are celebrated in the College Football Hall of Fame after his induction in 1982. When school was done the Los Angeles Rams made the brilliant young QB the first player selected in the collegiate draft. He played three seasons for the Rams and one season in the CFL. NCAAF 11

Born May 15, 1970, in Cleveland, Ohio, was Desmond Howard the University of Michigan’s wide receiver and kick returner from 1989 to 1991. Howard led the Big Ten in scoring while helping the Wolverines to three conference titles and two Rose Bowls during his time in Ann Arbor. He did so well that he won the Heisman Trophy, was named a consensus All-America, took home the Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year all in 1991 during his prolific senior season. The FootballFoundation.org website claims  finished his career with 134 receptions for 2,146 yards and 32 touchdowns and set the Michigan record for most touchdowns (23) and points (138) scored in a single-season. Desmond Howard was honored with induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010 after the National Football Foundation tabulated their votes. Desmond was the fourth overall selection in the 1992 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins, Howard spent 11 seasons as a pro. Howard claimed the Super Bowl XXXI Most Valuable Player when he led the Green Bay Packers over the New England Patriots after setting Super Bowl records for punt return yards (90) and total return yards (244) in a game. He also set the Super Bowl record for longest kick return of 99 yards.

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Video clips of the great Ricky Bell in action

The life and career in football, both playing and coaching of Frank Wickhorst. He was a Navy two-way tackle from the mid-1920s, that went on to coach the Cal Golden Bears.

A YouTube video filled with highlights of Navy Midshipmen Heisman Award-winning halfback Joe Bellino.

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Ed Weir, Nebraska | Husker football, Football players, Vintage football

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Born May 21, 1935, in Lynchburg, Tennessee, was Johnny Majors the 1954 through 1956 season star halfback of the Tennessee Volunteers football program. The FootballFoundation.org starts off by telling what a versatile player Majors was, he did it all for the Vols—running, passing, kicking and playing defense with a capital D. Just for some examples of the all around great play, Majors returned 36 punts for a 12.2-yard average and one touchdown in his career along with 15 kickoff returns for a 22.9-yard average. Majors also intercepted two passes at Tennessee and punted 83 times for a 39.1-yard average.Johnny received the media accolades too as he was a unanimous All-American in 1956, he finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting after leading the Vols to a 10-1 record, an appearance in the Sugar Bowl and a final national ranking of No. 2. He was also named United Press International's Back of the Year. The National Football Foundation selected Johnny Majors for entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987. After college, Majors played one season for the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL before embarking on a long coaching career. The Saturday-Down-South website fills us in that Majors began his coaching career as an assistant at Tennessee in 1957, and would work as an assistant at Mississippi State and Arkansas before accepting his first head coaching job at Iowa State in 1968. He returned to Knoxville in 1977 and led Tennessee to 12 winning seasons during his 16-season tenure as head coach. Majors won three SEC championships with the Volunteers in 1985, 1989 and 1990, and reached 11 bowl games as head coach at Tennessee, posting a 7-4 record in those games. Majors stepped away from his job at Tennessee late in the 1992 season with a bit of controversy. The Coach left Knoxville with a 116-62-8 record. His contributions of coaching up winning football was not over though as he returned to coach at the University of Pittsburgh in 1993, the same school Majors won a national title with in 1976.
A pretty cool video that recorded Johnny Majors telling of memories he had while at Tennessee as a player and a coach.

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Born May 7, 1896, in Hamilton, New York, was Belford West the great Colgate University tackle of 1914 to 1916 & 1919. The National Football Foundation lists that Belford led a  dominant defence which elevated Colgate as one of the most feared teams of his era. In the 30 games West played for Colgate, 19 were shutout victories. He missed only one play in three varsity seasons at Colgate. West was known as a model tackle in build and execution, blessed with quickness of foot and a devastating charge. An instinctive player, Belford had exceptional range for his size and was said to pride himself in being at the right place at the right time. He was also a fine kicker and set a record with a 52-yard field goal against arch rival Syracuse in a 1919 game. He frequently elected to pass from his punt formation and, it is noted, he rarely threw incomplete. He could pass the ball 70 yards in the air. The College Football Hall of Fame proudly placed a display in honor of Belford West into their legendary museum in 1954.