Started By
Message
re: Longtime Bama Fans Rank Richard Todd All Time along with RB's Musso and W Jackson.
Posted on 7/6/21 at 10:59 am to RD Dawg
Posted on 7/6/21 at 10:59 am to RD Dawg
quote:You really need to read the series on Coach Bryant from Sports Illustrated (years ago). I know you probably hate both him and Bama, but there is a TON about the times back then (during and after The Depression), and how he viewed the young men he recruited and coached.
No doubt a different era.More white kids participated (as population %) and they also came from "hungry" and more modest backgrounds.
Western PA was a hotbed for CFB athletes 40+ years ago and many were one generation removed from the coal mines and steel mills...does wonders for a kids motivation.
1
Posted on 7/6/21 at 11:15 am to Diamondawg
quote:Coach Bryant recruited athletes, if you pay attention, most of the best athletes are in the backfield or anywhere the ball usually is.
I played against ( term used loosely) as he was a couple of years older than me from Heidelberg Ms. He was a stud running back in high school but was a 4 year letterman as a down defensive lineman for the Bear. He weighed 180 ringing wet. Name was Terry Rowell.
A player's size wasn't nearly as important to him as his athleticism and "personality
" Hell, he won a National Championship for Alabama with an offensive line that averaged 186 lbs!. NOBODY was better conditioned than Alabama's...they OWNED the 4th quarter.Posted on 7/6/21 at 12:16 pm to VBFlorida
quote:
Hannah brothers
True story: friend and I were both back from Vietnam and were in school at Alabama. We were into whitewater canoeing and were pretty good - Little River Canyon good (I know…this was just about the time the movie came out… so spare me the banjo jokes).
That Spring, we were coming down Hurricane Creek after a good rain and there was a canoe turned over, two guys in water. We stopped, fished them out… it was John Hannah and the big center from Maryland… Krofft …I think. They had never done this before and were floundering.
We split up, each putting a player in the front and made the rest of the run. Krofft in my canoe was huge, but when I looked over and saw Hannah in the front of my friend’s canoe, it was a sight to behold. He kinda had to sit sideways to fit in it.
Anyway, it is a good memory.
Posted on 7/6/21 at 12:23 pm to Jacknola
quote:
Todd was possible the best athlete to play QB at Alabama… arm, strength, size, speed, all held together by a $.10 brain.
I'm afraid you're right about the "brain" part, but he was a helluva nice guy the times I was around him.
My vote for best athlete at QB has to be Namath (great high school basketball and baseball player), but the best athlete to ever go to Alabama would have to be Charles Cleveland!
Posted on 7/6/21 at 12:41 pm to Csmims
My mother also grew up down the road from the Todd’s on Barcelona Dr. off of Burma. She also was a Davidson warrior class of 68.
Posted on 7/6/21 at 12:52 pm to coachcrisp
Living close and being around RT a lot , the lack of mental acuity both on and off the field is confusing. I didn’t see it nor did coach Yancey at Davidson. Not only did he replace a returning starter as a Sophomore but he also punted and against better teams he also played DB.
Posted on 7/6/21 at 1:19 pm to Jacknola
quote:Jim Krapf. He was from up in New England, and his father was a very wealthy and influential industrialist. Daddy wanted Jim to play for Coach Bryant, so he sent him to Tuscaloosa. He wouldn't accept a scholarship and told them to give it to someone who needed it.
That Spring, we were coming down Hurricane Creek after a good rain and there was a canoe turned over, two guys in water. We stopped, fished them out… it was John Hannah and the big center from Maryland… Krofft …I think. They had never done this before and were floundering.
We split up, each putting a player in the front and made the rest of the run. Krofft in my canoe was huge, but when I looked over and saw Hannah in the front of my friend’s canoe, it was a sight to behold. He kinda had to sit sideways to fit in it.
Anyway, it is a good memory.
Back then Alabama had a wrestling team (very good) and both he and John Hannah were on it (obviously both in the heavyweight class
). The problem was that Coach Bryant would not allow the wrestling coach to let them on the mat against each other, so they took turns wrestling in the meets.Posted on 7/6/21 at 1:31 pm to Csmims
quote:I apologize for the comment about "the brain". His personality projected a relatively shallow intellect to me, but my time around him was with other guys and conversations weren't exactly cerebral (women, partying, etc.)
Living close and being around RT a lot , the lack of mental acuity both on and off the field is confusing. I didn’t see it nor did coach Yancey at Davidson. Not only did he replace a returning starter as a Sophomore but he also punted and against better teams he also played DB.
As I said he seemed like a good guy.
Posted on 7/6/21 at 3:27 pm to Csmims
quote:
RT. Lived a few houses down the street. Fellow Warrior. As a QB was as strong as most linemen and had 4.45 speed. In high school stiff armed more dlinemen to the ground than his linemen could block. Also state champ in the discus or shot as a junior. An athlete made in the weight room. As a side note his parents home was painted in the colors of whatever team he was playing for. Davidson, Alabama, Jets, or Saints.
Always forget he went to Davidson. That is the most nondescript forgotten public high school in Mobile. I mean its in the middle of the city and I dont think I know but maybe one or two people that actually graduated from there
Posted on 7/6/21 at 4:02 pm to Globetrotter747
The lie about the lack of speed and athleticism is just pathetic and just a lie on its face! Racism and the other obvious bigotry are the actual reasons.
Posted on 7/6/21 at 4:16 pm to RD Dawg
quote:Travel ball. Costs a lot of money to play on a travel team and they get better coaching at an early age.
Where are all the American born AA athletes in MLB? How come numbers are declining? Hint:Has nothing to do with "athletic ability"
Posted on 7/6/21 at 6:12 pm to StopRobot
Davidson has changed greatly over the years but it is ranked as the top public high school in Mobile County
Posted on 7/6/21 at 6:20 pm to Csmims
When I was growing up, Murphy (Mobile) had the largest enrollment in Alabama....followed by Robert E. Lee of Montgomery, then Tuscaloosa High School. How much has that changed?
Posted on 7/6/21 at 6:30 pm to RD Dawg
quote:
I get what your saying but you still havent addressed the reason for the DECLINE of AA MLB players from the 70's and 80's. Its pretty clear if you think about it.
I don't follow baseball at all, but I don't think the Mickey Mantle and Pete Rose types of the '50-'70s era would have been pushed out of stardom by black athletes the way many white football players would have been at that time.
Raw size, speed and strength just isn't as big an advantage in baseball. Even in 2021 most baseball players aren't physical freaks. They're not 6'8'' 320 lbs. with quick feet or 6'0'' 225 lb. freight trains running 4.4 40's.
quote:
He made the Olympic team and I also stated he was the exception.
I don't think he did.
According to what I found he ran a 10.22 100 and 20.27 200 and didn't qualify in either event. If it weren't so unusual for a white guy to have borderline world class speed no one would have heard of him.
quote:
Lots of factors played a part in the emergence of black athletes beyond "natural abilities" IMO
That's the main one.
quote:
The lie about the lack of speed and athleticism is just pathetic and just a lie on its face! Racism and the other obvious bigotry are the actual reasons.
Huh?
quote:
Travel ball. Costs a lot of money to play on a travel team and they get better coaching at an early age.
IMO, travel ball has become more and more popular for average/above average middle/upper class white athletes who know they don't have the measurables to play football or basketball at a high level and instead decide to concentrate mostly on baseball where they have a better chance.
Posted on 7/6/21 at 6:46 pm to Globetrotter747
quote:Organized baseball is an expensive sport to start up. Also, foot speed/jumping ability is not totally essential to pro baseball, therefore the advantages that AA kids possess don't apply as much to the sport.
IMO, travel ball has become more and more popular for average/above average middle/upper class white athletes who know they don't have the measurables to play football or basketball at a high level and instead decide to concentrate mostly on baseball where they have a better chance.
Posted on 7/6/21 at 6:54 pm to coachcrisp
quote:
You really need to read the series on Coach Bryant from Sports Illustrated (years ago). I know you probably hate both him and Bama, but there is a TON about the times back then (during and after The Depression), and how he viewed the young men he recruited and coached.
No beef with Bama or Bryant and I also had some older friends who played for and were also recruited by em.
Like to hear what he had to say about recruiting poor/working class kids in the 60's and 70's
Posted on 7/6/21 at 7:34 pm to coachcrisp
Yep. Baker 2600 is the largest school in Mobile County and the second largest in the state after Hoover. Murphy is around 5/6 in the county. My have things changed over the years. Except for Davidson the largest schools are in the county.
Posted on 7/6/21 at 9:17 pm to Csmims
My QB is Ken Stabler. In a one game against any of the rest he'd find a way to win, and he did it at the very highest level. He could run any offense, any era and do it as well as anyone.
RB? There have been so many but you have to have Shaun Alexander and Derrick Henry. Musso and Jackson are not close.
RB? There have been so many but you have to have Shaun Alexander and Derrick Henry. Musso and Jackson are not close.
This post was edited on 7/6/21 at 9:20 pm
Posted on 7/6/21 at 9:30 pm to Globetrotter747
quote:Systemic racism!
Alabama hasn’t had a white RB (other than a FB) in 40 years
Posted on 7/7/21 at 9:30 am to Csmims
quote:
Davidson has changed greatly over the years but it is ranked as the top public high school in Mobile County
I saw that which is crazy. I would have figured it would be Baker or Murphy. I went to Catholic schools through 8th grade then went to Murphy. In my day about a quarter of Catholic grade school kids went to public high schools. My daughter went to a Catholic school and had 44 kids in her 8th grade class. Of those 41 went to McGill for high school. One went to St. Michaels and one went to St. Pauls and one went to St. Lukes. Not a single one went to a public high school.
This post was edited on 7/7/21 at 9:31 am
Page 3 of 4
Popular
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News