My First Day Out For
Football By Paul Bland - Class of '56
I was not large, probably weighing in at around
95 to 100 pounds if that much. The shoulder pads given to me that first day
were a little large for my body. They could better be described as
elbow pads as the end of the pads came well beyond my elbows. The helmet
was also larger than required. It was one of the older types which was
made of a hard leather like material. It had two straps approximately
one and a-half inches wide sewn over the top of the helmet at right angles
to each other. One from front to back and one from ear to ear. It was large
enough on my head so that if one were to give it a quick twist, it would
spin quite freely. In order to negotiate the pants given me, I had to tie
them up under my arms and even with that done, the thigh pads were knee
pads and the knee pads were something new to football--ankle pads. After
putting on the shoes, I found that my toes came to about the center of the
shoes. Each time I took a step this had the effect of turning the front cleats
of the shoes to a horizontal position. After getting dressed, I bounded
out the dressing room and headed for the field. I remember that I had to
tilt my head back at about a 45 degree angle to be able to see from under
the helmet. I must admit that the noises coming from the equipment were new
to me - the clatter of the pads, the plopping of the too large shoes on the
ground. Quite frankly they scared me. In fact, these sounds scared me so
badly that as I was running from one end of the field to the other, about
mid-way I stumbled and fell. I must have looked like a turtle which has been
turned on its back trying to right its self. I just couldn't seem to get
up. About that time Coach came along mumbling the opening lines from a poem
by Emerson under breath, "Hitch your wagon to a star, hitch your wagon
to a star". He saved me from my embarrassing situation. He grabbed me by
the nape of the neck and the seat of the pants and set me upright and on
my way. After practice coach was timing his boys on the hundred yard dash.
I, feeling a little insecure, made sure that I was the last to be tested.
When my turn came and I was on the starting line, I noticed that he had not
reset his stop watch so I turned to ask why not but my helmet stayed
fixed and I found myself looking coach through the air holes in the rear
of the helmet. I notice that he reached into the rear pocket of his brown
corduroy trousers and pulled out a folded piece of paper. I thought, well
he's interested in me, he's going to record my time. He thinks I'm fast.
My spirits lifted. I remember Sam Williams used to pump his legs up and down
in the best imitation I could muster of Sam this caused the front of my shoes
to flop up and down like webbing on duck's feet and the helmet to begin a
gentle rocking motion on my head. My legs came to a quick halt when coach
unfolded the piece of paper and I saw what he had was a calendar he planned
to use to time me for the hundred yard dash. He must have noticed the sag
in my shoulder pads as I became dejected. He reaches over and stopped
the helmet from rocking on my head and said not worry because I was sure
to make it to the north-south game. Why? I asked, not knowing at that
time what the north-south game was. Gosh darn it , boy, don't you know anything,
he asked? There was a pause in the conversation and you'll probably understand
the relief I felt when I realized that he wasn't going to pursue that line
of questing. You are bound to make it to the north-south game, he said because
your head is pointing north and your helmet is pointing south. This lifted
my spirits again and I remembered Bucky Hosteter. Bucky had graduated when
I was in the 7th or 8th grade and I know that Coach liked Bucky and thought
that he was good back and a good Passer. Now Bucky had a way of walking in
which he would spring up on the toes of one foot whenever he took a step.
So for two or three weeks after that I sprang up on the toes of one foot
as I walked around Alderson and thought about playing in the north-south
game.
Over the next four years I grew somewhat and I finally got big enough to
fit into the equipment. In fact I got to play some football for coach and
I did get to play in the backfield. My career as a football player at Alderson
can best be described as , to use a phrase of Coach's, "nothing to write
home about". Needless to say I didn't make it to the north-south game as
a player but I did attend the game a couple of years later. As I watched,
however, I just could not understand how those boys were selected to play
since not one of them had his helmet on backwards.
