John David Crow - 1957 Heisman Trophy Winner Dies

[Slackdog]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports...00c_story.html

My cousin, who grew-up in Springhill, sent me this message; thought some of the ole school Spring Hill folks and others would appreciate it.

It is 1966 and I am a ninth grader standing on Springhill High School's new Lumberjack Stadium track. Squatting, I nail my "old school" starting blocks into the red cinders,
striking the spike so as to make as much noise as I could (Coach said loud spike-banging was a "head-thing", "It makes the guys next to you wonder").

Finished with my pounding, I toss the over-sized mallet aside and stand behind my blocks along-side six other slim teenage boys about to run 100 yards as fast as we possibly could. Coach Jackson was the last coach on the track. He leaned very near to my ear and said loudly: "Grayson, When that gun goes off you make those blocks groan like you were John David Crow ! Ya hear me ? Like you were John-David-Crow !"

I always remembered that as the evidence of a supreme effort----if it (whatever IT was) groaned like I was John David Crow, then I must've made a pretty good effort.

Here's to good efforts and John David Crow----we won't see another one like him.

[OLDBLUE]

Texas A&M, then the Chicago Cardinals, right?

[HogDawg]

Texas A&M, then the Chicago Cardinals, right?

.......as well as the St Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco 49'ers.

[DONW]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports...00c_story.html

My cousin, who grew-up in Springhill, sent me this message; thought some of the ole school Spring Hill folks and others would appreciate it.

It is 1966 and I am a ninth grader standing on Springhill High School's new Lumberjack Stadium track. Squatting, I nail my "old school" starting blocks into the red cinders,
striking the spike so as to make as much noise as I could (Coach said loud spike-banging was a "head-thing", "It makes the guys next to you wonder").

Finished with my pounding, I toss the over-sized mallet aside and stand behind my blocks along-side six other slim teenage boys about to run 100 yards as fast as we possibly could. Coach Jackson was the last coach on the track. He leaned very near to my ear and said loudly: "Grayson, When that gun goes off you make those blocks groan like you were John David Crow ! Ya hear me ? Like you were John-David-Crow !"

I always remembered that as the evidence of a supreme effort----if it (whatever IT was) groaned like I was John David Crow, then I must've made a pretty good effort.

Here's to good efforts and John David Crow----we won't see another one like him.

He wasn't standing on a new Lumberjack Stadium track in 1966. The stadium was already several years old when I played there in 63 and 64. Crow did not play in this stadium either, he played in an old stadium just north of the present stadium that we referred to as the rock pile because the field had so many rocks on it. We practiced on it sometimes when it had rained a lot. Lumberjack stadium was built on the site of an old sawmill and when it rained it got real muddy especially late in the season when all the grass was gone. Any player from Ruston High can tell you how bad it was when we played them in the first round of the playoffs in 1964. Coach Jackson played on the state championship team with Crow.

[Lone Star Dawg]

He wasn't standing on a new Lumberjack Stadium track in 1966. The stadium was already several years old when I played there in 63 and 64. Crow did not play in this stadium either, he played in an old stadium just north of the present stadium that we referred to as the rock pile because the field had so many rocks on it. We practiced on it sometimes when it had rained a lot. Lumberjack stadium was built on the site of an old sawmill and when it rained it got real muddy especially late in the season when all the grass was gone. Any player from Ruston High can tell you how bad it was when we played them in the first round of the playoffs in 1964. Coach Jackson played on the state championship team with Crow.

I never met Mr.Crow, but by all accounts from people I know that did know him, he was an exceptional man both in his athletic abilities and his kindness. His nephew works for me here in Texas and I can tell you that the family is absolutely heartbroken.

As for Lumberjack Stadium, that place could become a bayou with the slightest rain. I can remember playing John Curtis in the playoffs in '84 with mud and water ankle deep in a monsoon. They brought out a helicopter a couple of hours before game time to hover over the field to try and blow the water off the field, but it did little good.

[DONW]

I never met Mr.Crow, but by all accounts from people I know that did know him, he was an exceptional man both in his athletic abilities and his kindness. His nephew works for me here in Texas and I can tell you that the family is absolutely heartbroken.

As for Lumberjack Stadium, that place could become a bayou with the slightest rain. I can remember playing John Curtis in the playoffs in '84 with mud and water ankle deep in a monsoon. They brought out a helicopter a couple of hours before game time to hover over the field to try and blow the water off the field, but it did little good.

I never met Crow either, but I knew a couple of guys that played with him and they always said he was a great man as well as a great athlete.. He was a freak of an athlete back in the early fifties, about 6-2, 210, and ran a 9.6 100 yard dash, and I doubt if he ever lifted weights back in high school. I worked with Jack Trammel in the late 70's, early 80's, who was a WR on the 64 Ruston team. The first thing he said when I told him who I was, was that we must have wet our field down before that playoff game with them. It rained quite a bit that week and the field was just one big mud hole.

[HogDawg]

I never met Crow either, but I knew a couple of guys that played with him and they always said he was a great man as well as a great athlete.. He was a freak of an athlete back in the early fifties, about 6-2, 210, and ran a 9.6 100 yard dash, and I doubt if he ever lifted weights back in high school. I worked with Jack Trammel in the late 70's, early 80's, who was a WR on the 64 Ruston team. The first thing he said when I told him who I was, was that we must have wet our field down before that playoff game with them. It rained quite a bit that week and the field was just one big mud hole.

Who won the game?

[DONW]

Who won the game?

We did,12-6.

[olddawgfan]

My one chance to name drop. John David had a cousin who lived next door to us in Cotton Valley. Several times he and "Buzzy" Brown would come over in our large yard and toss the football around. At about 12 or 13 I was allowed to play with them. Very vivid memories. Although he wasn't the star of the team, he was a pretty good basketball player as well.

[MajorDad]

When I was a kid and my mom was mad, she'd yell at me and say something like, "John David Wilkerson Crow!!! Clean your room!" I was told the Crow was added after some football star. Now I know who it was! Mystery solved.

[Cool Hand Clyde]

My high school football coach played for John David Crow who played for Bear Bryant. Therefore, I am part of the Bear Bryant legacy.

[DustyDog]

Interesting that, up until "Johnny Football" came along, the only Heisman winner A&M had was a guy from North Louisiana. Also interesting to note that A&M only has one Aggie in the NFL Hall of Fame while Louisiana Tech has three.

BTW, we have the same number of NFL Hall of Famers as our buddies in Baton Rouge.

[dawg68]

For your summer time viewing pleasure a list of just some of the universities that have less NFL Hall of Famers (list is incomplete) than Tech:
Ole Miss, MS State, Michigan State, Missouri, N. Carolina, OK State, Northwestern, So. Miss., Tennessee, TCU, Utah, Wake, VA Tech, Arkansas, Baylor, Auburn,
BYU, Cal, Kentucky, Florida, West Virginia, and many more. Feel free to add others.
Even Centenary has one.

Add TX A&M, N.C. State, So. Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, KS State to the list

[HogDawg]

Interesting that, up until "Johnny Football" came along, the only Heisman winner A&M had was a guy from North Louisiana. Also interesting to note that A&M only has one Aggie in the NFL Hall of Fame while Louisiana Tech has three.

BTW, we have the same number of NFL Hall of Famers as our buddies in Baton Rouge.

That's because LA Tech is a better football school....

Seriously though....many people forget that A&M was a bad football school for a very long time. TCU too. TCU was awful.

[DustyDog]

That's because LA Tech is a better football school....

Seriously though....many people forget that A&M was a bad football school for a very long time. TCU too. TCU was awful.

...And we have more NFL Hall of Famers than TCU too.