monday, r.cverr.ber 171975
daily nebraskan
page 1 1
Editor's note: Following is part two of a
depth report about the 1950 University of
Nebraska football team. Part one was in
Friday's Daily Nebraskan. Coach Bill
Glassford comments on his memories as
a Husker coach. Glassford 's reference to
the player dissent on the 1953 team, is
known as the "player rebellion," which
was one cf the darker moments in
Nebraska football history.
By Dennis Onnen
"Enjoyable" and "exciting" were the ad
jectives used most often to describe the
1950 season. When describing Coach Glass
ford, the players always used words of
praise-"a good man" and "a fine coach."
Perhaps it was because the players who
survived the Curtis camp and Glassford
shared the same philosophy-that winning
is everything and that it is accomplished
only through hard work. A statement Glass
ford made after the Oklahoma game ex
presses that philosophy:
"We didn't come down here to lose," he
said after being consoled. 'There is no such
thing as a moral victory."
Glassford, now 61, still adheres to that
philosophy.
Don't just try
'There's no such thing as 'I tried.' You
either win or you lose. It's the same in
business or anything else."
Glassford has spent the past 20 years as
an insurance agent in Phoenix, where he
said he finds time to golf every day. He was
a Husker coach for seven years through
1955, compiling a 31-35-3 record. His ten
ure was far from quiet, however.
After the 1953 season, the players held
secret meetings and signed petitions de
manding Glassford's dismissal. A face-to-face
encounter with the players voicing
their complaints eventually cleared the air, ,
but the sting of the revolt remained. He
left when his contract expired in 1955
despite an option to coach another five
yean.
There are a lot of heartaches and
trauma that you go through as a coach,"
Glassford admits today. But he remembers
the good times, too, and is quick to return
the praise of his players.
"We had great rapport and great determi
nation," he said, "and we got great efforts,
especially from those of average ability."
Handshy said Glassford did an outstand
ing job with what he had and that he could
have built a powerhouse if he had had the
money for recruiting that later coaches Bill
Jennings and Bob Devaney had.
In 1950, the only money for recruiting
came from an alumni fund, Glassford said,
so almost all 1950 Huskers were Nebras
kans. Those who came from out-of-state
were influenced by Nebraska ties of some
sort.
Where's Nebraska?
For example, Mullen went to high
school in Pennsylvania and entered the
Army after graduating in 1943. While sta
tioned in Europe during the war, he met
Clarence Herndon, a member of Nebraska's
1940 Rose Bowl team who convinced him
to go to Nebraska.
"At the time, I never knew technically
where the state of Nebraska was," Mullen
said.
End Dick Regier now farms near Hender
son, Neb., and he said he came to Nebraska
from California primarily to attend the
College of Agriculture. He also had ties be
cause his father had been superintendent
of schools at Seward, Neb., and six uncles
were farming in Nebraska then.
Describing the impact being a member
of the 1950 team had on their lives, vir
tually every player discussed the intangible
aspects-the development of a competitive
spirit, the building of self-confidence and
the friendships created.
"The 1950 team proved that if you
don't get too discouraged, you can be a
winner," Mullen said. "That's all life is.
You have to believe in yourself."
That confidence is apparent when the
players are asked if they think they could
make the 1975 Husker team.
"Give me a week to get in shape," said
tackle Walt Spellman, now an Air Force
colonel stationed in Omaha.
"Yes. ...my blocking was atrocious,
but I could always catch the ball-good
timing," said end George Paynich, who
today lives in Hacienda Heights, Calif., and
negotiates UJS. military equipment
contracts.
All-Big 7 quarterback Nagle was one of
the few who doubts he could play today:
"There is a real premium on running quar
terbacks now, and I was not a runner."
i
However, many other players said prac
tically any member of the 1950 team could
make it today, including Nagle.
"Fran Nagle more than anyone prob
ably could make it today," Clark said. "He
was a drop-back passer who reminds you of
David Humm (1972-74 Husker star). He
couldn't run, but he passed Lke you
couldn't believe."
Football fame
One of the few players who reported
tangible gains from his football notoriety
was Reynolds, who said it has helped in his
business contracts. For the other, the
notoriety passed quickly.
"Initially, it sure helps," Nagle said,
"but you're in the mainstream with the
rest of them after a year or two."
Of 28 members of the team interviewed,
Reynolds is one of six now in insurance.
Six more are teaching or coaching in high
school. Other jobs range from Air Force
colonel to corn farmer to dentist to truck
salesman to livestock market manager to
to physician. Guard Don Strasheim, a
Husker assistant coach for seven years, now
owns a computer service bureau in Lincoln.
Five team members played pro football.
One of the five, Nick Adduci, was a scout
for the Houston Oilers and Philadelphia
Eagles from 1968 to 1973. He still scouts
part-time.
Some of the players' sons have played
or are playing high school football. Guard
Ed Husmann, a pro for 1 1 years with the
Chicago Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys,
Houston Oilers and Edmonton Eskimos,
has one son playing quarterback at the Uni-
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versity of Houston and another playing de
fensive tackle at the University of Texas.
Reynolds, Clark and Dick Goegleim (a
tackle then and a junior high teacher in
Lincoln now), said they have attended
every Husker home football game since
they were graduated.
Such dedication is not limited to those
players who remained in Nebraska. Those
living out-of-state rarely make it back to
Lincoln for games, but they follow the Ne
braska scores faithfully in the papers.
Adduci returns to Lincoln probably
more than any other out-of-state player,
yet he makes it back for only one game a
year.
Also once a year, and usually when
Adduci returns, comes the closest thing to
a reunion that the team has, Clark said. He
said he calls former teammates living in the
Lincoln area, and they meet at Tony and
Luigi's restaurant after the game.
But these gatherings involve only about
10 players. Others have not been back to
Nebraska for 10 years or more. Nagle
hasn't seen end Bill Maxe, his best friend
on the team, for more than 20 years. Even
this year, the team's 25th anniversary, no
formal reunion is planned.
But such a reunion is not really necessary
for these players. Just as the camps at Cur
tis built a bond among teammates in 19S0,
the memories of that season bind them
today-still a team in every sense of the
word.
Nbraa 1950 (6-2-1)
20 Indiana 20 H
32 Minnesota 26 A
19 Colorado 28 A
19 Penn State 0 H
33 Kansas 28 A
40 Missouri 34 H
49 Kansas State 21 H
20 Iowa State 13 H
35 Oklahoma 49 A
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