GOOD MORNING EVERYONE
If you could all go grab a snack and something to drink, and then find a seat by the fire because Uncle Starkey has a little story for you. If you grew up around these parts, you were either an Ohio State, Michigan or Notre Dame fan. But, if you were from Toledo, The Rocket's were always your "Other" team. Back when I was a very young lad the Toledo Rockets had the second longest winning streak in college footballs modern era at 35 - 0. That was second only to Oklahoma's 47 game streak that was ended by the Irish. They compiled 3 straight undefeated season, led the country in total defense all 3 years and finished ranked in the top 20 in 2 of those. They also won 3 straight Tangerine Bowls and the one in 1970 came against William & Mary who were coached by a young Lou Holtz 40 - 12. Lou was quoted as saying that Toledo could play with anyone in the country including Ohio State and Texas.
Those teams from 1969 through 1971 had plenty of talent. 7 were drafted into the NFL, and one of them, Mel Long, was a consensus All-American and went on to play for the Browns.
The heart and soul of those teams, and their best player, was a quarterback by the name of Chuck Ealey.
Chuck unfortunately wasn't one of those 7 Rockets drafted. Maybe the NFL wasn't quite ready for that just yet. Chuck grew up in Portsmouth Ohio and attended Notre Dame high school. Coming out of high school there were only 2 teams that offered him as a QB. The first being Miami of Ohio who were coached by Bo Schembechler. Bo told Chuck that he would be a back-up QB.
Then Toledo offered and said that he could compete for the #1 job.
Chuck was an exciting player and was just as good of a passer as he was a runner. Can you imagine never losing a game in high school or college? Chuck accomplished that and went 65 - 0 during that time as the starting QB. After the 1971 season, most everyone who was a college football fan had heard of Chuck Ealey. During his senior year, he was 3rd team AP All-American, second team UPI All-American, and was named to the 1st team by The Football News. So here's the big question, and what my story is all about. Why isn't he in the College Football HOF? The only Rocket ever selected was Mel Long. He also finished 8th in the Heismann that year
Well the rules that were in place stated that you had to be named 1st team in one of those publications, and at the the time the Football News wasn't a recognized NCAA selector - but they are now. So what gives after all of these years of Chuck never making it into the HOF? National sports writers have taken up the cause without any luck. There are 2 players, both QB's, Archie Manning and Fran Tarkenton who never made 1st team, but an exception was made for them - why not Chuck? Sadly, there is also a 50 year rule that just came into play. Chuck is now off the ballot because he played his last game 50 years ago.
Tony Dungy was a young man who was inspired by Chuck Ealey, and he has now taken up the cause with the National Football Foundation to get him elected.
Chuck went on to get drafted by the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the CFL and promptly won a Grey Cup during his rookie season. He makes his home in Ontario Canada, and is a successful business man and speaker.
YOUR GAMEDAY FORECAST
It's going to be a hot one. For you tailgaters it should be nice this morning with temperatures in the low to mid 70's, mostly sunny skies, and a nice breeze out of the SSW at 13mph.
At kickoff expect temperatures to rise to 85 degrees under sunny skies and winds at 14mph. The humidity won't be bad at 48%.
By the 4th quarter it should be more of the same with temperatures in the mid 80's.
Hydrate up and pack the sun screen.
Would love to see ND come out strong today, and more importantly not miss any big opportunities like last week. They have the horses compared to Toledo, but you still need to go out and execute because if you let them in the game, things could get interesting.
I can see ND having success on the ground, but I want to see the WR's get more involved in the offense, and that means playing more 11 personnel because that's where they had most of their success at last week, and that includes running the ball.
The O line will get better, and I'm curious to see what kind of defense we'll play when Toledo spreads the field (maybe they watched a little film from last week?)
Let's start playing 4 quarters of good football, and hope for no more injuries.
Good Luck Everyone.
GO IRISH!
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