05/07/2006
It’s a night for celebrations at Villanova
By BOB GROTZ
[email protected]
VILLANOVA -- Players filed in from all over the country, from Howie Long of the Pro Football Hall of Fame to Brian Westbrook and Brian Finneran, of the NFL’s Eagles and Falcons. From head coach Andy Talley, who helped resurrect the Villanova University football program in 1985, to 1960s running back and NFL star Billy Joe, the Wildcats huddled Saturday night to celebrate 109 years of running, passing and tackling on the Main Line.
Jimmy Murray, the 1952 freshman who would distinguish himself as general manager of the Eagles, pulled out his favorite passage.
"Jim Thorpe was asked if the game between Carlisle and Army was not the toughest game he ever played," Murray said to a full house at the Villanova Room. "He said, ‘Not by a long shot. The hardest game I ever played with the Carlisle Indians was against Villanova. I never in all my career struck a team that played the game the way they did.’
"That," Murray continued, "is the essence of Villanova football."
Long, the NFL on Fox TV analyst and big screen star told the gathering how he arrived on campus as a 225-pound tight end -- from Cardinal O’Hara -- and exited a man. Long, 46, recorded 84 career sacks and made eight Pro Bowl appearances for the Oakland Raiders, helping the club to a Super Bowl title.
"So much of who I am today was defined by my time here at Villanova," Long said. "I honestly believe if fate had taken me in a different direction in 1977, I’m not sure I would be standing up here for any other university having been able to make a living doing what I do, now talking about football on TV."
The first season of Wildcats football as a varsity sport was 1894. Since then the program made five bowl game appearances, played in the NCAA Division I playoffs six times and had 22 players named first-team all-American.
More than 100 Wildcats played professionally most recently Westbrook, a Pro Bowl performer with the Eagles, and Finneran, annually one the Falcons’ top receivers. Both won the prestigious Walter Payton award given the top offensive player in Division I-AA football, Westbrook in 2001, Finneran in 1997.
Talley won the Eddie Robinson Award as the nation’s top I-AA coach and the FCA/GTE National Coach of the Year laurel in 1997.
"I think the most rewarding thing about this is we were able to bring back 250 former players that have such a great feeling about Villanova football," Talley said. "From as far back as the 1940’s into the 2000’s, it’s a homecoming of sorts. It’s an opportunity for them to come back and know they’re still a part of the Villanova family and we still care about him."
Joe, 65, and Joe Rogers, 82, who played for the Wildcats in the 1940s, shared their football stories with the Villanova Football Gridiron Club.
Joe remembered a game against a Navy team that had a running back with "thick legs" name Joe Bellino.
"He put six touchdowns on us," Joe said. "But I met President (Dwight) Eisenhower that day. I got to say hello to him. That’s probably the only good thing that happened that day."
Talley couldn’t hold back the laughter on that one.
Talley, nodding toward Rogers, the oldest football alum at the dinner, thought the tradition made his job bringing back football after it was cut out of the budget in 1981 significantly easier.
"Villanova always had a great football tradition and that helped us a great deal when we came back," Talley said. "We had a Howie Long. We had a Mike Siani (No. 1 pick of the Oakland Raiders). It wasn’t like we were building something out of the blue. And I think the national exposure has been really helpful to our program especially with Brian Westbrook playing in Villanova. I think the fact that Westbrook and Finneran are playing in the NFL is one of the reasons scouts are looking at our players.
"Division I-AA football is education first, football second. But it’s nice to see we can do both."