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NORTHWESTERN FOOTBALL HELMET 1956-1957
With one victory in their previous seventeen games, an overhaul was needed and the Wildcats received one from new coach Ara Parseghian. He was a successful player at Miami (OH) under legendary Sid Gillman, played for the Browns for three seasons, and then returned to Miami as Woody Hayes' assistant, taking the head job in 1951 when Hayes left for Ohio State. Although Ara made a much bigger name for himself as the coach at Notre Dame from 1964-'74, he was already a terrific mentor at both Miami and Northwestern. With a movement in some quarters to move Northwestern out of the Big Ten Parseghian was determined to have a competitive team. A new offensive alignment and team uniform improved morale with the white helmet now featuring purple three-quarter-inch flanking stripes and black two-inch thin "NCAA-style" player numerals on each side. Installing the Split T Formation, the team responded with an improved 4-4-1 record with captain Ted Ringer leading the way at center and linebacker. Bob McKeiver returned from the military to provide backfield punch with 592 yards, despite his 5'4" stature, and the 'Cats closed the year with three consecutive conference victories. Al Viola led the line as an All Conference guard. Enthusiasm for the program improved although 1957's 0-9 record may have looked disastrous to an outsider. Ara was dismantling and restructuring the program from within and giving sophs like RB Ron Burton, the 'Cats leading ground-gainer, and Fred Williamson playing time. Tackle Andy Cvercko and HB Wilmer Fowler played well and there was no panic within the program, especially with a frosh class that included Irv Cross, Dick Thornton, and Mike Stock.
2001969
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NORTHWESTERN FOOTBALL HELMET 1958-1965
Parseghian obviously knew something entering the 1958 season that the rest of the Big Ten did not. Very confidently, he put his system in place and dealt Michigan their worst beating in history, a 55-24 shellacking that stood 43-0 at halftime. The 5-4 record was a big leap forward and they had stood at 5-1 before a lack of depth scuttled them. Andy Cvercko had a huge season as a first-team All American, going on to four years in the NFL at his usual guard position. All Big Ten HB Ron Burton flourished, running in tandem with track standout Wilmer Fowler. Soph signal-caller Dick Thornton led the conference in total offense as a run-pass threat and Burton's school scoring record of seventy-six points was augmented by 613 yards rushing. Mike Stock was the blocking FB and center Jim Andreotti teamed with Cvercko to pave the way for the backs. Irv Cross and Fred Williamson, not yet "The Hammer" played the ends well. Williamson of course, went on to a modicum of fame as a pro DB with the Steelers, Raiders, and Chiefs before becoming a movie star in the "Blacksploitation" films of the seventies. Entering this impressive 1958 season, Parseghian removed the striping from the "Cats' helmets so that the white shell only had the black two-inch player numerals on each side.
6-0 heading into November of 1959 with a major upset of number-one ranked Oklahoma, All Americans Ron Burton at HB and Jim Andreotti at center, and a run at the Big Ten title all had Northwestern fans giddy. The usual lack of depth, an ongoing problem due to the stringent admissions and academic standards and the relatively small size of student enrollment caught up and the Wildcats finished at 6-3. As good as Burton was, the leading rusher was FB Mike Stock who became a needed weapon with the season-ending injury to QB Dick Thornton in the second game of the season. Stock also topped the Big Ten in scoring. Gene Gossage held up one tackle post with distinction.
2001970
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NORTHWESTERN FOOTBALL HELMET 1968-1974
In 1971's eleven game season, the Wildcats surprised with a 7-4 record. All Big Ten QB Maurice Daigneau used conference leading receiver Barry Pearson effectively and HB Al Robinson made up for the loss of Adamle. Pearson would play for the Steelers and Chiefs. The defense came up big with excellent play from Jim Anderson and soph LB Mike Varty. Two big wins against Ohio State and Michigan State in the season's final two games sealed a fine season and no one could have predicted it would be the Wildcats last winning season until 1995. 1972 would be Agase's final season and it was a drab 2-9 affair with little effective offense despite a few stars, and spotty defense. Held scoreless against Michigan, Notre Dame, and Purdue, it was obvious that the loss of fifteen starters from '71 could not be overcome. RB Greg Boykin rushed for over 600 yards as a frosh and HB Jim Trimble, the son of the well-known pro coach, added 339 until limited by injury. WR Jim Lash was a legitimate weapon, combining with QB Mitch Anderson who led the Big Ten in passing with 1333 yards, 351 of those against Michigan State. The defense got worse when LB Varty went out with a knee injury in the second game of the year. When the season ended, Head Coach Alex Agase took the opportunity to return to Purdue, one of the two schools he had served as an All American player in the 1940's, as their new head football coach.
The '73 season was marked by the installation of artificial turf, and the naming of Indiana's coach, John Pont as the new football coach and Athletic Director. Pont's debut record of 4-7 was a welcomed surprise although it included dreadful losses to Notre Dame and Ohio State and a number of additional defensive breakdowns. RB's Rich Boothe and Stan Key, and WR Steve Craig paced the offense under the leadership of QB Mitch Anderson who again led the Big Ten in passing with 2557 yards and nineteen TD's. RB Greg Boykin was off of his '72 performance. Mike Varty's return from injury and play at LB earned him a spot with the Redskins in '74 and Colts in '75. QB Anderson finished his NU career in '74 with less efficiency than his first two seasons. RB Boykin went down with a fractured leg and Jim Pooler stepped in to lead all rushers with a great 949 yards. Scott Yelvington paced the conference with thirty-seven receptions from his TE position. With Notre Dame, Nebraska, Ohio State, and Wisconsin all scoring forty-nine points or more, the defense obviously needed improvement although safety Pete Shaw played well. The 3-8 record included Parseghian's final game vs. the Wildcats and the old coach proved that at 4-0 against ND as coach of the 'Cats, and 9-0 against Northwestern as coach of the Irish, this series of games belonged to no one but him.
2001972
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