From Jim Salscheider:
Perhaps our biggest "victory" in '65 was the last game of the season when we
came back to tie Chicago LAX Club 14-14 in overtime. They had two all time greats
playing for them -George Corrigan (Kevin's Uncle) and Homer Schwartz, a
three time All American at Hopkins. We played the game
at home just before graduation. I'll never forget the game because I brought
the ball in at the restraining line with 7 seconds left -Homer Schwartz came
out and took me one on one. I knew he didn't think I could go left - so I
went right, dodged back and put it in the corner just before the gun went
off to tie it. I could never forget that moment. Then we went to overtime.
From Don Snyder:
I don't remember that game (Chicago LAX), but I do remember a (1964) spring trip to Colorado. I
think it was the Colorado State University game where the CSU athletic
department wanted us to split the cost of plowing the field after a fairly
heavy snow storm. Jack Tate proposed that the loser pay the cost of the
plowing, and I believe that shamed CSU into picking up the cost. I remember
driving out to Colorado with Mike Luea in a driveaway car that he had gotten
in Chicago to be delivered to Colorado. Mike's roommate Jim Wruck, a pole
vaulter on the track team was with us, and had his pole strapped to the side
of the car (an Oldsmobile Rocket 88???). At one point, Mike was driving at
about 110 mph on a straight (Iowa??) road and the telephone poles looked
like a picket fence. The road turned; we didn't, and sailed into a field
(wheat??) Fortunately, we were able to drive the car back out of the field,
and made it to Colorado.
From Bob Johnson:
I remember the melee well
myself, also remember "bolting" the bill with Zeke at the local Holiday Inn
but that's another story. Somewhere in that group of MSU guys was a
mid-fielder named Al Norwood. His recollection of the "group discussion" is
the same as ours only he was looking for the smallest guy from our side to
say hello to. As it turns out, Al was my boss in my first job out of Grad
School at Schlitz Brewing in Milwaukee. We were working on developing new
Malt beverages for the younger age groups, not a bad assignment I might say.
Al and I ended up working together over the years and even got him involved
with us when Salscheider and I worked with Ed O'Gara. Small world, Al
stills maintains we would have been "dead meat" if the situation had gotten
worse, but then he never saw Zeke do a "Robot"!
Recollections of the 1965 Season
We played Michigan State in 1965, and for some reason I think it was Dan
Carson, though it could have been John Walker on the face off, when the MSU
guy jumped in the air at the whistle. Our guy drove through with the ball,
and the MSU player came down with his cleats on the legs of our guy. I
think it was Jim Salcheider who came flying in from the wing and nailed the
MSU guy, and then everybody started fighting. We all came running off the
bench, as did the MSU bench, all fired up, and started pairing off for manly
combat. This huge defenseman from MSU started lumbering toward me with his
stick ready to clock me. It was readily apparent to me that this would be a
one-sided contest, and that I would end up in little pieces all over that
field. Inspiration struck in the nick of time and I said to him that it was
a shame that this contest had evolved into a melee, that it ruined the
sportsmanship and fair play inherent in the game. He must have been a
philosophy major because he didn't kill me, just continued to eye me warily
till order was restored. It was at that moment I realized that I was meant
to be a lawyer, and now after thirty years of practicing law, I still have
that mean looking MSU player to thank for providing me the insight that lead
to my career.