1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,000 This is Retro Sports Radio. Visit RetroSeasons.com for more sports history. 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:13,000 This is Lou Groza of the Cleveland Browns. In a few moments I'll tell you about my greatest sports thrill. 3 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:32,000 This is Harry Wismer. What you're about to hear is a transcribed story of one of pro football's outstanding players. 4 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:42,000 At an event, our special guest Lou Groza considers his greatest sports thrill. And Lou himself is here to tell us all about it. 5 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:48,000 But first, here is Bill Raddick with a message of interest from your United States Air Force. 6 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:54,000 A professional golfer must master many skills in order to use every club in the bag correctly. 7 00:00:54,000 --> 00:01:00,000 Air Force flying officers, masters of the skies, also are proficient in many skills. 8 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:10,000 You see, Air Force pilots and navigators are thoroughly and expensively trained in subjects such as aircraft engineering, navigation, and airborne electronics. 9 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:14,000 These men are also taught to command the respect of those around them, 10 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:20,000 and to operate the most advanced aircraft with the utmost precision and skill. 11 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:25,000 In this technically demanding age, the Air Force must maintain high standards. 12 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:31,000 The Air Force pilots and navigators of today are the world's finest, dedicated professional men of the skies. 13 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:37,000 So young men, if you're between the ages of 19 and 26 and a half, and a high school graduate, 14 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:41,000 see your local Air Force recruiter about aviation cadet training. 15 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:47,000 Wear the silver wings of leadership. Become a U.S. Air Force pilot or navigator. 16 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:49,000 And now back to Harry Wismer. 17 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:55,000 Lou Groza, the last of the original Cleveland Browns, is a pleasant, intelligent giant, 18 00:01:55,000 --> 00:02:00,000 who is without a peer in his specialty that of kicking points after touchdowns. 19 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:05,000 In 13 years with the Browns, Lou Groza has never once made a mistake in this department. 20 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:11,000 Oh, he has missed a place kick on rare occasions, but only because the center made a bad pass, 21 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:16,000 the quarterback would flub the ball, or his own lineman would interfere with him. 22 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:22,000 But never as Lou Groza missed once he got his cleats on the pigskin. 23 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:29,000 Through the 1958 season, Lou the Toe Groza has scored 952 points in professional football 24 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:35,000 by standing in one spot, which is more than the swiftest and most elusive backs have accounted for 25 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:39,000 by tearing up hundreds of yards of turf. 26 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:43,000 As the last remaining charter member of the great Cleveland Browns team that rang up 27 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:46,000 four consecutive championships in the All-American Conference, 28 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:51,000 and have captured three league championships in nine National Football League seasons, 29 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:55,000 Lou Groza is more than just a place kicking specialist. 30 00:02:55,000 --> 00:03:01,000 In addition to the talented right foot that has boomed him into the company of the league's top scorers 31 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:06,000 every season, Groza, after 13 campaigns in the rugged pro game, 32 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:12,000 has always been recognized as one of its great linemen and an outstanding offensive blocker. 33 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:18,000 This solid 240-pound athlete has made numerous all-pro teams on his blocking 34 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,000 without regard for his kicking. 35 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:27,000 Lou Groza was just out of service when he joined the Cleveland Browns a year after the end of World War II. 36 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:33,000 He caught on as a kicker and developed himself into an all-around player by application to the grubbier 37 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:37,000 phases of football while still being rated as a specialist. 38 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:44,000 Lou Groza's earnestness and intense desire to learn is best illustrated by his continuance in school 39 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,000 even while playing pro football. 40 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:56,000 He graduated from Ohio State in 1946 and earned his degree by attending classes in four off-seasons. 41 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:02,000 The story of Lou Groza is a wonderful example of a small-town boy whose love for sports 42 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:04,000 made him a national hero. 43 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:12,000 From his modest, inconspicuous beginning, he catapulted to fame on the twin springboards of talent and hard work. 44 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:18,000 While he gained renown for his football in Cleveland, Ohio, the actual story of his climb to the top 45 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:24,000 takes place in the heart of the Ohio River Valley in the quiet mill town of Martins Ferry. 46 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:32,000 At 17, Lou Groza in his senior year was captain of the high school football team, the baseball team, and the basketball team. 47 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:40,000 He was a prospect of purest gold when he graduated after leading his basketball team to the state's championship 48 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:44,000 and his football team to a tie for the state's title. 49 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:48,000 He was approached by scouts from 40 different colleges. 50 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:56,000 Paul Brown, then coaching at Ohio State, sent Gomer Jones, his assistant, down to Martins Ferry to talk to Groza. 51 00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:01,000 Lou was offered a full scholarship and a job that paid $50 a month. 52 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:08,000 Groza enrolled at Ohio State, played on the freshman team that went unbeaten in his three-game wartime schedule, 53 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:11,000 and then never played another game for Ohio State. 54 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:15,000 At the end of his freshman year, Lou went into the service. 55 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:21,000 Ever since Paul Brown first heard stories about a boy from Martins Ferry with an adult toe, 56 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:25,000 he had followed Lou Groza's career with professional interest. 57 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:30,000 With Groza on the freshman team at Ohio State and Brown directing the varsity, 58 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:35,000 the coach was more than ever convinced that Lou was destined for football greatness. 59 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:41,000 As the idea for a new professional football team in Cleveland began to germinate in Brown's mind, 60 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:44,000 Lou Groza became his major quarry. 61 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:50,000 After his discharge, Groza packed his duffel bag, bought a bus ticket to Bowling Green, Ohio, 62 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:53,000 and reported to the first Brown's training camp. 63 00:05:53,000 --> 00:06:00,000 No one knew a great deal about him or about the team or about the All-American Conference in which it would play. 64 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:05,000 All hands found out about Lou Groza very quickly a few days after the camp opened 65 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:07,000 when Cleveland Newspaper Man wrote, 66 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:12,000 The best show here takes place after regular practice is over. 67 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:15,000 That's when Lou Groza kicks. 68 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,000 In the Browns' first regular game against the Miami Hurricanes, 69 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:22,000 Groza kicked three field goals and five extra points. 70 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:25,000 The Browns won 44 to nothing. 71 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:30,000 That season, Groza kicked 45 extra points and 11 field goals. 72 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:36,000 After that, Lou Groza's career became almost a monotony of triumphs. 73 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:42,000 Through 1958, Lou Groza has kicked six field goals in seven championship games. 74 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:47,000 His 22 extra points give him a record total of 40 points in the playoffs. 75 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:52,000 Groza's other kicking achievements include four field goals in one game. 76 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:56,000 October the 26th, 1952 against Washington. 77 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:04,000 Three field goals in 11 different games and a 52-yard field goal only four yards short of the record. 78 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:12,000 Lou Groza, says his coach Paul Brown, is a phenomenon who embodies all that's best in a football player and in a man. 79 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:16,000 He's just as great a person as he is a football player. 80 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:20,000 I've seen him with kids and he handles himself well. 81 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,000 I've seen him with fans and he handles them surely. 82 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:28,000 I've seen him with rookies and he gives of himself generously. 83 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:33,000 Most football players seem to lose the mental edge before they go physically. 84 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:37,000 Lou Groza is just as enthusiastic as he ever was. 85 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:42,000 What else can I say? He's Mr. Cleveland football. 86 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:47,000 And now before you meet our special guest, Lou Groza in person in an interview from 87 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:52,000 the Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, and hear about his greatest sports thrill, 88 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:58,000 here is a message of interest to all young men with an eye on the future. 89 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:06,000 On any clear day, chances are you can look skyward and trace the thin white trails left by the jets of the United States Air Force. 90 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:11,000 You may not be able to hear or see these silver birds, but you can be sure they are up there, 91 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:15,000 guided by the sure skilled hands of an Air Force pilot. 92 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:20,000 These men are a special breed, selected for space age leadership and trained and 93 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:27,000 retrained in such specialized fields as engineering, navigation, and airborne electronics. 94 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:34,000 This is indeed a challenging, vital career with a limitless future for a young man who can make the grade. 95 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:39,000 How about you? If you're between 19 and 26 and a half and a high school graduate, 96 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:43,000 you may be eligible for enrollment as an aviation cadet. 97 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:49,000 Visit your local Air Force recruiter. He'll give you a complete rundown on physical and scholastic qualifications. 98 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:57,000 You will also learn in detail about the training programs and the excellent pay and privileges that can be yours as an Air Force pilot. 99 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:00,000 And now back to Harry Wismer. 100 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:04,000 Lou Groza, what was your greatest sports thrill? 101 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:07,000 The greatest sports thrill I've had in football occurred in 1950, 102 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:12,000 our first year in the National Football League after playing four years in the All-American Conference, 103 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:17,000 and of course, you know, they were telling us about finding a football to determine whether we were a football team or not. 104 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:21,000 Then we had the good fortune of winning our division, being out the New York Giants in a divisional playoff, 105 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:25,000 and finally coming in the championship game against the Los Angeles Rams. 106 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:33,000 The score was in their favor, 28 to 27 as a result of our holder dropping an extra point pass. 107 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:36,000 And then we went in the final seconds of the ball game. 108 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:40,000 We had about 15 seconds to go and I was called upon to kick a 15-yard field goal. 109 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:43,000 Of course, the final score was 30 to 28. 110 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,000 That, I would say, Harry, is my greatest sports thrill. 111 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:50,000 Lou, how important to you is the player who holds the ball? 112 00:09:50,000 --> 00:10:00,000 The player that holds the ball for me is very important, Harry, in that I consider the place kick a three-part machine, namely the center, holder, and the place kicker. 113 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:07,000 First, I like to have the center pass the ball to the holder low, and of course, the holder catching it over the spot where the ball is to be placed down, 114 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:13,000 and the holder who I have tied myself up with through practice will set the ball down very readily. 115 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:17,000 And of course, I, in the meantime, have been taking one step as the ball has hit his hands, 116 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:23,000 and my second step I take momentarily thereafter, concentrating on the spot on the ball and following through. 117 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:28,000 Lou, does the condition of the ground make a difference in your place kicking? 118 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:36,000 Yes, it does, Harry. When I'm taking my first step, it's really a power step to me, and I'm digging in, and the ground is either soggy or hard. 119 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:43,000 It will affect that, and of course, I have to cheat up a little bit in that I'm a weight of about three normal walking strides. 120 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:51,000 From the point where the ball is to be placed, I move up about two and a half yards to compensate for the slippage, and of course, I will lose some power on a long kick. 121 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:57,000 And I have to try to make this up with a greater leg swing as I'm throwing my leg into the ball. 122 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:00,000 Do you wear special shoes for kicking? 123 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:09,000 Yes, I do wear special shoes for place kicking. However, it isn't something that I have designed myself. It's a shoe that I've been using since I've been a youngster in high school. 124 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:15,000 And this particular shoe I like because it gives me more kicking service in that it has a square toe. 125 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:20,000 And of course, cutting down the hazard of error in the place kicking, there is enough chance of error anyway. 126 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:25,000 I try to eliminate some of it as much as I possibly can through this device. 127 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:31,000 Lew, as one of Pro Football's high scorers, how many touchdowns have you made? 128 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:38,000 I've made one touchdown in my football career, and that was against the Washington Redskins in 1950. 129 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:45,000 That time, we were permitted to use the tackle-eligible play where the end on my side was flanked out and you dropped back into the backfield. 130 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:49,000 The end on the other side of our line would come up on the line of scrimmage. 131 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:58,000 Thereby, I became an end and I caught a pass on about the 20-yard line and with my blazing speed, I was able to score a touchdown. 132 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:05,000 I'm just kidding. It's just they left me open and I was fortunate enough nobody was around me, so I went in for a score. 133 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:11,000 Lew, you've played for Paul Brown during your whole career. Why is he a successful coach? 134 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:25,000 I would say that Paul Brown is a very successful coach because as I talk to youngsters or any aspiring athletes, I would say Paul Brown has the attributes necessary for any successful businessman and he works at them. 135 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:29,000 First, I would say he's a good organizer and he dwells on the fundamentals. 136 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:36,000 In professional football, our business is no different than any other and if you're going to have a successful product, it's based on winning. 137 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:48,000 I think he is able to extract the most from his people because he dwells on fundamentals and in this organization he has, he works through it, the spirit of winning, and he uses a lot of psychology in his coaching. 138 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:57,000 Thereby, he keeps us up continuously and of course he paces us through the year physically so that we have enough physical stamina left on weekends to play. 139 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:07,000 Again, the reason I bring this out is you can see how fundamental he gets because he controls practically everything that's important with the basic fundamentals of any football team. 140 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:13,000 Lew, how many plays does Coach Paul Brown send in from the bench during a ball game? 141 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:23,000 Well, that's a tough question to answer in that he calls every play and how many plays we will run during the course of a ball game will depend upon our defense getting the ball for us. 142 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:29,000 But he does call every play and it's based on the scouting system we have made up of our assistant coaches. 143 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:35,000 We have two coaches on the bench, one coach on the bench rather, two coaches in the breast box, and one coach on either end of the field. 144 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:45,000 They're getting an overall picture of what's going on the playing field and it's related to the bench and of course the play is related to Brown and he has a final decision again as he does always. 145 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:52,000 And of course if he thinks a play is good, it's related into our huddle through a guard. We have two guards shuttling back and forth. 146 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:55,000 Lew, could you ever kick a field goal barefoot? 147 00:13:55,000 --> 00:14:00,000 I don't think I'd want to try because I might ruin something that's been very good for me. 148 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:06,000 Thank you very much, Lew Groza of the Cleveland Browns, one of Pro Football's outstanding players. 149 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:13,000 Music 150 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:23,000 Greatest Sports Thrills with Top Personalities in the World of Sports is narrated by Harry Wismer, directed by Gene Kirby, written by Arthur Susskind Jr. 151 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:28,000 and presented by the United States Air Force in cooperation with this station. 152 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,000 This is Bill Redick speaking. The preceding was transcribed. 153 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:50,000 Music 154 00:14:50,000 --> 00:15:04,000 .