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This is Lou Groza of the Cleveland Browns. In a few moments I'll tell you about my greatest sports thrill.
This is Harry Wismer. What you're about to hear is a transcribed story of one of pro football's outstanding players.
At an event, our special guest Lou Groza considers his greatest sports thrill. And Lou himself is here to tell us all about it.
But first, here is Bill Raddick with a message of interest from your United States Air Force.
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These men are also taught to command the respect of those around them,
and to operate the most advanced aircraft with the utmost precision and skill.
In this technically demanding age, the Air Force must maintain high standards.
The Air Force pilots and navigators of today are the world's finest, dedicated professional men of the skies.
So young men, if you're between the ages of 19 and 26 and a half, and a high school graduate,
see your local Air Force recruiter about aviation cadet training.
Wear the silver wings of leadership. Become a U.S. Air Force pilot or navigator.
And now back to Harry Wismer.
Lou Groza, the last of the original Cleveland Browns, is a pleasant, intelligent giant,
who is without a peer in his specialty that of kicking points after touchdowns.
In 13 years with the Browns, Lou Groza has never once made a mistake in this department.
Oh, he has missed a place kick on rare occasions, but only because the center made a bad pass,
the quarterback would flub the ball, or his own lineman would interfere with him.
But never as Lou Groza missed once he got his cleats on the pigskin.
Through the 1958 season, Lou the Toe Groza has scored 952 points in professional football
by standing in one spot, which is more than the swiftest and most elusive backs have accounted for
by tearing up hundreds of yards of turf.
As the last remaining charter member of the great Cleveland Browns team that rang up
four consecutive championships in the All-American Conference,
and have captured three league championships in nine National Football League seasons,
Lou Groza is more than just a place kicking specialist.
In addition to the talented right foot that has boomed him into the company of the league's top scorers
every season, Groza, after 13 campaigns in the rugged pro game,
has always been recognized as one of its great linemen and an outstanding offensive blocker.
This solid 240-pound athlete has made numerous all-pro teams on his blocking
without regard for his kicking.
Lou Groza was just out of service when he joined the Cleveland Browns a year after the end of World War II.
He caught on as a kicker and developed himself into an all-around player by application to the grubbier
phases of football while still being rated as a specialist.
Lou Groza's earnestness and intense desire to learn is best illustrated by his continuance in school
even while playing pro football.
He graduated from Ohio State in 1946 and earned his degree by attending classes in four off-seasons.
The story of Lou Groza is a wonderful example of a small-town boy whose love for sports
made him a national hero.
From his modest, inconspicuous beginning, he catapulted to fame on the twin springboards of talent and hard work.
While he gained renown for his football in Cleveland, Ohio, the actual story of his climb to the top
takes place in the heart of the Ohio River Valley in the quiet mill town of Martins Ferry.
At 17, Lou Groza in his senior year was captain of the high school football team, the baseball team, and the basketball team.
He was a prospect of purest gold when he graduated after leading his basketball team to the state's championship
and his football team to a tie for the state's title.
He was approached by scouts from 40 different colleges.
Paul Brown, then coaching at Ohio State, sent Gomer Jones, his assistant, down to Martins Ferry to talk to Groza.
Lou was offered a full scholarship and a job that paid $50 a month.
Groza enrolled at Ohio State, played on the freshman team that went unbeaten in his three-game wartime schedule,
and then never played another game for Ohio State.
At the end of his freshman year, Lou went into the service.
Ever since Paul Brown first heard stories about a boy from Martins Ferry with an adult toe,
he had followed Lou Groza's career with professional interest.
With Groza on the freshman team at Ohio State and Brown directing the varsity,
the coach was more than ever convinced that Lou was destined for football greatness.
As the idea for a new professional football team in Cleveland began to germinate in Brown's mind,
Lou Groza became his major quarry.
After his discharge, Groza packed his duffel bag, bought a bus ticket to Bowling Green, Ohio,
and reported to the first Brown's training camp.
No one knew a great deal about him or about the team or about the All-American Conference in which it would play.
All hands found out about Lou Groza very quickly a few days after the camp opened
when Cleveland Newspaper Man wrote,
The best show here takes place after regular practice is over.
That's when Lou Groza kicks.
In the Browns' first regular game against the Miami Hurricanes,
Groza kicked three field goals and five extra points.
The Browns won 44 to nothing.
That season, Groza kicked 45 extra points and 11 field goals.
After that, Lou Groza's career became almost a monotony of triumphs.
Through 1958, Lou Groza has kicked six field goals in seven championship games.
His 22 extra points give him a record total of 40 points in the playoffs.
Groza's other kicking achievements include four field goals in one game.
October the 26th, 1952 against Washington.
Three field goals in 11 different games and a 52-yard field goal only four yards short of the record.
Lou Groza, says his coach Paul Brown, is a phenomenon who embodies all that's best in a football player and in a man.
He's just as great a person as he is a football player.
I've seen him with kids and he handles himself well.
I've seen him with fans and he handles them surely.
I've seen him with rookies and he gives of himself generously.
Most football players seem to lose the mental edge before they go physically.
Lou Groza is just as enthusiastic as he ever was.
What else can I say? He's Mr. Cleveland football.
And now before you meet our special guest, Lou Groza in person in an interview from
the Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, and hear about his greatest sports thrill,
here is a message of interest to all young men with an eye on the future.
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.
You may not be able to hear or see these silver birds, but you can be sure they are up there,
guided by the sure skilled hands of an Air Force pilot.
These men are a special breed, selected for space age leadership and trained and
retrained in such specialized fields as engineering, navigation, and airborne electronics.
This is indeed a challenging, vital career with a limitless future for a young man who can make the grade.
How about you? If you're between 19 and 26 and a half and a high school graduate,
you may be eligible for enrollment as an aviation cadet.
Visit your local Air Force recruiter. He'll give you a complete rundown on physical and scholastic qualifications.
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.
And now back to Harry Wismer.
Lou Groza, what was your greatest sports thrill?
The greatest sports thrill I've had in football occurred in 1950,
our first year in the National Football League after playing four years in the All-American Conference,
and of course, you know, they were telling us about finding a football to determine whether we were a football team or not.
Then we had the good fortune of winning our division, being out the New York Giants in a divisional playoff,
and finally coming in the championship game against the Los Angeles Rams.
The score was in their favor, 28 to 27 as a result of our holder dropping an extra point pass.
And then we went in the final seconds of the ball game.
We had about 15 seconds to go and I was called upon to kick a 15-yard field goal.
Of course, the final score was 30 to 28.
That, I would say, Harry, is my greatest sports thrill.
Lou, how important to you is the player who holds the ball?
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.
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,
and the holder who I have tied myself up with through practice will set the ball down very readily.
And of course, I, in the meantime, have been taking one step as the ball has hit his hands,
and my second step I take momentarily thereafter, concentrating on the spot on the ball and following through.
Lou, does the condition of the ground make a difference in your place kicking?
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.
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.
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.
And I have to try to make this up with a greater leg swing as I'm throwing my leg into the ball.
Do you wear special shoes for kicking?
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.
And this particular shoe I like because it gives me more kicking service in that it has a square toe.
And of course, cutting down the hazard of error in the place kicking, there is enough chance of error anyway.
I try to eliminate some of it as much as I possibly can through this device.
Lew, as one of Pro Football's high scorers, how many touchdowns have you made?
I've made one touchdown in my football career, and that was against the Washington Redskins in 1950.
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.
The end on the other side of our line would come up on the line of scrimmage.
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.
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.
Lew, you've played for Paul Brown during your whole career. Why is he a successful coach?
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.
First, I would say he's a good organizer and he dwells on the fundamentals.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Lew, how many plays does Coach Paul Brown send in from the bench during a ball game?
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.
But he does call every play and it's based on the scouting system we have made up of our assistant coaches.
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.
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.
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.
Lew, could you ever kick a field goal barefoot?
I don't think I'd want to try because I might ruin something that's been very good for me.
Thank you very much, Lew Groza of the Cleveland Browns, one of Pro Football's outstanding players.
Music
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.
and presented by the United States Air Force in cooperation with this station.
This is Bill Redick speaking. The preceding was transcribed.
Music
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