This is Retro Sports Radio. Visit RetroSeasons.com for more sports history.
This is Kyle Rode of the New York Football Giants.
And 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 and an event our special guest Kyle Rode considers his greatest sports thrill.
And Kyle 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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Get the full story on the Air Force career tailored to your abilities. See your local Air Force recruiter soon.
Now back to Harry Wismer.
For years everybody has said what a tremendous football player Kyle Rode or the New York football giants would have been if he were physically sound.
But it's hard to see how he could be better than he is.
As a halfback Kyle Rode is rated as the Giants brightest star since the departure of Tuffy Lemans.
As a pass catching end he ranks as one of their best.
Before Kyle Rode began to concentrate exclusively as an end he was the Giants biggest threat on a running play.
Now there is no one on the Giants team close to Rode as a touchdown threat via a pass.
Kyle Rode is the football Giants captain and all time pass catching champion.
As an end and halfback in the Pro League Kyle Rode has been an extraordinary clutch player and an all Pro choice four seasons.
Kyle Rode received an enormous amount of publicity during his freshman season at Southern Methodist.
He would be another dope walker who was then the cock of the walk at SMU.
With Walker and Rode the Mustangs would be unbeatable the sports writers said.
Maddie Bell then head coach said Rode had it in him to become the greatest back ever to come out of the Southwest.
Kyle Rode made the SMU varsity as a sophomore in 1948.
The 195 pound six foot San Tone Express was just a good journeyman football player in the beginning.
But by midseason confident and relaxed he came into his own.
Rode credits his quick development to dope Walker who acted as his friend and advisor right from the start.
In the 1949 season even though Kyle Rode played in dope Walker's shadow again he was murderous with the ball in his hand.
He finished the season as the leading ball carrier in the Southwest Conference with 777 yards in 142 carries.
But because he was in that dope Walker shadow his reputation remained more or less sectional.
It was only after Walker was injured and Rode starred in the SMU Notre Dame game that Kyle Rode made his reputation stand up on a national scale.
That year the Mustangs were the only team which stood between Notre Dame and its 38th straight game without defeat.
One of the greatest college teams of all time the Fighting Irish by whipping or tying SMU could drive home the last nail in their unbeaten season.
The cotton bowl was jammed at kickoff time. The crowd of 75,457 was the largest to watch the 1949 Irish team.
The magic name of Notre Dame had drawn football fans from all over the country.
It quickly became evident that this was to be a colossal contest and that's exactly what it turned out to be.
The final score was Notre Dame 27 SMU 20. However the Mustangs lost with honor and Kyle Rode made the most magnificent showing of any player Notre Dame had met all season.
Later the Irish unanimously picked him on their all opponent team. He was the only player to get every Notre Dame both.
Against the toughest team of all Kyle Rode had virtually run wild. He had gained 115 yards running and 146 yards passing.
He had scored three touchdowns and he had punted for a great 48 yard average.
In his senior year in 1950 Kyle Rode was already a living legend in the state of Texas.
Everyone expected him barring injury or illness to make the All-America and he didn't disappoint them.
Kyle Rode never gave the prospect of playing professional football a thought until much to his surprise he was the number one draft choice of the New York Giants after the 1950s.
He suffered his knee injury before he played his first regular season game for the Giants.
It took place in a practice scrimmage in Jonesboro Arkansas.
It was the kind of a start on his professional career that so easily could have discouraged the average rookie especially one entering the league so widely advertised.
Kyle Rode played in only five games that season and showed only a few flashes of the skill that had enabled him to outrun and outwit enemy tacklers in college.
There was however no discouraging this boy after an operation on the knee he was back for the 1952 season.
Rode played in at least a few minutes of every game on the 12 game schedule that year.
In 1953 he had trouble with the knee again and missed three games but he has missed none since.
It was during the 1955 season that Kyle Rode played his first game as an end.
He had never played end before at least not in pro ball but he accepted the assignment cheerfully.
The result is reflected in the New York Giants archives.
Kyle Rode is the leading giant pass receiver of all time.
He also leads in total yardage and has made more touchdowns than any other active giant.
All this mind you with the left knee that placed tricks on him now and then a knee from which most of the cartilage has been cut.
A knee that at any given moment might give way and has plagued him since the late summer of 1951 which is a long time measured in pain and worry.
Yes Kyle Rode may have only one good knee but he is a real giant both as a football player and as a man.
Now before you meet our special guest Kyle Rode in person in an interview from Yankee Stadium in New York and hear about his greatest sports thrill
here is a message of interest to all young men with an eye on the future.
High school graduates have you ever met your local Air Force recruiter?
If not you will be favorably impressed when you do.
First of all your local recruiter has all the facts and figures about the new age of space and the many interesting job openings in the Air Force.
Your recruiter will point out the fine technical training available in over 40 career fields
and he'll give you the full story on the many space age advances being developed by the Air Force.
For example the radical new jet bombers and fighters, the X-15 space plane, the Titan intercontinental missile.
The Air Force space age picture is an exciting one and it can also be especially rewarding for you.
If after seeing your local recruiter you decide to join you will serve with a fine group of men.
So see your local recruiter today and find out about your place in the expanding space age of tomorrow in the U.S. Air Force.
And now back to Harry Wismer.
Kyle Rode, what was your greatest sports thrill?
Well Harry in 1949 when I was playing with Southern Methodist University we were to play the fighting Irish from Notre Dame
and as I recall at that time Notre Dame came down to Dallas to play us in the cotton bowl
and we were some 28 points favorites in that particular game.
To build up the real drama of the situation, Doke Walker of course who was everyone's All-America for three years at SMU,
he was injured in the week's previous game and was unable to play that day.
I had been playing wing back on our single wing formation and Doke had been playing the tail back.
Well for that particular game as Doke was out well I was shifted back to the deep spot
where you had to run and also throw passes from that spot.
Well as the game progressed our luck increased and by the time the game was over Notre Dame had won.
It was 27 to 20 but at one time we had a chance to go ahead 21 to 20 when we had tied the score 20 and 20
and we missed the extra points so it left the score tied at 20-20 and in the last few moments of the game
Notre Dame came from that 20-20 tie and scored the final touchdown to defeat us 27 to 20.
But that was one of the greatest Notre Dame teams I think that they have had and as I say we felt lucky and it worked out that way
and even though we lost the game Harry, well I think that was one of our greatest thrills of playing that well against such a great ball club.
Kyle, what's the story on your shifting to end after having played in the backfield most of your college and pro career?
Well my first four years as a professional I did play half back and the last four I've been playing as an end.
And my second year as a half back with the Giants well I had a knee injury and it required surgery
and they cut the cartilages out of my left knee and then the following year I had my right knee torn up in a game with Pittsburgh.
So after about three years of trying to hobble around on two bad knees well the Giants and myself I think
both by mutual consent the shift was made to end and I've been playing there ever since.
Kyle would you say one of the highlights of the 1958 pro season was the New York Giants defeating the Browns and the Colts
two weeks in a row when they were both unbeaten?
Well I'd certainly say so Harry I think that was probably our greatest thrill of the 58 season was beating those two clubs back to back like that.
They both had truly fine clubs we had a good club and I think in both of those games we came from behind to win the two of them.
I would agree that that's one of our finest thrills of the 58 season.
Kyle you made a touchdown catch during the game against the Baltimore Colts that many people say was the best they ever saw.
Tell us about it.
Well I'd love to Harry that was to me also one of my greatest thrills in football.
We had been playing of course the Colts that day and we'd been running a certain pass route to where I playing left and I would go down and in toward the goal post.
And we ran that several times and so I came back to the huddle and asked Charlie to throw me past where I went down and in and then my final cut would be to go back out
once I had the man going in toward the goal post and cut back out away from him to the corner.
So Charlie Connelly our quarterback consented to call the play and he called this play where I would go down and cut in and then cut back out which we call our zig out pattern.
Other clubs have the same route they might call it something else but that's that was the route.
So Charlie dropped back and he had good protection and he threw a perfect pass.
He had to throw it far enough to get it over Milt Davis the defending halfbacks head and also still short enough to where I could catch it.
And he threw a perfect pass right into the corner and I did have to leave my feet to catch it.
But it was one of the greatest thrills from that ball came down and stuck in my hands and then we went on to win it.
Kyle what is the funniest thing you've ever seen on a football field.
Well there's one story about our defensive safety man Emlyn Tunnell.
Emlyn went to Iowa during his college days and then I think he's been with the Giants or he's been in professional football for some 12 or 13 years.
Well we were playing Los Angeles Rams in 1952 and we opened the season out there with the Rams.
We had been studying all week long trying to stop the potential touchdown threats of the great end Elroy Hirsch who was playing in for the Rams at the time.
The quarterback for the Rams was Norm Van Brocklin.
Well late in the third quarter I think the score was quite close and our defensive safety man Emlyn Tunnell was defending against Elroy Hirsch.
And we'd been working all week long not letting Hirsch get behind Tunnell.
And so sure enough during the third quarter well Hirsch goes down field and goes through his repertoire fakes and he goes right by Tunnell and catches this long touchdown pass from Norm Van Brocklin.
And of course that put him ahead and as Tunnell came off the field well Steve Owen who was our coach at the time collared Tunnell and was talking to him going back to the bench.
And he was saying Tunnell why in the world did you let Hirsch get behind you?
We've been working on it all week. Why in the world did you let him beat you?
And as they went back to the bench he just kept asking Tunnell why did you let him beat you?
And so Tunnell finally got to the bench and he said coach.
He said you know the Rams are paying Hirsch $20,000 a year and you people are only paying me $7,000.
He's supposed to beat me.
Well thank you very much Kyle Rote of the New York Giants one of pro football's outstanding players.