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 The first time Frank Leahy, the great football coach, saw Alan Amici, he made a solemn vow to get him for Notre Dame. 3 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:16,000 But as everyone knows, Amici turned up at Wisconsin. 4 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:24,000 The first time Coach Ivy Williamson of the University of Wisconsin watched him in action, Amici was moved up from the junior squad to the regular varsity. 5 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:31,000 In his first year with the Badgers, Amici set a school-rushing record as a freshman, 824 yards. 6 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:41,000 The first time Red Sanders, the UCLA coach, saw him after Alan personally racked up 139 yards in the 1953 Rose Bowl game against the Bruins, 7 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:47,000 Sanders called him the strongest runner in football history, not accepting Bronco Nagurski. 8 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:54,000 The first time he ever got his hands on the ball in a professional football game, Amici raked 79 yards for a touchdown. 9 00:00:54,000 --> 00:01:01,000 And, the first season Alan Amici completed in the National Football League, he not only was voted the Rookie of the Year, 10 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:07,000 but also captured ball-carrying honors by rushing for 961 yards. 11 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:14,000 In 1948, at the age of 16, Amici walked resolutely into the City Hall of Kenosha, Wisconsin, 12 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:22,000 and legally changed his first name from Lino to Alan. Lino, to his way of thinking, was not rugged or mature enough. 13 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:29,000 Seven years later, Alan Amici had proved many times over that ruggedness and maturity are not a matter of names alone. 14 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:39,000 During that time he was an all-state choice on the high school football team, a track star who could cross the shot over 50 feet and run the 100 yards in 10-2, 15 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:45,000 a light heavyweight Golden Gloves champion, an All-American in college football, a Heisman trophy winner, 16 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:50,000 an all-pro fullback in the toughest competitive sport of all, the National Football League. 17 00:01:50,000 --> 00:02:00,000 Off the football field, Alan Amici is a quiet, modest, and earnest young man who is married to his high school sweetheart and the father of two husky sons. 18 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:05,000 He is addicted to classical music and while in college maintained a B average. 19 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:12,000 Alan Amici was the Baltimore Colts' first selection in the National League player draft of January 1955, 20 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:17,000 after Amici had written football history at Wisconsin and in the Big Ten Conference. 21 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:26,000 The horse to which Wisconsin's football wagon was hit for four years lugged the leather for a total of 3,345 yards for the Badgers. 22 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:31,000 Amici served only on defense in his first two seasons, but with the end of the two platoon era, 23 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:41,000 he promptly took over full-time duty and put in 502 out of a possible 540 minutes as a junior and close to 500 in his senior year. 24 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:47,000 The same muscular shoulders that clear the way for him as a ball carrier serve him in good stead as a linebacker. 25 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:53,000 Alan tackles his defensive assignment with the enthusiasm of a freshman out to make the varsity 26 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:58,000 and has never required a personal timeout in his college and pro career. 27 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:05,000 Alan Amici is burdened with an apparently incurable modesty that causes him to regard his gridiron feats 28 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:11,000 not in the light of the excitement and publicity they attract, but with a cool eye on the assets it offers for the future. 29 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:15,000 He speaks rarely, if at all, about himself or his accomplishments. 30 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:23,000 It is characteristic that Amici's parents who were born and raised in Italy have to hear from others what Alan has been doing. 31 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:29,000 As an all-Wisconsin State fullback and the most valuable player on the Kenosha High School Championship team, 32 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:33,000 Alan Amici was one of the most coveted prep players in the land. 33 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:38,000 He could have gone anywhere, but the choice settled down between Notre Dame and Wisconsin. 34 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,000 He finally decided on Wisconsin. 35 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:47,000 Even with such fanfare, Badger coach Avi Williamson didn't indicate in the late summer and early fall of 1951 36 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:54,000 that he thought Alan Amici would develop fast enough to take advantage of the relaxation of the band of freshmen in varsity competition. 37 00:03:54,000 --> 00:04:01,000 Williamson just didn't expect much from his big freshman. The Big Ten is no place for children. 38 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:09,000 Amici started on the junior varsity, but his first showing against the Iowa JVs was so impressive that he was boosted to second-string fullback. 39 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:13,000 Captain Jim Hammond was the number one fullback, but not for long. 40 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:19,000 Alan Amici's debut was hardly a spectacular one. He gained one yard and one try against Marquette. 41 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:27,000 Then on a gray, threatening October afternoon in Champaign, Illinois, with the two leading contenders for the Big Ten title fighting it out, 42 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:33,000 Amici suddenly burst into prominence by gaining 40 yards against Illinois in 10 tries. 43 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:38,000 After the game, Ray Elliott, whose Illinois team was happy to escape with a 14-10 triumph, 44 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:43,000 labeled Alan Amici the best freshman fullback that he had seen. 45 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:52,000 After that game, Williamson installed Amici as his regular fullback, switched Hammond to defensive halfback, and the horse was off and running. 46 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:56,000 He wrapped up his first season with one of the year's top performances. 47 00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:02,000 Minnesota was the victim, and he ran all over the Gophers for 203 yards and scored two touchdowns. 48 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:12,000 When Alan Amici was graduated from Wisconsin in 1954, he had churned his way for more than two miles on gridiron turf and had scored 25 touchdowns. 49 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:19,000 It was about that time that Weeview Bank, ex-aid to Paul Brown in Cleveland, was brought to Baltimore to rebuild the Colts. 50 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:26,000 A grim-faced perfectionist with a monk-like dedication to football, he took over the reins of the cellar dwelling Colts 51 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:32,000 and announced he was embarking on a four-year rebuilding program, and that only time and patience, 52 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:39,000 plus some good football players, of course, could solve the problem of Baltimore's entry in the National Football League. 53 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:46,000 In his first year as boss of the Colts, Weeview Bank had more than his share of disappointments as the club again finished in last place. 54 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:52,000 At the end of that season, Weeview Bank and Don Kellett, the president and general manager of the Baltimore franchise, 55 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:56,000 set up the most extensive talent search in the history of the league. 56 00:05:56,000 --> 00:06:02,000 Placed in charge of the project was Keith Molesworth, an executive vice president and former coach of the club. 57 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:07,000 He was instructed to spare no expense in turning up the best talent available. 58 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:10,000 Came the National Football League draft, and on the first round, 59 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:16,000 Baltimore selected Alan the horse Amici, a head of more than 300 top college seniors. 60 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:20,000 It was the wisest and most fortunate move the Colts ever made. 61 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:23,000 At the end of the 1955 football season, 62 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:27,000 Baltimore's Alan Amici found himself the league's number one ground gainer, 63 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:33,000 with 961 yards and 213 attempts, for an average gain of 4.5 yards per try. 64 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:37,000 He also scored nine touchdowns, the most in the circuit. 65 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:41,000 His little under 1,000 yards made Amici the first freshman ground gaining champion 66 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:46,000 since Bill Pascal of the New York Giants copped the title in his first year. 67 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:50,000 Only five other freshmen had won the title since 1934. 68 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:56,000 In 1955, Alan Amici was honored as no other rookie had ever been honored before. 69 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:58,000 The experts voted him. 70 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:01,000 Number one, the rookie of the year. 71 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:05,000 Number two, the offensive fullback on the all-pro team. 72 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:10,000 Number three, the outstanding back in the National Football League. 73 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:17,000 That, in a nutshell, is Alan Amici, an All-American in every respect. 74 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:20,000 Now, before you meet our special guest, Alan Amici in person, 75 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,000 in an interview from Municipal Stadium in Baltimore, 76 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:26,000 and hear about his greatest sports thrill, 77 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:32,000 here is a message of interest to all young men who want to go places faster. 78 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:37,000 If you're a young man faced with fulfilling a military service obligation, 79 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:43,000 you'll be interested in knowing about the advantages that would be yours in today's U.S. Air Force. 80 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:48,000 For instance, if you're wondering whether your service training will pay off in later life, 81 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:50,000 the answer is yes. 82 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:56,000 The Air Force offers top-notch training and opportunities in more than 40 important career fields. 83 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:58,000 Here's another big advantage. 84 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:01,000 You can continue your education while serving. 85 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:04,000 Airmen earn college credits in on-base classes 86 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:09,000 and can apply for a final semester of college with full pay and allowances. 87 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:14,000 As for your length of service, well, men who join the Air Force at an early age 88 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:18,000 find that when their active duty and reserve obligations are completed, 89 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:20,000 they have a flying start on life. 90 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:25,000 Those are just three of the important advantages that are yours as an Airman. 91 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:29,000 See your Air Force recruiter today for the full story. 92 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:34,000 Find out how you can go places faster in the U.S. Air Force. 93 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:38,000 Now back to Harry Wismer. 94 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:41,000 Alan Namichi, what was your greatest sports thrill? 95 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:44,000 Well, it was a very unusual one, Harry. 96 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:49,000 I opened my rookie season against the Chicago Bears, 97 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:54,000 and on the very first carry I was lucky enough behind very excellent blocking 98 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:58,000 by the offensive line to get through on a 79-yard run, 99 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:03,000 and that just happened to be a coincidence the first time I had my hands on the ball. 100 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:06,000 And Harry, that was my greatest sports thrill. 101 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:09,000 Alan, what was the big difference in making the jump from college 102 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:12,000 to the professional football ranks? 103 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:15,000 Well, the players are quite a bit bigger, 104 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:22,000 and in college ball I was considered a pretty good-sized fullback at around 215 pounds, 105 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:26,000 but you find that in professional football you're running against men 106 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:30,000 that go anywhere from 240 up to 270 or 80, 107 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:34,000 and I just can't bully my way around like I did in college ball. 108 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:37,000 Also, they have quite a bit more experience in professional ball, 109 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:39,000 which certainly stands to reason. 110 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:42,000 There are fellows with four years of college behind them 111 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:45,000 and many of them with professional experience. 112 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:49,000 Therefore, it's just a tougher game all the way around, quite a bit rougher. 113 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:53,000 There isn't any dirty ball that I've seen, but it's just a very rough game, 114 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:56,000 and I'm sure people realize that. 115 00:09:56,000 --> 00:10:01,000 Alan, does weather make any difference in the progress of the game as far as you are concerned? 116 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:03,000 Well, I'm sort of a mutter anyway, Harry. 117 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:06,000 I don't mind playing in rainy weather or muddy fields. 118 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:12,000 I think it kind of helps the bigger, slower fellows like fullbacks and guards and tackles and so forth. 119 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:18,000 What is the most unusual play in which you participated, either in college or the professionals? 120 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:21,000 It certainly is an unusual play. It's one I'll never forget, 121 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:25,000 and it happened during an exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. 122 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:30,000 We had a jumble up in the count that the play was to begin on, 123 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:34,000 and our quarterback backed away and our center became a little confused 124 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:38,000 and didn't know what to do with the ball, so he spun around and lateraled the ball to me. 125 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:41,000 I was the only back standing in the backfield at the time. 126 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:45,000 Everybody else had kind of wandered away, and so the ball landed in my arms, 127 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:47,000 and I didn't know exactly what to do with it, 128 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:52,000 and I remembered in the split seconds time that I had there that it was a pass play. 129 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:57,000 So I threw the ball, and it just happened to go into the wrong arms, 130 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:04,000 and it went down as an interception, but I still am credited with having a 1,000 pitching mark. 131 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:08,000 I threw one and completed one, but it happened to be to the wrong team. 132 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:14,000 Alan, do you feel that the present-day football players could go both ways if they had to by the rules? 133 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:18,000 By that I mean play both offense and defense in the pros. 134 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:23,000 Well, I feel that the players that I've seen on the Baltimore coast could go both ways, 135 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:26,000 but it's an awful lot nicer to just be able to go one way, 136 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:29,000 and I think it makes for better football. 137 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:34,000 You have a more specialized game, and the individuals just have a less amount of things 138 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:37,000 that they have to learn and that they can perfect, 139 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:41,000 therefore making it a better game as far as the spectators are concerned 140 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:43,000 and also better as far as the players are concerned. 141 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:49,000 I feel that professional football could be played in a one-platoon type game, 142 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:54,000 but I also believe that it's a better game the way it's played now with two platoons. 143 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:57,000 Alan, who gave you the nickname of the horse? 144 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:01,000 Well, oddly enough, that happened way back in my freshman year in college. 145 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:05,000 It was given to me by my freshman coach who, after watching a practice, 146 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:11,000 claimed that he thought I was hustling quite a bit and thought I worked like a horse. 147 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:17,000 Contrary to the opinion that I either look like a horse or eat like a horse or something like that. 148 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:45,000 Thank you very much, Alan Amici of the Baltimore Colts.