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Paul Hornung is suing Riddell because he says their helmet caused his dementia.

I suppose I should sue my old high school because my knees were torn up playing a game. But, I won't. I take full responsibility for my actions.
 
Soonersincefitty said:
He's still alive?
Whatever.
Only guy to win a Heisman on a 3-8 team.
Amazing.
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He actually is the same age as Jim Brown and Tommy McDonald who are both still alive. In fact, of the top five Heisman vote getters in 1956, only Jerry Tubbs, the old Sooner center/linebacker and Dallas Cowboys longtime linebacker coach, is deceased. Johnny Majors finished second, when Tubbs and McDonald split the vote of the national champions.

Hornung's Fight Irish were actually 2-8. Back then, Big Ten teams only played nine game regular seasons. More than half of the college teams played ten. The only teams to play eleven were those with ten game schedules who made a bowl game. ND played ten, but even the Domers couldn't go to a bowl with eight losses. Besides, from 1924 until 1970, the Irish had a self imposed no bowl game philosophy. It was broken when Hoss Brock talked them into facing number one Texas after Penn State turned down the opportunity to play for the national championship in the Cotton Bowl.
 
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Plainosooner said:
He actually is the same age as Jim Brown and Tommy McDonald who are both still alive. In fact, of the top five Heisman vote getters in 1956, only Jerry Tubbs, the old Sooner center/linebacker and Dallas Cowboys longtime linebacker coach, is deceased. Johnny Majors finished second, when Tubbs and McDonald split the vote of the national champions.

Hornung's Fight Irish were actually 2-8. Back then, Big Ten teams only played nine game regular seasons. More than half of the college teams played ten. The only teams to play eleven were those with ten game schedules who made a bowl game. ND played ten, but even the Domers couldn't go to a bowl with eight losses. Besides, from 1924 until 1970, the Irish had a self imposed no bowl game philosophy. It was broken when Hoss Brock talked them into facing number one Texas after Penn State turned down the opportunity to play for the national championship in the Cotton Bowl.
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It was that split vote for the Heisman between McDonald and Tubbs that gave Hornung the award.
And playing for Notre Dame....even a bad Notre Dame....also worked in Hornung's favor.
 
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CTOkie said:
It was that split vote for the Heisman between McDonald and Tubbs that gave Hornung the award. And playing for Notre Dame....even a bad Notre Dame....also worked in Hornung's favor.
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In one of my 'Counting the chickens before they hatch' Moments, I had the thought that a similar scenario could play out this year...Baker and Samaje may both be on The Heisman Radar...

Hornung's Trophy should definitely have an Asterisk on it, IMO...
 
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Senior Sooner said:
In one of my 'Counting the chickens before they hatch' Moments, I had the thought that a similar scenario could play out this year...Baker and Samaje may both be on The Heisman Radar...

Hornung's Trophy should definitely have an Asterisk on it, IMO...
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Good point.
Regardless, all I want is an 8th championship.
No Heisman winning Oklahoma player ever played on a championship team the same year he won the award. Vessels won the award in 1952, two years after the 1950 championship. Owens, Sims, White and Bradford never played on a national championship team although Sims, White and Bradford came close.
Josh Heupel and Tommy McDonald can arguably be regarded as being more deserving of the award than "Horn Dog" Hornung (1956) or Chris Weinke (2000). Heupel and McDonald's Sooner teams decisively beat Hornung's and Weinke's team in head-to-head competition in the 1956 and 2000 seasons.
 
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My money would be on his non stop boozing from his freshman year till , likely now. Stuff of legend. Got an autographed mini helmet signed by him a few years ago in Dallas and the dude was staggering drunk. (At 11 am, impressive)
 
Could be. Just his legacy of boozing was pretty legendary and this was 12 years ago. Could have been a combination of all...He kind of was Joe Willie before his time. I recall he was suspended from the NFL for gambling. IIRC
 
CaptainZigZag said:
Could be. Just his legacy of boozing was pretty legendary and this was 12 years ago. Could have been a combination of all...He kind of was Joe Willie before his time. I recall he was suspended from the NFL for gambling. IIRC
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1963. He and Alex Karras in the same off season. And the Bears took advantage and won their first title in 17 years.
 
iasooner1 said:
Don't care about Hornung but I'm still pissed that A Griffin hosed out little Joe for the Heisman...
A win over bucknuts the third week will help assuage my anger slightly.
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Archie Griffin was a very good back, but of all the Heisman winning running backs since 1970, I thought he was the least talented back....and he won the Heisman twice.
 
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If Tubbs was still living, Hornung would probably be suing HIM, for this hit...53 Days 'til Kickoff!

13606589_1421692754513069_5750726304191636064_n.jpg
 
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He wasn't suffering from dementia when he said, publicly, that Tommy Macdonald deserved the Heisman.

It was stupid, however, to have two candidates (Tubbs and Macdonald) on the ballot.
 
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My favorite Tubbs - Hornung story was one Paul used to tell occasionally when he spoke at banquets around the country. In those one platoon days, a team's center was expected to be the snapper for punts and field goals. There were no specialists. And it was also the time of the College All Star Game, which was played for more than 40 years. Before the Hall of Fame preseason game, the NFL kicked off the then called exhibition schedule every year with a special game in Chicago.

A true collection of the previous season's best college players, would play against the previous season's NFL champions, in Chicago, I believe old Soldier Field. Most pro teams hated it, because their best draft picks were required by the league to play in this game, and missed the start of training camp. The last game was in the mid 80s, and came to a thankful conclusion after a thunderstorm coming off the lake was so torrential, that they called the game early in the second half. I guess the NFL got the idea that it really was unnecessary to play.

Tubbs and Hornung were both on the team. Both top five in the Heisman voting. They got to practice early. Hornung was punter and place kicker and Tubbs, as expected, the punt snapper. And they were out working on the snap and punt, and Tubbs kept bouncing the snap. Not occasionally, but nearly every snap. And Hornung is thinking to himself, "This guy was supposed to be an All American?!" After a half dozen snaps on the ground, Tubbs apologized. "Sorry, but we never punted much at Oklahoma."

Hornung said he looked it up later, and Tubbs was right. Bud did quick kick more than occasionally, but apparently Tubbs didn't get many real game punt snaps.

::::

Post edit: I looked it up. The College All Star Game was played from 1934 to 1976. So it's been 40 years since the last one.
 
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Maybe it's "Guilt Dementia" from having won the Heisman over the following players (on that crappy team that finished 2-8):
Johnny Majors
Tommy McDonald
Jerry Tubbs
Jim Brown
John Brodie
Jon Arnett
and several others.

Man, talk about Notre Dame favoritism. Sure, Hornung had the most yards that year, but he was the only player on that team worth a crap and carried on every play.
 
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