mocking jay wrote: ↑Fri Oct 02, 2020 4:36 pm
Howdy Myers was Head Coach of the JHU team for the first three years. He also coached the FB team. Myers left and went to Hofstra in the same roles. He developed the zone defense. Among his players in the 1970s was Tom Calder a middie who scored 3 against Hopkins in a NCAA game.
Joe Cowan was drafted by the Colts as a kick returner and receiver. He was the last player cut on a position decision. He was almost surely the fastest attack man to play. He had NFL level speed. Mike Curtis who was an All Pro Middle Linebacker and two teammates went to see Cowan play FB. They came away believing he could play in the NFL but Curtis was awed by Willie Scroggs. He noted if Scroggs weighed 50 lbs more he could be an All Pro linebacker.
The Navy team of 1965 did not have the stick skills Hopkins players had. They had a huge size advantage. They were able to take advantage of the sports schedule then. The fall sports did not have spring activity. Jimmy Lewis was first team soccer his senior and Pat Donnelly a FB AA. Both Bilderbavk and Scott believed size was the biggest factor. Scott recruited for size after and in 1966 the Hopkins freshman team routinely man handled the varsity. Freshman couldn’t play varsity then. After the 1967 game Bilderback questioned whether the team would lose any games for the next three years. Jimmy Lewis would run circles to tire his man out. He had a non stop motor.
Opinion: JHU 1978-1980; Cuse 1988-1990, Cornell 1976-1978 and others were better than that team by their time. Size speed conditioning and skills were significantly better by then.
I just have to "jump in" here because the stated facts are just wrong. In 1966, the Freshmen Team did not routinely man-handle the Varsity. That rumor supposedly arose in 1971, when the Varsity was thin (after 4 straight NC Teams) and Freshmen were then (that year) allowed to play Varsity. Navy, Army and the Ivies did not allow Freshmen to play Varsity in 1971, and Scotty decided it would be unfair if Hopkins permitted a group of outstanding Freshmen to play Varsity (even though a number of Varsity players asked Scotty to let them play). That was a difficult year (1971) for Hopkins, but a "game" group of players.
Navy football finished 2nd in the Nation to Texas in 1964 (I believe) when Roger Staubach was the QB and the Heisman Trophy winner. The Navy football players during that time were certainly not equivalent physically to Cornell, Syracuse & JHU lacrosse players. The equivalent would be current Alabama, Ohio State, etc football players.
In 1965, McFadden, Lewis, Overton, Lantier, the Navy goalie, their midfielders, all had excellent stickwork (the wood stick era) and had played lacrosse in High School. Scattered among them were really good Div. 1 football players who Coach Bilderback, with his assistants, taught lacrosse fundamentals in the Winter and Spring in Navy's Field House.
I think many observers think that good stick skills alone make a "good lacrosse player". I don't think so. Lacrosse fundamentals, such as ground balls, good defensive skills, good defensive and offensive positioning, field judgment, speed, clearing and riding skills, simple passing and catching skills, etc and No Unforced Errors.
Some of your statements are straight from the 1967 Sports Illustrated article.
I don't consider myself to be infallible but I played in every JHU game 1965-1967. My only insight is that 1965 Navy Team was very very special.