Call it the Reunion of the Century.
Over on the patio at Tiger Tom's at 71st and Military, John Melton was holding court with Wally Winter and passing out cigars to anyone who wanted to partake. Johnny Rodgers was inside, posing with fans next to his 1972 Heisman Trophy, which was propped up on the bar.
Mike “Red'' Beran was telling a tale about the time Bob Devaney recruited him.
“Coach Devaney showed me a book with the title, ‘What I Know About Football,'” Beran said. “He opened it up and all the pages were blank. He said Bear Bryant gave him that book.''
Meanwhile, Tiger Tom's was packed with former Huskers and current fans — many old enough to remember Frosty Anderson and Joe Blahak. A tape of the NU-LSU Orange Bowl played on a big screen. It was 11 a.m. and Jerry Murtaugh, the host of this 1970 Nebraska team gathering, was telling everyone to grab a burger and a beer.
With this group, the earlier the better.
“Last night we had a ball,'' Murtaugh said. “We told stories about how we used to drink, chase women and play great football. Then everybody got in their walker and walked out the door. Seriously, it was 9:30 and all these guys are yawning. I said, man, you guys are old. Then Wally Winter and I went back to my place, had a vino and a cigar and talked all night.''
Murtaugh organized this reunion of the first Nebraska national champions. Has it really been 40 years? He invited 60 from the group and 20 showed up, including Jeff Kinney, Van Brownson, Dick Rupert and Dave Morock, who wore a black T-shirt with “The Bobfather'' and a likeness of Devaney on the front and all of their records on the back.
Most of this group just turned 60 and they're grandfathers, although Rodgers said with a laugh, “I've been a grandpa for a long time.''
Most of them live in Omaha or Lincoln or Kansas City. They all follow what the architect of the 1970 offense, Tom Osborne, has been doing with conference affiliation lately. And the players who helped put the Big Eight Conference on the national map in 1971 — at a stadium in Norman, Okla. — all approve of the move, including their quarterback, Jerry Tagge, the Green Bay, Wis., native who wore a “Nebraska Big Ten'' hat on Saturday.
“I can't see any downside,'' Tagge said. “Bob Devaney would have loved to be in the Big Ten. It's not fair for Texas to have so much power in the Big 12. The Big Ten gets along so well. I've already heard the Med Center got a big grant because of the Big Ten. I'm not sad about it. I was sad when the Big 12 started. It's a positive thing. I would love to play Ohio State and Michigan and Wisconsin. Iowa for sure will be a rivalry, because we lost what we had with Oklahoma.''
Rodgers said he's not sad, either.
“I think we're taking a step up,” he said. “It's going to be a bigger stage for us with a lot more opportunities for recruiting across the nation. I'm happy. I never thought we'd get a chance to play Ohio State and Michigan.''
Beran, a self-described traditionalist, said he was sad to see old Big Eight ties break.
“But that's selfish,” he said. “It's a great move for Nebraska. I was upset when the Big 12 formed because we had something special with Oklahoma. But you get over it.''
Murtaugh said he thinks head coach Bo Pelini's chances of going to Ohio State one day were diminished by NU's move to the Big Ten: “There's two moves that Coach Osborne made: Keeping Pelini and getting rid of Texas. And we're all in favor of both.''
This was not an official NU-sponsored reunion, but it was the best kind. No black tie dinner and speeches, just a bunch of old warriors playing golf, toting stogies and telling stories. Meanwhile, fans got to pull up a chair and enjoy history.
“A lot of fans today don't know us, but that's OK,'' Murtaugh said. “A lot of the older fans still do. This was for us, but it was also for the fans. I want them to relive these days, too, and remember those times they sat with their dad and listened to a Husker game on the radio.''
Blahak said the group should get together more often, and he lamented how they are starting to see each other at funerals, such as the one in June for the passing of teammate Bruce Hauge in Sidney, Neb. Blahak, who had the famous block on Rodgers' punt return in the 1971 Oklahoma game, wished he could have been at the “Game of the Century'' reunion two years ago in Norman.
“I wanted to go and find (former OU receiver) Jon Harrison,'' Blahak said. “And have him admit that was not a clip.''
Contact the writer:
444-1025, tom.shatel@owh.com
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