Was RU 1st to put decals on helmets?

[RU Husky]

A friend of mine and I were discussing some RU football lore and we both seem to remember that RU started to put decals (stars) on the helmets of players who made outstanding plays- it started with defensive plays (interceptions, fumbles, etc). I believe Dewey King, Defensive Backs Coach in '61 started the practice. Was RU the first school to do so?

Can Source or anyone else corroborate?

 

[Source]

Yes. And Dwayne "Dewey" King is approaching his 90th birthday out in Waukesha, WI.

 

[keywestRU]

I don't know if Dewey King initiated the helmet sticker practice, but I remember him as the coach who started or
popularized the use of the shout "Jericho!" to alert fellow defensive players that an interception had been made.

He even wrote a book about football defensive theory in 1963 and titled it "Jericho".

 

[Source]

In the 1963 book you mention is a photo of the Rutgers helmet and stars that were applied by student manager Tony Olivo. Tony is quite well these days and a former member of the Touchdown Club. He lives in the central Jersey area. They were given out for interceptions (guys played both ways in those days). The cool thing about Rutgers doing it was that, at the start, the stickers were applied at the earliest convenience during the game!

 

[ecojew]

I know that OSU was putting a "buckeye" (which is a nut, in case you didn't know!) on the helmets by the time that I was there in 1970 but I don't know how long they'd been doing it at that point. Perhaps one of the OSU posters who visit this board would know when that started. Woody was the coach then and had been for some time by 1970.

 

[Source]

OSU buckeye leaves.... 1968.

 

[miketd1]

If it's true that we were the "first" to do this, I wouldn't mind them so much.

Knight Axes would be my choice for obvious reasons.

 

[RU1977]

When did it stop?

Didn't know we did this before OSU did.....

 

[Source]

It stopped the same year OSU began.... 1968. King left the program and head coach Dr. John Bateman thought it created rivalries between the offense and defense that he didn't think was an asset to the tea anymore so he didn't bring them back to start the 1968 season.

 

[RU Husky]

I looked back at some old Scarlet Letter yearbooks that I have and saw players with stars on their helmets. Interestingly, they were placed on the front and center of the helmet , just above the face opening ,not on the back or sides.

 

[jjjenn]

In the 1963 book you mention is a photo of the Rutgers helmet and stars that were applied by student manager Tony Olivo. Tony is quite well these days and a former member of the Touchdown Club. He lives in the central Jersey area. They were given out for interceptions (guys played both ways in those days). The cool thing about Rutgers doing it was that, at the start, the stickers were applied at the earliest convenience during the game!3/3 11:26 AM | IP: Logged

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Tony is on this board a lot.

 

[RC71]

Our H.S. coach was a Rutgers defensive back in the early 60's and we picked up the same practices in about 1965; stars for Int's; calling "Jericho" on Int's; and getting stars immediately during the game.

 

[RU62]

Xx

This post was edited on 3/4 5:36 AM by RU62

 

[RU62]

Xx
This post was edited on 3/4 5:38 AM by RU62

 

[RU62]

Yes Dewey King was the first to do this in 1961 at Rutgers and modeled his 8dez after the WWII pilots who would have an insignia or some other marking on their planes for enemy planes shot down. We used gold stars at Rutgers just as Source described. Teams like OSU picked up the idea and gave out Buckeyes ot decals for several key playscetx which we see done today and which clutter up hrlmrtd. Just using it for interceptions or perhaps a fumble recovery or turnover made it more special and keeps helmets cleaner.

After speaking at several clinics about pass defense and awarding stars many high schools and colleges picked up the idea expanded on it. '71 know you must be talking about Pierce Frauenheim who did this throughout his coaching career.

 

[e5fdny]

Originally posted by Source:
In the 1963 book you mention is a photo of the Rutgers helmet and stars that were applied by student manager Tony Olivo. Tony is quite well these days and a former member of the Touchdown Club. He lives in the central Jersey area. They were given out for interceptions (guys played both ways in those days). The cool thing about Rutgers doing it was that, at the start, the stickers were applied at the earliest convenience during the game!

You're right Source,

THAT is cool!

 

[76Scarlet]

I don't know if we were the first but the during the 1961 season (our first undefeated season) Coach John Bateman would put decals (small footballs) on players' helmets for each interception. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong but I believe some players could play both offense and defense back then. (?)

 

[REDRICH65]

Ithink I remember watching QB Sam Mudie intercept a pass from his safety position and run it back quite a ways in the comeback win over Columbia to finish the undefeated season. So, yeah, some played both ways.

 

[RU Husky]

Yes those were the days of one platoon football playing both ways. Paul Dietzel at LSU brandished one group-the Chinese Bandits- who achieved national acclaim. In 1959, the great Billy Cannon (he won the Heisman at LSU that year) famously returned an 89 yard punt to beat Ole Miss 7-3. What is oftern forgotten is that Cannon played safety and made the game saving play in the goal line stand that preserved the victory for then #1 LSU.

The undefeated Rutgers team of 1961 similarly sported two separate "platoons" that each played on both sides of the ball. Sam Mudie quarterbacked one squad and Bill Speranza the other. Guys like Alex Kroll, Steve Simms, Pierce Fraunheim played offense and defense.

 

[Source]

Can anyone give the nickname the super-sub fill-ins were given on the 1961 Rutgers Scarlet Knight defensive unit?

 

[RU Husky]

Source- as I recall each of the squads was color coded- the two "starting" groups were Red and Black. Gold was like 3rd team and the scrubs were Green and White, but I don't think that is what you are looking for.

 

[Source]

Two words.... first word begins with a "G" and the second with an "N"

 

[RU Husky]

golden nuggets ?

 

[Source]

Winner, winner chicken dinner.



In 1960, Dewey King struck gold on his Rutgers bench and filled in a depleted corp and his, "… nickname for his defensive team was 'Golden Nuggets,' and he rewarded each player who intercepted a pass with a star, which was to be placed on his helmet. A 'golden nugget' is a third-tier super-sub.

 

[RU62]

Here's one to catalog and make you smile. Coach Bateman would often redirect team groups to certain areas and it went something like this....Red with Coach Burns, Black with Coach King, Gold with Coach Naso and the rest of you guys over there. The last group were the green and white/plain jersey and usually was the scout team who renamed themselves the "You Guys" for obvious reasons. The You Guys were tough and beloved group who were just as important to our season as the first two starting units and well respected by their teammates. To this day we often joke about it with utmost respect.

 

[RU Husky]

 

[RC71]

"62- It was Keith Krayer not Pierce. Krayer was followed by Bob Norton.