Post by Mr. Ho on Aug 31, 2022 17:24:41 GMT -6
Ho keep waiting for the next Sherrill Busby moment. He getting old so somebody better hurry up and become a legend.
On November 21st, 1937, the Troy Normal School took to the field in Memphis to play Western Tennessee Teachers College (now Memphis Univ.). It was a cold and damp Saturday night. Eleanor Roosevelt was in town that day too. Memphis had a modest following, but with the First Lady in town and Thanksgiving only a few days away, the crowd was pretty thin – maybe five or six thousand. Although modern at the time, the lighting was still 1937 lighting. Troy had played under the lights as early as the mid-1920’s so this wasn’t anything new, but that night would set the standard all players at Troy should live up to – and many have unknowingly since.
The team of only 23 players left Troy for Memphis on Friday morning. It was an hour and a half two-lane bus ride to Montgomery. There, they boarded a train that would eventually reach Memphis early the next day. The train network in south Alabama and Mississippi was a hodge-podge of individual railroad companies. They made many stops and switches. Sometimes waiting on the tracks to clear for an hour or so. The passenger cars were no better. Un-conditioned air. Crude restroom facilities. No sleeper car. You can only imagine the experience, but the players probably didn’t know any difference and probably didn’t care either. They were college kids and that hasn’t changed very much. The Red Wave (as they were known then) pulled into Memphis early Saturday morning. They checked in at the Peabody Hotel – it was a short walk from the train station. Home teams paid for accommodations back then and the Peabody was and still is Memphis’ grandest hotels. The players rested; played cards; maybe a few of them visited with nearby relatives from close by. I don’t know if they saw the ducks walk through the lobby that day. Maybe they did. The coaches probably reviewed their game plan, certainly not like today though. There was very little film to watch, if any. Maybe a news clipping or two they could read. They probably got a lot of details about Western Tennessee from the hotel staff or what they heard when they went out for lunch. Memphis likewise. Maybe the home team was at an even greater disadvantage? One player that they certainly didn’t know about was Sherrill Busby. A giant in his day, the Troy tight end/defensive end stood at 6’3” and weighed over 215 pounds.
Busby had enjoyed a stellar sophomore season (freshman didn’t play back then). He was an exceptional run-blocker and even caught a few forward passes. Because of his size, he also wreaked havoc on the defensive side of the ball. On Special Teams, let’s just say he had a knack for the ball and when he stepped off that train in Memphis, little did anyone know what would happen that evening.
Memphis scored an early touchdown against The Normal School to go up 6-0. Driving down the field, almost effortlessly. The extra point however was blocked by Sherrill Busby. Drawing little notice. The game progressed. Both teams struggled offensively – the norm for that era. Very little passing. Memphis lined up to punt the ball away from deep in their territory – Sherrill Busby blocked that punt too. 4 plays later, Troy scored to tie the game (but missed the extra point). At halftime, the Troy coaches asked for more from their players and the Memphis coaches began asking who was blocking Sherrill Busby. In the third quarter, Memphis marched the ball down the field, but Troy’s defense held them out of the end zone. Memphis lined up to kick a short field goal; Sherrill Busby blocked that one as well – having lined up right over the center and leaping as high as he could. The Memphis coaches were none-too-pleased, grabbing players asking them who was supposed to block Busby and the buzz in the stands grew louder as well– ‘somebody block that guy’!!!! By the 4th quarter, the temperature had dropped considerably. The field was damp and the playing conditions, compared with today were well below acceptable, but the teams played on. It’s what they did back then. Late in the game, as the clocked ticked-down, Memphis was forced to punt again. Memphis Head Coach, Allyn McKeen (who was inducted into the CFBHOF in 1991) called time-out. He gathered his team around. Almost pleading with them he said ‘I don’t give a damn who blocks this kick, just as long as it’s not that Busby fella’!!!
Damn it to hell with the consequences, 10 Memphis players were going after him right then and there. The crowd too begged, even screamed for someone to block that guy from Troy. The long-snapper grabbed the ball while staring at Busby who had lined up off the left side of the defensive line. The right side of the offensive line all pointed at Busby as they got into their stances. The punter pointed at him too. Allyn McKeen even let everyone know where he was lined up. The ball was snapped. Instantly two Memphis players dove hard at Busby legs. Not in an attempt to block him, but to hurt him. The center had reached over to grab his jersey with his right hand while one Memphis player took a swing at his face, a clubbing motion intended to harm not block. The other Troy players did their best to fend off the onslaught unleashed on Busby. The scene on the line looked more like a bar room brawl than a college football game – all in a flash of a second. Somehow, Busby broke loose through the line and threw himself at the punters foot.
Sherrill Busby and his Troy team mates showed up to play a game against Memphis on a cold Saturday night back in 1937. A game nobody remembers. A game nobody talked about on Sports Center. A game nothing was written about back home. Heck, it was over 400 miles from home. There were no Troy fans there. Busby stood on that field that night, at that time in the 4th quarter a marked man. Nobody was going to let him do the unthinkable. Troy won that game 12-6. Busby’s blocked punt - his fourth blocked kicked that night was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.
The Normal School players managed their way back to the rail station and boarded a late night train headed back to Montgomery. They talked and laughed about things. About Busby's accomplishments that night. About life in general. War clouds were looming in Europe and in the Far East. Slowly, the players and coaches fell asleep one at a time until the only one left up was Busby himself. Talk of individual play was all well and fine he thought, but he was more proud of his team. They had fought the good fight. Had beat a bigger and more talented Memphis team. Had battled the elements and the long road to get there.
They arrived in Montgomery as the sun was rising in the East. They climbed aboard that old bus, arriving in Troy before lunch. There was no fanfare. No cheerleaders. Nobody. Sherrill Busby went to his room and fell asleep.
Busby ended his 3-year career at Troy with 23 blocked kicks and was drafted by the NFL’s Brooklyn Dodgers in the spring of 1940. He played one year, but joined the Army Air Corps the following summer. He flew bombers over Europe – wiping the smirk off of Hitler’s face. He returned home and lived a relatively obscure life. His record of 4 blocked kicks in one game still stands today – not just for Troy, but in all of college football.
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Mr. Ho glad to see message board geek all fired up about game. They not get this excited since they get Dungeon & Dragon game for Christmas.
On a side note, Ho saw the outstanding piece done on this game by somebody and while Ho took a few liberties for the sake of writing a more interesting story, he pretty sure the game was at night. Busby not in the Hall of Fame is almost like erasing Ralph Adams from the Normal School history books.
On November 21st, 1937, the Troy Normal School took to the field in Memphis to play Western Tennessee Teachers College (now Memphis Univ.). It was a cold and damp Saturday night. Eleanor Roosevelt was in town that day too. Memphis had a modest following, but with the First Lady in town and Thanksgiving only a few days away, the crowd was pretty thin – maybe five or six thousand. Although modern at the time, the lighting was still 1937 lighting. Troy had played under the lights as early as the mid-1920’s so this wasn’t anything new, but that night would set the standard all players at Troy should live up to – and many have unknowingly since.
The team of only 23 players left Troy for Memphis on Friday morning. It was an hour and a half two-lane bus ride to Montgomery. There, they boarded a train that would eventually reach Memphis early the next day. The train network in south Alabama and Mississippi was a hodge-podge of individual railroad companies. They made many stops and switches. Sometimes waiting on the tracks to clear for an hour or so. The passenger cars were no better. Un-conditioned air. Crude restroom facilities. No sleeper car. You can only imagine the experience, but the players probably didn’t know any difference and probably didn’t care either. They were college kids and that hasn’t changed very much. The Red Wave (as they were known then) pulled into Memphis early Saturday morning. They checked in at the Peabody Hotel – it was a short walk from the train station. Home teams paid for accommodations back then and the Peabody was and still is Memphis’ grandest hotels. The players rested; played cards; maybe a few of them visited with nearby relatives from close by. I don’t know if they saw the ducks walk through the lobby that day. Maybe they did. The coaches probably reviewed their game plan, certainly not like today though. There was very little film to watch, if any. Maybe a news clipping or two they could read. They probably got a lot of details about Western Tennessee from the hotel staff or what they heard when they went out for lunch. Memphis likewise. Maybe the home team was at an even greater disadvantage? One player that they certainly didn’t know about was Sherrill Busby. A giant in his day, the Troy tight end/defensive end stood at 6’3” and weighed over 215 pounds.
Busby had enjoyed a stellar sophomore season (freshman didn’t play back then). He was an exceptional run-blocker and even caught a few forward passes. Because of his size, he also wreaked havoc on the defensive side of the ball. On Special Teams, let’s just say he had a knack for the ball and when he stepped off that train in Memphis, little did anyone know what would happen that evening.
Memphis scored an early touchdown against The Normal School to go up 6-0. Driving down the field, almost effortlessly. The extra point however was blocked by Sherrill Busby. Drawing little notice. The game progressed. Both teams struggled offensively – the norm for that era. Very little passing. Memphis lined up to punt the ball away from deep in their territory – Sherrill Busby blocked that punt too. 4 plays later, Troy scored to tie the game (but missed the extra point). At halftime, the Troy coaches asked for more from their players and the Memphis coaches began asking who was blocking Sherrill Busby. In the third quarter, Memphis marched the ball down the field, but Troy’s defense held them out of the end zone. Memphis lined up to kick a short field goal; Sherrill Busby blocked that one as well – having lined up right over the center and leaping as high as he could. The Memphis coaches were none-too-pleased, grabbing players asking them who was supposed to block Busby and the buzz in the stands grew louder as well– ‘somebody block that guy’!!!! By the 4th quarter, the temperature had dropped considerably. The field was damp and the playing conditions, compared with today were well below acceptable, but the teams played on. It’s what they did back then. Late in the game, as the clocked ticked-down, Memphis was forced to punt again. Memphis Head Coach, Allyn McKeen (who was inducted into the CFBHOF in 1991) called time-out. He gathered his team around. Almost pleading with them he said ‘I don’t give a damn who blocks this kick, just as long as it’s not that Busby fella’!!!
Damn it to hell with the consequences, 10 Memphis players were going after him right then and there. The crowd too begged, even screamed for someone to block that guy from Troy. The long-snapper grabbed the ball while staring at Busby who had lined up off the left side of the defensive line. The right side of the offensive line all pointed at Busby as they got into their stances. The punter pointed at him too. Allyn McKeen even let everyone know where he was lined up. The ball was snapped. Instantly two Memphis players dove hard at Busby legs. Not in an attempt to block him, but to hurt him. The center had reached over to grab his jersey with his right hand while one Memphis player took a swing at his face, a clubbing motion intended to harm not block. The other Troy players did their best to fend off the onslaught unleashed on Busby. The scene on the line looked more like a bar room brawl than a college football game – all in a flash of a second. Somehow, Busby broke loose through the line and threw himself at the punters foot.
Sherrill Busby and his Troy team mates showed up to play a game against Memphis on a cold Saturday night back in 1937. A game nobody remembers. A game nobody talked about on Sports Center. A game nothing was written about back home. Heck, it was over 400 miles from home. There were no Troy fans there. Busby stood on that field that night, at that time in the 4th quarter a marked man. Nobody was going to let him do the unthinkable. Troy won that game 12-6. Busby’s blocked punt - his fourth blocked kicked that night was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.
The Normal School players managed their way back to the rail station and boarded a late night train headed back to Montgomery. They talked and laughed about things. About Busby's accomplishments that night. About life in general. War clouds were looming in Europe and in the Far East. Slowly, the players and coaches fell asleep one at a time until the only one left up was Busby himself. Talk of individual play was all well and fine he thought, but he was more proud of his team. They had fought the good fight. Had beat a bigger and more talented Memphis team. Had battled the elements and the long road to get there.
They arrived in Montgomery as the sun was rising in the East. They climbed aboard that old bus, arriving in Troy before lunch. There was no fanfare. No cheerleaders. Nobody. Sherrill Busby went to his room and fell asleep.
Busby ended his 3-year career at Troy with 23 blocked kicks and was drafted by the NFL’s Brooklyn Dodgers in the spring of 1940. He played one year, but joined the Army Air Corps the following summer. He flew bombers over Europe – wiping the smirk off of Hitler’s face. He returned home and lived a relatively obscure life. His record of 4 blocked kicks in one game still stands today – not just for Troy, but in all of college football.
*********
Mr. Ho glad to see message board geek all fired up about game. They not get this excited since they get Dungeon & Dragon game for Christmas.
On a side note, Ho saw the outstanding piece done on this game by somebody and while Ho took a few liberties for the sake of writing a more interesting story, he pretty sure the game was at night. Busby not in the Hall of Fame is almost like erasing Ralph Adams from the Normal School history books.