The Most Important Course I Took in College

JUN142012

The most important course I took in college was The History of Football.

In 1970, with one semester left at California State College atLos Angeles to graduate, I had finished most of the requirements for my degree in Latin American Studies and just needed a few credits to finish up. I was playing Rugby for the school team and our coach, John Hermann, was offering a class on the History of Football. It sounded easy and interesting, so I signed up.

Clark Shaughnessy

Coach Hermann had been an Academic All American at UCLA and later played defensive back professionally for the New York Giants under their assistant coach Vince Lombardi. Most of the other students were members or ex-members of the college football team. Coach Hermann took the subject seriously and used it to teach, not only the history of the sport, but as a way to prepare those students who were planning to be football coaches about some of the nuances of their profession.

For instance, he had all of us clip out three football related jokes and put them in our wallets. He explained that many of us would be asked in the future to speak in front of groups, sometimes with little notice. His concept was that we would quickly refer to one of these jokes, stand up and deliver it, say a couple of more words and sit down, leaving the impression that we were polished public speakers.

Of course the material was interesting, so I paid attention and I learned a lot about the development of the sport. I don’t remember the grade I received but I must have done well.

Bob Mathias

So now, fast forward a year and a half. I have graduated and had a job for a year that did not pan out and, working through arecruiter, I walk into an interview for a sales job for Scott Paper with their District Sales Manager, Bob Baldacci. The first thing I noticed was that the wall behind his desk was covered with Stanford sports memorabilia. Bob was about 30 years old then and had been a boxer on the university team.

Seizing the opportunity, I started to tell Bob I remembered “reading” about football at Stanford and how Clark Shaughnessy, the developer of the Modern T Formation in football, came to Stanford in 1940 and turned around a team that had gone 1-7-1 the previous year. Using a previously obscure quarterback by the name of Frankie Albert, Stanford went 10-0 that year, won the Rose Bowl and the National Championship. I also mentioned that I remembered that Bob Mathias who at 17 won the Olympic decathlon in 1948 and again in 1952 played football at Stanford. So we ( I ) talked on and on about Stanford football. I can’t truly remember ever asking about the job I was interviewing for or Bob bringing it up.

After about an hour Bob said he had other people to see and took me out to meet his Sales Trainer for a second interview. I was subsequently hired and spent the next 26 years in the paper industry.

Scott interviewed a lot of people for the position I was I hired for. I have always felt it was my knowledge of Stanford football that separated me from the rest. Thanks Coach Hermann!