[Xs & Joes #45] Bill Murphy Part 1 - The Last Hurrying Hoosiers & The Cardiac Kids
Bob Moats and Mike Wiemuth welcome IU historian and author Bill Murphy for a deep dive into the legendary 1967 IU football season
Bob Moats and Mike Wiemuth welcome IU historian and author Bill Murphy for a deep dive into the legendary 1967 IU football season - the “Cardiac Kids” who gave fans heart attacks every Saturday on their way to the Rose Bowl.
Bill’s Personal IU Journey
Bill Murphy shares unforgettable stories from his youth as an IU superfan in the 1960s, including some decisions that seemed perfectly reasonable at the time.
There’s the 11-year-old refusing to wear his coat at halftime (mom got blamed for the loss), the 14-year-old challenging Bubba Smith to a fight outside the locker room, and the simple joy of $1 knothole tickets at a Memorial Stadium that looked completely different than it does today.
Memorial Stadium and Old Bloomington
The evolution of Memorial Stadium from its 1960 opening through the temporary bleachers era, plus what Bloomington looked like before it became a modern college town.
The stadium was built to double capacity and prove IU was “a Big Ten team,” while married student housing trailers sat where the south end zone parking is now. TV games were rare - maybe one per year if you were lucky - so most fans relied on radio broadcasts with Max Schumacher.
John Pont’s Revolutionary Offense
How Pont’s innovative system featuring dual-threat quarterbacks and remarkable player freedom created one of the most entertaining teams in IU history.
Harry Gonso at 5’9” ran the option and rolled out to see over linemen, while John Isenbarger’s notorious fake punts got him benched mid-game against Michigan - only to be brought back to score the winning touchdown after Gonso pleaded his case. “Punt, John, Punt!” became the rallying cry, and Terry Cole even predicted his own star performance the night before the Purdue game.
The Cardiac Kids: Nine Games, Nine Near-Heart Attacks
Bill walks through a season where every game came down to the wire, featuring comebacks, fake punts gone wrong (and right), and a fumble on the 4-yard line that saved the season.
Down 10-0 to Kentucky, scored twice in the 4th quarter (one called back, scored again anyway)
Michigan: Blew 20-0 lead, Isenbarger benched for fake punt, brought back to score winning TD
Purdue: Boilermakers on IU 4-yard line, 19-14, roses on the line - then the fumble
Only blowout all season? Arizona at 42-7
The 63-yard punt that sealed the Bucket Game and sent IU to Pasadena
The Forgotten 1945 Championship Team
A brief detour into the team that might deserve a share of a national title, featuring future MLB and NFL Hall of Famers returning straight from World War II.
Bo McMillan had players hitchhiking from Camp Atterbury with discharge papers to make the season, and famously soaked footballs in hotel bathtubs the night before rain games. With Ted Kluszewski, Pete Pihos, and George Taliaferro on one roster, Galen Klaviyo thinks they deserve co-national champion recognition.
Part 2 will cover the Rose Bowl game itself and the Branch McCracken basketball transition.
On the mics: Bob Moats, Mike Wiemuth, and Bill Murphy
This episode brought to you by the Back Home Network and Homefield Apparel.
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