In Their Words is a weekly feature appearing in The Blade's sports section. Blade sports writer Donald Emmons spoke with 1945 Libbey High graduate and former Ohio State University football standout Jerry Krall about his athletic pursuits that included playing in the 1950 Rose Bowl.
Jerry Krall's eyes will be glued to the television tomorrow night when top-ranked Ohio State University meets No. 2-ranked Louisiana State University in the Bowl Championship Series national championship game.
The 80-year-old Toledo native is a die-hard Buckeye who starred as a hard-nosed halfback for OSU during the mid-20th century. He was instrumental in the Buckeyes defeating California 17-14 in the 1950 Rose Bowl. He gained a total of 70 yards (50 rushing, 20 passing) during the game decided by a field goal in the final two minutes by Jimmy Hague.
The Rose Bowl victory is just one of many memorable moments for the Toledoan, who first established himself as a top area athletic talent by starring at Libbey.
He excelled as a Cowboy in football and track. He earned All-City and All-Ohio first team honors and was named Ohio player of the year in his senior season.Krall initially attended Cornell University for a week during the summer after graduating from high school, but realized he would prefer attending a Big Ten university.
He chose to transfer to OSU over Michigan that fall. Krall said deciding on the Buckeyes over the Wolverines came down to a coin flip. Heads Michigan, tails OSU. Tails it was.
KRALL DIDN'T TAKE long to make himself known in Columbus. He saw the field in his freshman season and even started in the OSU-Michigan game in 1945. A knee injury caused him to miss part of his sophomore season and all of the 1947 campaign. Determined to get back on the field, Krall worked his knee back into playing shape and returned to the field for the 1948 and 1949 seasons. His final season culminated with the Buckeyes defeating the Golden Bears in Pasadena.
During his time at OSU he played for three head coaches. He played under Carroll C. Widdoes in his freshman season. Paul Bixler was his coach during his sophomore season, and Wesley E. Fesler was in place as head coach his final two seasons.
He left OSU and went on to play professionally for a couple seasons before injuries forced him to retire. He played with the Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions and Chicago Cardinals from 1950 to 1952. He was a teammate of Bobby Layne's in Detroit.
Krall returned to Toledo and worked at Owens-Illinois as an executive director.
HE WAS INDUCTED into the Toledo Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Libbey High School Hall of Fame in 1994.
Krall still resides in northwest Ohio and lives with his wife, Helen. They have been married for 54 years and are parents of six children - four boys, two girls.
"I think you're going to see a whole different ballgame [between OSU and LSU] than what you saw last year [between OSU and Florida]. It's hard to believe what happened. What they weren't doing is they weren't charging the quarterback. They were there in Arizona too long before last year's game. I think it will be a good game this year.
"LIKE OLD CHUCK Bednarik says, they [today's players] are a bunch of sissies - that means everybody. This is my Rose Bowl helmet. There's no facemask. We didn't have a facemask. We didn't have chest pads or back pads. Our blocking we had to keep our arms in. You couldn't grab to block. But they are faster and are bigger today. Really big.
"I don't think I would enjoy playing football today. But I would enjoy playing for Jim Tressel. I think he's probably one of the greatest coaches ever. I think he's a gentleman and is a great guy. I like the way he handles his players.
"I think there was more camaraderie when I played. I think we were closer in the day I played. We didn't hot dog. You got up and walked back to the huddle. You didn't pound your chest when you scored a touchdown.
"I didn't go out for football my freshman year at Libbey. My mother wouldn't let me play, so my sophomore year my sister signed for me to play. My mother didn't know about it until I started getting good and was in the sports pages. Really, she first found out when I came home and I had two black eyes after I had my nose busted.
"I WAS VERY FORTUNATE. I was very fast. I had some good games. I know when we played Waite we were getting beat 14-0 in the first quarter. They blocked a punt, intercepted a pass and were beating us 14-0 before we beat them 35-14 and I scored all the touchdowns."
"I came back [from my knee injury] and I wanted to play bad so I would ride a bicycle 50 miles a day. I would go from one side of the river to Waterville and come back on the other side of the river. My brother used to follow me in his '34 Olds and I'll always remember that. I had to get that leg in shape. I tried to come back in '47 but they wouldn't let me, so I had to come back in '48."
"Vic Janowicz played behind me my senior year [at OSU]. Vic was probably one of the best athletes I've ever played with, him and Doak Walker, who I played with with the Lions. Vic could punt, pass, run and block. He was just a good athlete. He was on my tail all the time. He kept me going. Vic, of course, became the Heisman winner the next year. I would tell everyone he learned all that from me.
"I'VE SEEN GUYS get cut [when I played professionally] and I could see why they would get cut - attitude. Today, attitude doesn't mean a thing. If you're good enough you're going to get paid big money.
"In those days if you don't show up [for camp] tough luck. At the same time, I think the players then appreciated it more. I just really liked professional ball.
"I was the state player of the year in my senior year [of high school]. I scored 27 touchdowns in seven or eight games. They talk about going for 200 or 300 yards. One game I had 460 yards. I had 47 scholarship offers."
Contact Donald Emmons at: demmons@theblade.com or 419-724-6302.
First Published January 6, 2008, 1:55 p.m.
