Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Football Through the Years: The Quest for the Lambert Cup
11/1/2010 8:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 1, 2010
By Jim Campbell, Former Director of the Bison Club
Long before Sebastian Junger's gripping novel "The Perfect Storm" was written, Lewisburg was the "eye" of another sort of perfect storm.
A skilled coaching staff, a Little All-America quarterback, complementary offensive performers, a stone-wall defensive unit, a late-season rally, and a determined young SID all combined in 1960 to bring Bucknell its first, but not last, Lambert Cup.
The Lambert Trophy, initiated in 1936 by Lambert brothers Victor and Henry to honor their father August, was awarded to the "major" college football team that was determined the best in the East. In 1957, the Lambert Cup came into existence to honor the East's best "small" college squad.
With the preseason loss of Capt. George Moncilovich, ably replaced by Cliff "Mickey" Melberger, the Bison of head coach Bob Odell looked like anything but an award-winning squad.
However, Odell, skillfully assisted by Bob Latour, Rod Oberlin, Bob Patzwall, Fred Prender, and especially Bill Wrabley, had the Thundering Herd ready for the traditional opener with Gettysburg. The game was played at Hershey Stadium. It took a fourth-quarter drive of 80 yards to pull out a 14-7 victory. Ray Cosgrove, who along with Ken Twiford, ran well for BU and scored the clinching touchdown on a short run. Paul Terhes engineered much of the offense with his passing and running from the Split-T/Wing-T formation, but the most spectacular play of the game offensively was a 41-yard TD pass from senior Rick Elliott to Dick Johnson. Defensively, the Bison were stout. Hard luck guard Don Chaump was stellar before breaking his leg in the early going for the second time in as many seasons. Tom Alexander, Dick Tyrrell, and Kirk Foulke executed Wrabley's "looping/stunting" game plan effectively.
In storied Schoellkopf Field's crescent, the Bison squared off against BU alumnus Lefty James and Cornell. The Bison took an early lead when Terhes drove the Orange & Blue 43 yards for the first score. On the day, the senior QB passed for 130 yards--mainly to end Tyrrell (6 catches) and halfback Ashton Ditka (5). Despite stalwart efforts by defenders Dean Stump, Ditka, and Foulke, the Big Red rushed for 235 yards in their 15-7 victory over the Bison.
A second-half explosion propelled the Bison to a 41-0 victory over Buffalo. The score was 7-0 at intermission, but the Thundering Herd then tallied five touchdowns. Bucknell ran for 259 yards, while passing for 159. Ron Maslanik, a defensive force, added the PATs.
Next up was a strong Rutgers team at the Birthplace of College Football--New Brunswick, N.J. "Turk" Terhes began to assert himself as a potential All-East, even an All-America, contender. He eclipsed Tom Dean's 1951 record of 199 passing yards by tossing for 245 yards, while completing an outstanding 21 of 29 attempts. Tyrrell gathered in eight of Terhes's throws. Fullback Twiford was effective running the ball. The defense, led by Foulke, Stump, Bob Williams, Tom Noteware, Alexander, Maslanik, and John Aucker, held the Scarlet Knights to a mere 77 yards on the ground. A late Bucknell lead was erased when Rutgers scored the go-ahead TD with 1:42 left to play. Even so, Terhes drove BU to the RU 32 before the final gun in the 23-19 loss. There was a controversial play in the game, that had it gone Bucknell's way, could have won the game for the Orange & the Blue, but no one seems to remember the specifics. Although the consensus is that it was a flagrant clip that wasn't called against the home team on a long kick return that led to the winning score.
Melberger recalled, "In 1958 they hammered us, 57-12. We upset them in '59, 15-8. They were loaded and ready for us in '60. We were also ready for them. It was a great game. Later, at the Lambert Cup ceremony, Greasy Neale, who coached the Philadelphia Eagles to a couple of NFL titles and saw the Rutgers game, told us, `It was the best game I saw all year.'"
With a 2-2 log, no one was thinking of post-season honors, although the BU losses were close ones on the road to two "major" opponents.
A Homecoming crowd was treated to a 28-0 win vs. archrival Lafayette. The entire Bison defense was stingy--only four first downs and 50 yards of total offense surrendered. Offensively, the ground game paced the victory--Melberger scoring twice and running well, as did Cosgrove and Ditka.
Another traditional rival, Lehigh, tasted defeat in Memorial Stadium, 18-6. Terhes passed for a score, Twiford scored on a 24-yard draw play, and Melberger hit paydirt from 12 yards. Again the stout Bucknell defenders did yeoman duty.
The trip to Hamilton, N.Y., was a worthwhile one. Bucknell brought home a hard-fought 12-8 win over Colgate in a defensive struggle. Stump, Foulke, George Rieu, and Alexander were cited for outstanding play. Melberger ran at a 5.4 yards-a-carry clip--81 yards on 15 rushing attempts. Cosgrove and Ditka gained significantly, too--Cosgrove finding the end zone. A key play was a touchdown that didn't count for the Red Raiders. Melberger reminisced, "Before the game, I noticed one of the officials was a Mr. Romanowski from near where I lived [the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area]. We wished each other luck before the game. During the game--on the Colgate TD run--I was obviously clipped. No question about it. I looked around, and Mr. Romanowski had thrown his flag--the score was called-back."
Versus Temple in the Old Shoe Trophy game, the Bison closed out a perfect home season, shutting out the Owls, 23-0. Terhes continued his quest for post-season accolades, throwing for three touchdowns--the first coming five plays after Stump recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff. "Turk" connected with Melberger for the 15-yard score. Ditka capped a 94-yard drive with an 11-yard scamper for another score. Of course, the defense turned in another outstanding game in pitching its third shutout of the season.
Delaware, on the road, was the last hurdle to be cleared for an outstanding season. A perennial power, the Blue Hens hadn't lost to the Bison since 1951. As poet laureate Robert Allen Zimmerman (aka Bob Dylan) sang, "The Times, They Are A-Changin'." With the usual suspects providing offensive power, the miserly defense completely shut down Delaware, 26-0.
Something didn't seem quite right to Brad Tufts, in his second year as BU's SID, over the previous several weeks. BU was winning, but receiving scant consideration for Lambert Cup honors. Not one to brook what he considered an injustice, he contacted the powers that be in the Lambert voting and explained Bucknell's status as a "small" college, although one that regularly played some "majors." For example, Colgate, Holy Cross, Cornell, Harvard, et al.
Said Tufts recently, "I don't think they realized we weren't classified with those bigger programs." His point was well taken, but still there were three undefeateds in Bucknell's class--Albright, Wagner, and West Chester.
When the season was over--standing at 7-2 (albeit losses vs. two "major" powers), it was felt by many that an undefeated team would secure the Lambert Cup. Coach Odell, according to Tufts, conceded as much. "Oh, they'll give it to a team that hasn't lost--we lost two games."
Undaunted, Tufts continued to lobby for the Orange & Blue. His persistence was rewarded. On November 30, Bucknell--perhaps to the surprise of many and the chagrin of Albright, Wagner, and West Chester--was announced as the recipient of the Lambert Cup. Let the rejoicing begin!
On the weekend of December 9th-11th, a contingent of Bucknellians that included Tufts and Capt. Melberger ventured into the city (New York) for a reception at the Hotel Manhattan, which served as ECAC headquarters. Melberger accepted the handsome Cup from Henry Lambert. Lambert's brother Victor gave the Trophy to captains Mike Pyle and Joe Matalavage of Yale and Navy, respectively. Voters declared their teams co-winners. While the Cup presentation was noteworthy, it wasn't the only highlight of the weekend. As had been done the three previous years, the team captains appeared on the popular Sunday night TV program, "The Ed Sullivan Show." What happened has become a part of Bucknell gridiron folklore. Sullivan, in his stiff and rigid style, mentioned "Bucknell Captain Mickey Welberger." Viewers in West Pittston and Lewisburg may have been the only ones to catch Sullivan's gaffe.
However, the story didn't end there. When Melberger and the Bucknell entourage returned to campus, he and they were greeted with a hastily-made-but-handsome banner that read "Melcome Home Wickey."
The team that we honor today on the 50th anniversary of its significant achievement also received lofty individual post-season honors. The late "Turk" Terhes earned first-team Little All-America honors. He was also the All-East quarterback, sharing backfield honors with two Heisman Trophy winners--halfbacks Joe Belino of Navy and the ill-fated Ernie Davis of Syracuse. He finished the season with 981 passing yards and nine TDs--nice numbers for a nine-game schedule. Melberger's 296 rushing yards and six TDs led the team in both of those categories. Tyrrell's 28 receptions were a team high. Twiford's six interceptions also led the team. Melberger, Foulke, and Tyrrell all received Little All-America Honorable Mention.
The Bison of 1960 weren't physically imposing, but they were "all heart" and schooled in fundamentals. The squad size was small (only 41 players) and the players themselves were smallish, too. Hardly any six-footers or two hundred-pounders. The backs could all run, catch, and block. They and the ends practiced one-hand catches. The relatively light defenders were adept at carrying out Wrabley's unorthodox defensive schemes. To a man, they all agreed, `Turk' Terhes was the best athlete of the bunch--by far."
Coach Odell recalled, "We had a great quarterback and used him well. Terhes was nearly unstoppable throwing a variety of short passes that kept the chains moving."
As indicated, it was Bucknell's first Lambert Cup, but not the only one. Coach Odell moved on to Pennsylvania, his alma mater where he was a consensus All-America halfback and runner-up to Notre Dame's Angelo Bertelli for the 1943 Heisman Trophy. But not before leading the Bison to another Lambert Cup with another impressive 7-2 record in 1964.
