He was a favorite....Member of the 1967 Rose Bowl team
IU great Nate Cunningham... RIP.
- Thread starter jsenleo
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I always remembered him from attending my first IU game in the opener against Kentucky in 1967. I believe his family was sitting nearby us.
Was that the Harry Gonso , isenbarger, and Jade somebody team?
I was too small but I think we won 7 of our 9 wins in the last two minutes and they were called the cardiac kids,
I likely don’t remember it perfectly
I was too small but I think we won 7 of our 9 wins in the last two minutes and they were called the cardiac kids,
I likely don’t remember it perfectly
That was the team. Many close games, other than the loss at Minnesota. We gave the O.J. Simpson Trojans a good game and only lost 14-3. We had a dropped TD pass in the end zone. I was only 14 at the time and didn't realize just how unique that would become. Jade Butcher was the receiver to go along with QB Gonso and tailback Isenbarger.
It was a team that only won three games the previous year turning around to tie for the B1G title the next season.
Those three guys moving from the JV to the varsity for their sophomore years had a huge impact. JP was a great recruiter until he dug in and caused the boycott. He was setting a good table for a while.
Regarding the "BIG Three"...Butcher, Isenbarger and Gonso - (copy and pasted)
None were more influential than Gonso and John Isenbarger, two sophomores battling to be starting quarterback. One would succeed Frank Stavroff, who had been third in the Big Ten with 1,406 yards passing.
Gonso and Isenbarger were all-around athletes.
Gonso, of Findlay, Ohio, ran 100 yards in 10.2 seconds, was a swimmer and diver and was offered a baseball bonus to sign with the Detroit Tigers.
Isenbarger, of Muncie Central, pole vaulted 13 feet and finished fourth in the state. He was recruited in basketball, his favorite sport, by Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp. Isenbarger received a letter from Tom Harmon — Heisman Trophy winner, World War II hero and sportscaster — that urged him to pick Michigan. But Isenbarger just liked Pont.
Gonso was not announced as the starter until a week before the opener. Isenbarger became a running back, a position he had not played.
“You’re a sophomore on scholarship, and you’ve got to pretty much do what the coach says. And I wanted to play,” Isenbarger recalled.
Another sophomore was Jade Butcher, a Bloomington wide receiver who played basketball and ran hurdles. He was recruited to Indiana by freshman coach Howard Brown, a decorated World War II infantryman who was wounded four times. Brown was MVP of the Hoosiers’ 1945 Big Ten championship team and a former lineman for the Detroit Lions.
Butcher was close friends with Howard’s son, Bobby, who became a West Point graduate and was killed in Vietnam in 1971. Purdue and Tennessee both tried to lure Butcher, who said his mother wanted him to stay home.
The dropped pass in the end zone came shortly before halftime. The ball hit Al Gage directly in his numbers and bounced off his chest. IU settled for a 27 yard FG. Instead of going into halftime on a high note, tied 7-7, we were down 7-3. The field goal was our only score for the game. I was there, age 16.
Nice write up, thanks.Regarding the "BIG Three"...Butcher, Isenbarger and Gonso - (copy and pasted)
None were more influential than Gonso and John Isenbarger, two sophomores battling to be starting quarterback. One would succeed Frank Stavroff, who had been third in the Big Ten with 1,406 yards passing.
Gonso and Isenbarger were all-around athletes.
Gonso, of Findlay, Ohio, ran 100 yards in 10.2 seconds, was a swimmer and diver and was offered a baseball bonus to sign with the Detroit Tigers.
Isenbarger, of Muncie Central, pole vaulted 13 feet and finished fourth in the state. He was recruited in basketball, his favorite sport, by Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp. Isenbarger received a letter from Tom Harmon — Heisman Trophy winner, World War II hero and sportscaster — that urged him to pick Michigan. But Isenbarger just liked Pont.
Gonso was not announced as the starter until a week before the opener. Isenbarger became a running back, a position he had not played.
“You’re a sophomore on scholarship, and you’ve got to pretty much do what the coach says. And I wanted to play,” Isenbarger recalled.
Another sophomore was Jade Butcher, a Bloomington wide receiver who played basketball and ran hurdles. He was recruited to Indiana by freshman coach Howard Brown, a decorated World War II infantryman who was wounded four times. Brown was MVP of the Hoosiers’ 1945 Big Ten championship team and a former lineman for the Detroit Lions.
Butcher was close friends with Howard’s son, Bobby, who became a West Point graduate and was killed in Vietnam in 1971. Purdue and Tennessee both tried to lure Butcher, who said his mother wanted him to stay home.
That had to be an amazing experience to go to Pasadena and see the game. I had seen us play Tennessee in the Peach Bowl.
My dad was an IU football nut. And also an IU basketball nut. He always followed the team on road games, home games, bowl games.
When we buried him 15 years ago, we buried him with two of his most treasured keepsakes: the Rose Bowl ticket stubs and the Tournament of Roses Parade program.
Also tucked in there were his 1987 NCAA ticket stubs from the New Orleans Superdome.
When we buried him 15 years ago, we buried him with two of his most treasured keepsakes: the Rose Bowl ticket stubs and the Tournament of Roses Parade program.
Also tucked in there were his 1987 NCAA ticket stubs from the New Orleans Superdome.
I imagine it difficult for younger fans to appreciate the magnitude of the event back then. It's a different world in so many ways now without the dinosaurs being allowed to roam so freely. In 1968 there were only 10 bowl games then with the final 4 being on New Year's Day...Cotton, Sugar, Rose and Orange Bowl. The Rose Bowl was billed as the "Granddaddy of Them All". IU was the only BT team having never been to the Rose Bowl so many, many fans signed up for the IU package deals. Planes departed Weir Cook Airport (Indpls International) dedicated to IU fans. It was such a festive atmosphere with singing and everyone dressed in red costume, giddy in anticipation of four days in LA...Disneyland with IU band parade, Universal Studios Tour, Rose Bowl Parade and of course, the game climaxing a great weekend, all while immersed in glorious SoCal weather.
The game itself was a bit of a downer. USC was a big 14 pt. favorite as the #1 rated team in both AP and Coach's polls. IU was rated nationally at #4 and #6, respectively. IU was always behind in score. The dropped pass in the end zone before halftime was a bummer. It was probably the enormity of the event that caused the otherwise sure touchdown delivered right on target. It was a long way to travel to not see IU score a TD. If only the IU season magic could have happened one more game, but it was not to be as OJ Simpson broke the defensive-minded game open with a 68 yd run for TD in the third quarter, putting us two scores behind and quieting the IU fans. There was no further score by either team after that as we lost 14-3. It was the end to a long, but memorable day that began with the alarm going off at 4:30 AM to get onto the busses to get to the parade that same day. There was no celebrating the night after the game and planes departed the following morning, filled with depressed IU faithful, but still enough wonderful memories that ultimately proved to last a lifetime.
Surprisingly, the Rose Bowl seating is not that great because the field is surrounded by a track and the seats slope away from the field so gradually. However, the setting is wonderful, surrounded by foothills of the San Gabirels...just the enormity of the facility, reeking in tradition like no other college bowl game. The only physical remnant of the game I still have is a Rose Bowl button in our printer's job case hanging on a bathroom wall. I still covet it.
I haven't been to many of IU's bowl games (the few there have been) but I did attend the 1988 Peach Bowl you speak of. That, again, was a downer after being behind in the game for so long, then mounting a slow comeback behind the effort of Anthony Thompson, going ahead only to lose it in the final minute or so. Damn, that was a long ride home, but nevertheless, the pre-game is always the best time and I got to share it with my IU buddy who lives in Atlanta.
It's never easy being an IU football fan, but we carry on the best we can.
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I was standing before the casket of my uncle when his daughter told me they dressed him in his IU boxer shorts. I think ticket stubs and program from the Rose Bowl top it, making for a good read into eternity...well done by family!
I was with two friends at the Peach Bowl. My wife and I started out to Memphis for the Liberty Bowl against South Carolina, to stay with my friend from college who lived in Memphis. Unfortunately, my wife got sick as we started out, so we had to give our two tickets to my friend.
i loved that team. Jade was the original "hot dog", show boat receiver. He was fun to watch.
And he was a local Bloomington boy to boot and from a poorer background than Gonso and Isenbarger...a little rougher around the edges, if you will. It was fun group, the whole team, to watch. Unfortunately, that one season proved to be but an aberration from the norm.
Which is a good example of why being down about this coming season due to the poor last season doesn't make sense. I wish more fans would approach this coming season with hope of a great year until the team proves us wrong. The thing I remember about the '67 team was the punts that didn't happen because Isenbarger decided to run the ball to gain a 1st down.
Yes no expectations for the 67 season was one of the great things about it. John got away with the non punt a few times but let Michigan back in the game with his poor choices
"Punt, John, Punt!" was the battlecry coming from the stands. He had long legs and could really propel it when hitting the sweet spot. His most famous punt was a 67 yarder late in the game against Purdue right when we needed it most. He was a good looking dude, too, having the whole package that easily made him one of the fan favorites.
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