yards for a TD.
That was the first game of the season in 1966. It was played in ND Stadium. The fumble return for a Purdue TD was an inauspicious beginning to a game ND would win, behind the arm of a young Mr. Terry Hanratty, passing to a lanky handsome Mr. Jim Seymour, who soon after became a destination holiday for girls coming in blind from Chicago. They would arrive, and start asking around the main quad, "Excuse me, can you tell me where Jim Seymour lives?"
"Yes," I would politely say, "He lives in Walsh Hall, the yellow brick building over there," as I pointed to the western side of the main quad. I never asked for a finder's fee. Yeah, As if!
That was also the "Baby Bombers" debut of Hanratty to Seymour, later featured in the Time magazine cover art.
We all gathered around our dorm mate who bought that edition of Time and we all thought we had died and gone to Heaven.
To arrive at a university I had never seen before and be rewarded with a National Championship my Freshman Year was so wonderful.
football. Purdue vs ND. ND driving for a touchdown, and Rocky Bleier fumbles and the ball is in the hands for Leroy Keyes who runs some 94 yards for a PU touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, Nick Eddy goes 97 yards for a ND touchdown. Two 90+ yard touchdowns in the space of a couple of minutes . . .
Keyes recently was named to the Mount Rushmore of Purdue football in an online poll, joining quarterbacks Drew Brees and Bob Griese and defensive back Rod Woodson.
that game on TV. Don't remember if we had color TV yet or not...
Griese would have better professional career than Hanratty?
Great memories.
played both ways.
My father and I traveled to it w/ a neighbor who invented Keebler elves and who was the biggest ND fanatic I've ever met. The main thing I recall of it was the deep despondency in the ND section post-game. For Irish faithful, the season was largely ruined b/c of 1 loss. It affected how I viewed the program ever since.
The linked piece (which mistakenly references '65 game, which occurred w/ Hanratty in HS), has an interesting take on PU intercepting ND's communications that day.
My father and I attended rally before '68 PU game. It was hot, sweaty, and raucous in the Old Fieldhouse. Pat O'Brien was the featured speaker. He made specific reference to "throw away the Keyes."