Sooners won’t mention George Cafego – but I will -Marvin West

[feathersax]

Another great memory from Marvin West. George Cafego...Tennessee legend...that 1939 game against Oklahoma must have been something!

What he did best was that first play. His assignment was to block Sooner star Waddy Young, all-American end.
“I was supposed to stick him and I did. I knocked him for a somersault. I tried to kill him but he lived. They helped him off the field.”
Bowden Wyatt said that hit took a terrible toll from the Sooners.
“They lost their poise.”

 

[ru4real-really?]

For the record Karl Kremsers kick in the 68 Orange bowl was good.

I was in the upper deck about forty yard line with an almost empty bottle of Jack and I really wanted that kick to be good but I saw it miss! Then it took a couple of hours to find my car! That was a classic game!

 

[JohnWardForever]

I was in the upper deck about forty yard line with an almost empty bottle of Jack and I really wanted that kick to be good but I saw it miss! Then it took a couple of hours to find my car! That was a classic game!

Chance to be a hero, but Alas.

 

[EtowahVol]

Off topic but Mike Strange had a column today in the shopper edition of the News Sentinel about the addition of Oklahoma to the SEC and how Tennessee is 1-3 against the Sooners in football.

He referenced the 2016 game in Knoxville when Butch Jones kicked a field goal from the 1 foot line.

Butch Jones what an idiot.

 

[Volnanza]

Marvin West, Ben Byrd, Tom Siler. Help me who I've missed. Someone should publish some of the best of their columns.

Dyer grams were fantastic. I loved them.

 

[Volnanza]

westwords Mr West is at it again with another great UT story about the Legendary George Cafego! To view, click on westwords left corner. View attachment 657206

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www.knoxtntoday.com

One thing that I think most fans underrate. Our history is important. Many people are hung up on championships every year, but it is always the past that we are talking about. It's the glue that holds everything together. Every season we follow every game, every score, every play, but when the season is over, we always end up back in the past. I cannot say how thankful I am that Tennessee football has such a vibrant and colorful history.

 

[ru4real-really?]

Dyer grams were fantastic. I loved them.

Tom Anderson was the best of all of them. He was the Journal lead man while Tom Siler was lead man for News Sentinel

 

[VolInNW]

Is it just me, or does Cafego look about 43 years old in that pic??

 

[Volosaurus rex]

Here is what you and I would have seen that night on TV:

https://m.facebook.com/ghostsoftheorangebowl/videos/january-1-1968-tennessee-kicker-karl-kremser-misses-a-43-yard-field-goal-attempt/664228175741458/

Kremser’s kick is so high over the low goal post, you can’t see the football in the end zone camera. How the ref behind the kicker could have determined when the ball went over goal post is beyond me. Maybe it was wide right the entire time it was in the air but that would have been a terrible miss for a very good fg kicker.

As a football player at Tennessee, Kremser's career followed a very eclectic trajectory:

"Kremser was recruited by West Point for track, but also played soccer where he led the Black Knights to the final four of the 1965 NCAA Tournament. Unable to adjust to the cadet lifestyle, Kremser left after two years, in search of another school. After reading a Spring 1966 Sports Illustrated article about Richmond Flowers, Kremser wrote to University of Tennessee track and field coach Chuck Rohe. Coach Rohe wrote back and the two arranged to meet during an AAU event. Unable to offer Kremser a scholarship, Coach Rohe instead arranged a work-study place, and Kremser transferred in 1966.

Since Tennessee did not have a soccer team, and inspired by Charlie and Pete Gogolak's innovative soccer-style placekicking, Kremser began practicing. Word spread about his talent, and he was encouraged to try out for spring football. Kremser was soon offered a full football scholarship, and may have been the first non-recruited dual sports athlete at Tennessee. The highlight of his collegiate football career came with a 54-yard field goal that helped the Volunteers defeat Alabama, 10–9, in 1968. The kick set a Southeastern Conference record for distance, and still ranks among the longest field goals in Tennessee history." Karl Kremser - Wikipedia

 

[Capt Straight]

I still have my father's and father-in law's yearbooks from that era at UT. It is interesting to read about the football games for real.

 

[JohnWardForever]

Is it just me, or does Cafego look about 43 years old in that pic??

If you grew up as poor as Cafego, you'd look aged to.

 

[JohnWardForever]

As a football player at Tennessee, Kremser's career followed a very eclectic trajectory:

"Kremser was recruited by West Point for track, but also played soccer where he led the Black Knights to the final four of the 1965 NCAA Tournament. Unable to adjust to the cadet lifestyle, Kremser left after two years, in search of another school. After reading a Spring 1966 Sports Illustrated article about Richmond Flowers, Kremser wrote to University of Tennessee track and field coach Chuck Rohe. Coach Rohe wrote back and the two arranged to meet during an AAU event. Unable to offer Kremser a scholarship, Coach Rohe instead arranged a work-study place, and Kremser transferred in 1966.

Since Tennessee did not have a soccer team, and inspired by Charlie and Pete Gogolak's innovative soccer-style placekicking, Kremser began practicing. Word spread about his talent, and he was encouraged to try out for spring football. Kremser was soon offered a full football scholarship, and may have been the first non-recruited dual sports athlete at Tennessee. The highlight of his collegiate football career came with a 54-yard field goal that helped the Volunteers defeat Alabama, 10–9, in 1968. The kick set a Southeastern Conference record for distance, and still ranks among the longest field goals in Tennessee history." Karl Kremser - Wikipedia

Kremser beat Bama with a 54 yarder? Legend cemented!

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

For the record Karl Kremsers kick in the 68 Orange bowl was good.

Yep, I was there in that endzone. I was in serious celebration before the call.

Has anyone ever seen the film of that play? I once heard that we were forbidden to put it on the coach’s show! Don’t know how to verify that. Anybody got anything of substance?

 

[orangefloyd]

Dewey Warren was the holder and he still says it was good.

 

[jsc1973]

My dad was at that game, he was 21 years old. Before he passed away, he told me many times that Kremser did make that field goal. (I wasn't born until six years later.)

If it had been called good, it would have legitimized Tennessee's claim to the 1967 natty.

Cafego died early in 1998, he didn't get to see the national title that season. Or maybe he was really the one who tripped up Stoerner...

 

[VOLINVONORE]

My dad was at that game, he was 21 years old. Before he passed away, he told me many times that Kremser did make that field goal. (I wasn't born until six years later.)
afego
If it had been called good, it would have legitimized Tennessee's claim to the 1967 natty.

Cafego died early in 1998, he didn't get to see the national title that season. Or maybe he was really the one who tripped up Stoerner...

If we had been playing Vanderbilt, it probably was Cafego. He hated Vandy with a passion.

 

[VolInNW]

If you grew up as poor as Cafego, you'd look aged too.

Good point, but that photo is striking.