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The 1951 Gator Bowl was a battle of two different offenses and one
nasty defense. The Washington and Lee Generals were rolling with the new
split "T'' formation and threatened to run through Wyoming's defense.
Led by quarterback Gil Bocetti and future NFL All-Pro linebacker Walt
Michaels, W&L marched through the regular season with an 8-2 record and
a 5-0 mark in the Southern Conference to win the league title. With
Bocetti running the show and Michaels at fullback, the Generals had a
potent offense that averaged over 30 points a game. The only losses that
season were a 26-21 setback to archrival Virginia and a 27-20 loss at
Tennessee. Tennessee, which finished the season ranked fourth in the
country, scored three of its touchdowns on returns and was outgained by
over 120 yards in the contest. On the season, Michaels averaged six
yards per carry, scored 10 touchdowns and kicked 29 extra points. W&L,
coached by George Barclay, was rewarded with its first and only trip a
post-season bowl game. But W&L star, Michaels, was bedridden with
appendicitis. Lea Booth '40, W&L's sports publicist, accused the doctor,
a physician at the University of Virginia, of keeping him out of the
game. "It was the first game I'd ever missed," said Michaels. "Lea Booth
always thought there was some kind of conspiracy behind it." In
addition, the death of Bocetti's father just days before the game
affected the quarterback, as well as the entire team.
Wyoming, the undefeated champions of the Mountain States Conference, had
rolled through the season undefeated. Coached by the legendary Bowden
Wyatt, it was arguably the finest season in Wyoming football history.
The Wyoming single wing offense was operating better than ever behind
tailback Eddie Talboom. The Cowboy defense, tops in the nation heading
into the game, was handed a challenge when W & L supporters doubted its
toughness and questioned the UW schedule. The Generals had a big and
physical defensive front, and the Cowboys had trouble penetrating the
wall.
The first quarter ended scoreless, but UW had figured out how to beat
the W&L crew. If you can't run through them, throw over them. Wyoming
started a drive late in the first period, using the passing skills of
Talboom and the receiving gifts of Dewey McConnell and Jerry Parker. The
Cowboys moved the ball to the General 8-yard line, where Talboom tossed
a touchdown to back Dick Campbell, who was wide open in the endzone.
Talboom kicked the point after and UW led, 7-0 (video).
After an excellent defensive stand by the Cowboys, the Generals were
forced to pass, and Selmer Pederson picked off the ball at the UW
47-yard line. Talboom went back to work, hitting on three straight
passes for 45 yards and putting the Cowboys in scoring position. A pass
interference penalty put the ball on the General 2-yard line, and
Talboom carried it in from there. He missed the point after, but the
Pokes extended their lead, 13-0 (video). The
Generals got their offense moving late in the second quarter and moved
to the UW 21-yard line. On fourth down and long, Ray Leister's pass
attempt to Talbot Trammel sailed out of the endzone, and the half came
to a close.
W&L got the ball to start the second half and moved with ease against
the Cowboy defense. Wes Abrams ran for 22 yards, and Charlie Holt
followed that with a 30-yard run to the Cowboy 25-yard line where he was
hit and fumbled. Vaughn Hilpp recovered for the Pokes and stopped the
scoring threat. After taking a Wyoming punt, the Generals moved backward
on three straight plays, including a 16-yard loss on an errant pitch.
Punting from his 5-yard line, Leister's kick went just 20 yards, and
Wyoming had the ball on the W&L 25. After a 2-yard loss, Talboom found
McConnell for 9 yards. Fullback John Melton ran up the middle for 18
yards and a touchdown. Talboom made the point after, and Wyoming's lead
grew to 20-0 (video). The Generals scored
late in the fourth quarter on a 2-yard quarterback-sneak by Gil Bocetti
(video). The Cowboys ran out the clock after
the ensuing kick-off. The Cowboys had prevented the Generals from
scoring, but gave up 252 rushing yards to Washington and Lee's Split T.
Talboom was awarded the game's MVP.
Wyoming finished the season ranked #10 in the nation and W&L finished #18. Wyoming was just the second conference team ever to win a bowl game and vowed it wouldn't be too long before it returned to a postseason classic. For Washington & Lee, it was the one and only appearance in a college bowl game.
Coming into the 1950 season, Washington and Lee was feeling the
financial pressure of being a very small school competing against larger
schools to maintain their status among football's elite. In spite of
such financial barriers, in 1951 the Blue Train steamrolled over larger
schools and catapulted into the national spotlight. The University
received a bowl payout of $27,500 for the Gator Bowl and this helped in
the short term. The little Lexington, Virginia school would have to face
up to its own alarming athletic excesses. The traumatic results were
felt throughout college football. In 1954, most of the football squad
was involved in a highly publicized cheating scandal. The university
swiftly cracked down. A debate was launched as to the future of
athletics at the institution.
The answer came on July 23, 1954, when the Board of Trustees ended the
subsidization of athletes at W&L. The rest of the athletic program would
continue, but football as W&L knew it was gone. The University had no
choice but to eliminate big-time college football. If W&L competed today
at college football's Division I-A level, it would have the smallest
undergraduate enrollment with 1,746 students; by comparison, Wake Forest
holds that spot with 3,748 undergraduates. Lexington lacks an airport;
the closest city, Roanoke, is nearly 60 miles away; and the population
hovers at around 6,800. Under those circumstances, it would be
difficult, if not impossible, to sell enough tickets, not to mention
land a television contract. Looking back, "it was inevitable with the
limited student body and small stadium," said Michaels, "that Washington
and Lee couldn't survive." Today, Washington and Lee competes
successfully at the Div III level. But, her fans remember a time, not so
long ago, when the Generals played in a New Years Day bowl game.
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