College Football Hall of Fame Dinner

December is a golden time of the year. Not only are Bowl games set but great Banquets are held. The National Football Foundation and Hall of Flame Banquet at the Waldorf Astoria is set December 8. Another excellent group of inductees will enter the hallowed Hall currently in South Bend but slated for Atlanta in 2010.
The NFF will also award scholarships to l6 top seniors for graduate study. This program was launched with Colonel Earl (Red) Blaik providing the income from his syndicated column, with the help of Stanley Woodward, famed New York Herald Tribune columnist. Another famed NY scribe Harold Rosenthal followed Stanley and it was our pleasure to succeed Harold. The predictions were Blaik"s.
Red Blaik, famed Dartmouth and Army coach, was one of the founders of the National Football Foundation. Arthur Evans of Syracuse had the original dream. He was followed as Executive Director by George Little or Rutgers and Harvey Harman, former Scarlet Knights coach, followed Little.
I followed Harvey after working with him as the Director of Public Relations and Administrator of Chapters. I also followed Harvey as Secretary of the Honors Court which selects the Hall of Famers. I was hired by Chester J. LaRoche, the former Yale football player and very successful New York advertising executive. Chet was followed as Chairman by Vincent dePaul Draddy, president of the David Crystal company. Draddy also teamed with Rene LaCoste in launching Izod is North, South, and Central America.
When Harman died Draddy promoted me to Executive Director, and I worked for Draddy until he passed away. Before he died the Board told him that the Best of he Best Scholar Athletes would carry his name with the creation of the Draddy Award. Earlier this year the current Board changed the name of the Trophy to the William Campbell Award. Campbell was the former Columbia coach who had joined the NFFHF Board.
When Campbell left coaching Draddy told him he should pursue a career in Business which he did and has been most successful.
Draddy's nephew Bill Draddy was outraged that this happened and protested strongly to the Current Board, which includes Draddy's lawyer George Weiss, a NFHF Vice Chairman.
Bill Pearce succeeded Draddy as Chairman. I recommended that Pearce of Coca Cola join the NFF Board. I also recommended Maxwell Club President Reds Bagnell as a Board member. After Draddy died, Pearce and Bagnell invited me to lunch in Princeton. At the luncheon they told me I should retire when I became 65 and become a consultant which I did.
In my second year as Consultant Pearce told me he wanted to honor me at a Waldorf Dinner., He later called to tell me that as the awards committee meeting started Weiss told Pearce they needed him to sign some papers in the office. While Pearce was absent Awards Chairman Bob Mulcahy, who was fired as Rutgers Athletic Director a few months ago, recommended NACDA'S Mike Cleary for the Contribution to Football Award and Mike was chosen. He is a good man, most deserving and 10 years younger that Mississippi Red.
Pearce and Bagnell, as Casey Stengel would say, are deceased at the present time,
I still have my Golden Tiffany clock for 27 years old dedicated service to the NFFHF, presented at a luncheon.
After Pearce died Jon Hansen, who I also recommended to Draddy as a Hoard member told me my Consultant Agreement would not be renewed. Hansen later received the Gold Medal, the Foundation's highest honor.
Archie Manning, the Ole Miss All-American, is the current Chairman of the Naztionalk Football Foundation. When Archie was inducted in the Hall of Fame I recommended to Draddy that Archie resond for the Inductees which he did,.
After the Hall of Fame Dinner, the Heisman Dinner and the American Football Coaches Dinner follows, the Heisman and the AFCA dinners are the same night Dec. 13
This year's Army-Navy game is a week later than usual , the second Saturday in December in Philadelphia. I have attended every Army-Navy game but one since 1962. I have attended every Heisman Dinner since 1962, every Maxwell Trophy Dinner since 1963. The Maxwell returns to Atlantic City in early March.
I was succeeded as Executive Director by former Princeton Coach Bob Casciola, whose title was changed to President after I launched the All-American Football foundation in 1964, Casciola was succeeded by currne President and CEO Steve Hatchell, a former Commissioner and Bowl Executive, who was honored by the All-American Football Foundation when he was President of the Rodeo Association who we have known for many years., I thought his selection was a good one.
Like Joe Paterno, our idol is Amos Allonzo Stagg who worked until he was 90.
Hugh Hefner is also a member of our Class of 1926. So was Marilyn Monroe, who unfortunately died when she was 36.
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