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WVU Football Trivia
Names, places & events of Mountaineer Football
Where in Morgantown did the Mountaineers
play their home games before 'Old' Mountaineer Field was built?
In the early seasons of West Virginia University football, the Mountaineers played their home games in a number of locations in and around Morgantown. From about 1895 up to the 1924 opening of 'Old' Mountaineer Field, the old gold and blue played on the 'athletic field' pictured here. Look familiar? With Woodburn Hall in the middle of the photo and Oglebay Hall at the far right, the football field was located where the Mountainlair and Plaza/parking garage now stand. In it's later years, the athletic field seated upwards of 12,000 fans, and a reported crowd of 15,000 Mountaineer faithful were packed in for the 1922 game against Washington & Jefferson.
In recognition of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, name the first two African-American athletes to earn scholarships and play football for the West Virginia Mountaineers.
Recruited by Head Coach Gene Corum and assistant Ed Shockey in 1962, Hinton, WV native Dick Leftridge and Wintersville, Ohio
product Roger Alford became the first African-Americans to earn scholarships and play football for West Virginia University.
While both were 2-way players during their first year of varsity play in 1963, Leftridge excelled as a fullback and Alford as an offensive guard during their junior and senior seasons. So powerful a runner was Leftridge that he was chosen as the first-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1966 NFL draft (3rd selection overall), though personal and physical problems limited his time in the NFL to just four games. He died in February of 2004. A member of the WVU Sports Hall of Fame, Roger Alford earned four degrees and became a doctor in the practice of dentistry. He served on the board of directors of the WVU Alumni Association and the visiting committee of the WVU School of Physical Education. Dr. Roger Alford passed away in 1996. The WVU Foundation administers the Dr. Roger Alford Alumni Scholarship in his honor.
This former Mountaineer was
the first NFL player ever to be featured
on the cover of Time magazine.
Who is he?
With the issue dated November 30, 1959, Farmington's Robert Lee "Sam" Huff became the first National Football League player to appear on the cover of Time magazine. Inside the magazine, the All-American and 1955 graduate of WVU was featured in an article titled "A Man's Game". A third-round draft pick of the New York Giants in 1956, Sam Huff nearly gave up on pro football in training camp. Brought back to camp by assistant coach Vince Lombardi, Huff was given an opportunity to fill in for an injured starter at middle linebacker. He won the position and became a force on the Giants' defense from 1956 through 1963, winning one NFL title and playing in five Pro Bowls. Traded to the Washington Redskins in 1964, Huff played four seasons before retiring after a 12-year NFL career. Enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982, Sam Huff was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 1991. His West Virginia University number, 75, was retired by the Mountaineers on November 24, 2005.
WVU football trivia, page 9 of 10:
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