A GENERATION AGO, PLUNKETT SAVED DAY.Byline: Frank C. Girardot Frank C. Girardot (1961 in Detroit, Michigan) worked during the 1980s and 1990s as a copyboy, reporter and sportswriter for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, The San Gabriel Valley Tribune, The Pasadena Star-News and The Los Angeles Daily News. Staff Writer Like many college campuses in 1970, Stanford smoldered with unrest, protest and rebellion. Throughout the country, things were tense. At one demonstration in May that year, National Guard officers shot and killed four students when an anti-war rally at Kent State in Ohio turned ugly. At Stanford, there was a plan to decrease the school's athletic commitment. After all, what good is football when young men were dying in Vietnam and young college women were being snuffed out by a government losing control? Enter Jim Plunkett For the Irish Writer, see . James W. "Jim" Plunkett (born December 5, 1947 in San Jose, California) is a former American football quarterback who played collegiately for Stanford University, where he won the Heisman Trophy, and professionally for three National Football League _ 1970 Heisman Trophy Heisman Trophy Annual award given to the outstanding college gridiron football player in the U.S. The trophy was instituted in 1935 by New York City's Downtown Athletic Club and was officially named the following year for the club's first athletic director, the player-coach winner, Rose Bowl MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. , consensus All-American. ``I tried to push a lot of that aside. I wanted to play football and get my education,'' Plunkett said. ``With the Vietnam movement and the anti-war protests, it was a very difficult time to concentrate on a game.'' But concentrate he did. On the football field in 1970, Plunkett sparkled. He completed 191 passes for 2,715 yards. He ran for another 183 yards, giving him 2,898 total yards. It was a school and Pacific-8 conference record. His play earned Plunkett, now 52, the Heisman Trophy and led Stanford then known as the Indians _ to the 1971 Rose Bowl, where they faced the Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State University's intercollegiate sports teams and players are called the "Buckeyes" (after the state tree, the Buckeye), and participate in the NCAA's Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports. . It was the team's first trip to Pasadena in 19 seasons. ``We thought that was an awful long time,'' Plunkett recalled. ``At a team dinner on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, our coach, John Ralston John Ralston may refer to:
In the game itself, Plunkett completed 20 of 30 passes for 265 yards and helped the Indians beat Ohio State, which came into the game a 13-point undefeated favorite. The win _ and his play that day _ earned Plunkett the Rose Bowl's Most Valuable Player honor. He finished his career with an NCAA-record 7,887 yards of offense. Plunkett and his teammates also may have saved Stanford's football program from oblivion. ``We like to think we helped turn it around,'' Plunkett said. Even to this day, Plunkett's teammates admit they were as happy about the awards and recognition as he was. ``What I think is great about Jim is you see a lot of athletes nowadays that have these really big egos and you never got that with Jim,'' said John Sande III, who was Plunkett's center. ``There was never jealousy for the awards he got. He's one of those few that are great athletes and are always humble. That's what I remember: What you see is what you get (jargon) What You See Is What You Get - (WYSIWYG) /wiz'ee-wig/ Describes a user interface for a document preparation system under which changes are represented by displaying a more-or-less accurate image of the way the document will finally appear, e.g. when printed. . That's why he was such a popular player.'' Plunkett's career didn't end there. Following the season, he was the NFL's top draft pick in 1971. Plunkett went to the New England Patriots  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled until (UTC) due to vandalism. and was the AFL's rookie of the year Rookie of the Year may refer to:
The next season was disastrous and by the end of the decade, Plunkett, who grew up in the gritty East San Jose East San Jose (or the East Side; less commonly the East Valley) is the name for several neighborhoods east of downtown San Jose, California. These neighborhoods include:
``I don't want to remember those years,'' Plunkett said. ``Nobody struggled more. It was tough going for me for a while.'' Then the Oakland Raiders This article is about an American football team. For other uses, see Raider. The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in the city of Oakland, California. took a chance on him. ``The thing about Jim that I remember most is that he wasn't a beautiful passer. . . . He had moments in which he looked awkward because he would do whatever he had to do to make the completion,'' Raiders general manager Al LoCasale said. ``But he was extremely efficient and pressure-proof in big games and tight games. Jim Plunkett was Jim Plunkett. He would do the things he had to do to win ball games.'' After a season and a half as a backup to Kenny Stabler and then Dan Pastorini Dante "Dan" Pastorini (born May 26, 1949 in Sonora, California) was an American football quarterback who played for 12 seasons from 1971-1981, and 1983. He played for the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, all of the National Football League. , Plunkett took the reins five games into the 1980 season and led Oakland to a 27-10 Super Bowl victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. He completed 13 of 21 passes for 261 yards and three touchdowns and earned MVP honors. Three years later, with the Raiders playing in Los Angeles, Plunkett again guided his team to victory _ this time a 38-9 rout of the heavily favored Washington Redskins. ``I just hated to lose,'' Plunkett said. ``And I couldn't have done it without the people around me. That showed in my career. When I was surrounded by good people, I was on winning teams. They have to be given credit too.'' After he retired, Plunkett returned to the Bay Area. He lives in San Mateo County with his wife and two children _ Jimmy Jr., 16, and Meghan, 14. There, he owns a beer distributorship and works as a television commentator. Plunkett plans a return to the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day New Year's Day, among ancient peoples the first day of the year frequently corresponded to the vernal or autumnal equinox, or to the summer or winter solstice. In the Middle Ages it was celebrated among Christians usually on Mar. 25. to see his former team take on the Wisconsin. While campus unrest has long since quieted and the Stanford football team is in no jeopardy of being swept away, there are a lot of eerie similarities. Not only is Stanford an 11-point underdog, the team hasn't played in the Rose Bowl since January 1972, the year after Plunkett left. A Heisman Trophy winner will be on the field, but wearing Badger Red not the Cardinal version. Another Heisman trophy winner will be looking on and cheering for his team. He knows they can win. ``Certainly Stanford has a very good football team,'' Plunkett said. ``If we beat a big favorite, I know they can do it.'' ROSE BOWL Who: Wisconsin vs. Stanford When: Jan. 1, 1:30 p.m. TV: Channel 7 CAPTION(S): box BOX: Rose Bowl (see text) |
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