Editor's Note: This is another story in a series of articles about the 1956 Tarleton State College Plowboy football team. The team will be honored on its 50th anniversary at the University's Homecoming, Oct. 20-21. Thirty of the 35 team members are living. Twenty-seven players and two student managers have indicated they will be present at the Homecoming Reunion. The Head Coach, H.A. (Sandy) Sanford, is deceased; however, his four children, spouses and a number of grandchildren will be present. The Assistant Coach, Loyd Lowe, his wife, Ann, their two children and three grandchildren will also be here for the two-day event. Coach Low, 77, is retired. He and his wife live in Rowlett.
Many sports writers and media personnel often compare the size of present-day football players with those in year's past.
Most will agree that the young players of today are much larger than those 10, 20 or 50 years ago.
When comparing the size and weight of the present Tarleton State University Texan football team with those of the 1956 Tarleton State College Plowboys, the scales tip in favor of the present-day Tarleton Texans.
Data for these comparisons were gathered on the 1956 Tarleton team from the 1957 Tarleton yearbook, THE GRASSBURR. Information on Tarleton's 2006 team was assembled from a 2006 Tarleton Texan game program.
In making these comparisons, one needs to remember that in 1956 Tarleton was a two-year college with only freshmen and sophomores listed on the squad, while in 2006 the players are freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors.
A check of the 2006 TSU team finds the entire 85-man roster has an average weight of 233 pounds per player. This compares with an average of only 181 pounds per individual on the 35-man team in 1956. That's a difference of 52 pounds per man.
If one were to separate the line from the backfield, the numbers would still tilt in favor of the current team. The 2006 backfield averages 197 pounds per man compared with an average of 168 pounds per player 50 years ago. That's a difference of 29 pounds.
As for those "big" linemen in 2006, the average weight per man is 263 pounds compared with an average of 192 pounds per player in 1956. The difference is 71 pounds per man. Linemen weighing 300 pounds or more are numerous on many of today's football teams, and Tarleton is no exception.
The present-day Texans have seven players at the 300-pound level or more. The heaviest is Michael Jones, a transfer from Kilgore College. Jones, a junior, weighs 350 pounds and is 6 feet 2 inches tall. A lineman on offense, Jones graduated from Chavez High School in the Houston ISD.
Not far behind Jones is Jarred Simmons, also an offensive lineman. Simmons tips the scales at 335 pounds and is 6 feet, 5 inches tall. The Duncanville senior is a three-year letterman for the Texans.
The lightest man on the 2006 Texan team is Omar Hill, a 160-pound corner back. Hill is a junior college transfer from Bakersfield (California) Junior College. His height is 5 feet, 8 inches. Hill is a junior, and this is his first year to play for the Texans.
Now, let's go back 50 years and examine the 1956 Plowboys in greater detail.
None of the 1956 team members weighed 300 pounds or more. The heaviest man on the1956 Plowboy team was Jay Jones, a 220-pound tackle from Elm Mott. Not far behind in the weight category were Harry Bradberry of Dublin, Rufus Cobern of San Saba and Lester Geeslin of Goldthwaite. The three were listed as 210-pound tackles.
The late Norman Frankfather, a tackle from Kermit, was a tad heavier than Bradberry, Cobern and Geeslin, weighing 215 pounds.
Only one other player on the 1956 team tipped the scales at? 200 pound or more. It was the late Bobby Almond, a center from Kermit, who weighed 200 pounds.
Jones, Bradberry, Cobern and Geeslin will be present for the 1956 team reunion at Tarleton's Homecoming on Oct. 20-21.
What's the weight of these four Plowboys in 2006? Perhaps this quartet of tackles should address the scales and count the calories before they partake of the food at the various Homecoming luncheons and dinners.
The smallest player on the 1956 Plowboy team was Tom Schafer, a 142-pound halfback from Killeen. What Schafer lacked in size, he made up for in speed.
No matter what the player's weight might be, the key to winning is desire. That desire continues to rests today on the shoulders of each player at Tarleton State University as it did a half-century ago.
Dr. Chilton, a Stephenville resident,is a retired educator/journalist. He occasionally writes for this newspaper.
