When do you get a chance to have most of the top celebrated trophies in college football in the same place, albeit Jersey City?
Well, that’s what took place last week at the 15th annual Rich Glover All Access to Life Foundation free football camp at Caven Point Cochrane Field.
Of course, there were the Outland and Lombardi Trophies, secured by former All-America defensive lineman Glover during his glory days at the University of Nebraska. Glover earned both of the Outland and Lombardi Trophies during his senior year at Nebraska, when he was the best nose guard in the land.
Those trophies are annually presented to the top interior lineman in college football. Glover earned the awards during his senior year of 1972 when he was also a unanimous All-America selection for the Cornhuskers.
Glover, who played in the NFL with the Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles, is the Jersey City native who played at Snyder before heading off to Nebraska. After his playing days were over, Glover returned to Jersey City and was the head coach at both Dickinson and Ferris and is currently an assistant coach at Marist, where his son, Richard Jr., is the head coach.
Glover has held his free camp every summer at Cochrane Field and it has been a rousing success, teaching youngsters some fundamentals of football as well as learning some life lessons. Glover has called upon some of his friends and former teammates to help organize the camp, along with Glover’s wife Sonja.
And just to give the youngsters an instant football history lesson, Glover, who is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, brings his trophies and talks about what it was like to win the prestigious trophies.
One of the best stories involving Glover: After Nebraska won the Orange Bowl and the national championship in 1971, the Cornhuskers went to visit the White House and then President Richard Nixon. Nixon brought the team into the chambers where the members of Nixon’s cabinet convened.
When the players all walked in, Nixon asked, “OK, which one is Glover?”
Glover shyly put up his hand to acknowledge the president, who was standing next to the chair usually occupied by Melvin Laird.
“Here, Mr. Glover, you sit here,” President Nixon said to Glover.
The reason? Melvin Laird was the Secretary of Defense. It was a classic move by Nixon, who was a gigantic sports fan. The president created a memory for Glover that obviously lasted a lifetime.
So the youngsters at Glover’s four-day camp got to see Glover’s hardware on a daily basis. Of course, it was look, but don’t touch, especially not the impressive Lombardi Trophy, which is basically a block of granite. That’s because the trophy’s namesake, legendary coach Vince Lombardi was part of the famed Seven Blocks of Granite, a name given to the outstanding offensive line at Fordham University.
Incredibly, another member of the famed Seven Blocks of Granite was Ed Franco, a native of Jersey City like Glover and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame like Glover.
But the other trophy on display at the Glover camp for the youngsters to admire was the famed Heisman Trophy, which is probably the most famed and respected trophy in all of sports except the Stanley Cup.
That’s because one of the guests was another former Nebraska great from New Jersey, Mike Rozier. The running back, a native of Camden, won the Heisman Trophy in 1983 before heading off to the NFL. Rozier brought his Heisman with him when he addressed the youngsters on Friday.
So the kids got to attend a free football camp and got to see three of the most famed awards in college football. Pretty impressive.
“We’re just trying to get the kids on the right path,” said Glover, who was prancing around the hot turf at Cochrane despite being 68 years old. “Having Mike Rozier here was perfect. He took the time to come here and we were happy to have him. I love doing it. I love having as many kids as possible. The city and Mayor [Steve] Fulop have been great with their support.”
Fulop made an appearance at the camp as well, as did former Giants Super Bowl defensive end Leonard Marshall, who had a brief stint as the head coach at Hudson Catholic.
“This keeps me young,” Glover said. “I like being with the kids and break a little sweat. I’m glad to be involved.”
Marshall was also happy to attend.
“I have the utmost respect for Rich Glover,” said Marshall, who went head-to-head with Glover twice during their coaching days. “I’ve respected him for a long time. The fact that he does this speaks volumes to the kind of person he is. It’s my honor to be here. Who knows? There might be the next Rich Glover here among these kids or the next Leonard Marshall. I hope we can inspire them.”
Tre Malloy is a 9-year-old aspiring wide receiver/defensive back who was inspired by Glover.
“I saw his name with the College Football Hall of Fame,” Malloy said. “I know all about him. I learned that I always have to be confident about myself. It was a lot of fun. I like playing football.”
Jada Stovall is a 9-year-old girl from Bayonne who participated. Jada was not apprehensive about being one of the few females there.
“I always watch how others play football and that impresses me,” Stovall said. “I like playing other sports, like basketball, but football is a lot of fun. I like catching the football and running a lot. I want to be the first girl to ever play college football and I want to be the best girls’ football player.”
James Ecock is a 10-year-old running back. “I was very impressed by being here,” Ecock said. “This inspires me and encourages me to play football.”
Michael Torres is an 11-year-old wide receiver and safety. “I was actually very impressed that someone from Jersey City could do so much,” Torres said. “It was very inspiring and it does motivate me. He’s accomplished a lot and if he can do it, then maybe I can do it.”
Needless to say, it was a great week for the youngsters and the perennial youngster who is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame…
Former St. Anthony basketball standout Kyle Anderson will have a new home next season in the NBA. The former San Antonio Spurs forward signed a free agent contract last week with the Memphis Grizzlies, good for four years and $37.2 million. Not a bad haul at all for the North Bergen native…–Jim Hague.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.
