The 15th annual College All-Star Game on August
20, 1948 featured the Chicago Cardinals, defending NFL Champions, against a
highly-regarded group of All-Stars coached by Notre Dame’s Frank Leahy. The
All-Stars had won the last two games by identical 16-0 scores and the Cardinals
came into the contest as underdogs, which was certainly an oddity in the
history of the series.
The Cardinals, playing in their home town, were coached
by Jimmy Conzelman and known for their outstanding offensive backfield that
featured QB Paul Christman, FB Pat Harder, and halfbacks Charlie Trippi (pictured above) and
Elmer Angsman operating out of the T-formation.
The past two winning All-Star teams had utilized the
T-formation but Coach Leahy made a controversial decision in deciding to split
his squad into T-formation and single wing groups. There was plenty of depth
for both, with four T-formation quarterbacks (most notably Bobby Layne of Texas
and Notre Dame’s Johnny Lujack) and three single wing tailbacks on the roster.
There was a crowd of 101,220 in attendance at Soldier
Field under a full moon for the Friday night contest. The All-Stars got the
first break early in the contest when C Dick Scott of Navy recovered a fumble
by Charlie Trippi in Chicago territory.
However, they were unable to move the ball as Johnny Lujack threw two
incomplete passes and Charlie Conerly of Mississippi punted into the end zone
for a touchback.
The Cards responded impressively by going 80 yards in 15
plays. Only one was a pass as Chicago
moved methodically down the field, with the longest gain 19 yards on a lateral
from Paul Christman to Elmer Angsman. Angsman finished the series as he punched
over for a touchdown from two yards out and Pat Harder added the extra point.
The All-Stars threatened in the second quarter but turned
the ball over on downs at the Chicago 32 yard line. The collegians got a break shortly
thereafter when HB Boris “Babe” Dimancheff fumbled and the All-Stars recovered
at the Chicago 27. Shifting to the single-wing, they advanced ten yards and
again came away empty.
The Cards responded with another impressive drive, going
83 yards in nine plays. Three were Christman (pictured at right) pass completions, to Angsman and
ends Bill Dewell and Mal Kutner. They scored on a 14-yard run by HB Vic Schwall
on a quick-opener and Harder again successfully converted.
The All-Stars recovered yet another fumble by the Cards
and Michigan end Len Ford ran 55 yards for what would have been a touchdown
under NFL rules. However, they were using college rules for the All-Star Game
and the ball was returned to the point of recovery. The tally remained 14-0 in
favor of the Cardinals at the half.
The All-Stars provided some excitement in the scoreless
third quarter, putting together an 84-yard drive. Notre Dame HB Bill Gompers ran
for 20 yards on a sweep and Conerly tossed a lateral to Lujack who proceeded to
fire a long pass to end Dan Edwards for a 44-yard gain. Two big defensive plays
by DB Marshall Goldberg kept the All-Stars out of the end zone, however, the
big one a stop of FB Floyd Simmons, another Notre Dame participant, at the one
foot line on fourth down.
The Cards made it a rout in the fourth quarter. First, LB
Vince Banonis intercepted a pass by Illinois QB Perry Moss and returned it 31
yards for a touchdown. Then LB Bill Blackburn recovered a fumble by Bobby Layne
that set up a 13-yard scoring pass from QB Ray Mallouf to Trippi four plays
later. Harder kicked both extra points and that was more than enough as the
Cardinals came away with a big 28-0 win.
It was the most decisive score thus far in the history of
the series. Passing yardage was practically even (133 to 132 yards, in favor of
Chicago) but the Cardinals had 200 rushing yards, almost twice the total
amassed by the collegians. The Cards fumbled the ball away three times, all in
the first half. However, they only punted three times and the defense did a
fine job of keeping the All-Star attack in check.
The win for the defending NFL champs was the eighth thus
far, with the All-Stars having won five and two ending in ties. Center Jay
Rhodemyre of Kentucky was voted the most valuable player by his All-Star
teammates.
Chicago went on to have another outstanding season,
topping the Western Division with an 11-1 record. However, they lost the NFL
Championship game to the Philadelphia Eagles in blizzard conditions.
