USD Football 1992

GIFF-TED

On offense, defense or special teams, "Fearless Frank" could do it all.

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Times, "he demonstrated that he is every inch the great football player he has been labeled." A crowd of 16, 108 prevailed against the elements in Yankee Stadium, which had been rained on for three days and was now the target of snow, but Gifford ran as if he were in his own Bakersfield backyard. He didn' t score any of USC's four touchdowns in its 28-6 win. but he rolled up 138 rushing yards, kicked off, nailed all four of the Trojans· extra points and converted a 41-yard pass. In addition. the Trojans didn't allow the Cadets a first down. "If it had been dry," said Army coach Earl Blaik, ''I'm afraid the Trojans wouldn't have been so kind to us." Gifford also tackled Don Fuqua, who had threatened to run back a Gifford kickoff, lo show one of many dimensions he'd be showcasing as a New York Giant for a decade. "Gifford was magnificent in the few flashes he showed, as sure-footed as a Rocky Mountain goal in the slop.'' wrote the esteemed Arthur Daley in the New York Times. "The ooze inter– fered only slightly with his kicking and wasn't too bothersome in his frequent attempts lo pass." Robertson saw it up-close. "Thal attracted the Giants to him," Robertson said. "If Frank didn't run crazy at Yankee Stadium, he'd have spent maybe a year or two playing in Canada before becoming an oil rigger." Gifford, who thought the Rams would nab him in the '52 draft, said the Giants liked his durability in inclement weather. "ll was really a blizzard," Gifford said of his Yankee Stadium exploits. "And I think that's what the Giants liked. In the north– east, they play in that kind of weather. H's sloppy-weather foot– ball. Those were my two best games of the year (against Cal and Army), and they scouted both.'' The Trojans lost the final three games of that '5 1 season, but their 10-1 season of '52 proved that a power was being formed. Gifford, of course, started prospering again in 1954, when new Giants offensive coordinator Vince Lombardi unleashed Gifford from his defensive duties into an offensive threat that only Philly's Chuck Bednarik could ground. Whether thanking his offensive linemen for a 69-yard touch– down run or saying Lombardi was responsible for his success, praise is something Gifford is quick to deflect. When Robertson asked Gifford for a quick note to his young son Bill in the 1970s - about when Gifford's 22-minute "Legends of the Game" video was released - the reply was short and sweet. "Your mother taught me how lo speak," Gifford wrote, "and

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your father taught me how lo play football." With Frank Gifford. it's been no act. •• •

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