College football

Hop's had a trophy life

Heisman great and former Lion "Hopalong" Cassady found a career beyond football with pal George Steinbrenner's Yankees.

By DAVE SCHEIBER
Published March 31, 2005

[Times photo: Stefanie Boyar] In their Davis Islands home, former Ohio State star Hopalong Cassady and his wife, Barbara, display the Heisman Trophy, awarded after his senior season, 1955.

[Cassady family photo]	At the 1955 Rose Bowl, Cassady posed with mid 20th-century cowboy star William Boyd, known as Hopalong Cassidy.
[Times photo: Stefanie Boyar] Howard "Hopalong" Cassady sports Heisman and Yankees championship rings along with his treasured figurine, earned 50 years ago.

TAMPA - It was just about 20 years ago that a trash collector in Columbus, Ohio, made a startling discovery: a small, bronze hand and arm protruding from a garbage bin.

Talk about a clutch stiff-arm move.

The famous limb, you see, was attached to a Heisman Trophy statue: the one that had been awarded in 1955 to legendary Ohio State running back Howard "Hopalong" Cassady.

And if it hadn't reached toward daylight from the garbage - dumped there by a thief who had made off with an array of Cassady's awards - the figurine likely would have vanished forever.

But the Heisman heist had a happy ending.

Apparently, the guy who took the trophy from its showcase didn't think it measured up to Cassady's collection of sterling-silver honors. So the crook kept the silver and dumped the 25-pound, 131/2-inch tall bronze football man. Fortunately, Cassady had been on the road and learned his Heisman was stolen only when police called to tell him it had been recovered.

"The price of silver was way up and they just didn't realize the value of the Heisman," said Cassady, 71, eyeing the trophy on a recent morning in the foyer of his South Tampa home.

Rescued from the refuse, the statue soon was reunited with Cassady in Tampa. And now, the two have reached a milestone together this year: the 50th anniversary of Cassady's Heisman award.

"It's something how time passes," said Cassady, who has spent 30 years as a coach in the New York Yankees organization. "You start out up there on the podium. And each year, people pass away and you move a little closer to the end of the bench."

"I'm getting a little too close to the end of the bench now," he adds with a chuckle.

In his heydey, Cassady darted and hopped through holes as a speedy ballcarrier, prompting Columbus sportswriters to dub him "Hopalong." Of course, that was a nod to another high-profile Ohioan, the Hollywood cowboy born as William Boyd but known to the world as Hopalong Cassidy.

The two Hopalongs met during the week of the 1955 Rose Bowl and posed for playful photos. "He was a great person and I was tickled to be named after him," Cassady recalls.

Ohio State faithful were even more tickled that Cassady had helped the Buckeyes to an unbeaten season in '54, capped by a Rose Bowl win that gave head coach Woody Hayes his first of five national titles.

These days, Cassady's knees require regular injections from a career that would include seven seasons with the Detroit Lions. But other than that, the man known to family and friends simply as "Hop" appears trim and in remarkably good shape, with still a tinge of red in his gray hair.

Cassady keeps active with daily walks with his wife, Barbara, and his job as a Yankees coach and scout. In fact, Cassady's first stint with New York came in 1976 when he was hired by his old pal from Ohio, Yanks owner George Steinbrenner, to help get the team in shape as conditioning coach.

His first move was to bring to training camp the newest fitness innovation of the day, Nautilus, created by Arthur Jones. "George wanted the guys to be in shape when they got to camp, not get in shape once they got here," Cassady said.

The Yankees showed some added muscle, reaching the Series in '76 and winning it in '77 and '78.

"He's a good guy and a good friend, and been a hard worker for the Yankees all these years," said Rays manager and former Yankee Lou Piniella.

"He was one of the great players in college football and became a heck of a pro player, too. We had a lot of fun with Hop, but he got people in shape. He got our attention and made everybody work. He used his knowledge of training from his football exploits to help people get ready to play baseball."

Cassady's father played neither sport. He was a carpenter and a paper-hanger who had a knack for bowling. But his son Howard, first nicknamed Red, was a natural at both football and baseball. He played both ways as a running back and defensive back, and was a standout shortstop.

The swift 5-10, 170-pounder wasted no time making a name for himself at Ohio State. In the season opener, No. 40 came off the bench to score three touchdowns to help defeat Indiana 33-13.

The Buckeyes won their second straight Big Ten Conference title in '55, as Cassady amassed 964 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns (finishing his career with 37 touchdowns in 36 games). In addition to the Heisman, he was named Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in 1955 ahead of boxer Rocky Marciano and Browns quarterback Otto Graham. Cassady was in good company: a year earlier the award was won by Willie Mays, a year later by Mickey Mantle.

Cassady gained countless fans along the way - and still receives a dozen or so letters from admirers. One such person, then and now, is Steinbrenner.

They met at an Air Force base in Columbus, where Cassady was in ROTC and Steinbrenner was a lieutenant. Steinbrenner also coached high school football and basketball in Columbus and later was an assistant football coach at Northwestern and Purdue.

"He was doing some graduate work at Ohio State when I was there and he knew me," Cassady said. "But my sophomore year, he went to Northwestern under Lou Saban. So I'd see him on the sidelines."

Steinbrenner remembers that well.

"We went to play Ohio State and thought we had a pretty good chance," he said. "I tried to act standoffish. He came over to shake my hand and I said, "Get outta here ya little (bleep)! You're on the other team!' First thing I know, he fumbles at his 3, picks up the ball in his end zone - and is suddenly running by me at the 50! He was a great, great player."

Steinbrenner soon went into his father's shipbuilding business, while Cassady, a No. 1 pick of the Lions in '56, embarked on his NFL career. He played primarily as a defensive back, but still finished his career with 1,229 rushing yards, 1,601 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns.

But after retiring, Cassady would cross paths again with Steinbrenner. He became a manufacturers rep who sold steel to Steinbrenner's American Shipbuilding Co. That paved the way to Steinbrenner hiring Cassady, whose various duties with the Yankees included a stint as first-base coach for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers.

These days, Cassady still helps out during spring training, hitting fungoes and grounders, working at the Yanks' minor-league complex and scouting.

In the house that he and Barbara have owned since the mid '70s, memorabilia abounds: faded photos of Cassady's football heroics, the last Ohio State jersey he wore, family pictures (including son Craig, who played defensive back at Ohio State and five seasons with the Saints), and a room decorated by Barbara dedicated to the cowboy Hopalong. "Hop even spoke at a Hopalong Cassidy convention 10 years ago," she said, smiling.

The centerpiece of all the keepsakes is the Heisman, resting on a table in the foyer. But next to it, amid the pictures is a framed letter by his boss and longtime friend, Steinbrenner.

"You're one of the greatest players the game of football has ever known and you could write an anthology on not only what you accomplished on the football field but also what you brought to the Buckeye fans," read part of the letter.

Steinbrenner honored Cassady at Legends Field recently. Cassady threw out the first pitch, and a Heisman official presented him with a blown-up photo from his induction.

"I think the world of Hop," says Steinbrenner. "We're very close. He's truly a quality individual."

Come December, Cassady will be in New York City to receive special recognition at the annual Heisman Award presentation. Meanwhile, back in Tampa, a trophy rescued long ago from the trash heap will keep watch over a lifetime of football memories.

[Last modified March 31, 2005, 01:49:01]