You Gotta Be a Football Hero...

 

D-B Football Programs from the Fifties and Sixties

A conversation with a friend about Steve Spurrier sent me digging into my collection of old football programs.

I have about a hundred D-B football programs from the fifties and sixties. If you went to a game back then, you remember them: a colorful cover and inside a team roster and individual mug shots of each player. The centerfold featured a Coca-Cola ad, a hint at how the school could afford to give the programs away free at the gate.

Beginning in 1949 Coca-Cola teamed up with a New York advertising company, Spencer Advertising, to design and produce these handsome programs. Of course Coke got the centerfold ad but local schools, high school and college, could sell their own advertising to fill the rest of the program.

D-B programs usually featured a Bennett and Edwards ad on the back cover with smaller ads for Dobyns-Taylor, W.B. Greene, Freels Drug, J. Fred Johnson and Oakwood Super Markets. There was usually a smaller ad for Howard-Duckett Fine Printing & Lithography of 210 East Charlemont, who printed the programs using instructions from Coke.

Coke and Spencer would provide six different program covers each season with detailed instructions for the printer on how to print team rosters in the centerfold. The center spread also included referee signs for penalties, all next to a drawing of a girl-next-door type drinking a bottle of Coca-Cola.

Example of blank Coca Cola football program centerfold

Coke and Spencer Advertising employed an array of artists, most art students in New York, to create the covers.

My favorite of all the covers I have is from the 1960 Kingsport-Morristown game (see above): a blonde cheerleader is smooching what I presume to be the hero of the game, while a reporter-type, notebook in hand, leans in for a quote. It’s Norman Rockwell set to the 1935 song “You Gotta Be a Football Hero (to Get Along with a Beautiful Girl).”

It was drawn by Fred Fixler, a Hungarian born illustrator, who would go on to become a Hollywood poster artist. His most famous creation was the poster for the Vincent Price horror film “The Pit and the Pendulum.” His most infamous creations were a series of cover illustrations he did for Brandon House’s series of lurid pulp novels of the forties and fifties. Sample titles: “Too Young to Wait,” “The Pay for Play Girl,” and “Jenny’s Games” (Cover line: “An innocent game with her sister’s husband became a nightmare of sin!”)

I can't find a Fixler paperback cover that I would be comfortable posting on this blog. If you want to see some of his lurid covers, just Google Fred Fixler and Brandon House. (I can't find any record that Random House ever sued Brandon House over the name similarity.)

But before he went Hollywood, Fixler went all in on football illustrations. 

Another artist whose work appeared on a number of D-B football programs – including the 1960 Kingsport vs. Science Hill program - was Lon Keller who is best known for creating the New York Yankees’ “top hat” logo.

I don’t think I even noticed the covers back then. I was more interested in looking at the player photos and the team roster, which included parents’ names and home address!

I knew a handful of these players but I felt like I knew everyone of them from hearing their names on Martin Karant’s Friday night broadcasts over WKPT-AM.

Some of those names were so memorable: Hoyle Seat, Denny Revell, Wally Bridwell, Jerry Reese (he had to be related to Pee Wee Reese, didn’t he?).

So for those who want to see the inside pages of the programs…

 

1956 D-B Football Program

The oldest program in my collection is from 1956, a D-B team coached by Alex Williams with assistants Bob DeVault and Jim "Red" Hoggatt. The team featured All Conference running backs Jerry Gilmer and Jerry Reese, All State end Richard Coffey and massive tackle David Steadman (listed at 203 pounds). That team finished 9-0-1 and champions of the Big 6 Conference.

 

 

1958 D-B Football Program

The ’58 team, coached by Bill Jasper, finished 7-2-1. Players included quarterback Wally Bridwell and All Big 7 running back Dale Brewer and All Big 7 tackle Bill Hammond.

 

 

 

1960 D-B Football Program

The 1960 team, coached by Bill Jasper, finished 9-1 and was named state champions in the UPI poll. Center Clay Harkleroad was named first team All-State.

 

 

 

1959 Region 1 Basketball Tournament Program

We never had regular season basketball programs, at least not that I remember, although Coke did do programs for the tournaments. I have the 1959 Region 1 Tournament Program.

Here is the cover along with rosters for D-B and Science Hill.

And yes, 5 foot 9 inch Science Hill guard Graham Spurrier is the older brother of Steve Spurrier, which is where all this discussion started, with Steve Spurrier and old football programs.

Here are a couple of Spurrier clippings from the a 1961 Science Hill football program. And also his senior directory from the Science Hill yearbook.