Fwd: EPISODE 913: FOOTBALL BECAME AN ADDICTION…A DANGEROUS ADDICTION 1954 TO 1961
Alan Skeoch
Nov. 15, 2023
Left handed Alan Skeoch could not skate well because skates were hand me downs and too large.
He ankled his way across the ice. Hockey was out of the question His athletic career was football centred.
Victoria University team…Alan skeoch far right, front row, Russ Vanstone beside him. Eric Skeoch fifth /sixth? person back row right side. Who has most mud on face?
HOW utterly boring. Who in their right mind would want to read about my football career.
I never scored a touchdown. Never trounced the football except once between 1954 nd 1961…
from High school to University of Toronto . Who would care if it did? Not you, especially
if you are female. Most males would not give a damn either.
Here is a reason to read these episodes. I was scared to death a lot of the time. I was nothing really.
No glory. A lineman and inside linebacker. Not worth watching. Then why was I so scared? I was
afraid I would let our coach down. Afraid I would make the wrong move.
I had difficulty telling left
from right. Being left handed meant being different from 90% of the population. It is a right handed world.
At Kent Public School the teachers tried to ‘break me’…to make me right handed. The result was
not good. I have always had difficulty telling left from right. Still do. If asked to use left hand my thumb
moves fast … left thumb touches left little finger where there is a bump. That is my left hand. And that ‘bump’
is a big part of my athletic career. That little finger was crushed. More will be told about that bump. But not now.
PRIDE AND BRAGGING ARE DIFFERENT
I am enormously proud to say that I conquered the handicap. Became a Toronto City All Star on both
city all star teams….Daily Star and Telegram. Was winner the Wildman Trophy as well.
Bragging? There is a difference between bragging and having pride. When winning the accolades I have
always been well aware that many players must have been better than me. One of my best friends
and fellow lineman, Russ Vanstone, had a forearm smash that was something to be envied. Rich Mermer,
our high school halfback was the best athlete I have ever seen. The same applies at University to our
fullback, Don Seeback. Ed Jackan’s cleated leather boot rescued me from a violent incident…kicked the guy
who was making hamburger out of my face. I have always had good friends. Ed kicked the gy between the legs.
Cooled him down fast.
I still get s warm feeling when thinking of those football days. Just being an integral part of a team
was like being an integral part of a Canadian army platoon. We depended on each other. We knew
that. Our top athletes like Mermer and Seeback knew that and never let their ego loose. Gest gas who
became great men.
Our coach, Fred Burford knew the importance of team work . “Alan, the reason you got those all star awards was the team. We are proud of you
and hope you recognize your success was team success.”
Why are you reading this? I will tell you why. Some very bad things happened to football players.
Life long events. I am 85 years old now and in a few weeks…on Dec. 12, 2023, will face knee
surgery to make me walk normally again. So this is more a story of injuries than glory. Are you still with me?
Eric’s Humberside jacket has hung in our barn for 73 years….a little ragged now. The jacket has been waiting for 68 years for
me to do this story Be understanding. Avoid criticism. Russ Vanstone’s jacket is perfect he tells me. Different barn I guess.
OUR COACH FRED BURFORD
Fred Burford believed in football
as some believe in god. The game dominated his waking hours even at the expense wife and family. His son joined our
Old boys club shortly after Burford died. His observation says it all.
“One day I went to see Dad’s Humberside team play a game against another TSSAA team. I was shocked.
The team from Humberside came on the field like a well oiled machine….every move synchronized.
I was flabbergasted. I knew Dad loved football but I did not know he had made the top team in Toronto in 1955.”
I WAS SCARED TO DEATH MOST OF THE TIME
Now I would like to give my observation on those football years in a series of personal anecdotes.
Surprised to say how many incidents involved injuries. Some awful things happened. Some of which may sound silly.
Some, in later episodes, were horrific.
WHISTLING INCIDENT
1) I was scared when I joined the Huskies back in 1954. Only a second string lineman and occasional Inside
linebacker. I sat on the bench most of the time. Scared I would actually be sent to actually play. Scared I would let the coach down because
had trouble telling right fro left. When the teacher at Kent Public School tried to break me, she failed. Left? Right? Got
me confused. Football is a science of right and left diving fullbacks and racing halfbacks while the humble linemen
try to bash holes in the defensive linemen’s position.
“OK boys, let’s try a left reverse. Left Gard will pull and smash the left cornerbacker. Do it on count of three.”
So spake the quarterback in this imaginary huddle. My job as left guard was to take out the outside corner backer with
a flying cross body block (now illegal).
IN the fall of 1954 I was scared and was only sent into the huddle when
the first stringer got hurt. But I became noticed by Burf.
“Who is whistling?”
I raised my hand. ( Whenever I feel afraid I whistled a happy tune as in The King and I.)
“So it was you.” (I am not sure if Burf knew my name back in ’54.)
“Come over here and stand on this bench”
I did so but did not know what that had to do with whistling.
“Boys, gather round. There is nothing worse than over confidence in a football game.
Whistling shows overconfidence. I want you boys to be quiet..to think about your
game..to be sure and know all the plays on the mimeographed sheets. We are going to
win this game.”
“OK Skeoch, step down…no more whistling.”
I was mortified. If I could have crawled under the bench I would yhave done so. Seemed that
every boy in the room looked at me as if I was the anti-Christ.
All coaches try to think of a way to get teams up for games. Burford was good at that.
I think he knew he had made a mistake picking on me but he never said so.
I am a joiner. I’m nor a quitter. Mom said to me when I filled at skating. “Alan, you
will always start at the bottom but rise to th top. Was she just trying yo boost my morale? I never told her about
the whistling incident. And Certainly did not tell dad. He might have laughed or, worse, he might have gone thundering
over to see Burf like Gengis Khan
QUARTERBACK HAS NO SHOES
2) Burford seemed agitated. We were all assembled in an east Toronto locker room. Enemy territory.
Something was wrong. Tension was higher than usual. Like the wire on a guitar…tense, tight, close to breaking.
“Boys we have a problem. Our quarterback left his shoes at home. One of you will have to
lend him shoes which means you will not be able to play today. Quarterback is essential.
Back up Quarterback, Jim Romaniuk, missed the preparation chalk talk. We have a crisis.
Who will give up his shoes?”
“I will , sir.”
“Let me look at you boots.”
My shoes were the bottom of the team shoe distribution bag. They were old
and cracked in half. Something like Bozo the Clown would wear to flap around a circus tent,
“Sorry. These shoes are no good. Surprised you could even wear them.”
That rejection hurt as much as the whistling incident.
Other shoes were found.
Humberside C.I had three football teams…Bantam, Junior and Senior. Nearly a hundred boys
had to be strapped into equipment. Shoulder pads, kidney pads, boots, helmet, padded pants, .
“You boys will have to buy your own jock straps…make sure the jock has a cup to
protect your hardware.”
TOTAL COMMITMENT
3) Joining the Huskies was like joining the Canadian army in wartime. At least it seemed that way to me.
Schoolwork was important but the football war against other high school teams demanded total
allegiance. World War II had only ended 8 years before Ientered grade 9 in 1953. A long time in the past for me
bt not so long ago for Burf who I Believe had been in the Canadian navy.There was a relationship that
was akin to the gap between officers and enlisted privates. Salute and do what you are told.
So every lunch hour of my high school career was spent in Burf’s hoe room studying endless
mimeographed sheets of plays. No chance to scout out the girls . This was war. The victories
were all important. Noting else mattered. We had around 1,000 stents at Humberside. Only 100
were members of the football team. The chosen few. Football was war.
DON PHILLIPS HAS CONVUSIONS
4) One lunch hour I was sitting with the rest of the Junior team in Burf’s room while he reviewed
a recent game. We probably won for we had a terrific team and eventually
won’t the TSSA championship that year (1955). The room was silent as Burford
went over the game.
The silence was broken suddenly b a rattling…then a deep surging. I turned around
and looked at Don Philips in the middle row. He was twitching…emitting some kind of bubbly gutteral nonsense.
foaming at the mouth. Then he fell from his seat twitching. I was dumbfounded.
Though Donnie ws going die Burford quickly ran down the aisle and put a ruler in his mouth at right
angles. Later I was told this ruler prevented Don from biting his own tongue. It is Hard to describe
the silence in the room tht day. Once the convulsion stopped there was dead silence.
Never head what happened to Donnie. He never played football again although he
completely recovered. The scuttlebutt round the school was that Don had bashed his
head in a direct tackle in the previous football game. Spearing. Seemed some teachers were blaming Burford
But that was only said in whispers.
It was not Burf who was at fault. He trained us to never ever use our head as a”spear”
when taking down a ball carrier. “Use your shoulder, never your head and get him blow the knees
….clamp onto him. Nice clean tackle. No ’spearing’. Had Don forgotten that rule?
Or did Don have a previous ailment? We would never know. But that moment shook me
and for the rest of my long football career. I used my shoulder and tried to hit low.
THE CROSS BODY BLOCK (now illegal)
5) No one gives a sweet goddamn about linemen. It took me a while to realize this.
I thought girls liked football and being part of the team would lead to romantic conquests.
That never happened. Girls , I think, found the game boring. Certainly my part
of the game. no one could see me. Except..except … except when given the chance to
throw s Cross Body Block. That happened when the ball carrier was trying to out run
the defence players…particularly the Outside Corner Backer. If left side play I had the chance to run
beside our halfback and takeout that cornerbacker with a Cross Body Block.
“Alan, To throw a good Cross Body Block you must put your whole body lengthwise
in the air. Six feet of body flying in the air. Knockdown the corner backer and help
us get s touchdown. Be accurate….just one chance.”
Picture: Left Guard Alan Skeoch, Fullback Grant Weber (Grade 13…less scared than I was in 1954))
SURGERY — KNEE REPLACEMENT.
This year, 2023, on Dec. 12 I will be having
my knee replaced by surgery. My knee has given out and I blame the Cross body
Blocking I did from 1954 to 1961. My knees got bashed badly….ribs as well.
“How do you know you were good at it?”
“Because Bob Cwirenko said I was good at it.”
“Who is he?”
“He was one of our high school team….a corner backer. Bob played for SPS,
the engineers at U. of T. I played for Victoria and threw a cross body block on Bob…
took him out. When he got to his feet he said “Good block Al”
(Aside: Marjorie Hughes was an SPS Cheerleader who would later accept my
brown bagged engagement ring from the glove compartment of our old 1953 Meteor.
I wonder if Cwirenko noticed her?)
ROGER PUGH BLOCKS A KICK
6) I set some limits after I saw Roger Pugh block a kick with his face. A lot of
the guys congratulated Roger. “Way to go “Pugh!’ I was impressed by his courage but
resolved to never put my face where the cleated shoe of a kicker was about to come up full force.
Bad things happened while playing football.
alan
NEXT EPISODE 914 — “IF Eric begins a convulsion shove this needle in right away, Alan”
Postscript
Ed Jackman and Marjorie…hE played left tackle at U. of T., later became a priest. A good friend now gone.
Alan Skeoch married Marjorie Hughes in 1963
Below: Russ Vanstone and Alan Skeoch played football together 1955 to 1961, married roommates.