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FOOTBALL AT UNIVERSITY FOR DEAF.
Term Paper ID:23966
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Essay Subject:
Examines 1996 season at Gallaudet University (PA). Background, players, coaches, record, communication.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Examines 1996 season at Gallaudet University (PA). Background, players, coaches, record, communication.
Paper Introduction:
Gallaudet University (pronounced Gall-uh-DET) was created by the United States government in 1864 to educate the deaf. Today Gallaudet remains the only liberal arts college for the deaf not only in the United States, but in the world. Sports have always had an important place in the school’s curriculum, most usually at an intramural level, but Gallaudet athletes have also competed against athletes from other schools. The school fielded its first football team in 1883 and that team defeated Georgetown, 15-0. Today Gallaudet University’s Football Web Page pays tribute to that first victory in these words: “Pride and determination are two words that appropriately describe Gallaudet University since the first Bison football team defeated Georgetown in its debut in 1883.”
The 1996 season was the school’s 102nd season of football.
Text of the Paper:
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Gallaudet College, Its First One Hundred Years. The quarterbackcan change the play at the line of scrimmage, but he must get the playersto look at him to do it. "Today millions of peoplewatch football on television but few realize that the huddle they seeforming regularly through the game is most likely a contribution toAmerica's most popular sport by deaf football."[9] The coaching staff at Gallaudet to begin the 1996 season was made upof head coach Rich Pelletier, in his seventh season. The Bisons still managed a6-3 record in 1988, but Westermann decided to leave. Deaf Heritage: A Narrative History of Deaf America. They scored twice as many touchdowns by passing asGallaudet, 18 to 9, although both sides had big pass gainers. Deas wasthe Bisons' leading receiver in 1996, gaining 753 yards on 26 receptions,an average of nearly three catches per game for a gain of almost 3 yards.He caught eight touchdown passes and rushed for one two-point conversionfor a total of 5 points, finishing second to Ronnie Robinson in scoring.Miles caught twelve passes in nine games, totaling 152 yards for a 12.7-yard average, his longest going 41 yards. A former president of Gallaudet once remarked, "Ithas been said that you build character when you lose, and we have built alot of character on that basis."[2] Gallaudet is a member of the Capitol Athletic Conference for allsports except football and wrestling. King Jordan to become the school's first deafpresident, Westermann felt that the football program would no longer ratethe priority of the first years of his tenure. Gannon, Deaf Heritage: A Narrative History of Deaf America (Silver Spring, Md.: National association of the Deaf, 1981.[1 ] Gallaudet, http:/www.gallaudet.edu.[11] Newman, 115. Butafter the furor over the appointment of a hearing president in 1988 led tothe selection of I. Rich Pelletier,the coach, points out that many of his players have never been exposed todeaf people. His first team won five games and lost five, and Westermannrewarded his players for their effort by giving them permission to shavehis head after the fifth win. And the next week they absorbed anothernarrow defeat, 18 to 2 , against Fort Meade Air Force, their fifth loss ofthe season and their third by three points or under. "They ask themselves,Am I deaf or am I hearing?"[6] Pelletier says that some players neverplayed football in high school and playing at Gallaudet gives themconfidence. ASL (American Sign Language) is used by some, but themajority of the players mix lip-reading and some form of signed English.There are peculiar difficulties for players at Gallaudet. The two freshman quarterbacks, Mike Rivera and Eric LeFors, split thequarterback duties almost down the middle. Theprevious coach, Bob Westermann, held the job from 1985 through 1989.Westermann, who had won four national high school deaf championshipscoaching at the high school on the Gallaudet campus, took the challenge ofcoaching the university team seriously and persuaded the administration tolet him upgrade the off-season weight-training program and to recruitaggressively. OnOctober 19th, in front of a Homecoming crowd of 125 , their largest crowdof the season, they suffered their worst loss of 1996 by a score of 13 to39 against Valley Forge College. Theschool fielded its first football team in 1883 and that team defeatedGeorgetown, 15- . Ron Peck, a running back with the 1991 team, compared the sensationof playing football totally deaf to "what it sounds like when you'reunderwater."[4] He went on, "You hear, but you don't hear. The next year Gallaudet improved to 7-4 andin 1987 they nearly went undefeated, losing only once in ten games. On defense Keith Adams, a 6' 2", 23 -pound Freshman Linebacker, ledthe linemen with 31 unassisted tackles and 76 assists, for a total of 1 7defensive stops. Butthen they lost another close game, 29 to 32, to Appalachian State. Nonetheless important changes are necessary to ensure that al theplayers can work together as a team, regardless of their hearing ability.A major difference from hearing schools is that the quarterback does notgive a vocal signal to set the team in motion. Curiously Robinson,although gaining just 24 yards in 1995 for an average of 3.1 yards percarry, still managed to tie for the 1995 team scoring lead with 12 points.Overall in 1996, Robinson gained 128 all-purpose yards (1146 rushing, 98passing, and 36 on kick-off returns) for an average of 142.2 per game. Starting the 1996 season, Gallaudet had only two wins in the previoustwo years, although one of them was a Homecoming victory over AppalachianState in 1995. Gallaudet as a team outrushed its opponents by almost forty yards agame, but their opponents were much superior in passing, by almost 3 yards in all. "We don't cut anybody, because we never have more than ahundred players."[7] On the team itself, signing is obligatory, although the range ofhearing ability is very great, and some players have only a slight hearingimpairment. Gallaudet University (pronounced Gall-uh-DET) was created by theUnited States government in 1864 to educate the deaf. "I didn't know one wordof sign language."[8] It took him a few weeks just to learn enough sign toplay football. When somebodyhits you, you hear that."[5] Although all the Gallaudet players use signs, they don't all speakthe same language. In the stands the spectators show their appreciation for excellentplays not by cheering and shouting, but by putting their hands on theirheads and wiggling their fingers to mark their enthusiastic support of theplayers. Miles was used primarily arunning back in 1996, gaining 384 yards and scoring all three of histouchdowns on the ground. Silver Spring, Md.: National Association of the Deaf, 1981.Newman, Bruce. Theplayers feel the vibrations and respond in unison. A mark of thegreatness of Robinson's Senior year is that Robinson, despite starting onlyeight games, outscored the entire 1995 team, 78-73. It requires an emotional adjustment. Mike Rivera threw one more completion (28 to 27) and onemore touchdown pass (5 to 4), and scored one more touchdown (2 to 1), butRivera was sacked seventeen times while LeFors was caught only five.Rivera had 6 yards passing to 525 for Eric LeFors, but River's 17 sacksgave him a rushing total of minus 48 yards while Eric LeFors gained 66yards carrying the ball. Usually the players goon the first beat, but on important occasions, when five yards areparticularly valuable, the quarterback may instruct his team to go on alater beat, in an effort to pull the opponents offside. Gallaudet may be responsible for a fundamental football innovation`.Although no printed documentation exists, it is very likely that Paul D.Hubbard invented the football huddle when he was quarterback of theGallaudet football team from 1892 through 1895. All information on Gallaudet players and performance for the 1995 and the 1996 seasons are taken from the Gallaudet Web Page.[4] Bruce Newman, "Clear Signals," Sports Illustrated 75 (26 August 1991): 1 8.[5] Ibid., 1 8.[6] Ibid., 11 .[7] Ibid., 11 .[8] Ibid., 11 .[9] Jack R. Today Gallaudetremains the only liberal arts college for the deaf not only in the UnitedStates, but in the world. Although the 1996 season was again a losing season, Gallaudet tripledits win total from 1995, and the team had three losses by a total of 7points, which meant that they were only ten well-placed points away from a6-3 record. Williamson School for Free Trades in Pennsylvania,Valley Forge Military College in Pennsylvania, Stevens State Institute ofTechnology in New Jersey, and West Point Preparatory College in New Jerseymake up the rest of the league. Lancaster: Gallaudet College Press, 1964.Gallaudet University Web Page, April 1997: http://www.gallaudet.edu.Gannon, Jack R. A major reason for Gallaudet's improvement in 1996 was theoutstanding play of Ronnie Robinson, a 6- , 2 -pound Senior from SouthCarroll High School in Mount Airy, Maryland. He also had 4.5 quarterback sacksfor a total loss of 31 yards. "Clear Signals." Sports Illustrated 75, (26 August 1991): 1 4-115.-----------------------[1] Gallaudet University Web Page, http://www.gallaudet.edu.[2] Albert Atwood, Gallaudet College, Its First One Hundred Years (Lancaster: Gallaudet College Press, 1964), 15 .[3] Gallaudet, http:/www.gallaudet.edu. He also recovered two fumbles and ran them back 25 yards.Tom Roberts, Senior Defensive Lineman from El Paso Illinois University HighSchool, a massive 6' 4" and 26 pounds, was second to Adams in defensivepoints, 1 7 to 1 1, but had 36 tackles. Finally, in the nextto the last game, Gallaudet returned to the win column, slipping pastStevens State Tech by 28 to 27. David Tomlinson led the secondary with 3 interceptions followedby Dorian Yanke with 2, out of a team total of 9. Instead a Gallaudet managersignals the start of the play by striking a huge drum on the sideline. Despite back-to-back 1-7 records, the team had severalreturning players, including Junior receivers Troy Miles, with 27receptions and a 1 .5-yard average in 1995, and Patrick Deas, with 19receptions and a 12.5-yard average. There were two outstanding new faces,freshman quarterbacks Mike Rivera, a Deaf All-American at Model SecondarySchool for the Deaf in Washington, D.C., and Eric LeFors.[3] Gallaudet opened the 1996 season on the road against WilliamsonTrade, losing narrowly by a score of 18 to 2 A week later, Gallaudet playedtheir first home game, but again finished on the losing end, going down toChowan by a 7 to 2 score. Robinson led the team inscoring with 13 touchdowns for a total of 78 points. A difference in the Gallaudet stands is that the spectators lookaround at each other more because they must share their feelings visually. The 1996 Gallaudet team was much improved over the previousseason, thanks primarily to a more potent offense. Gallaudet'slongest pass went 72 yards while their opponents showed a longest pass playof just one yard more. They attempted the same numberof passes, 78. Today Gallaudet University's Football Web Page paystribute to that first victory in these words: "Pride and determination aretwo words that appropriately describe Gallaudet University since the firstBison football team defeated Georgetown in its debut in 1883."[1] The 1996 season was the school's 1 2nd season of football. The following week, however, Gallaudetdominated the game and came away with a 33 to 16 victory over Walter Reed.They repeated their success the next week, downing UNC Club by a 2 -7 mark,thereby equaling the school's win total for the previous two seasons. AlthoughGallaudet has had many intercollegiate triumphs since 1883, the school is avery small one from an athletic point of view, and winning has never beenthe sole consideration. Ron Peck, like many Gallaudet students, went to a public highschool with hearing students. His longest run from scrimmage was 89 yards andhis best gain on a pass reception was 34 yards. Gallaudet scored 189points in 1996, 116 more than in 1995 when their opponents outscored themby 155 points, 228-73. Had it not been for a dismal third quarter in whichGallaudet was outscored by 54 points (33 to 87) and the three close losses,Gallaudet would have had even more to cheer about. And in the season's finale, Gallaudet sawtheir opponents, Williamson Trade, run off twenty-two unanswered points andlost by a final score of 23 to 44. Robinson set a school recordfor rushing yardage in a single season with 1,146 yards. Sports have always had an important place in theschool's curriculum, most usually at an intramural level, but Gallaudetathletes have also competed against athletes from other schools. Among the receivers, Patrick Deas, a 5' 9" 155-pounder from RichmondVirginia's Patrick Henry High School and Troy Miles, a 5' 11" 155-pounderfrom Youngstown, Ohio's Woodrow Wilson High were the standouts. Assistant Coaches onthe staff were James Grayton (Defensive Backs); Aaron Jackson (DefensiveCoordinator; Linebackers and Strength and Conditioning); Marty Klingelhofer(Offensive Line); Bob Miller (Receivers); Mark Millings (Running Backs);and Larry Pearce (Defensive Line).[1 ] Rich Pelletier has been the Bison coach since the 199 season. Raymond Merritt, a 6' " 185-pound Seniorlinebacker, also had thirty-six tackles (and 96 defensive stops in all), towhich he added 4 sacks for 21 lost yards and 3 fumble recoveries, netting11 yards. Gallaudet's football team competesin the Seabord Football Conference, which consists of five independentfootball programs. Rich Pelletiersucceeded him as head coach.[11] BibliographyAtwood, Albert William. He also caughtseven passes for 98 yards. The result was that LeFors had 591 net yardsgained while Rivera had 552. When he got to Gallaudet, he knew nothingabout deaf culture and at first he didn't like it.
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