October 15, 2003 

AMHERST, MA - Fifty years have gone by, but at the time of his recent passing, Amherst College co-captain quarterback Tommy Knight '54 still had the game ball from his team's 7-6 upset win over Brown University in the first game of the 1953 season. 

The ball had traveled from the hands of Amherst head coach John McLaughry, given the ball by Knight immediately after the September triumph; to Knight, given the ball back after the season had ended. Since then, the ball had been in Knight's sole possession - until this weekend, that is: the Knight family is sending the ball back to campus for this year's Homecoming game (Saturday, 1 p.m., vs. Wesleyan) and the halftime celebration of the 1953 season's 50th anniversary. 

Yet Knight had some doubts that the ball would be welcomed back with open arms. "I figure, maybe nobody wants it," he said one afternoon early this summer. "I was thinking I might put it up on eBay [the major auction Website]," he continued, chuckling. "There are probably a few Brown guys around who would pay dearly to keep it out of circulation." 

It would be difficult to put a price tag on that ball, and even more difficult to put a tag on that glorious fall of '53. The victory over Brown in that first game catapulted the Lord Jeffs to an undefeated 7-0-1 campaign, allowing them to become one of only five undefeated teams in the football program's 123- season history. Since 1953, only two Amherst teams have gone undefeated - once in 1964, and again in 1984. 

That 1953 season was indeed one for the ages, and the memories from that year, as they say in that MasterCard commercial, are priceless. 

After upsetting Brown in the opener, the Lord Jeffs went on to capture victories against Union, Bowdoin and Coast Guard by a combined score of 70-7, only to suffer a minor setback in their fifth game against Little Three rival Wesleyan, a 20-20 tie and the fourth time in as many years that the final whistle had blown with these two teams deadlocked. 

Amherst responded with three straight wins to finish the season: a 13-6 win over Tufts; a 20-14 victory over a talented Trinity squad - one which included eventual NFL back Charlie Sticka - in which Amherst sprinted out to a 20-0 lead, only to give up two unanswered touchdowns and have to rely on a crucial interception to halt a final Trinity drive; and a 28-14 triumph over archrival Williams in the final game of the season, televised on CBS. 

All this in a season that started with restrained optimism among the players. "I don't think anybody starts out thinking that they'll have an undefeated, once-tied season, particularly in Little Three football, particularly back then," said Bill Duffy '55, one of the main organizers behind this year's anniversary celebration. 

"We knew we had a good group of players," added co-captain Maurice Longsworth '54. "When we beat Brown 7-6 we started to get a little more optimistic. I'd say around the second or third game, we started to think about being undefeated." 

As the victories piled up, Amherst had to endure some bumps in the road. The tie against Wesleyan left a bad taste in the players' mouths, and injuries to key players Abe Moses '55, halfback Robin Turner '55 and Knight were setbacks. Moses was lost for the season before it even began; Turner went down in Game 6 against Tufts and was sidelined for the remaining games; Knight was injured in Game 5 against Wesleyan, but was able to play out the season despite a nagging foot ailment. 

Through it all, the Jeffs maintained their pride and sense of team. Longsworth recalls the high level of teamwork among the players. "That's the thing about football," Longsworth said. "One guy lets down, you know, it affects the whole team." 

Turner, too, recalls a special camaraderie within the program. During the Trinity game - the game following his injury - Amherst alumnus and former football player Nick Evans '52, back to watch the game, came by the infirmary to check up on Turner. To receive such a visit was "one of the nicest things anybody could have done for me" says Turner. "It was things like that…it makes me cry today." 

Knight, meanwhile, still chuckles about his own situation. "I lucked out because with my bad foot I got to skip practice for half a season," he recalls with a laugh. Though he didn't practice those last few weeks, Knight's sensational play on gameday allowed him to have the last laugh, throwing touchdown after touchdown en route to victory. "Tommy was fantastic," said Turner. 

Equally important was Knight's leadership as both quarterback and co-captain, a role he shared with Longsworth. In fact, they were two of only six seniors on the team, the others being Jim Richardson, Bob Abrams, Tom Blackburn and Dick Pastore. 

Said Coach McLaughry, "They made a very good pair of co-captains. Co-captains don't always work out, but I think that this was the perfect situation. They both had their strong points and were an excellent combination. I think we were fortunate to have the right people at the right time." 

Coach McLaughry himself was also one of those people. "He was excellent," said Longsworth. "He wasn't too hard on you but he was stern and fair, and I think everybody appreciated that. Everyone wanted to play for him, everyone wanted to see him do well. I had a lot of respect for him." 

Talking to these players, you get the sense that this football season was, and still is, a special part of their lives, holding its own special place alongside a lifetime of additional accomplishments, experiences, joys and successes. 

"I view [the season] with great pride and a sense of accomplishment, and credit goes to everyone involved," said Longsworth. "That's one of the highlights of my life, being the co-captain of an undefeated team." 

And what does this 50th anniversary mean to him, when many of the players will be back to celebrate that season- players like Whitey Hart, George Karch, Tommy Blackburn, Bob Jedrey, Bob Kisiel, Will McFarland, Al McLean, Roger Morgan, Lee Hildreth, Larry Morway, Charlie Winkleman, Everett McLennan, Frank Downey, Sandy Marrack, Van Seasholes and Jim Jenkins? 

"Well, it means I'm getting older," he joked. "No, I just think it's a great occasion to celebrate an accomplishment, to remember those things." He continued, "It's fun to get back with the guys and reminisce over a positive accomplishment." 

Richardson agreed. "I'm really looking forward to seeing the guys," he said. 

Coach McLaughry added, "It's nice just to remember something that happened 50 years ago." 

-Zeke Phillips '05 (special to Amherst sports information)