September 22, 2025 • 18 mins
Aired: 1956–57 (Episode 42 of Greatest Sports Thrills)
On this episode of Greatest Sports Thrills, listeners are treated to the story of Frank Gifford, the versatile halfback of the New York Giants, who helped lead his team to the 1956 NFL Championship. Narrated by Harry Wismer, the program explores Gifford’s rise from USC standout to one of the most celebrated players of his era. Gifford himself shares the moments he considers his greatest sports thrills, from college glory to his years in the NFL spotlight.
The series, originally produced as a U.S. Air Force recruiting program, combined profiles of athletic legends with messages of service and opportunity. This episode captures both the excitement of mid-century professional football and the personality of one of the sport’s enduring figures.
Subscribe to the Old Time Radio Snack Wagon at https://www.snackwagon.net
Learn More
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/old-time-radio-snack-wagon-rare-historic-radio-programs--5919985/support.
On this episode of Greatest Sports Thrills, listeners are treated to the story of Frank Gifford, the versatile halfback of the New York Giants, who helped lead his team to the 1956 NFL Championship. Narrated by Harry Wismer, the program explores Gifford’s rise from USC standout to one of the most celebrated players of his era. Gifford himself shares the moments he considers his greatest sports thrills, from college glory to his years in the NFL spotlight.
The series, originally produced as a U.S. Air Force recruiting program, combined profiles of athletic legends with messages of service and opportunity. This episode captures both the excitement of mid-century professional football and the personality of one of the sport’s enduring figures.
Subscribe to the Old Time Radio Snack Wagon at https://www.snackwagon.net
Learn More
- Pro Football Hall of Fame: Frank Gifford– Career highlights and legacy.
- NFL.com: Remembering Frank Gifford – A look back at his impact on the game.
- ESPN Classic: Frank Gifford Biography – From his USC days to broadcasting fame.
- Monday Night Football and Frank Gifford – His long second career as a broadcaster.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/old-time-radio-snack-wagon-rare-historic-radio-programs--5919985/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, excuse me, but when you happen to be Adam Graham, the.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Very same and this is my old time radio snackwagon.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Welcome to the Old Time Radio snack Wagon, where we
serve up a bite sized portion of old time radio.
And now here's your snack wagon, host Adam Graham.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
In the United States, the National Football League season has
been underway for a couple weeks, and so it's appropriate
to do something football related and for that we're turning
to the series Greatest Sports Thrill. The series was one
of those military recruiting programs that were so popular. This
(00:53):
one was for Air Force reporting, and the series Greatest
Sports Thrill would include some PSAs for the Air Force
and it would also profile the career of the featured
athlete and then include an interview with them. This one
is from the forty second episode of the series, and
(01:18):
this series came from nineteen fifty six or nineteen fifty seven,
and this episode featured Frank Gifford.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
This is Frank Gifford of the New York Football Giants.
And in a few moments, I'll tell you about my
Greatest Sports Thrill.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
This is Harry Wismer.
Speaker 5 (01:44):
What you were about to hear as a transcribed story
of one of Pro football's outstanding players and an event
our special guest, Frank Gifford, considers his greatest sports thrill,
and Frank himself is here to tell us all about it.
The first here is Bill Reddick with a message of
entriant from your United States.
Speaker 6 (02:01):
Air Force high school grads. Let's consider your future. You
have a military obligation, and I'll bet you've been asking
yourselves what's best for me. Of course, the decision will
be yours alone, but here's some helpful advice. As an
airman in the US Air Force, you can make the
most of your military obligation. You're young, so is the
Air Force. You're ambitious and want to get ahead. The
(02:24):
Air Force is the most modern, most progressive service America
has The technical education and valuable experience available to you.
As a qualified airman is worth many thousands of dollars.
No matter where your future may lie. You may qualify
for one of over four hundred jobs in over forty
career fields. You'll get expert advice as to which field
(02:45):
is best for you. Then you'll receive the finest, most
intensive training there is. See your Air Force recruiter. Today,
a secure future lies ahead for you in Air Force
Blue as an airman on America's All Volce to your team,
and now back to Harry Whismer.
Speaker 5 (03:04):
Frank Gifford is a young man who reads poetry, visits
art shows, writes a sports column, appears on television occasionally,
Bill's Apartment Houses periodically, and at one time even played
in Hollywood movies. Frank Gifford also happens to be a
professional football player with the world champion New York Giants.
But Frank is not just another football player. Frank Gifford
(03:26):
is merely the greatest dollar around football player in the
United States, in Canada, and any other place where the
game is played today.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
This two hundred and five pound halfback, who.
Speaker 5 (03:35):
Wasn't All American at Southern California before he cast his
lot with the play for Pay Boys, is no specialist,
a term given to certain football players who.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
Can do one thing well and no more.
Speaker 5 (03:48):
The strapping Californian presents a dazzling versatility which probably has
no precedent. He, more than any other Giant, was responsible
for the Giants' first Pro Grid title in eighteen years,
when they whipped the Chicago Bears to become the National
Football League's World champions on December thirtieth, nineteen fifty six.
(04:08):
Frank Gifford in nineteen fifty six was the fourth best
rusher in the National Football League with eight hundred and
nineteen yards and the third most productive pass catcher with
fifty one receptions. His six hundred and six yards via
receptions made him the league's overall champion with a total
of one thousand, four hundred twenty two yards. He also
(04:29):
was his team's highest score with sixty five points, threw
passes for two touchdowns, kicked eight extra points, and booted
a field goal.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
Because of these.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
Hard facts, which are on the record, Frank Gifford was
a unanimous choice on all the All Star teams, was
named the Athlete of the Month by the Hickcock Selection Committee,
and was picked as the Professional football Player of the
Year by the Wires Services, national magazines and sporting weeklies.
Yet Frank's biggest boot came from his fellow pros when
(05:02):
they picked him as the league's outstanding player. No football
player had scored a double That means being among the
top ten rushers and top ten receivers in the National
Football League since the league was enlarged and strengthened in
nineteen fifty Frank Gifford in nineteen fifty six was among
the top five in both departments. Frank Gifford in college
(05:25):
was the Golden Boy of the University of Southern California
football team. His finest hour on the college gridiron was
against the University of California in nineteen fifty one. The
Golden Bears had won thirty nine straight games in the
Pacific Coast Conference and had a fourteen to nothing lead
at halftime. Then Gifford raced back the second half kickoff
sixty nine yards for a touchdown, threw a touchdown pass,
(05:48):
engineered a third scoring drive, and kicked three extra points
to help the Trojans upset the Bears twenty one to fourteen.
Two football fans and that probably includes his present coach,
Jim Lee Howell realized how close Frank Gifford came to
not playing with the New York Football Giants. It was
May nineteen fifty two. Gifford, just days away from graduation
(06:12):
at USC and a prime commodity on the football market,
rejected a twelve thousand dollars offer.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
After some thought to play in Canada.
Speaker 5 (06:21):
He was not committed anywhere and was completely free to
accept the offer, but he turned it down because, as
he said later, he wanted to play in the United States.
In nineteen fifty four, Frank Gifford received another tempting Canadian
football offer. He was told to name his own price.
He was also told that he was one of the
five top pros in America that the Canadians wanted to
(06:42):
play football up there.
Speaker 4 (06:44):
Money was no obstacle. Gifford was impressed.
Speaker 5 (06:47):
He admits that he was considered one of the top
five pro players, but he wasn't that impressed. He refused
to jump at any price. The pattern of Frank Gifford's
success with the Football Giants has been doing what had
to be done week after week on offense or defense
against a particularly dangerous attack. He had been pressed into
service in the Giant's famed umbrella defense whenever Kyle Wrote
(07:11):
was out with an injury. Before he was finally switched
to an end position exclusively. Gifford moved into roads halfback slot,
or he started at the other halfback or through passes
when Charlie Connery and Don Heinrich were having trouble getting
their aerials off.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
But one way or another, he's always in the ballgame.
Speaker 5 (07:30):
Regarding his versatility, Frank Gifford thinks it's easy to switch
from t halfback over the single wing halfback, but difficult
to switch the other way. Gifford admits he got too
high on himself twice and had to be taken down
a peg by two coaches in fifty two. When I
joined the Giants, I must have acted swell headed.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
Anyway.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
One day in scrimmage, I was buried by a ton
of Saw defensive players, and when I got up, Steve
Owen was grinning. He said, son, this is a mighty
tough league. He was teaching me to treat football as
a team game. Then, Gifford said, Coach Jim Lee Howel
did the job in a different way. After I was
voted the outstanding player in an exhibition game with the
(08:10):
Chicago Bears, maybe I bragged a bit anyway, Coach Holl
quietly asked me to look at the game movies with him. Calmly,
without sarcasm, he related all the false I had committed
as they came up on the screen. I haven't forgotten
the lesson Howell taught me either. Frank Gifford never had
a personal football hero in college, but he adopted Kyle
(08:31):
Wrote as his model player when he joined the pros.
He says he is lucky to be on the same
team with the great Texan to study and imitate his moves.
There must be an awful lot of youngsters breaking into
the pros now who say the same thing about Frank Gifford,
the man who does a little bit.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
Of everything exceptionally well.
Speaker 5 (08:52):
And now, before you meet our special guest, Frank Gifford
in person in an interview from Yankee Stadium in New York,
and hear about his greatest sports grill, here is a
message of interest to all young men who want to
go places faster.
Speaker 6 (09:07):
When a smart fight manager sees a boy with potential
and drive, he'll take great care in bringing him along. Yes,
he'll develop that potential and teach him every trick in
the book, and in the long run, both fighter and
manager will profit by this. Careful guidance. And careful guidance
is what makes the Air Force America's greatest defense team.
(09:27):
The airman can choose from over forty career fields. He
gets expert advice and guidance as to which field will
suit him best. Whether it's munitions, printing, supply, metal working,
or any other job, the airman is guaranteed the finest
training in the world. If you haven't had the opportunity
to go to college, remember this. There are two hundred
and forty four accredited colleges and universities providing on base
(09:49):
classes in the US and overseas, and you'll be earning
while you're learning. Nowhere else will you find the opportunities
open to you as an airman. If you're between seventeen
and thirty four, or see your Air Force recruiter today,
you'll go places faster in the Air Force, America's all
volunteer team. And now back to Harry Whismer.
Speaker 4 (10:11):
Frank Gifford, what was your greatest sports thrill?
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Well, Harry, I think that I have two great thrills
in participating in football, and I think they'll go back
a few years back to the nineteen fifty one East
West Shrine Game where I played with a great collection
of football players and in that particular backfield I was
playing left half back, Hugh McElhinney was playing right half back,
and our full back was Ali Matson and Ed Brown
(10:34):
of the Chicago Bears was playing quarterback, and on that
same team we had Billy Houghton. The other particular thrill
I was participating in the College All Star of that
same year, where he met Se. I think the big
thrill about playing in those type of games is the
players that you play with. You've read about them from
all over the country and finally you get to go
up against them and see what kind of ball players
(10:54):
they are. And as it turned out for me, Harry,
they were real good friends, and I've made a lot
of close friends that have kept through the years. I
think those two would probably be the two greatest thrills
that I have had out of football prank.
Speaker 5 (11:06):
What is the story behind the New York Football Giants
making you their number one draft choice?
Speaker 3 (11:13):
I think that probably goes back to the fact that
in college I had as a line coach at USC
mel Hine, a former New York Giant football great, and
when we came into New York to play Army in
nineteen fifty one, apparently he recommended me very highly to
Steve Owen, who was coaching the Giants at that time.
In the following January, I was pick number one by
the Giants.
Speaker 5 (11:33):
What have you found to be the big difference between
the coaching you received at USC and what you are
now getting in the professional ranks.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Well, Harry, I think the main thing is that we
go in for a lot of technicalities here. With the Giants.
At USC, everything had to do with fundamentals, and you were,
for example, given a past pattern of going down eight yards,
breaking to the sideline and that type of thing. Well,
here we work all week long on the movies of
the team that we're going to play the coming week,
and we work against personnel and we know that when
(12:03):
we say have a down and out route, we have
no particular yardage to go on it. We are given
a lot of leeway in how the back covers us,
and we generally know pretty well in advance how he's
going to cover us, and if he turns to the
inside or drops his left foot back and we break
out accordingly. I think the big difference would be that
everything is done just about the same, only goes into
(12:23):
a lot more technicalities and to the personnel that you're
going to play.
Speaker 5 (12:28):
Triple threatbacks are a rarity these days, Frank, you think
more players should learn to pass and kick as well.
Speaker 4 (12:33):
As run well.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
In the National Football League, it's a little difficult because
we have a lot of specialists. But I think for
just downright fun and enjoyment in playing football in high
school and college, I think that anyone that has the
ability or the natural inclination to pass and kick and run,
I think they will enjoy the game a lot more
if they take part in all the phases of it.
Speaker 5 (12:54):
Frank, is the one ball game in your football career
that you wish you could play over again?
Speaker 3 (13:00):
Well, Harry, I think, going back to our nineteen fifty
six season with the Chicago Bears, I wish that we
could play that entire ball game over again, and of
course have the same conditions, except for that last six
minutes when the Bears came from behind at seventeen to
three and TIEDUS seventeen to seventeen. I think if we
could go that whole ball game over just those last
few minutes, that that game would have been a little different.
Speaker 5 (13:22):
Frank, is the play ever changed from the time you
leave the huddle to the time the ball is snapped
at the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
Well, Harry, quite frequently we'll go up to the line
of scrimmage, I would say quite frequently. I would say
it would be about fifty percent of the time. We'll
go up to the line of scrimmage and see a
defense that we weren't expecting, or a particular play we
have called in the huddle won't go so well against.
And then our quarterback has a system of calling automatics,
of course, which I won't say here, but he does
have a way of changing the play to a better play,
(13:49):
play that is better suited to the defense that we
meet when we come up with the line of scrimmage
from the huddle.
Speaker 5 (13:56):
Rank What is the most unusual play you've ever participated
in or seen yourself on the gridiron?
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Well, Harry, I don't know whether it was most unusual,
but last season in nineteen fifty six the Chicago Bear game,
I keep going back to that, but I saw one
of the greatest catches I've ever seen made by a
football player, and I'm sure that the fifty five thousand
people in the Yankee Stadium agreed with me when Harlan
Hill made a diving catch in the last fifty six
seconds of our ballgame with the Bears and caught the
ball as he was on his knees with our defensive
(14:24):
halfback on his back to tie up the ball game
seventeen to seventeen. I think that was the greatest catch
I've ever seen in football, high school, college, a professional,
and I certainly hope that I don't see many more
like that against US rank.
Speaker 5 (14:38):
What was the funniest thing that ever happened to you
during a football game?
Speaker 3 (14:42):
When I was a sophomore USC, we had a dog
as a mascot. He was a mongrel type of thing
that stood about three and a half feet tall, and
his name was George tirebier Well. The first game we
were playing was against Navy, my first varsity game, and
as I came off the bench with the defensive platoon
to go into the game, the dog got off the
leash of the student manager who was holding him, and
(15:03):
he tore out the seat of my pants, and of
course we had to take time out and put on
new pants. And I don't know whether it was the funniest,
but it was by far the most embarrassing I've ever
had happened to me.
Speaker 5 (15:12):
Thank you very much, Frank Gifford. I'm the world champion
New York Football Giants.
Speaker 7 (15:26):
Greatest Sports thrills with top personalities in the world of sports.
Is narrated by Harry Wismer, directed by Gene Kirby, written
by Arthur Suskin, Jr. And presented by the United States
Air Force in cooperation.
Speaker 6 (15:39):
With this station. This is Bill Reddick speaking. The preceding
was transcribed.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Welcome Back. Nineteen fifty six was actually the peak of
Gifford's great NFL career, although he had three more Pro
Bowl appearances after that. For many of us my age,
even those of us who weren't big NFL fans, knew Gifford.
(16:20):
He was a fixture of sports coverage, not only on
Monday Night Football for twenty seven seasons, but also in
the wide world of sports. And he also covered the Olympics,
and he invariably showed up on programs even not related
to sports. His wife, Kathy Lee Gifford Gifford, was both
(16:44):
a college and Pro Football Hall of Famer. Between his
playing and broadcast career, he was a fixture in the
American world of sports and a part of many people's
greatest sports thrills. It's time for me to close up
the old snackwagon, but don't worry, We'll be back with
(17:05):
another serving of old time radio goodness before you know it.
If you want to enjoy some of our longer form podcast,
you can feast away at my website at Great Detectives
dot net. Your emails are also welcome at Adam at
snackwagon dot net.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
The Old Time Radio Snackwagon comes to you from Boise, Idaho.
Your host is Adam Graham. Sound production is by Ryn's
Media LLC. You can listen to past episodes of the
Old Time Radio Snackwagon as well as connect on social
media at our website at snackwagon dot net. Email suggestions
(17:43):
for episodes to Adam at snackwagon dot net. This has
been the Old Time Radio Snackwagon.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Until next time. Good Bye,
Hey, excuse me, but when you happen to be Adam Graham, the.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Very same and this is my old time radio snackwagon.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Welcome to the Old Time Radio snack Wagon, where we
serve up a bite sized portion of old time radio.
And now here's your snack wagon, host Adam Graham.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
In the United States, the National Football League season has
been underway for a couple weeks, and so it's appropriate
to do something football related and for that we're turning
to the series Greatest Sports Thrill. The series was one
of those military recruiting programs that were so popular. This
(00:53):
one was for Air Force reporting, and the series Greatest
Sports Thrill would include some PSAs for the Air Force
and it would also profile the career of the featured
athlete and then include an interview with them. This one
is from the forty second episode of the series, and
(01:18):
this series came from nineteen fifty six or nineteen fifty seven,
and this episode featured Frank Gifford.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
This is Frank Gifford of the New York Football Giants.
And in a few moments, I'll tell you about my
Greatest Sports Thrill.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
This is Harry Wismer.
Speaker 5 (01:44):
What you were about to hear as a transcribed story
of one of Pro football's outstanding players and an event
our special guest, Frank Gifford, considers his greatest sports thrill,
and Frank himself is here to tell us all about it.
The first here is Bill Reddick with a message of
entriant from your United States.
Speaker 6 (02:01):
Air Force high school grads. Let's consider your future. You
have a military obligation, and I'll bet you've been asking
yourselves what's best for me. Of course, the decision will
be yours alone, but here's some helpful advice. As an
airman in the US Air Force, you can make the
most of your military obligation. You're young, so is the
Air Force. You're ambitious and want to get ahead. The
(02:24):
Air Force is the most modern, most progressive service America
has The technical education and valuable experience available to you.
As a qualified airman is worth many thousands of dollars.
No matter where your future may lie. You may qualify
for one of over four hundred jobs in over forty
career fields. You'll get expert advice as to which field
(02:45):
is best for you. Then you'll receive the finest, most
intensive training there is. See your Air Force recruiter. Today,
a secure future lies ahead for you in Air Force
Blue as an airman on America's All Volce to your team,
and now back to Harry Whismer.
Speaker 5 (03:04):
Frank Gifford is a young man who reads poetry, visits
art shows, writes a sports column, appears on television occasionally,
Bill's Apartment Houses periodically, and at one time even played
in Hollywood movies. Frank Gifford also happens to be a
professional football player with the world champion New York Giants.
But Frank is not just another football player. Frank Gifford
(03:26):
is merely the greatest dollar around football player in the
United States, in Canada, and any other place where the
game is played today.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
This two hundred and five pound halfback, who.
Speaker 5 (03:35):
Wasn't All American at Southern California before he cast his
lot with the play for Pay Boys, is no specialist,
a term given to certain football players who.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
Can do one thing well and no more.
Speaker 5 (03:48):
The strapping Californian presents a dazzling versatility which probably has
no precedent. He, more than any other Giant, was responsible
for the Giants' first Pro Grid title in eighteen years,
when they whipped the Chicago Bears to become the National
Football League's World champions on December thirtieth, nineteen fifty six.
(04:08):
Frank Gifford in nineteen fifty six was the fourth best
rusher in the National Football League with eight hundred and
nineteen yards and the third most productive pass catcher with
fifty one receptions. His six hundred and six yards via
receptions made him the league's overall champion with a total
of one thousand, four hundred twenty two yards. He also
(04:29):
was his team's highest score with sixty five points, threw
passes for two touchdowns, kicked eight extra points, and booted
a field goal.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
Because of these.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
Hard facts, which are on the record, Frank Gifford was
a unanimous choice on all the All Star teams, was
named the Athlete of the Month by the Hickcock Selection Committee,
and was picked as the Professional football Player of the
Year by the Wires Services, national magazines and sporting weeklies.
Yet Frank's biggest boot came from his fellow pros when
(05:02):
they picked him as the league's outstanding player. No football
player had scored a double That means being among the
top ten rushers and top ten receivers in the National
Football League since the league was enlarged and strengthened in
nineteen fifty Frank Gifford in nineteen fifty six was among
the top five in both departments. Frank Gifford in college
(05:25):
was the Golden Boy of the University of Southern California
football team. His finest hour on the college gridiron was
against the University of California in nineteen fifty one. The
Golden Bears had won thirty nine straight games in the
Pacific Coast Conference and had a fourteen to nothing lead
at halftime. Then Gifford raced back the second half kickoff
sixty nine yards for a touchdown, threw a touchdown pass,
(05:48):
engineered a third scoring drive, and kicked three extra points
to help the Trojans upset the Bears twenty one to fourteen.
Two football fans and that probably includes his present coach,
Jim Lee Howell realized how close Frank Gifford came to
not playing with the New York Football Giants. It was
May nineteen fifty two. Gifford, just days away from graduation
(06:12):
at USC and a prime commodity on the football market,
rejected a twelve thousand dollars offer.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
After some thought to play in Canada.
Speaker 5 (06:21):
He was not committed anywhere and was completely free to
accept the offer, but he turned it down because, as
he said later, he wanted to play in the United States.
In nineteen fifty four, Frank Gifford received another tempting Canadian
football offer. He was told to name his own price.
He was also told that he was one of the
five top pros in America that the Canadians wanted to
(06:42):
play football up there.
Speaker 4 (06:44):
Money was no obstacle. Gifford was impressed.
Speaker 5 (06:47):
He admits that he was considered one of the top
five pro players, but he wasn't that impressed. He refused
to jump at any price. The pattern of Frank Gifford's
success with the Football Giants has been doing what had
to be done week after week on offense or defense
against a particularly dangerous attack. He had been pressed into
service in the Giant's famed umbrella defense whenever Kyle Wrote
(07:11):
was out with an injury. Before he was finally switched
to an end position exclusively. Gifford moved into roads halfback slot,
or he started at the other halfback or through passes
when Charlie Connery and Don Heinrich were having trouble getting
their aerials off.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
But one way or another, he's always in the ballgame.
Speaker 5 (07:30):
Regarding his versatility, Frank Gifford thinks it's easy to switch
from t halfback over the single wing halfback, but difficult
to switch the other way. Gifford admits he got too
high on himself twice and had to be taken down
a peg by two coaches in fifty two. When I
joined the Giants, I must have acted swell headed.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
Anyway.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
One day in scrimmage, I was buried by a ton
of Saw defensive players, and when I got up, Steve
Owen was grinning. He said, son, this is a mighty
tough league. He was teaching me to treat football as
a team game. Then, Gifford said, Coach Jim Lee Howel
did the job in a different way. After I was
voted the outstanding player in an exhibition game with the
(08:10):
Chicago Bears, maybe I bragged a bit anyway, Coach Holl
quietly asked me to look at the game movies with him. Calmly,
without sarcasm, he related all the false I had committed
as they came up on the screen. I haven't forgotten
the lesson Howell taught me either. Frank Gifford never had
a personal football hero in college, but he adopted Kyle
(08:31):
Wrote as his model player when he joined the pros.
He says he is lucky to be on the same
team with the great Texan to study and imitate his moves.
There must be an awful lot of youngsters breaking into
the pros now who say the same thing about Frank Gifford,
the man who does a little bit.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
Of everything exceptionally well.
Speaker 5 (08:52):
And now, before you meet our special guest, Frank Gifford
in person in an interview from Yankee Stadium in New York,
and hear about his greatest sports grill, here is a
message of interest to all young men who want to
go places faster.
Speaker 6 (09:07):
When a smart fight manager sees a boy with potential
and drive, he'll take great care in bringing him along. Yes,
he'll develop that potential and teach him every trick in
the book, and in the long run, both fighter and
manager will profit by this. Careful guidance. And careful guidance
is what makes the Air Force America's greatest defense team.
(09:27):
The airman can choose from over forty career fields. He
gets expert advice and guidance as to which field will
suit him best. Whether it's munitions, printing, supply, metal working,
or any other job, the airman is guaranteed the finest
training in the world. If you haven't had the opportunity
to go to college, remember this. There are two hundred
and forty four accredited colleges and universities providing on base
(09:49):
classes in the US and overseas, and you'll be earning
while you're learning. Nowhere else will you find the opportunities
open to you as an airman. If you're between seventeen
and thirty four, or see your Air Force recruiter today,
you'll go places faster in the Air Force, America's all
volunteer team. And now back to Harry Whismer.
Speaker 4 (10:11):
Frank Gifford, what was your greatest sports thrill?
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Well, Harry, I think that I have two great thrills
in participating in football, and I think they'll go back
a few years back to the nineteen fifty one East
West Shrine Game where I played with a great collection
of football players and in that particular backfield I was
playing left half back, Hugh McElhinney was playing right half back,
and our full back was Ali Matson and Ed Brown
(10:34):
of the Chicago Bears was playing quarterback, and on that
same team we had Billy Houghton. The other particular thrill
I was participating in the College All Star of that
same year, where he met Se. I think the big
thrill about playing in those type of games is the
players that you play with. You've read about them from
all over the country and finally you get to go
up against them and see what kind of ball players
(10:54):
they are. And as it turned out for me, Harry,
they were real good friends, and I've made a lot
of close friends that have kept through the years. I
think those two would probably be the two greatest thrills
that I have had out of football prank.
Speaker 5 (11:06):
What is the story behind the New York Football Giants
making you their number one draft choice?
Speaker 3 (11:13):
I think that probably goes back to the fact that
in college I had as a line coach at USC
mel Hine, a former New York Giant football great, and
when we came into New York to play Army in
nineteen fifty one, apparently he recommended me very highly to
Steve Owen, who was coaching the Giants at that time.
In the following January, I was pick number one by
the Giants.
Speaker 5 (11:33):
What have you found to be the big difference between
the coaching you received at USC and what you are
now getting in the professional ranks.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Well, Harry, I think the main thing is that we
go in for a lot of technicalities here. With the Giants.
At USC, everything had to do with fundamentals, and you were,
for example, given a past pattern of going down eight yards,
breaking to the sideline and that type of thing. Well,
here we work all week long on the movies of
the team that we're going to play the coming week,
and we work against personnel and we know that when
(12:03):
we say have a down and out route, we have
no particular yardage to go on it. We are given
a lot of leeway in how the back covers us,
and we generally know pretty well in advance how he's
going to cover us, and if he turns to the
inside or drops his left foot back and we break
out accordingly. I think the big difference would be that
everything is done just about the same, only goes into
(12:23):
a lot more technicalities and to the personnel that you're
going to play.
Speaker 5 (12:28):
Triple threatbacks are a rarity these days, Frank, you think
more players should learn to pass and kick as well.
Speaker 4 (12:33):
As run well.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
In the National Football League, it's a little difficult because
we have a lot of specialists. But I think for
just downright fun and enjoyment in playing football in high
school and college, I think that anyone that has the
ability or the natural inclination to pass and kick and run,
I think they will enjoy the game a lot more
if they take part in all the phases of it.
Speaker 5 (12:54):
Frank, is the one ball game in your football career
that you wish you could play over again?
Speaker 3 (13:00):
Well, Harry, I think, going back to our nineteen fifty
six season with the Chicago Bears, I wish that we
could play that entire ball game over again, and of
course have the same conditions, except for that last six
minutes when the Bears came from behind at seventeen to
three and TIEDUS seventeen to seventeen. I think if we
could go that whole ball game over just those last
few minutes, that that game would have been a little different.
Speaker 5 (13:22):
Frank, is the play ever changed from the time you
leave the huddle to the time the ball is snapped
at the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
Well, Harry, quite frequently we'll go up to the line
of scrimmage, I would say quite frequently. I would say
it would be about fifty percent of the time. We'll
go up to the line of scrimmage and see a
defense that we weren't expecting, or a particular play we
have called in the huddle won't go so well against.
And then our quarterback has a system of calling automatics,
of course, which I won't say here, but he does
have a way of changing the play to a better play,
(13:49):
play that is better suited to the defense that we
meet when we come up with the line of scrimmage
from the huddle.
Speaker 5 (13:56):
Rank What is the most unusual play you've ever participated
in or seen yourself on the gridiron?
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Well, Harry, I don't know whether it was most unusual,
but last season in nineteen fifty six the Chicago Bear game,
I keep going back to that, but I saw one
of the greatest catches I've ever seen made by a
football player, and I'm sure that the fifty five thousand
people in the Yankee Stadium agreed with me when Harlan
Hill made a diving catch in the last fifty six
seconds of our ballgame with the Bears and caught the
ball as he was on his knees with our defensive
(14:24):
halfback on his back to tie up the ball game
seventeen to seventeen. I think that was the greatest catch
I've ever seen in football, high school, college, a professional,
and I certainly hope that I don't see many more
like that against US rank.
Speaker 5 (14:38):
What was the funniest thing that ever happened to you
during a football game?
Speaker 3 (14:42):
When I was a sophomore USC, we had a dog
as a mascot. He was a mongrel type of thing
that stood about three and a half feet tall, and
his name was George tirebier Well. The first game we
were playing was against Navy, my first varsity game, and
as I came off the bench with the defensive platoon
to go into the game, the dog got off the
leash of the student manager who was holding him, and
(15:03):
he tore out the seat of my pants, and of
course we had to take time out and put on
new pants. And I don't know whether it was the funniest,
but it was by far the most embarrassing I've ever
had happened to me.
Speaker 5 (15:12):
Thank you very much, Frank Gifford. I'm the world champion
New York Football Giants.
Speaker 7 (15:26):
Greatest Sports thrills with top personalities in the world of sports.
Is narrated by Harry Wismer, directed by Gene Kirby, written
by Arthur Suskin, Jr. And presented by the United States
Air Force in cooperation.
Speaker 6 (15:39):
With this station. This is Bill Reddick speaking. The preceding
was transcribed.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Welcome Back. Nineteen fifty six was actually the peak of
Gifford's great NFL career, although he had three more Pro
Bowl appearances after that. For many of us my age,
even those of us who weren't big NFL fans, knew Gifford.
(16:20):
He was a fixture of sports coverage, not only on
Monday Night Football for twenty seven seasons, but also in
the wide world of sports. And he also covered the Olympics,
and he invariably showed up on programs even not related
to sports. His wife, Kathy Lee Gifford Gifford, was both
(16:44):
a college and Pro Football Hall of Famer. Between his
playing and broadcast career, he was a fixture in the
American world of sports and a part of many people's
greatest sports thrills. It's time for me to close up
the old snackwagon, but don't worry, We'll be back with
(17:05):
another serving of old time radio goodness before you know it.
If you want to enjoy some of our longer form podcast,
you can feast away at my website at Great Detectives
dot net. Your emails are also welcome at Adam at
snackwagon dot net.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
The Old Time Radio Snackwagon comes to you from Boise, Idaho.
Your host is Adam Graham. Sound production is by Ryn's
Media LLC. You can listen to past episodes of the
Old Time Radio Snackwagon as well as connect on social
media at our website at snackwagon dot net. Email suggestions
(17:43):
for episodes to Adam at snackwagon dot net. This has
been the Old Time Radio Snackwagon.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Until next time. Good Bye,
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