Who was the head coach when you first started following LSU football?

Paul Deitzel. The earliest memory that I can date was watching "the run" on Holloween night, but I know we went to earlier games because I was 13 at the time of Cannon's run and was selling 7-Ups.

 

Curley Hallman. I didn't start paying attention to college football until I was about 10.

 

When I was in high school, I read Finney's 50 years of Tiger Football. That is one awesome book. With that and my own history, I feel like I've been a Tiger fan for the whole run.

Nothing like huddling around the old huge stereo listening to Tiger football ala John Ferguson.

 

Paul Deitzel. I was a freshman in 1960.:rolleye33:

 

Stovall

 

Mike Archer

 

Can't vote but, Stovall.

 

Well I grow up in Maryland and can not even recall watching a specific LSU game until my first game in TS. I was a freshman and it was the first game of the 1994 season - Texas A&M. I was hooked...didn't miss a single game in TS for the next 10 years.

 

Cholly Mac in the 70's...I went to a UT game in '74 but Stovall was coach when I started school. I had a student job in the LSU Systems building when the board was discussing his job. McKeithen was giving 'em hell for wanting his head so on my way to class after work I poked my head in Coach Stovall.'s door and told him the ol' dude was laying it down for him. He laughed and told me thanks for the update.

 

Deitzel, 1958, I was 6. I remember Dad being excited about LSU winning the nat. championship. He told me what Cannon did in 59, mostly, but I didn't listen to games on the radio. If LSU was on TV, I'd watch, and if it was a BIG game, I'd go to one of the neighbors houses, and the lady was kinda like an aunt to me, and we watched together and had a great time.

It's unfortunate, but the first game I really remember on TV was a huge surprising loss to Ole Miss, I think 1963, and we were favored and went in and got DRUBBED 37-3. And Stovall was on the team and I didn't think anyone could beat a team with Stovall on it, that bad. I taught me something about the unexpected in life. The 66 Cotton bowl was one of the biggest games in LSU history, IMO, certainly in the top 10 wins of all time. I also remember the 68 Sugar Bowl against Wyoming, being down 14-0 at the half, and Glen Smith, a running back who had not played much was put in the game and led LSU to a 21-14 win. That was the most "day and night" two halves of football I ever saw in Tiger football. There was the LSU Auburn game in 69, 21-20 for the good guys (I was at that one, yahooo), and the win over ND, what was that, 71? And the big win over Ole Miss and Manning his Sr. year, 69-17 in like 72? Big wins got slim in Tiger town after Bert Jone graduated, for a while.

Good off season thread, Red!