Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? in it for a year and I really didn't like it, so I dropped out of it. "They said, 'Well, you either have to get into something or you're going to get drafted into the Army. What we have avail- able is the Marine Corps platoon leaders class.' " The requirements were two six-week training periods in the summer and then, upon graduation, two years with the Ma- rines. After playing under taskmaster Frank Leahy, Mutscheller said he was in his ele- ment. "That's a toss-up," replied Mut scheller when asked whether the Marines were tougher than Leahy. "You were trained as toughly as you could be by both. [Leahy] didn't put up with any foolishness. You knew what you were supposed to do and you did it." to vote," Mutscheller said. "I guess I had enough lobbyists to keep me. I don't know what they thought because I didn't know them. It was the first time I met them." Just like at Notre Dame, Mutscheller's After finishing his military stint, Mutscheller's itch to play football resur- faced, but in 1954 there were only 12 NFL teams that carried 33 players. His tryout with the fledgling Colts was promising, but coach Weeb Ewbank said Mutscheller's problem was he possessed "Army legs" that were better for marching than run- ning. "I felt clunky, not agile, not doing what I knew I could do," said Mutscheller, whose weight was 220 after playing at just under 200 at Notre Dame. At the end of training camp, there were three candidates left for the 33rd spot, so a team meeting was held. "They asked the three of us to leave the meeting, and the rest of the team was going All-Pro Raymond Berry became two of the best targets in the NFL for quarterback Johnny Unitas (see sidebar). The Colts' 23-17 overtime victory over the New York Giants for the 1958 championship is still considered in many circles the greatest and most important pro football game ever, and the one that launched the league. Mutscheller nearly scored the game- winner before slipping out of bounds at the 1-yard line, but he threw the crucial block on the edge that gave fullback Alan Ameche the hole to slip through for the score. first playing time came on defense, which he didn't necessarily enjoy. "After the season I said, 'When I go back, I'm going to play offense, and that's it. I'm not going to play defense,' " he said. Mutscheller spent the ensuing sum- mer in California working out with for- mer Stanford quarterback Gary Kerkorian and with track athletes from UCLA who "taught me how to run." By the following season, Mut scheller and "My greatest satisfaction in football was the block I made on the linebacker," said Mutscheller, who wore No. 84, of that mo- ment. "I could always catch and played some baseball at Notre Dame, too, but blocking is something I had to really work on." JUNE/JULY 2012 111