Legends & Lore
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ghoetke1
Joined: 9/11/13 Posts: 109
Former Bruin great Jim Decker has passed on
Posted Mon, Dec 28 8:50 pm
Jim died recently at age 81 in Brookings, SD. He was one of my childhood heroes along with Bob Davenport and First Down Sam Brown. Those teams were coached by Red Sanders and unique with the shoulder bar uniforms, gold helmets and serpentine huddle. Decker was the starting wing back and safety on the '54 National Championship and the '55 Rose Bowl teams. He was a great player and led the Bruins in average yards per carry and was good for at least one big play every game. He also kicked the game winning field goal to beat Washington 19-17 that propelled the Bruins to the 1956 Rose Bowl. Thanks fro the memories and RIP !!!
artking59
Joined: 8/29/11 Posts: 1,367
A LIFE WELL LIVED....
Posted Mon, Dec 28 9:14 pm
In response to Former Bruin great Jim Decker has passed on (ghoetke1)
FOREVER A CHAMPION!!!
DocJock
Joined: 2/03/05 Posts: 15,584

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Decker, Davenport And Brown
Posted Mon, Dec 28 9:33 pm
In response to A LIFE WELL LIVED.... (artking59)
I knew all 3 and they were great Bruins and terrific people.
Davenport was the perfect single wing fullback and a top linebacker in the days they went both ways.
There were games Decker, who primarily ran reverses in Red's single wing offense, averaged over 10 yards a crack, and the reason Sam was called First Down Brown, was because he averaged over 10 yds per carry for the entire season at West Contra Costa J.C.
Sam, who was as mischievous as a little kid, used to tease Bob Davenport because of his professorial appearance in his horn rimmed glasses.
I posted my remembrances about them on the Legends and Lore board.
artking59
Joined: 8/29/11 Posts: 1,367
DOC YOU'RE OUR LINK...
Posted Mon, Dec 28 9:52 pm
In response to Decker, Davenport And Brown (DocJock)
To the players and teams from the Red Sanders era, I'll be visiting the Legends and Lore board!!!

RIP JIM...
Westlake Bruin
Joined: 7/25/12 Posts: 4,284
About a decade before my time
Posted Tue, Dec 29 9:25 am
In response to Decker, Davenport And Brown (DocJock)
but my Pops told stories of Red's teams and how they finally brought some pride to Bruin Football...

RIP Mr. Decker
RDunning
Joined: 1/04/12 Posts: 3,965
wasn't
Posted Tue, Dec 29 11:53 am
In response to Decker, Davenport And Brown (DocJock)
Ronnie Knox part of that crew?
stowell
Joined: 10/28/11 Posts: 2,684

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Knox
Posted Tue, Dec 29 12:01 pm
In response to wasn't (RDunning)
was not on the 54 championship team. He played a year or two later. He was a tremendous talent.

Decker's reverse run was an important staple of Red Sander's single win attack. No team seemed able to stop the play.
DocJock
Joined: 2/03/05 Posts: 15,584

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Ronnie Knox Was On The '55 Team
Posted Tue, Dec 29 12:24 pm
In response to Knox (stowell)
Red called him the most complete tailback he ever coached, and he was a surprisingly tough kid as well professing to enjoy playing safety as well as tailback (which is best described in modern football lingo as a dual threat quarterback). I still have the 1955 newspaper clipping and quoted from it in a couple of prior posts.
His step father Harvey Knox was instrumental in developing Ronnie's passing ability, but IMO was even more instrumental in ruining his sons life.
Ronnie Knox passed away at a relatively young age, a homeless derelict.
Old Blue Dog
Joined: 6/11/06 Posts: 415
Decker
Posted Sat, May 28 4:23 pm
In response to Decker, Davenport And Brown (DocJock)
As I recall -- and it's hazy -- the Bruin backfield in 1954 was TB Primo Valenzuela, FB Davenport, WB Decker and blocking back Debay (not sure of the first name).
I think TB Paul Cameron was All-American one or two years earlier.
In Back to the Future they mention to fieldgoal that beat Washington but I thought the final was 17 to 14.
Hawaii Bruin
Joined: 2/04/05 Posts: 1,202
Terry Debay
Posted Wed, Jun 15 2:28 am
In response to Decker (Old Blue Dog)
nm
bluegoldpost
Joined: 1/24/15 Posts: 5
that would be
Posted Tue, Dec 29 12:45 pm
In response to Former Bruin great Jim Decker has passed on (ghoetke1)
sam touchdown brown, and "i go pogo" bob davenport. decker wore #33. im glad i was alive to witness a football national championship.
RDunning
Joined: 1/04/12 Posts: 3,965
Test question
Posted Tue, Dec 29 12:45 pm
In response to Former Bruin great Jim Decker has passed on (ghoetke1)
Anyone hate the name Dave Kaiser?
bluegoldpost
Joined: 1/24/15 Posts: 5
anyone at the game 1/1/54
Posted Tue, Dec 29 12:48 pm
In response to Test question (RDunning)
would hate the dirty spartan who kicked that field goal. i was there
bluegoldpost
Joined: 1/24/15 Posts: 5
off by 2 years
Posted Tue, Dec 29 12:56 pm
In response to Test question (RDunning)
sorry. it was '56. i was at that game too. the name i hate from '54 is ellis duckett.
DocJock
Joined: 2/03/05 Posts: 15,584

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Kaiser's Field Goal Was Set Up By A Ridiculous Penalty
Posted Sat, Apr 02 12:06 pm
In response to Test question (RDunning)
Coaching from the sidelines was on the books but rarely called in a game.
Everybody was doing it.
In Rose Bowl games back then, half of the officiating crew came from the PCC
(Pacific Coast Conference) and half from the Big 10.
The Big 10 crew in that '56 game and some other Rose Bowl matchups, acted as if they were there to protect the interests of the Big 12 team.
Dave Kaiser was not a good kicker, but the penalty against UCLA moved him close enough to convert on the game decider.
I was at that game also.
blue and gold 4-ever
Joined: 2/07/06 Posts: 10,049

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To Make You Old Historians Feel Older
Posted Tue, May 31 3:50 am
In response to Kaiser's Field Goal Was Set Up By A Ridiculous Penalty (DocJock)
I was born 2 1/2 miles from the Rose Bowl in '54 ! Even though I couldn't enjoy the Bruins Golden Age of Football at least I can say I was " around" at the time ! I would have loved to see those teams coached by Red !