Chippewas Football (IIAC, 1970)

1970 Home Opener vs. Western Michigan

     The Chippewas started the 1970 football season with their traditional rival, the Western Michigan Broncos. Unlike today, this was neither a conference game, nor an annual matchup. While Western was a Division 1 school and member of the Mid-American Conference, CMU was still in Division 2 and an independent program. Also, this was the second straight game between the Chippewas and Broncos after a three-year layoff.
     Western had pretty much been in control of the rivalry, owning a 31-10-1 record over Central, dating back to 1907. The 1970 matchup was a blowout win for the Broncos, as they embarrassed the Chippewas, 41-0, in Alumni Field in Mount Pleasant. This would be the last meeting between the two schools until 1973, when it became an annual matchup.
     Despite that opening day drubbing, CMU had a pretty good year in 1970. Head Coach Roy Kramer, in his fourth season, led the Chippewas to a 7-3 record. The Chippewas outscored their opponents, 263 to 190 on the year. On defense, the team pitched two shutouts, 27-0 over Milwaukee and 47-0 over Hofstra (two programs that no longer exist).      On offense, halfback Jesse Lakes, a junior from Flint Central, lead the team with 1,296 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. Both of those numbers are still Top 10 in school history for a single season. Due to that strong year, Lakes was named the team's Most Valuable Player, an award he would win next year as well. The Chippewas set an incredible record on offense that season, as they rushed the ball 91 times against Hofstra, piling up 28 first downs in the process.
     Looking at those numbers alone, you would probably determine that CMU ran an offense that was predominately run-based. And you would be correct. According to this program, Central utilized the I-formation and quarterback Mike Brzezinski, a junior from Berkeley, passed for 775 yards (50 for 123). The leading receiver that year was Rick Groth, who caught 31 passes for 451 yards.

CMU Roster

   
     The image on the left is the roster for the 1970 Chippewas. As with the rosters of previous years, notice that the overwhelming majority of the players are from Michigan. Indeed, just four players are from out-of-state, three from Ohio and one from Iowa. Three players came from Mount Pleasant, and the rest of the roster is spread out across the state. Unlike previous years, there are no players from The Thumb, the closest being Dennis Hebert, from Bay City. Another thing I noticed about this roster is the near lack of diversity, as only five players in the lineup were African-American. This is something that would thankfully change over time.
     Note the advertisement at the bottom of this page. Vic's Shop Rite, at 705 S. Mission Street, still exists, but as Ric's Food Center. Unlike Vic's, the current store is open 7 days a week and 24 hours a day.
   
   

"Chip Shots", pages 8 and 42

The last picture I included is actually two different pages (8 and 42, to be exact), called "Chip Shots". Included on these two pages are pictures of Chippewa players in classic football poses. Mick Natzel was drafted in the 13th round (334th overall) by the Oakland Raiders in 1971. Norm DeCourcy was a three-time letter winner (1969-71) during his CMU career, while Fritz Simons and Dave Meints were two-time winners (1969-70). Jamie Poyer was a three-time letterwinner, from 1968-70.
     On page 42, Bucky Colton was All-IIAC in 1967 and 1968. Jim Gallery was a three-time letter winner in 1967-69. Tom Hahnenberg was a Second Team CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Academic All-American in 1971, First Team All-IIAC in 1969, and a three-time letter winner (1969-71). Joe Keaton was a letterwinner in 1970. Finally, Ron James was a three-time letter winner, from 1968-70.
     As for the rest of the program, it's 44 pages long, with all but the game roster pages (22-23) in black and white. Local advertisements include The Embers, Isabella County State Bank, Holiday Inn of Mount Pleasant (M-20 and US-27), Giant Supermarket, Souder's Standard Service, and Oren's Department Store. Coca-Cola is the lone color advertisement.
     An interesting article by John Mooney of the Salt Lake City Tribune called "The Story of College Football--Circa 2070" is found on page 40. This article predicted the use of computers during a game, that coaches left the sidelines for a "command headquarters", and how field goals were outlawed in the future. While technology has been utilized in the game today, obviously coaches are still prowling the sidelines.
     Page 44 has an article about coaching changes in CMU athletics. 1970 saw the arrival of new baseball coach Dave Keilitz, Central's first All-American in baseball (1964). Keilitz would go on to an excellent career with the Chippewas, guiding baseball to a 456-203 record in 14 seasons, winning four MAC titles and serving as Athletic Director from 1984-94. For his service to CMU, Keilitz was named to the Central Michigan University Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018.

References:

"The Offical 2018 Chippewa Football Media Guide", CMU Athletics

"Central Michigan vs. Western Michigan" 1970 Game Program