OHIO STATE HEISMAN WINNER HOPALONG CASSADY OCTOBER 24, 1955

With the New York Yankees having won the World Series for the
first time in 18 years and the Ohio State Buckeyes undefeated in
football, this is an especially fine time to be Howard
(Hopalong) Cassady, whose portrait graced our Oct. 24, 1955,
cover six weeks before he became the third Buckeye to win the
Heisman Trophy. Today he is a Yankees employee, having worked
for the club in several capacities over the last two decades,
from scout to conditioning coach to his current job as first
base coach for the Columbus (Ohio) Clippers, New York's Triple A
team.

Back in 1955 college players supplemented their scholarships by
working (Cassady sold shoes and worked as a night watchman);
because of technical limitations, illustrations, such as the one
above, frequently appeared on our cover; and, yes, Sports
Illustrated cost just 25 cents. The players were different too.
Cassady arrived at Ohio State in 1952 standing 5'10" and
weighing 155 pounds--less than half the weight of this year's
Buckeyes Heisman candidate, tackle Orlando Pace. But as Ohio
State coach Woody Hayes told him, "You are big enough if you are
good enough," and Cassady was more than good enough, scoring
three touchdowns in his first game. Over four seasons as a
halfback he averaged 5.7 yards a carry. In his junior year he
led Ohio State to the national title, rushing through the mud
for 92 yards in a 20-7 Rose Bowl win over USC that capped the
season. In his final year with the Buckeyes he scored 15 TDs.
Also a fine defensive back who was never beaten deep by a Big
Ten receiver, Cassady won the Heisman in a landslide.

Cassady was talented at baseball as well, hitting .319 for the
1955 conference champs as a teammate of future major league star
Frank Howard. The man who informed Cassady that he'd won the
Heisman was current Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, whom he
had befriended when Ohio State played the Lockbourne Air Force
Base baseball team that Steinbrenner was coaching. In 1973, with
an eight-year NFL career well behind him, Cassady began working
for Steinbrenner, first with his shipping company and then with
his baseball operation. In his role with the Clippers, Cassady
coached a number of the 1996 Yankees, including Bernie Williams
and Derek Jeter. Proving that he's a pragmatist first and a
Buckeyes loyalist second, Cassady used to inspire Michigan
native Jeter by whistling the Michigan fight song whenever Jeter
reached first base. Presumably Jeter now needs no further
inspiration.

--Merrell Noden

COLOR PHOTO: ROBERT RIGER [Cover of Sports Illustrated featuring Howard (Hopalong) Cassady]