Episode
[45] Bill Murphy Part 1 - The Last Hurrying Hoosiers & The Cardiac Kids
- Podcast
- X's and Joe's
- Published
- Dec 29, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 4033
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Summary
Bob Moats and Mike Wiemuth welcome IU historian and author Bill Murphy for a deep dive into the legendary 1967 IU football season - the "Cardiac Kids" who gave fans heart attacks every Saturday on their way to the Rose Bowl. Bill's Personal IU Journey Bill Murphy shares unforgettable stories from his youth as an IU superfan in the 1960s, including some decisions that seemed perfectly reasonable at the time. There's the 11-year-old refusing to wear his coat at halftime (mom got blamed for the loss), the 14-year-old challenging Bubba Smith to a fight outside the locker room, and the simple joy of $1 knothole tickets at a Memorial Stadium that looked completely different than it does today. Memorial Stadium and Old Bloomington The evolution of Memorial Stadium from its 1960 opening through the temporary bleachers era, plus what Bloomington looked like before it became a modern college town. The stadium was built to double capacity and prove IU was "a Big Ten team," while married student housing trailers sat where the south end zone parking is now. TV games were rare - maybe one per year if you were lucky - so most fans relied on radio broadcasts with Max Schumacher. John Pont's Revolutionary Offense How Pont's innovative system featuring dual-threat quarterbacks and remarkable player freedom created one of the most entertaining teams in IU history. Harry Gonso at 5'9" ran the option and rolled out to see over linemen, while John Isenbarger's notorious fake punts got him benched mid-game against Michigan - only to be brought back to score the winning touchdown after Gonso pleaded his case. "Punt, John, Punt!" became the rallying cry, and Terry Cole even predicted his own star performance the night before the Purdue game. The Cardiac Kids: Nine Games, Nine Near-Heart Attack…