Xavier Magazine
Posts By Michael Barras
Former Bengals QB Virgil Carter found a home off the field teaching statistics at Xavier
October 2, 2013 | Michael BarrasMost avid football fans know that one-time Cincinnati Bengals assistant coach Bill Walsh, under the tutelage of Paul Brown, was the “Father of the West Coast Offense”—the high-powered, short-pass game that Walsh eventually took with him to the San Francisco … Read More
Xavier Football: The Next Generation
October 1, 2012 | Michael BarrasFor Ben Ballard, the football field has always been the scene of both great triumph and great tragedy.
One of the worst days of Ballard’s life, for instance, was Sept. 25, 1971, when he and his Xavier football teammates … Read More
Xavier Football: Did You Know?
October 1, 2012 | Michael BarrasThe next time you’re in Columbus, go to The Varsity, the epicenter of Ohio State idolatry. Belly up to the bar and make this simple wager: “Name the team that Woody Hayes played at least twice and never beat.”
First … Read More
Xavier Football: Why Was the Program Dropped
October 1, 2012 | Michael BarrasMany, if not most, Jesuit universities played Division I football at some point during the early to mid-20th Century. And they were good. Marquette played Texas Christian University in the first Cotton Bowl. Fordham, which may be best remembered for … Read More
Xavier Football: The Silver Years
October 1, 2012 | Michael BarrasIf Ed Kluska’s 1949 to 1951 teams represented the “golden age” of Xavier football, Ed Biles’ teams of 1962 to 1968 represent its “silver age.”
Biles had a solid 6-4 first season highlighted by two of the greatest season-ending, back-to-back … Read More
Xavier Football: The Three Musketeers
October 1, 2012 | Michael BarrasFordham had its “Seven Blocks of Granite.” Notre Dame had its “Four Horsemen.” In the 1950s, Xavier had the “Three Musketeers” of Mike Conaton, Jim Brockhoff and Steve Junker.
Their battles on the gridiron prepared them well for later life. … Read More
