By Kevin Shannahan
On Saturday, October 7, 1967 the then Northwestern State College played a home football game against the Goshawks from Pensacola Naval Air Station. The Goshawks’ quarterback was a little known young Naval Academy graduate who had recently returned from a tour in Vietnam. His name was Roger Staubach.
This week’s installment of Pieces of Our History features the program from that game. My wife was a student at NSC at time and attended the game. The program wound up with some papers and was inadvertently, but thankfully, saved all these years. The program shows the Demon football team sank the Navy 34 to 6 in 1966. Many thanks to Doug Ireland whom the Natchitoches Parish Journal dragged out of his recent retirement to confirm that the Demons won that day in 1967 as well.
Take a look at the program in Kevin’s Gallery. You will recognize more than a few of the names and businesses. Roger Staubach, needless to say, went on to make quite a name for himself in the NFL after leaving the Navy. The week’s Pieces of Our History commemorates the time he played against the Northwestern Demons.
Staubach played against NSU when they traveled to Pensacola NAS.
If I am not mistaken, Roger Staubach did not play in the game against Northwestern because of an ankle injury. However, I think the quarterback that night for Pensacola was Tommy Munson whose brother was an NFL quarterback for the Detroit Lions.
The 1966 season was memorable for another reason as well. The Demons went undefeated, were 9-0 in NAIA but decided not to accept a bid to the playoffs. Many believe they could have captured the national title because of their dominance in the regular season. I recall them defeating Louisiana College by a huge score 65-7 (or something like that), with most of the points coming in the first half. Backups received a lot of playing time that year.
That game was a big event. I remember ny dad and uncle attending that game and talking about the unique matchup with Pensacola Navy coming to town. Years afterward, he became a huge fan of the Cowboys because he had seen Staubach play here in Natchitoches.