For the 1970 season, the Tigers removed the 100 year decal used in ’69 and as they had since 1957, placed white three-inch identifying numerals on each side of the helmet. Injuries decimated the team and they never got untracked despite an abundance of talent. One player expected to contribute was huge, muscular 6’7”, 270-pound TE John Matuszak but he was released from the team for disciplinary reasons and transferred to the University Of Tampa. His pro football saga is well-known by most. Dependable TB Joe Moore had rushed for 610 yards by the fifth game against Nebraska but went out for the remainder of the season with a separated shoulder. He was still the Bears number-one draft pick and lasted three seasons but never regained his pre-injury form. He later became a successful high school football and track coach. Big FB James Harrison rebounded from his 1969 injury and was the Bears number-two draft choice, lasting a bit longer than Moore with his four pro seasons. Versatile Mel Gray, despite being double-teamed most of the time, finished his eligibility with a school record 1491 receiving yards and also played with an injured shoulder which limited his starts. With the Cardinals, he served as a receiver, runner, and return-man, playing twelve seasons. He utilized his All American track speed to a number of All Pro selections. With All Big Eight powerhouse Larron Jackson clearing the way from his OT spot it was only the injuries that dampened the offense. Jackson played for the Broncos and Falcons from ’71 through 1976. The defense suffered its share of injuries but DT Rocky Wallace came back from his missed ’69 season to make All Conference teamed with DE John Brown. DB’s Henry Stuckey, a transfer from Merritt (CA) JC and Mike Fink who was almost as good a return specialist as Gray, held up the secondary. The 5-6 record included a 24-7 loss to Notre Dame as seven starters sat out the game with injury and Devine suffered his first losing season in sixteen years as a head coach. As a Minnesota lad, he was flattered when the Green Bay Packers approached him with their head coaching position. Perhaps dismayed by the injuries and losses of 1970, he accepted and served Green Bay as head coach and GM from 1971 through ’74. He did a positive job turning around an organization that had suffered after the departure of Vince Lombardi and was named NFC Coach Of The Year in 1972. Disenchanted with the pro game and the NFL players’ strike of 1974, he returned to the college ranks as the head coach of Notre Dame where he most famously developed Joe Montana. At Mizzou, nine of his thirteen teams finished in the Top Twenty with the 1960 squad’s number five ranking the highest ever for a Tiger team. From 1958-’70, he amassed a 92-38-7 mark and followed that up at Notre Dame with 53-16-1 and the 1977 National Championship. As head coach he developed an atmosphere at Missouri that earned him a national reputation as being ultimately fair to minority players and he hired Prentice Gautt as the first Black assistant coach in the history of the Big Eight Conference. Devine’s body of work, especially his tenure at Missouri, earned him entry to The College Football Hall Of Fame.