Perhaps known more for his starring role with the original Boston
Patriots, the fleet halfback came to Northwestern as one of Coach Ara
Parseghian's early recruits. He made the most of his time, garnering the
excellent education offered by Northwestern and earning All Big Ten honors
in 1958 and '59, and being named as All American in 1959. Burton held
Wildcat records for most points in a season (76) and most career
touchdowns with twenty-one. As the Patriots very first draft choice in
their history, he set the pace by becoming their first player to rush for
over one hundred yards in a game and remained a strong rusher, pass
receiver, and kick returner. Burton used his Northwestern education and
became an executive with the John Hancock Life Insurance Company. He used
his financial gains to found and support the Ron Burton Training Village
which was established to provide free summer camp experiences for
disadvantaged inner-city adolescents. After his death in 2003, the
humanitarian work he was so well-known for has been carried on by his
children, one of whom also played football at Northwestern.
Playing in their first nationally televised game, the Wildcats
celebrated 1960 with a 7-6 upset of Notre Dame. With Burton graduated to
the pros, FB Mike Stock again was the rushing leader. Stock has spent over
forty years as a coach and is currently the special teams coordinator of
the Packers, revered among other coaches as perhaps the best in the
business in this specific area. Irv Cross completed his eligibility as a
fine end and moved on to the Eagles and Rams as a highly respected DB and
he later was just as highly respected as an NFL broadcaster. Fate Echols
was a 245-pound mover at tackle teaming with Jack Cvercko. The defense was
built around center and middle guard Larry Onesti and the team delivered
by winning four of their last five games to finish with a 5-4 record. '61
had some fireworks with Larry Benz at one HB, and Paul Flatley whom
Parseghian shrewdly moved from back-up FB to the other haflback post. Soph
FB Bill Swingle stepped in to lead the squad in rushing, despite a knee
injury, with a six-yard average. The 4-5 finish did not mirror the
emerging build-up of talent as tackle Fate Echols (the Cardinals number
one draft choice) and MG Onesti, an All American played great defense,
holding seven opponents to ten points or less. With soph QB Tommy Myers an
obvious star-in-the-making, Parseghian again moved Paul Flatley, this time
to receiver in order to make the most of his talent for the '62 season.
The move worked with Myers tossing for 116 completions, 1537 yards,
thirteen TD's, and five school records, with All American recognition.
Flatley caught forty-five passes for 632 yards and then went to the NFL to
play out an eight-year career with the Vikings and Falcons. At 6-0 and
with a gutsy 18-14 win over Ohio State and 35-6 whomping of Notre Dame,
Northwestern, for the first time in its history, was ranked number one in
the country! Late in the season, the lack of depth again reared its head.
Despite C Jack Cvercko also playing at an All American level, the Wildcats
dropped two of the last three to finish at 7-2, just missing the
conference title. 1963's attack was again centered around QB Myers who
delivered with 1398 yards on 93 completions and a total of eleven school
records. HB Willie Stinson and FB Bill Swingle provided the backfield help
for Myers while end Pat Riley focused on defense. Parseghian was seen as a
coach who could squeeze the most out of limited material, taking the
Wildcats to a winning 5-4 record. On December 3rd, he accepted the head
coaching job at Notre Dame and went on to make history there.
As 1964 began with the "Era Of Ara" completed, trusty assistant and Big
Ten playing legend Alex Agase stepped into the breach, switching the
Wildcats to a ground-oriented attack. Myers was still the starter and
performed well enough to be drafted by and then play two years with the
Lions. With the loss of twenty-seven seniors from '63, the team fell to
3-6 although they defeated eventual Rose Bowl participant Oregon State in
the opener. Pat Riley played a good DE for a decent defense but HB Ron
Rector's 4.4 per carry average and the emergence of HB Woody Campbell
could not right an inconsistent offense. Despite other good performances
by soph end Casimir Banaszek who snared twenty-seven passes as a two-way
performer, and Joe Cerne, named All Big Ten at center, the offense was at
the bottom of the Big Ten. A tough 1965 schedule brought the return to a
full two-platoon scheme and the offense stepped up a bit to help improve
the record to 4-6. FB Bob McKelvey added 587 yards to the team's total, HB
Campbell another 373, and steady Ron Rector ran and received well enough
to move on to the Redskins and Falcons for another two years of football.
Starting QB Denny Boothe was backed up by non-lettering Rick Venturi who
would have an impact on Wildcat football in future years as a head coach.
Blocking and catching (thirty passes caught for over ten yards a
reception), fine end Banaszek had pro potential at 228-pounds. Boothe
provided the heroics in the season-highlight victory, a 34-22 win over
Michigan, the last victory the Wildcats would have over the Wolverines for
thirty years.
