The helmet of course was beautiful and reminded fans “in the know” that Corso had overcome a modest socioeconomic background to star as a multi-sport athlete at Miami’s Andrew Jackson High School and then as the quarterback and school interception record setting defensive back of Florida State. What was also new information to many was the fact that Lee was an innovative college football coach, both as an offensive assistant and head coach, one who was influential in opening up the passing game wherever he applied his skills. He was popular with his players and fans and if nothing else, brought tremendous enthusiasm to the profession. The “wild and crazy” nature that he often if not always demonstrates on the College Game Day set is nothing new and not a television construct. Corso’s motto, admittedly borrowed from Ralph Waldo Emerson, is “Nothing was ever achieved without enthusiasm” and he applied it immediately as a coach. He was an ace recruiter as well as something of an offensive genius.

After serving his time as an assistant at Maryland and the U.S. Naval Academy, he became the head coach at the University of Louisville in 1969. Though the news did not spread far from the Louisville area, naming Corso as the Cardinals head coach produced major local demonstrations. Protestors filled the city streets, calling upon the U of L administration to hire Paulie Miller, one of the most highly respected high school coaches in the state. Miller attained his status as the head football coach of Louisville’s Bishop Flaget High School, establishing the program as their inaugural coach in 1945, winning state championships in 1949, 1952, ’58, and 1961, and developing highly successful players, with Paul Hornung and Howard Schnellenberger perhaps the best known. He coached at Flaget through 1963 and was clearly the people’s choice and on February 19, 1969, his supporters took to the streets, loudly protesting the hiring of anyone but Miller.

Paulie Miller’s supporters filled the streets of Louisville, demanding that he be named the Cardinals new head coach

Corso was a thirty-three year old unknown while Miller was a local legend. The pressure was on Corso immediately, even at Louisville where the program was typically “middle of the road” with the addition of a few nine win seasons and a few one or two win seasons under head coach Frank Camp who had held the reins from 1946 through ’68. While there had been an occasional star, like the Chicago Bears linebacker Doug Buffone, there was never a lot to cheer about or make the stadium a definitive destination on a Fall Saturday afternoon. There was pressure too from the school administration with some believing that a lack of revenue and poor attendance could soon lead to the program either cutting back to “small college” level, or being dropped completely. The message was clear, “Win and fill the seats! Do it now.”

If nothing else, Corso was immediately fun and as Sports Illustrated noted during the 1970 season, Lee “was coaching at Louisville and making a name for himself by 1) coaching good and 2) having fun, a contradiction in terms by most accepted coaching tenets.” He did a lot of fourth down gambling, literally waved the white towel from the sideline against Memphis State in a 69 – 19 blowout loss, marched a turkey onto the field for the pre-game coin toss and captain’s meeting for a Thanksgiving day clash against Tulsa, and rode an elephant through the streets of the city. He recruited well, bringing in Tom Jackson from John Adams High School in Cleveland and quarterback John Madeya who would throw for more than 4500 yards before he graduated.

Louisville QB John Madeya became a record setter under Coach Corso

Corso’s 5-4-1 mark in ’69 jumped to 8-3-1 the following season and it was obvious that his team liked their head coach and was playing hard for him and the staff. He hosted “Italian Nights” at the training table, complete with checkered tablecloths, candles, and a menu that included pasta, garlic bread, and spumoni. They enjoyed their “hip” and modernized pre-game warm up routines, eye catching enough to have the Georgia Tech staff ask for advice. Of course, Corso quipped that he would have been happier if Tech had been interested in asking for his football plays. He solicited walk-ons and was rewarded with Scott Marcus, a bearded, long-haired hippie type who was given a full scholarship for his exceptional punting ability.

Behind the antics was a lot of very good coaching. Corso’s eye for talent where others did not see it held him in good stead. Tom Jackson was listed as 5’11” and 220 pounds but according to Corso, was closer to 5’8”, perhaps a bit of an exaggeration. Still, Jackson was not highly sought by other collegiate programs because he was considered to be “too small,” but Corso saw a hitting machine, a player that “had fantastic quickness” and strength and most importantly, “He just never missed. He never missed a guy. Those guys at Ohio State, Gradishar, Cousineau, and some of those others at Michigan, they were good, but this guy (Jackson) was better than any of them.” At Louisville, Jackson was a three-time All Missouri Conference selection, two-time MVC Player Of The Year, and led the team in tackles in each of his three varsity seasons, eventually having his number retired. He went on to a highly successful fourteen year career with the Denver Broncos, winning All Pro honors four times and later became a popular ESPN football analyst and commentator.

Coach Corso greets star linebacker Tom Jackson as he leaves the field. The Cardinals wore an American flag decal during a period of time when flying the flag was not popular on many college campuses

Although riding an elephant and bringing a turkey onto the field for the coin toss can be seen as gimmicks designed to attract attention and fans, Corso’s coaching knowledge, teaching ability, and dedication to old fashioned values and the fundamentals of the game were real. He affixed American flag decals to both sides of the white helmet during a time of social strife, anti-war protests, and anti-government sentiment. While often burning the country’s flag on campus was viewed as an acceptable form of protected speech and anything staunchly supporting “The Establishment” was viewed as “square,” and unacceptable by college aged students, Corso had his team display the flag as part of the uniform “to symbolize what I have been trying to teach the kids: teamwork, unity, pride, dedication, and respect.”  Whatever values Corso taught, they were accepted by his squad. The 1969 team posted a 5-4-1 record with improvement to 8-3-1, the Missouri Valley Conference Championship in ’70 and a 24-24 tie with Long Beach State in the Pasadena Bowl. 1971 produced a solid 6-3-1 result and in Corso’s final season in ’72, they rolled to a 9-1 performance, losing only to Tulsa by a margin of 28-26.

The hard work that Corso put into the Cardinals program paid off not only on the field, but in the stands. From the day he arrived in Louisville, he accepted speaking engagements anywhere and everywhere within the borders of the Bluegrass State. He was an exceptionally entertaining and informative speaker, much as he is on television and he gave everyone in attendance his all. He humorously described one early morning, pre-7 AM talk to a booster group that drew a total of four individuals, and when asked he responded, “Not four hundred, four. One, two, three, four. Gave ‘em a hell of a speech too. The whole load.” This was typical Corso, enthused, pumped up, ready to go at 110 miles per hour and from 1969 through 1972, doing it for the Louisville football program.

At that point his record as a head coach was 28-11-3 and he finished ’72 with a national ranking of eighteen, and as is said in the music industry when a song is rocketing for the top, “with a bullet.” No one doubted that there were bright days ahead for Louisville football and what had been a program under consideration for termination saw attendance literally quadruple while Corso was in charge, and now had plans for a new football stadium. Not surprisingly, Lee Corso attracted the attention of other, larger programs and he became the head coach at the University of Indiana following the ’72 season, a post he would hold through 1982 before going on to the USFL, Northern Illinois, and ultimately becoming a college football icon on ESPN.

Lee Corso From a Personal Perspective: