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Message
My Billy Cannon Story of "That Halloween Night 1958"
Posted on 5/20/18 at 11:58 am
Posted on 5/20/18 at 11:58 am
Setting: Avoyelles Parish with neighbors around a radio, during my elementary school days.
Mood: Gloomy for all the wheel spinning our White Team and Go Teams were experiencing against a salty Ole Miss team coach by the vaunted Johnny Vaught.
Play: Another punt and we were mostly sitting on chairs, with arms folded over the backs of the chair, not expecting much. J.C. Politiz narrated the inauspicious punt and then the animation and hope began to explode as we could no longer hear Politz but the crowd roar was escalating at a level that could only mean one thing, LSU scored a touchdown.
Bedlam! Waking up those people who what thrown their hands up, essentially giving up on the Tigers. People wanting to know what happened, and the party was live again!!! The screams triggered my mother to call from next door wanting to know if everything was okay. It was more than okay.
Tension: The game was still late in the 3rd quarter and we had to endure wave after wave of Rebel advances and more heroics of The White Team defending our goal line, pushing back the Rebels at every juncture, Ole Miss had to score a TD to win the game, at that point. Billy Cannon, with determined running had put us ahead and Billy Cannon led the charge to stop the Ole Miss offense late in the game.
Aftermath: It was a misty night, spooky Halloween Night, and I walked home never thinking about any spooks under our bridge, crossing the bayou, I was ecstatic. I was already a Tiger, determined to get my degrees at LSU, but so proud that LSU was coming out ahead of Northwestern U of Illinois and Ara Parshegian, Syracuse and other pretenders in the SEC. We had made it to the TOP!! 1958
Warning: Did not proofread but wanted to share on Billy Cannon's behalf, share yours for the children of Tiger Droppings.
Mood: Gloomy for all the wheel spinning our White Team and Go Teams were experiencing against a salty Ole Miss team coach by the vaunted Johnny Vaught.
Play: Another punt and we were mostly sitting on chairs, with arms folded over the backs of the chair, not expecting much. J.C. Politiz narrated the inauspicious punt and then the animation and hope began to explode as we could no longer hear Politz but the crowd roar was escalating at a level that could only mean one thing, LSU scored a touchdown.
Bedlam! Waking up those people who what thrown their hands up, essentially giving up on the Tigers. People wanting to know what happened, and the party was live again!!! The screams triggered my mother to call from next door wanting to know if everything was okay. It was more than okay.
Tension: The game was still late in the 3rd quarter and we had to endure wave after wave of Rebel advances and more heroics of The White Team defending our goal line, pushing back the Rebels at every juncture, Ole Miss had to score a TD to win the game, at that point. Billy Cannon, with determined running had put us ahead and Billy Cannon led the charge to stop the Ole Miss offense late in the game.
Aftermath: It was a misty night, spooky Halloween Night, and I walked home never thinking about any spooks under our bridge, crossing the bayou, I was ecstatic. I was already a Tiger, determined to get my degrees at LSU, but so proud that LSU was coming out ahead of Northwestern U of Illinois and Ara Parshegian, Syracuse and other pretenders in the SEC. We had made it to the TOP!! 1958
Warning: Did not proofread but wanted to share on Billy Cannon's behalf, share yours for the children of Tiger Droppings.
9
Posted on 5/20/18 at 12:06 pm to mistert
My story: My brother and sister had just come home with bags filled with Halloween candy. I stayed home to listen to the game with my mom and dad. I was on the verge of tears when the Rebels punted to L.S.U.. I was 10 years old...and have relived that moment countless times......
The Call
October 31, 1959. LSU was ranked #1 Nationally in the AP poll, winners of 19 consecutive games. Ole Miss was undefeated and ranked #3 in the same AP poll.
This is the way it was reported in a record made for WAIL radio in Baton Rouge in the early 60’s.
J.C. Politz made the call.
“It was Halloween night 1959. The witches and goblins may have had some effect, but it was mainly the rugged Ole Miss Rebels that had the LSU Tigers on the short end of a 3 –0 score. With 10:38 seconds to go in the final quarter, Ole Miss had the ball.”
“It’s actually about third down and about 19 yards to go. Going back into punt formation is Jake Gibbs.......of Ole Miss. He stands on his own 28 , he gets a pass from center , he boots it and gets another nice kick away going way down field. Billy Cannon watches it bounce, he takes it at his own 11, he comes back up field to the 15, stumbles momentarily, he’s at the 20, running hard at the 25, gets away from one man at the 30, still runs at the (inaudible) ......at the 35, at the 45... he’s on the 50, he’s in the clear on the 45, the 40 (inaudible due to crowd noise)...............the 15, the 10, the 5 he scores!!!!!”
“Billy Cannon raced some 89 yards for a touchdown. Listen to the cheer for Billy Cannon as he comes off the field....great All-American!
“Holding will be Warren Rabb, down on one knee at the 10 yard line. Kicking will be Wendell Harris waiting on the snap-back from Langham....waiting on the quiet of the crowd too. The snap back, the ball is down on the ground, it’s up in the air, and it’s good.....LSU leads 7 – 3.”
With 1:30 seconds remaining in the game, Ole Miss had the ball on the LSU two. It was fourth down and goal to go.............
“You should be able to tell by the cheer from the crowd if they score or not. The ball is at the two yard line. Left halfback flankered, Elmore is the quarterback...he takes, he fakes, he’s running hard he’s hit right on about the goal line....HE DOES NOT SCORE....HE DOES NOT SCORE.”
“Lynn Leblanc hit him on about the one yard line (it was actually Warren Rabb, Rabb was #12 and Leblanc # 72) with the aid of Billy Cannon and LSU takes over with 29 seconds remaining in this ballgame.”
“LSU will try to hang on to the ball, Johnny Robinson out on a flanker to the right, Rabb takes and knifes his way right up the middle of the line, he might have picked up one yard on the play, 14 seconds, 13 seconds, 12 seconds...LSU leading 7 – 3! 10 seconds, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 , 3, 2, 1 That’s the game!”
The Call
October 31, 1959. LSU was ranked #1 Nationally in the AP poll, winners of 19 consecutive games. Ole Miss was undefeated and ranked #3 in the same AP poll.
This is the way it was reported in a record made for WAIL radio in Baton Rouge in the early 60’s.
J.C. Politz made the call.
“It was Halloween night 1959. The witches and goblins may have had some effect, but it was mainly the rugged Ole Miss Rebels that had the LSU Tigers on the short end of a 3 –0 score. With 10:38 seconds to go in the final quarter, Ole Miss had the ball.”
“It’s actually about third down and about 19 yards to go. Going back into punt formation is Jake Gibbs.......of Ole Miss. He stands on his own 28 , he gets a pass from center , he boots it and gets another nice kick away going way down field. Billy Cannon watches it bounce, he takes it at his own 11, he comes back up field to the 15, stumbles momentarily, he’s at the 20, running hard at the 25, gets away from one man at the 30, still runs at the (inaudible) ......at the 35, at the 45... he’s on the 50, he’s in the clear on the 45, the 40 (inaudible due to crowd noise)...............the 15, the 10, the 5 he scores!!!!!”
“Billy Cannon raced some 89 yards for a touchdown. Listen to the cheer for Billy Cannon as he comes off the field....great All-American!
“Holding will be Warren Rabb, down on one knee at the 10 yard line. Kicking will be Wendell Harris waiting on the snap-back from Langham....waiting on the quiet of the crowd too. The snap back, the ball is down on the ground, it’s up in the air, and it’s good.....LSU leads 7 – 3.”
With 1:30 seconds remaining in the game, Ole Miss had the ball on the LSU two. It was fourth down and goal to go.............
“You should be able to tell by the cheer from the crowd if they score or not. The ball is at the two yard line. Left halfback flankered, Elmore is the quarterback...he takes, he fakes, he’s running hard he’s hit right on about the goal line....HE DOES NOT SCORE....HE DOES NOT SCORE.”
“Lynn Leblanc hit him on about the one yard line (it was actually Warren Rabb, Rabb was #12 and Leblanc # 72) with the aid of Billy Cannon and LSU takes over with 29 seconds remaining in this ballgame.”
“LSU will try to hang on to the ball, Johnny Robinson out on a flanker to the right, Rabb takes and knifes his way right up the middle of the line, he might have picked up one yard on the play, 14 seconds, 13 seconds, 12 seconds...LSU leading 7 – 3! 10 seconds, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 , 3, 2, 1 That’s the game!”
Posted on 5/20/18 at 12:46 pm to Eauxld Geauxld
1959: Sorry about that error in my post....
Posted on 5/20/18 at 1:01 pm to mistert
quote:
1959: Sorry about that error in my post...
You can edit your original title if you want..
Great story nonetheless
Posted on 5/20/18 at 1:08 pm to mistert
Is there anyway that we could permanently sticky this? Cannon is a legend and hearing peoples stories of that night should be read by anyone that visits this website. RIP Dr.Cannon 
Posted on 5/20/18 at 1:44 pm to eyepooted
quote:
thanks for sharing
Yes..
Posted on 5/20/18 at 1:50 pm to CajunLife
quote:
Is there anyway that we could permanently sticky this? Cannon is a legend and hearing peoples stories of that night should be read by anyone that visits this website.
Posted on 5/20/18 at 2:20 pm to mistert
I was 12 years old and listened to the game laying on the living room floor. I had a diagram of a football field drawn in an old notebook to help visualize the game. I remember being a little confused by all the crowd noise coming from the radio and then realized we scored a touchdown. Got to see the punt return the next day on the evening New Orleans sports broadcast, probably by Mel Lebbit. Back in those days LSU football games were rarely on TV unless they played in a major bowl game on new years day or eve. Oh yeah, there were only 4 bowl games back then...
Posted on 5/20/18 at 2:40 pm to FrenchJoe
#1 vs #3, a Sat. nite in Tiger Stadium. And the game was not on tv because there was only minimal tv coverage back then. And those 68,000 made a hell of a lot more noise then than the 100+ now in T.Stadium. Can still see Coach Vaught, post game, standing alone at mid field, staring up at the score board. A long time post game.
Posted on 5/20/18 at 3:04 pm to mistert
When radio was radio
This post was edited on 5/20/18 at 3:06 pm
Posted on 5/20/18 at 3:08 pm to FrenchJoe
quote:
I was 12 years old and listened to the game laying on the living room
Someone older than me!!!
I was 11 and did exactly the same thing! My grandpa and uncle went to the game in a my uncles red 1957 Chevrolet 2-door hard Top. I remember telling my grandpa to bring them some luck by picking up a rock from our driveway before they left. Thought some thing from our house would be good luck. At the time we lived in a house off of government street.
For the entire game, my dad kept telling me something big was gonna happen. I think he was doing that because I was tired and off of a sugar high from eating one of my aunt’s popcorn balls. My older brother kept messing with me. We were horsing around off and on all game. My dad yelled to stop just before the punt. Then the call... you could hear the crowd kept getting louder as the return continued...
we went crazy. That extra point was huge because we knew a field goal would tie it up. It was tense and then boom. It went through... as one poster said the rest of the game it was tense because Ole Miss kept coming but kept getting turned back.
Posted on 5/20/18 at 3:32 pm to Tiger1988
The night I was probably conceived. Also, named after Billy.
Posted on 5/20/18 at 3:36 pm to Bayou
quote:
The night I was probably conceived. Also, named after Billy.
in nutville to say the least! You win.Posted on 5/20/18 at 3:40 pm to Eauxld Geauxld
The '59 Ole Miss win was the "19th straight win", not going into the game.
Posted on 5/20/18 at 4:11 pm to mistert
Posted on 5/20/18 at 4:25 pm to mistert
Where in Avoylles are you from; I'm from Moreauville and I remember listening to that game! I seem to remember that you couldn't hear Politz because he was cheering rather than announcing.
Posted on 5/20/18 at 4:26 pm to larry289
I was there folks. Old boy from Winnfield La. It was getting foggy late in the game. I was on the LSU side (west side) of the stadium. The action was on the far side of the field. Cannon caught the punt about the LSU 11 yard line after it bounced once. He started upfield dodging and weaving through Ole Miss players, getting hit once or twice but shedding the would be tacklers. As I said it was late in the game and all the players were tired so everything looked like it was in slow motion.
Cannon broke into the clear around the 50 yard line and it was a sprint into the end zone. LSU made the extra point and kicked of to Ole Miss but the game was far from over. Ole Miss drove downfield and got to the 2 yard line. Fourth and 2 - ball game on the line! Ole Miss Coach Vaught put Doug Elmore in the game at that point to replace Jake Gibbs. Elmore was a better runner so everybody knew he was gonna run the option and keep the ball. He ran to his right side, Warren Rabb hit him first, short of the goal line and Billy Cannon came up to hit Elmore too, about the same time, and he was stopped inches short of the goal line. Needless to say, Tiger stadium went absolutely crazy.
I had season tickets for the 1958 and 1959 seasons and saw all home games those 2 years.
People forget that the starters went both ways and were very good defensive players. Warren Rabb was the starting quarterback, Billy Cannon was a starting halfback, Johnnie Robinson was a starting halfback (went on to be an all-pro defensive back) - everybody was good on offense and defense. Coach Paul Dietzel also had the CHINESE BANDITS who were defensive specialists and the GO team who were Offensive specialists. These teams were sent into games to give the starters some rest.
Cannon broke into the clear around the 50 yard line and it was a sprint into the end zone. LSU made the extra point and kicked of to Ole Miss but the game was far from over. Ole Miss drove downfield and got to the 2 yard line. Fourth and 2 - ball game on the line! Ole Miss Coach Vaught put Doug Elmore in the game at that point to replace Jake Gibbs. Elmore was a better runner so everybody knew he was gonna run the option and keep the ball. He ran to his right side, Warren Rabb hit him first, short of the goal line and Billy Cannon came up to hit Elmore too, about the same time, and he was stopped inches short of the goal line. Needless to say, Tiger stadium went absolutely crazy.
I had season tickets for the 1958 and 1959 seasons and saw all home games those 2 years.
People forget that the starters went both ways and were very good defensive players. Warren Rabb was the starting quarterback, Billy Cannon was a starting halfback, Johnnie Robinson was a starting halfback (went on to be an all-pro defensive back) - everybody was good on offense and defense. Coach Paul Dietzel also had the CHINESE BANDITS who were defensive specialists and the GO team who were Offensive specialists. These teams were sent into games to give the starters some rest.
Posted on 5/20/18 at 4:36 pm to mistert
A couple of lifetimes ago. Please remember, times have changed. I was 12 & drove the family car to BR with a friend. Dad thought I was just going to his house to trick or treat. We had a few ways to sneak into the stadium in those days & got caught once that night, but made it inside.
All have heard the story of the the game & run, so will not bore you with yet another, but suffice it to say, the memory is burned to the core, step by step of each of the 89 yards. I became a student of the game that night, not just a fan.
Yes, times have changed, but for the “older” folks here, some things will never change when it comes to loyalty & support of whoever is under center or coaching. The youngsters need to follow Billy’s lead who kept the Tigers in his heart till the end.
Billy Cannon goes right, turns upfield, slips ..............
All have heard the story of the the game & run, so will not bore you with yet another, but suffice it to say, the memory is burned to the core, step by step of each of the 89 yards. I became a student of the game that night, not just a fan.
Yes, times have changed, but for the “older” folks here, some things will never change when it comes to loyalty & support of whoever is under center or coaching. The youngsters need to follow Billy’s lead who kept the Tigers in his heart till the end.
Billy Cannon goes right, turns upfield, slips ..............
Posted on 5/20/18 at 4:56 pm to tigernnola
I was 9 years old and my dad had promised that I could go to a game so I picked Ole Miss. the town (kaplan) pharmacist wanted to go so my dad told him to make a deal with me. Back then, every pharmacy had a comic book rack. they would discourage you from reading them if you did not buy one. He also had a ice cream freezer with the little cups of brown's velvet ice cream and the little wooden spoons.. The deal I made was I got to read comic books forever and every day I got one of those cream cups. He got my ticket and I got the right to read the comic books and the ice cream until I graduated from high school.
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