Old Gopher football video from early 80's


Totally targeting on the first play.... did Duke have family playing back then?
 

The dude from Grand Rapids looks like Mark Gastineau.

Then again, every white guy in the 80s with a mullet and moustache looked like Mark Gastineau.
 

Watching this film brought back memories of me losing to Joe Salem's twin sons in pickup basketball games on their front driveway. Damn his twins were super competitive, almost obnoxious.
 

Ladies just don't ride bike like they used to.
 


So sad that Memorial Stadium is now gone.
 

Loved the "Nothing Short of Greatness Nautilus Equipment".
Times have certainly changed.
 

All three players featured in the video went on to grakduate from the university.

Kevin Kellin (94) played in the USFL, then 3 seasons for Tampa Bay. He is Managing Partner at KelTech Medical.

Garry White (9) returned to Texas, where he had a 25 year career with Alcola before succumbing to colon cancer in 2010.

Ken Dallafior (72) played 8 seasons in the NFL and is now Executive VP of Commercial Business for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
 

So, wait - at the 9:47 mark was that guy putting salt on a piece of cornbread? The 80s were crazy!
 



All three players featured in the video went on to grakduate from the university.

Kevin Kellin (94) played in the USFL, then 3 seasons for Tampa Bay. He is Managing Partner at KelTech Medical.

Garry White (9) returned to Texas, where he had a 25 year career with Alcola before succumbing to colon cancer in 2010.

Ken Dallafior (72) played 8 seasons in the NFL and is now Executive VP of Commercial Business for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

Garry White used to come into the Brickhouse(Big Ten bar) all the time to play pinball. He was a good guy. I did not know he had passed away.
 

So sad that Memorial Stadium is now gone.
+1

My freshman year was the last year of Gopher Football in Memorial Stadium. It was all downhill from there. I had season tickets my entire time. I sat through the embarrassments of the 1982 & 1983 seasons, the Lou Holtz Snake Oil show and the best of the Gutekunst era.

We regularly beat Wisconsin in those dark years, which make our modern record against them infuriating.

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As a kid who was never alive during the "Memorial" Years and only the Dome..Man it looked like a pretty awesome place. As soon as I saw the old inflatable toilet I had some bile build up in my throat. Which bureaucrats thought the Gophers leaving memorial was a good idea?
 

As a kid who was never alive during the "Memorial" Years and only the Dome..Man it looked like a pretty awesome place. As soon as I saw the old inflatable toilet I had some bile build up in my throat. Which bureaucrats thought the Gophers leaving memorial was a good idea?

Yeah Memorial Stadium was a special place to watch the Gophers. I am not sure who, other than Sid, thought it was a good idea to move off campus to the Dome. I was in college when they tore Memorial down. Broke my heart too. If an on campus stadium could have been built right away back then I think we would be more like WI, MSU or IA right now maybe better and not waiting for PJ Fleck to right the ship. I believe we are in good shape right now with Fleck but the last 30 years or more have been a roller coaster. TCF is a very nice stadium and I am happy we have it. In reality TCF is better than Memorial Stadium from a pure, comfortable, football watching perspective. You can argue that the nostalgic feel of Memorial Stadium could be a draw for fans but the players of today would probably prefer TCF. If the U made major upgrades to Memorial Stadium back then, we would have the same look and feel as the Barn and that could be a selling point to fans. Not sure why they decided to spend the money elsewhere and move to the Dome but it was a huge mistake IMO. Can't live in the past though so enjoy TCF Stadium, it is a great replacement for Memorial Stadium. I think they got it right although I think the old stadium faced a different direction, maybe south, and the cold side/sunny side debate never came up. Maybe we were tougher back then?
 



Yeah Memorial Stadium was a special place to watch the Gophers. I am not sure who, other than Sid, thought it was a good idea to move off campus to the Dome. I was in college when they tore Memorial down. Broke my heart too. If an on campus stadium could have been built right away back then I think we would be more like WI, MSU or IA right now maybe better and not waiting for PJ Fleck to right the ship. I believe we are in good shape right now with Fleck but the last 30 years or more have been a roller coaster. TCF is a very nice stadium and I am happy we have it. In reality TCF is better than Memorial Stadium from a pure, comfortable, football watching perspective. You can argue that the nostalgic feel of Memorial Stadium could be a draw for fans but the players of today would probably prefer TCF. If the U made major upgrades to Memorial Stadium back then, we would have the same look and feel as the Barn and that could be a selling point to fans. Not sure why they decided to spend the money elsewhere and move to the Dome but it was a huge mistake IMO. Can't live in the past though so enjoy TCF Stadium, it is a great replacement for Memorial Stadium. I think they got it right although I think the old stadium faced a different direction, maybe south, and the cold side/sunny side debate never came up. Maybe we were tougher back then?

Both Stadiums are aligned the same with the open end facing west. Big difference is there were no banks of suites to block the sun.
 

Both Stadiums are aligned the same with the open end facing west. Big difference is there were no banks of suites to block the sun.

Ok, yes the suites were not there. So eventually Memorial Stadium would have suites installed and/or an upper deck so either way the sun would be blocked.
 

Ok, yes the suites were not there. So eventually Memorial Stadium would have suites installed and/or an upper deck so either way the sun would be blocked.

Not if they were put on the north side.
 

In Memorial Stadium the Gophers were on the opposite side of the field as they are now.
Had they put the suites, in TCF, on the other side of the field, the sun wouldn't be blocked out as much.
 

AT the time, one of the big arguments for moving to the Dome was that it would make it easier to recruit southern players who might be concerned about playing in the cold. I think the powers-that-be also thought it would boost corporate support with the suites available for donors and boosters.

And, in all honesty, Memorial did not have a lot of amenities. plank seating, not a lot of concession stands, no modern scoreboard, etc. Now, if they could have kept the shell and gutted the interior, they probably could have come up with a more modern stadium on the same site, but I don't remember a huge outcry back then. Some people (not all) thought the attendance would go up in the dome, and recruits would be excited about "playing in the same building as the Vikings" and so forth. Of course, the Dome was built on the cheap. They were so proud that it was built on time and on budget.

Bottom line - if you have a good product, people will show up no matter where you play. If you don't have a good product, people won't show up no matter where you play.
 

One of the worst parts about the early years in the Metrodome was the poorly padded Turf. Players complained it was like playing on carpeted concrete.

Another bad thing was how they clamped down on things like displaying banners and rowdy student cheers.

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Wow, Great Vid! I actually seaw a guy I went to school with school there with. He was a DB from Chicago. Had forgot his name as well as lost track of him. As soon as I saw him in the vid his name came back to me. I get down to Chicago for business, and will look him up. Thanks again for the video!
 




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