Thirty years ago, nobody could beat the Rattlers

By Heath A. Smith,DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Afros, pork-chop sideburns, butterfly collars, polyester suits and wide-tie knots.

You could find plenty of those things in 1977.

You could find only one undefeated college football team in 1977, however, and it resided on the highest of seven hills in Tallahassee.

Florida A&M University accomplished what no other college football team in America could in 1977 - and what no other FAMU football team has been able to accomplish since - perfection.

An 11-0 season, and Black College National Champions.

For Rudy Hubbard, the head coach of that undefeated team, the thought of what the Rattlers did that season 30 years ago still brings amazement.

"I don't know if many people know we ended up being the only undefeated team in the nation that season," Hubbard said. "Sports Illustrated came and did an article about us."

Hubbard was in his third season after leaving Ohio State as an assistant coach. He was coming off a sub-par 6-3-2 season, with one of those victories the result of a forfeit by Alabama State.

"We were young in 1976," said Fred Goldsmith, the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the 1977 Rattlers. "Everything about us was young.

"The week before the first game (of the 1977 season) coach Hubbard was speaking at a function and he said if we can't do better than that he was going to quit. I about fell out my chair when I heard him say that."

With a mixture of veterans such as defensive end Jeffrey Grady, fullback Clarence Hawkins, linebacker Joseph Yates and quarterback Albert Chester and up and coming underclassmen such as offensive guard Tyrone McGriff, defensive end Frank Grady and safety Gifford "Spanky" Ramsey, the Rattlers traveled the country striking their opponents.

Rock stars
Some things haven't changed in 30 years. Just as the team does now, the Rattlers traveled across the country to major cities to play.

In 1977, the Rattlers played in New York; Milwaukee, Wis.; Tampa; Miami; Atlanta and Nashville, Tenn., as well as Tuskegee, Ala., and Huntsville, Ala.

FAMU's Marching 100 had always been a draw, but for some reason that season there seemed to be a buzz around the football team as well.

"I do remember that," said Chester, who was a junior that season. "Everybody felt cocky, but it came off as confident. That whole aura surrounding the team. We knew everybody was going to bring their "A" game against us. It was there on the road and it was on campus, too."

You've got to be a pretty big deal to get Muhammad Ali to show up to your game, don't you?

"We kind of had the attitude that we were a traveling road show," said Hawkins, a team captain that year. "It just fit in that Muhammad Ali would come and see us. He was so big."

Ali, the legendary heavyweight champ, showed up in FAMU's locker room just before the season opener against Howard at the state-of-the-art Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

"He came to our locker room and asked Rudy how the team was," Goldsmith recalled. "He knew who our quarterback was and called for him.

"Ali came up to him and slapped him upside the helmet. I could see Rudy was losing his patience. He didn't like people in the locker room before the game, but he was the champ."

For Chester, the moment was surreal.

"I got my game face on and of course he comes to my locker," Chester said. "I don't know what brought him to me. He's throwing jabs and everything."

Hubbard admitted that the buzz surrounding the team was all by chance. Some of it was instilled into the team that season as well.

"I kind of switched things around to create that kind of image," Hubbard said. "We looked at where we going to stay, how we were going to eat. We created a training table that was separate from the students. We didn't have the budget to create, but we did it.

"Coming from Ohio State, we used to eat under candlelight. We started traveling to Panacea to get out of town before the game. Went to Milwaukee and had prime rib. Most of the our guys had never had that. I think they knew I was going to bat for them."


Photo: 1977 FAMU Championship Team

Even the band felt the buzz.

"We had an interest in the football games," said former FAMU drum major Willie Hayward Sr. "We were already the No. 1 band, but now the football team was something to watch, too. We were enthused with the game.

"Together it was like peanut butter-and-jelly and ice cream-and-cake. It was almost a spiritual thing we had going on then."

Whatever it was, it grew with each win.

"In those days, we would play at Doak Campbell and have bigger crowds there than they did for Florida State games," Goldsmith said.

"Played Howard at the Meadowlands, Alcorn in Milwaukee, Southern in Tampa and Delaware State in Miami. FAMU people showed up wherever we were. We were the team in those days. People knew that they were going to get some darn good football from that team."

The season

The Rattlers opened the 1977 season with a 28-6 win against Howard. FAMU's defense shut out the Bison for the first three quarters.

It wasn't the fact that we just won," Hubbard said. "It was how we won. What they proved was that they knew what they were doing. We were changing plays on the line. I had three quarterbacks and all three could have started.

"Everybody executed. There wasn't any fluke stuff. It appeared to me we were going to be able to repeat this over and over."

They did.

Photo: Coach Rudy Hubbard and Albert Chester, Sr.

FAMU dispatched Albany State next, 22-7, with the defense once again shutting out its opponent for three quarters.

The same thing happened the following week in Milwaukee against Alcorn State with a 28-7 victory for the Rattlers.

It was in that game that a freshman named Gifford "Spanky" Ramsey made his first start.

"That was the other main deal that really solidified our defense," Goldsmith said. "In the third game, we decided to go with a freshman named Spanky Ramsey. He was a sleeper.

"We got a tip off on him. We offered him a scholarship and the next Monday (Alabama head football coach) Bear Bryant saw him. Bryant and (former FAMU head football coach) Jake Gaither were good friends and Bryant said he'd never steal anybody from Jake's school."

Ramsey made an impact immediately, coming up with a key interception in his first start.

"Don't let anybody fool you," Hubbard said. "We had some athletes."

The showdown against Tennessee State

The Rattlers won their next two games against Morris Brown (21-16) and Alabama State (47-18). Then came the trip to Nashville against Tennessee State, a team that had given the Rattlers fits by beating them seven of the previous eight times they met.

John Merritt was TSU's head coach and, according to Hubbard, he was willing to win at any cost.

"He believed in witchcraft," Hubbard said. "He would come over and put a spell on the players. There was a 10-year contract that stipulated they would pick the umpire and linesmen when they came to Tallahassee and we picked them when we went to Nashville.

"The problem was the conference picked our officials. TSU was independent and picked its own refs. I knew 1977 would be our best chance."

Photo: FB Clarence Hawkins in 1977 Championship season

FAMU jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter, but trailed 21-17 at halftime. TSU's quarterback, Joe "747" Adams, picked apart FAMU's defense in the second quarter.

"They had a guy named Joe Gillium who was reading coverages for 747," Goldsmith said. "We made some good adjustments and showed some new things to throw off their quarterbacks in the second half."

FAMU's defense held TSU to just seven points in the second half and ended up winning the game 31-28.

"It was a great football game," Goldsmith said. "At that point, we knew we had a chance to go undefeated."

The Rattlers didn't look back after that game, winning their five remaining contests, including a 14-7 win against rival Bethune-Cookman and a 37-15 win against Delaware State in the Orange Blossom Classic.

"What Rudy did so well was prepare us to beat everybody," Chester said. "It was just a matter of putting it together.

"I don't even remember doing it. We took one game at a time. Even at week 10 it didn't really hit me. It didn't really hit me until after playing. It was never about going undefeated. It was just about the next opponent."