Bobby Brooks might not have won a Heisman Trophy, but those who saw him foxtrot on the gridiron were not shy about comparing him with the celebrated Tom Harmon as one of Indiana’s all-time great running backs.
Running rampant in the 1940s, “Bolting Bob” won back-to-back Gary scoring championships. He was plucked out of Northwest Indiana by Kentucky coach Bear Bryant in 1948 after twice earning all-state honors.
Former Post-Tribune sports editor Norm Werry, once asked to compare Brooks to Harmon, offered this quote about the Lew Wallace superstar: “Brooks didn’t have the tremendous power of Tom, but his footwork is simply out of this world. He can stop on a dime and his change of pace is terrific.”
Perhaps Brooks’ most talked about explosions came against Hammond and Horace Mann in 1945. In a 42-7 romp over the Wildcats he scored on touchdown runs of 85, 70, 35, 31 and 30 yards, kicked three extra points and a field goal. He also erupted for three touchdowns, including an 85-yard kickoff return, four extra points and a field goal in a 37-27 victory over archrival Mann.
Harmon preceded him at Mann, won a Heisman Trophy at the University of Michigan, then tacked World War II heroics onto his resume. Brooks never saw “old 99” play, but both qualified as role models.
Football was never far from Brooks’ mind growing up in Glen Park.
“I used to sleep with the pigskin when I was a kid,” he said. “That’s how crazy I was about it. We played sandlot football against Hobart teams when I was nine years old.”
His fastest 100-yard time in high school was a comparatively modest 10.4, but Brooks compensated by shifting gears to step out of tackles.
“I loved to change directions,” said the 85-year-old widower, who lives with his son in Merrillville.
His bite was worse than the bark on trees in Pittman Square where Brooks practiced moves by dodging trees at full speed.
“That really helped me,” said Brooks, who will be inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame Sunday at Avalon Banquet Center in Merrillville.
His childhood provided exercises in hard knocks. He and his mother, Edith, lived in a series of basement apartments after his dad abandoned them when he was 14. She worked as a waitress, but creditors always hovered nearby.
Brooks still found time to play center field for the Hornets and started for three years as a forward for Richard Polk’s basketball team, which was once ranked No. 2 in the state. His heroics attracted the attention of the legendary Bear Bryant, who coached Kentucky to four bowls from 1946-53 before moving on to Texas A&M, then peaked at Alabama. Basketball coach Adolph Rupp also tried to recruit him on campus, but Bryant denied that request.
The Hall of Fame coach outbid Illinois for the services of Brooks.
“I picked Kentucky because they offered to pay my mom’s rent,” he said, shrugging. “We were poor.”
Brooks didn’t stick around long enough to collect his diploma at high school graduation services. Bryant was so worried about Illinois swooping in that he sent two coaches “to kidnap” him before the ceremony.
By then injuries were dogging Brooks. He never fully recovered from three Emerson tacklers piling on in the third game of his senior year.
“I did the splits,” he said. “Everything pulled up … my groin, hamstring … my back.”
Preceding his freshman year at Kentucky, Bryant sent him to a specialist in Birmingham, who put Brooks in traction for two weeks, then opted for a walking cast instead of surgery.
Brooks seldom played on offense at Kentucky, but set an SEC single-season record of 18 consecutive extra points, which was snapped in a 1950 Orange Bowl loss to Santa Clara.
In his sophomore season Brooks intercepted a pass against Florida and returned it for a touchdown. Asked how long it was, Brooks said it felt like 100 yards because he changed directions so many times.
Playing for such a demanding coach could be wearing mentally as well as physically. Bryant seldom gave them time off to expand their horizons.
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“He was rough and tough, all over the field,” said Brooks, who remembered an unexpected reaction after a 25-0 victory. “He was so upset he had us do wind sprints while the fans were still in the stadium. He was never satisfied.”
Horror stories, which included excessively long practices, might have been the norm but would never be condoned in a more enlightened era.
Brooks remembers how Bryant would prod him about kicking field goals.
“He’d get down on his knees and say ‘Brooks keep your head down. It’s just like hitting a golf club. If it’s good you’ll know it without looking.’ “
Bryant’s favorite expression, usually reserved for the fourth quarter of close games, was “suck your guts up,” according to Brooks.
Brooks was on the Kentucky team which was ranked No. 7 going into the 1951 Sugar Bowl. Nearly 50 years after the SEC champs snapped Oklahoma’s 31-game winning streak, Jeff Sagarin’s computer system elevated them to unofficial national champs.
After college the Steelers intended to sign him to return punts, but he couldn’t pass the physical because of the chronic injury.
“Broke my heart,” said Brooks, his dream destroyed by cruel fate.
Kentucky provided an oasis for Northwest Indiana talent during Bryant’s brilliant eight-year career, which included three bowl victories in five years.
East Chicago’s Gene Donaldson, Chet Lukawski and Ben Zaranka as well as Wallace’s Jim MacKenzie and Bob Wodke joined Brooks on campus.
Brooks roomed with Lukawski, who later coached at East Chicago Roosevelt. Brooks used to hitchhike home from Lexington with Zaranka, a four-year letterman.
Donaldson made Kentucky’s all-Centennial team as a guard. MacKenzie was Oklahoma’s head coach in 1967, but died of a heart attack after returning from a recruiting trip. He was only 37.
Quarterback George Blanda, who went on to become one of the all-time NFL kicking greats, was a friendly rival for kicking duties. Though he was three years ahead of Brooks they became good friends.
Nine will be honored Sunday.
Others who will also be inducted are Dennis Gutowski (Andrean/Notre Dame), Pat Malackowski (Valparaiso/Air Force Academy), John Mathias (Chesterton/Indiana), Tim Seneff (Merrillville/Purdue), Tom VanDenburgh (Merrillville/Notre Dame), Todd VanKeppel (Valparaiso/Northern Illinois), John Doherty (trainer) and Richard Boer (official).
Tickets, which will be from 5-9 p.m., are $35 and may be purchased at the Munster or Valparaiso high school athletic departments.
Mutka is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.