[Michigan State fight song] [Voiceover]: Television development of  Michigan State College in cooperation with the Athletic Department, presents the Spartan Sports Clinic, featuring this week, the head football coach at Michigan State, Biggie Munn. Along with your College Station Sports Director, Bob Shackleton. This program is presented each week at this time to better acquaint you with the fundamentals of the game, and to take you behind the scenes of collegiate football. And now to the office of the College Station Sports Director and Bob Shackleton. [Bob Shackleton]: Hello there, everybody, and welcome once again to our Spartan Sports Clinic. Well, the 1952 football season is just about coming to an end, and of course, with it, our clinic on football will have to come to an end also. However, we will be back in the very near future with clinics on some of the indoor sports. More about that a bit later. Right now, I'd like to have you meet a very good friend of mine, and a man whom I consider one of the best football coaches in the nation today, Biggie Munn. And Biggie, I want to congratulate you and your team for all of the exciting thrills you gave us during this past season, and also to thank you and your staff for your wonderful cooperation in the presentation of this series of television programs. [Biggie Munn]: Well, Bob, it's been a pleasure to see these sports clinics. I've enjoyed them very much. The season had a lot of thrills, a few headaches in there, but I think it was a lot of fun. [Bob Shackleton]: Now, Biggie, I'd like to talk about this time some of the problems that confront a head coach. Now, I've heard you say many times that coaching calls for a great deal of psychology, and with so many of the different individuals and personalities that are on a football team, I've often wondered just how you get maximum efficiency out of your players. [Biggie Munn]: Well, it's true that each boy has sort of a different problem, I'll tell you that. But, I think anybody who has a family would appreciate the fact that it's awfully difficult to even keep that immediate family happy. And therefore, it's quite a problem for a coach to keep 70 boys happy. At Michigan State, I like to play everybody that I can. I have a belief that the boys do not practice just to have an opportunity to sit on the bench. So I use a lot of players. And by doing that, I believe it adds to our spirit, and also adds to the thought of keeping everybody happy, or most of them happy. Now, to get back to psychology, there are those boys that you have to kneel a little bit, and there are those that you have to praise now and then. But I find that for the most part, giving them a pat on the back and praising them a little bit is worth more than just continually nagging them or getting after them. [Bob Shackleton]: It varies with the individual whether you have to boost them or praise them. [Biggie Munn]: That's right, and there are certain opportune times that you have to sort of blast a boy, and then there are other times when you give them a pat on the back. [Bob Shackleton]: Biggie, I know  that a lot of the fans, when they come to a football game on a Saturday afternoon, get a lot of fun or a good kick out of watching the coach and his work along the sidelines as they do the game itself sometimes. And I wonder if you could tell our clinic just what goes on at ground level at Macklin Field on a Saturday afternoon. [Biggie Munn]: Well, Bob, to tell you the truth, if I knew that if you were watching the coach, I think I'd refrain from throwing my hat in the air now and then. To tell you the truth, when the game starts, you just forget about just about everything. you no longer pay attention to the nervous excitement that prevails before the game. The coach on the bench, he is the one that actually runs the show, he's the one that makes the substitutions, he watches the other team to see if they're getting a little tired, and he watches how the game is going, if he finds that the other team is looking a little tired, then at Michigan State we usually try and put in some fast backs, or as we call them here, the pony backfield. But the man on the bench, he is the one that knows and feels the pulse of actually what is going on. There is a fellow up in the press box who views the game from a higher position, he makes suggestions by phone down to the bench. And down on the bench they are screened, we use what we think we should use, or we delete what we think we should delete. But I think it's a real tough job when the game is going on because every decision that you make is viewed by many thousands of people. And now, Bob, with television going on, why, it's really a lot rougher because we've had games that have been viewed by, say, 30, 40 thousand people or even, I mean, the million, I mean, it just goes way up into the millions, you see. [Bob Shackleton]: Well, have you ever had any occasion where you're talking about substitutions where you've had 12 men on the field or, say, 10 men on the field at one time? [Biggie Munn]: Well, we've  been pretty lucky along that line. I remember one time we had a try for point team, and I called for those boys to win and kick the try for point. I noticed there were 10 men on the field, and I looked around for the other boy, and he was sitting in the second row, clapping like mad, watching the game. His brother had just made a touchdown, so he was so thrilled that he forgot to go in the game. I think we do pretty well keeping our substitutions straight. Duffy Daugherty, our line coach, helps me a good bit down the bench, and we really work pretty hard there, keeping everything going. [Bob Shackleton]: One question. Did  you make that extra point? [Biggie Munn]: Oh, yeah. Oh, yes. We made that try for point. I remember that. [Bob Shackleton]: Well, uh, how  about locker room activities? Say, in the 1951 season when Pittsburgh was playing at Macklin Field, the first half was very trying as far as Michigan State was concerned. What did you do to the boys in the locker room at halftime to give them that boost to come out and pull that game out of the fire? [Biggie Munn]: Well, I think a lot of people have the idea that we blast the boys at halftime. However, on most of the occasions, we use that time to allow them to rest or to encourage them. The game that you mentioned, that took place in 1951, Pittsburgh had a quarterback with a name of Bestwick, and an end by the name of Warriner, who were a great combination. This Bestwick was throwing passes as well as I've ever seen any quarterback throw, and it was just one of those things that the secondary, Michigan State secondary they were just a half a step behind, and the passer being completed. So as the boys came in the dressing room, they would go by a table where we had some orange juice and some paper cups, they would be allowed to take orange juice as they wanted, then they'd go over sit down with some mats and I would get up at the blackboard and point out some of the things that I'd seen, some of the strategy that we should use for the coming half, and the man who was up in the press box, he would also get up at the board and make certain suggestions that would help us in the second half. Sometimes, however, we have to lash the team a little bit to get 'em going. And that's a, that's also quite a problem with some guys, I'll tell you that. [Bob Shackleton]: Well, I imagine it is. Biggie, I'd like to say one thing, that I've been traveling with your football team for the last five or six years now and broadcasting the games back to the fans, and it's certainly been a wonderful thrill and a lot of fun for me. And I think perhaps our clinic would like to know what goes on behind the scenes in preparing for a trip, say, across the country someplace. [Biggie Munn]: Well, that's quite a job in itself, Bob. We start working on that, say, in early May. For example, when we made the trip to Oregon State this year, Lyman Frimodig, our business manager, he had to reserve space on the planes to fly from, say, Willow Run to Salem, Oregon. Now, normally, we could charter a plane, but it's impossible to do so in this day and age right now. I did, by the way, take a team on a trip,  which was the longest football trip ever taken. I took the team in 1947 to Hawaii. I might say it's just like taking a group on a tour. Every detail must be planned, and also the itinerary, and the menu, the time that the buses are to leave for practice, and the time that practice will take place, and even as to the time they will all leave to go to the movie, say, on Friday night. And just every detail that must be worked out and it is, it takes quite a lot of preparation. I notice you do most of your traveling, especially on an extended trip, by air. Have you ever encountered air sickness as far as the team is concerned that might have hurt you the next day? [Biggie Munn]: [laughter] Well, yes,  we did. At one time, we took a trip to Washington State, and we flew out of Denver, and the plane, the travel was really rough, and most of the boys became ill. We arrived in Spokane, Washington, I believe about 8:30, went over to Gonzaga University to work out. I got the boys dressed up in sweatsuits and took them to the gym, gave them quite a workout. I wanted to make them forget their air sickness. I might tell you I wasn't a very popular fellow that night. [Bob Shackleton]: [laughter] I bet you weren't. [George Munn]: However, on Saturday, the boys went out and they won the game 21-7. There were two players, however, who couldn't play because of their being air sick. But that's the only time when I've ever encountered a great deal of difficulty with the air travel. [Bob Shackleton]: And the speed probably  is a much greater advantage too. [Biggie Munn]: Oh, yes, that's right. They, uh, if you take the trip by train it'll take you a long time, and we'd like to get there to play the game and get back. You see, the only trouble in taking a long trip is if you have another game the next week that you must prepare for, like this year we played Oregon State out in Portland, then we came back and played Texas A&M here at home. So you have to look forward to what's going to happen after that. [Bob Shackleton]: So Biggie, you've been  coaching football for quite a number of years now, although I must say you don't show too much wear and tear for it. I imagine since you've been here in 1947, you've had many outstanding thrills in your career, could you recall some of them for us? [Biggie Munn]: Oh, I've had a lot of thrills, Bob, I remember in 1950, our beating Michigan for the first time was a tremendous thrill. And also in 1951, we played Notre Dame in front of a full house, and there were, I believe, about 60 million people watching or hearing the game. And to see Dick Pannin make that beautiful 88 yard run, was really a tremendous thrill. And if you don't mind I'd just like to turn on the projector here, and we'll see that over again. [Bob Shackleton]: Oh, I'd like to have it. [Biggie Munn]: Okay. [projector whirring] [Biggie Munn]: Here we are at the game. Barrett is punting for Notre Dame, the ball is covered very well by the Notre Dame team, Jimmy Ellis is down there along with Bolden. They did not have a chance to run the ball back. On the first play of the game from scrimmage, Michigan State comes up into a 5-1 line, Dorow is at quarterback, Captain McAuliffe is left half back, Panin number 38 to the fullback, they shift to the right. Now watch this closely, the ball goes to Panin, he fakes to throw, and he goes to the line, a beautiful block made by Coleman, and there is Petitbon of Notre Dame making a grab for him, but Panin is on his way, and he's galloping down there going 88 yards for a wonderful touchdown as Petitbon makes one final lunge, but he fails to get him, and Panin goes across for a very fine touchdown to open the game for Michigan State. Captain Carey is the one that's sort of greeting him there, and telling him what a wonderful job he did. [laughter] [Bob Shackleton]: Well, Biggie, do you  think that particular play, the first play from scrimmage, might have relaxed the team from the tension they might have built up? [Biggie Munn]: I think that it had a good deal to do with relaxing them. I also think that it had the opposite effect with Notre Dame. I think it meant a good- [Bob Shackleton]: Demoralizing [Biggie Munn]: Yes, I think it did. And it gave the boys a lift, which they needed at that time. But we looked forward to that game for a long time, as you know. That was a particular one we were looking forward to. It seems quite funny that in 1951, as you look back, that the two teams are regarded the toughest. You beat Michigan 25 to nothing and Notre Dame 35 to nothing. [Biggie Munn]: That was quite an interesting team. I thought it was a nice team. [Bob Shackleton]: Well, Biggie, again,  I want to thank you very much for you and your staff's cooperation, and making this Spartan Sports Clinic possible, and also to wish the best of you for everything to you for the coming years. [Biggie Munn]: Well, thank you, Bob. It's really been a pleasure. [Bob Shackleton]: And I want to thank you, too, for being with us on the Spartan Sports Clinic throughout this football season. We certainly hope that you've enjoyed it as much as we have bringing it to you. We're going to be back in just a few short weeks with our clinics on some of the indoor sports, such as basketball, hockey, track, boxing, and all the rest. Now this is Bob Shackleton saying good luck to all of you, and we'll see you very soon. [Michigan State fight song] [Voiceover]: And that concludes the football series of the Spartan Sports Clinic. Featured today, Michigan State's head coach, Biggie Munn, and your college station sports director, Bob Shackleton. And once again, be sure to check with your local newspaper for exact time and station for the next edition of the Spartan Sports Clinic. [Michigan State fight song] [Voiceover]: Film clips for this series prepared by Clair Tettemer. Television direction by Harold Niven. [Michigan State fight song] [Voiceover] This has been a video recording by Michigan State College Television. [Michigan State fight song]