The “Sons of the Sixties” will reunite at Wakulla Springs Lodge on June 19-21, a gathering of the true pioneers of Florida State football.
John Crowe and Dale McCullers, who wrote the book "Sons of the Sixties: A Case for the Defense," are the architects of this reunion that is expected to be attended by 75 former players and coaches including Joe Gibbs, Bill Parcells, Don Breaux, Dan Henning and Bobby Jackson, who have 10 Super Bowl rings between them.
Crowe - a celebrated Florida State Hall of Fame member - will be the Master of Ceremonies for the memorable weekend featuring Gene Deckerhoff, Charlie Barnes and former teammate and longtime team orthopedic surgeon Tom Haney. Crowe is a celebrated alumni, donor, career Air Force pilot and executive for Buckeye Cellulose (forest division), re-named Buckeye Technologies, Inc.
Before we get into the fun part of this story, we need to ask our Osceola readers for some help. Unfortunately many of the coaches and players from this era are deceased, while the contact information on others is lacking, so Crowe and McCullers are hoping our good readers may be able to help them connect with readers who played on those teams or have contact information on former players. If you do, please share with Johnny Crowe at (901) 337-0413 or [email protected]
The Sons of the Sixties, the original Seminoles
The Sons of the Sixties brought national credibility to a program started less than two decades earlier with the following firsts:
- beat in-state rival Florida
- receive a major bowl bid
- won a major bowl (Oklahoma in the Gator Bowl)
- finish in the top 10
- upset a top 5 team (FSU 48 – No.5 Kentucky 6)
- earned a midseason No. 1 ranking in the Dunkel College Football Index
- produce a consensus AP all-American (Fred Biletnikoff)
- produce a two-time consensus all-American (Ron Sellers)
- produce a College Football Hall of Fame member (Sellers)
- produce an NFL Hall of Fame member (Biletnikoff)
- produce a Super Bowl MVP (Biletnikoff)
Putting their achievements into context
To appreciate their contribution to Seminole sports, it helps to remember that just two decades before they signed with FSU, there was no Florida State let alone Florida State football.
Two decades earlier boys their age were embroiled in World War II and the campus at the top of College Avenue was an all-girls school – Florida State College for Women – with the University of Florida an all-boys school.
Needing space to accommodate those boys returning from war, the state of Florida chose to make FSCW co-educational and renamed it Florida State University. In 1947, the school restarted football, which had not played since 1904 when it was then called Florida State College.
When Florida State won the national title in 1993, it became the first football program started after WWII to win a football championship. And to put that into further context, with three national titles, remains the only school to have done so.
Those three national championship teams have the Sons of the Sixties to thank.
Most of the Sons of the Sixties were signed by Bill Peterson, who compiled a 62-42-11 record from 1962 to 1970.
Other historical context:
- At a time when there were very few bowl games, FSU received four bids including: Gator Bowl (1965 and 67, Sun Bowl (1966) and Peach Bowl (1968)
- Fred Biletnikoff was the very first consensus All-American in 1964. FSU now has 39.
- Ron Sellers was a consensus all-American in 1968 and 1969, becoming the first of only seven Seminole to earn consecutive all-American honors.
- Three Seminoles have been awarded the Heisman Trophy, but it was quarterback Kim Hammond (1967) who was the first to finish among the top 5 in votes. Gary Huff, who was signed by Peterson, would finish 10th in 1972.
- Only 12 Seminoles have had their jersey honored, including two Sons of the Sixties: Biletnikoff (1962-64) and Sellers (1966-68).
- FSU now has 10 players or coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame, but Sellers was the first to be inducted in1988, followed by Biletnikoff (1991), Bobby Bowden, who was an assistant on the Peterson staff from 1962-64 was inducted in 2006.
- Between ’63 and ’70, FSU had 13 players taken in the top 4 rounds of the NFL draft with Barry Smith and JT Thomas taken in the 1st round (signed in 1969, drafted in 1973.
- FSU has five Pro Football Hall of Fame members with Biletnikoff becoming the first in 1988.
- Two Seminoles have won Super Bowl MVP honors, with Biletnikoff the first in Super Bowl XI.
Reminiscing where it all began
The reunion will be held at the Wakulla Springs Lodge which McCullers called the “launch pad” for every home game win.
Crowe and McCullers speak for their teammates about why these Friday night get-a-ways were so important.
“The Wakulla Lodge is where our teammates symbolically “put on our war paint” before home games,” McCullers said. “The lodge gave players and coaches the time to get away from the fanfare and the business of college life. It was the ‘calm place before the storm’ on game day.”
“Wakulla Springs was relaxing and the food was great!” Crowe said. “It was a great setting to reflect on the team we were playing and what might be special about the game.”
The reunion itinerary will be similar to the itinerary the team had in the 1960s, which Crowe and McCullers explain:
“After a brief special teams walkthrough, we would depart the stadium/locker room on two buses and only Coach Pete and some staff members would join us. We would travel to Wakulla Springs Lodge and check into our rooms via position match; starting free safeties and strong safeties roomed together,” Crowe said.
“… if the walls could talk you would hear some extraordinary commentary by players and coaches concerning the mental and motivational aspects of college football,” McCullers said. “The lodge grounds were the perfect place and time to ‘put on your game face’ well before the kickoff.”
Crowe continued: “We had free time to walk around the outdoors, take a boat ride, play cards and actually, some of us studied (not many and not long). We would enjoy a great meal together and then come together in the Terrace Room for a meeting and pep talk via players and Coach Pete.”
After that was quiet time.
“We would then be sent to get our pillows and blankets to lay down and watch the movie scheduled to be shown Saturday Night on Channel 6,” Crowe said of their advanced viewing. “Once, the reels were mixed and we watched half of two different movies.”
But while “movie night” sounds comforting, McCullers said the movies chosen were intentional.
“Watching movies like the Magnificent Seven and other Westerns (was) part of the agenda - to get players to calm their minds and bodies before the conflict,” said McCullers, who would later win a Super Bowl ring with the Baltimore Colts. “People don’t realize the violence on the football field nor the heat and exhaustion early in the August-September season. I remember losing 14 pounds in a game against Florida and one of our receivers lost 15-plus pounds.”
Opponents came to “realize the violence” quickly, as the Live Oak linebacker recorded 29 tackles in one game against Texas A&M, 20 of which were unassisted, six for loss, which remain FSU records nearly 60 years later.
“After the movie it was lights out and, as best I can remember, we went to bed and stayed there until morning,” Crowe said, noting married players were “excused due to already having a personal chaperone.”
“Senior players monitored the team, and I can say there were very few rules broken,” said the former Air Force Lt. Colonel, who later became an executive for Buckeye Cellulose. “You didn’t want to sneak out and face the team leaders. Teamwork made it work!”
This year’s reunion schedule will be slightly different as it includes beer and wine and without the bed check:
Friday, June 19
3:00 PM - Honoring Coach Pete and Coaches (Story Hour)!
5:00 PM - Reception with Hors D’Oeuvres and
6:00 PM - Dinner
Speakers: Gene Deckeroff and Charlie Barnes
Memoriam: For fallen teammates and coaches.
8:30 PM - After Dinner Mix
10:00 PM - Bar Closes
11:00 PM - Bed check (Not really)
The Saturday itinerary varied based on game time
“We would rise and have a breakfast and later lunch if it was a night game,” Crowe, a St. Cloud product, said. “We ate very well; all meals were loaded with high protein and energy foods!
“Three hours before game time, we would reload the buses and drive to the stadium. When we arrived at the stadium, we would cross the field from South End Zone to North End Zone and enter the Locker Room. I always felt rested and ready to play!”
The itinerary for this year’s reunion will follow a similar itinerary:
Saturday, June 20
9:00 a.m. – Breakfast
Former FSU player and longtime team doctor Tom Haney, who is President of this year’s Emeriti Alumni, will make a presentation of medallions to those who graduated from FSU before 1977.
11:00 a.m - Checkout and drive to FSU campus
12:00 Noon – Guided tour of FSU Football Operations Facility
1:30 p.m. - Wrap up
Coach Pete and the malapropisms
McCullers, who spent 23 years as an NCIS special agent with worldwide jurisdiction, remembered one more item on the game day itinerary. “Peterson always arranged for a local Tallahassee minister to say a prayer before leaving the locker room and onward to the field,” he said.
That recollection reminded us of the time Coach Pete had to lead the team prayer.
In the book, You Can’t Become a Football Overnight, author Jim Crosby documents the many times Coach Pete would get his words twisted, including the time he had no one else to say the prayer.
The prayer that came to mind, and to his lips, wasn’t what any player expected prior to combat.
Pete began: “Now I lay me down to sleep…”
“I think Coach was a genius and his mind worked quicker than his lips,” Crowe explained before rattling off a litany of others that surely will be retold by players and coaches at what will be a fun weekend.
Contact information:
Johnny Crowe: 121 N Monroe ST PH01, Tallahassee, FL 32301
Phone: 901-337-0413
Email: [email protected]
Dale McCullers: 1613 Tupelo Dr., Waycross, GA 31501
Phone: 912-281-2282
Email [email protected]
