The Substitute

For three seasons, 152-lb. Bronko McGugan has diligently warmed the bench as fifth-string center. At the University of Oklahoma he got none of the footballers' privileges except that of hurling himself against 220-lb. varsity men in practice. He did that so enthusiastically that two hefty teammates once decided to put him in his place: they double-blocked him out of the play, scooped him up and carried him over to the sidelines, where they plopped down on top of him. But Bronko was the first to bounce up. Said he, cheerfully: "Nice block, fellows." When the coaches choose men to make the varsity trips, says Bronko, "they always come down to me and draw the line."

Two weeks ago, against Kansas State, Bronko could hardly believe it when the coach nodded for him to go into the game.

McGugan buckled on his old black helmet (he didn't rate one of the new, shiny, white ones) and hustled out on the field. He played for eight minutes, the last three because students up in the stands chanted "We want McGugan" when the coach pulled him out of the game.

It wasn't because of anything heroic he did (Oklahoma was already well on its way to a 42-0 victory); it was just that Bronko McGugan, a junior in geology, too small for the big time, and unfavored by football "scholarships," typified the unsung, inglorious, eternal scrub. In Oklahoma City last week, the Quarterback Club felt the least they could do was buy Fifth-Stringer McGugan a shiny new helmet--and collected $73.25, enough to buy him four.

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