By Pete Schlehr, SID Emeritus

TOWSON, Md. – John Yingling looks back with pride on his college days at Towson in the late sixties when he helped launch the Tiger Football program whose 50^th anniversary is just ahead.

The former strong safety recalls with genuine affection earning his degree in business and economics. He remembers the day he met his wife of 45 years, Sharon, also a Towson graduate. And, as the first football recruit ever at Towson, he'll never forget the part he and his teammates played as the program struggled to get off the ground and what the subsequent lift that inaugural 1969 season meant to the effort.

"It was a great experience," says John, president of Crawford Yingling Insurance, a family (four generations) owned insurance and risk management business in Westminster that was established in 1919 by his grandfather. "Not only did I love the university, coming in as a transfer it was a perfect fit for me. I want to contribute to the continuance of that pattern of success, not only with facilities but with coaching and everything else that is involved in a successful college football program. I hope today's players will walk away with the same kind of great feeling we had almost 50 years ago."

As a gesture of his sincerity the Yinglings are making a generous donation to Tiger Football.


The program was hatched in the 102^nd year of Towson's existence. Donald "Doc" Minnegan, then director of athletics, moved quickly to hire a full-time coach, Dick Smith who had spent the previous six years at the helm of Wesley (Del.) Junior College's football program. Smith hit the junior college recruiting trail right away, convincing players like Yingling, Al Dodds, Dennis Champney, Dannie Ross, Rod Cadorette, Al Massey and Jack Stewart to join him at Towson.

"I had played for Coach Smith at Wesley for two years before he moved on to Towson," John recalls. "He was hired to start the program. He contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in playing for him again. I said certainly. I transferred in the spring of 1968. That's when we had our very first spring football practice."

But when the players returned for the ensuing summer pre-season practice, Smith was gone. He had resigned.

"We came back to find Coach Smith gone and Carl Runk and Phil Albert there in his place," says John. "I didn't know who these guys were but they got us ready to play."

The 1968 season consisted of games against other collegiate jayvee teams and two-year programs. It wasn't until the following year, 1969, when the Tigers lined up against four-year competition, that Towson's program was recognized as a NCAA Division III member.

Towson posted a 4-4-1 record in its first varsity season. But Yingling points to the 31-22 loss to Randolph-Macon as one of the earliest stepping stones in the program's development.

"I'm very proud of the fact that we were in every game we played," he recalls. "We lost four games by a total of 13 points. Nine of those points came in a loss at Randolph-Macon."

The Yellow Jackets were a tough outfit that year. They went on to beat Bridgeport 47-28 in the NCAA's first Division III National Championship football game. They were led by 5-5, 160 pound All-American Howard Stevens who would go on to play in the NFL with the Baltimore Colts and New Orleans Saints as a punt and kick return specialist.

Facing a tight budget, the Tigers learned to get along without certain advantages that exist for today's players. In travel, for instance, there was little money for hotel bills. In his two years wearing a Towson uniform, the Tigers stayed overnight only once when they faced Jersey City College. They beat the Gothics 28-7. The travel norm for them was a long bus ride game day, arriving just before kickoff, playing the game and immediately returning to Towson.

That Randolph-Macon (Va.) trip was an up-and-backer. So was the Bridgewater (Va.) game which the Tigers lost 18-16.

There were no scholarships so players worked at part-time jobs to meet expenses. Gatorade, introduced in 1965, cost $1.00 per gallon. No worries. The Tigers made "Tigerade" that cost only 17 cents, consisting of lime Kool-aid with sugar and salt.

Towson's enrollment in 1969 was 5,600. Games were well attended. It was noted, however, that Towson's chess club got more ink in the Towerlight than the football team.

The facilities were very much in the plus column. Burdick Hall had just opened in 1967 with plenty of lockeroom space. It was considered a first class facility in its day. Burdick Field had a grass surface. There was ample seating for the crowds the Tigers were drawing.

Despite all the differences between 1969 and 2017, John Yingling wouldn't swap you for a seat on the team airplane, a Friday night steak or an 11,000-seat stadium for what he and the pioneer Tigers had.

"True, it was very different in terms of the staffing, numbers and other amenities," says John, "You're comparing apples with oranges in the football environment they have now but we were very well taken care of for that era. No complaints."