At 101, Glassford Can Still Hear NU?s Fight Song

Randy York N-Sider

Official Blog of the Huskers

On any given day, the oldest living professional football player can close his eyes and hear the University of Nebraska Marching Band playing two fight songs that still ring true today – Hail Varsity and Dear Old Nebraska U, also known as There is No Place Like Nebraska.

How do I know? Because of a thank you letter that William "Bill" Glassford recently sent to Shawn Eichorst, who just began his fourth year as Nebraska’s Director of Athletics. Glassford thanked Eichorst for creating a “special day in my life” when Husker Development Officer Mike Dobbs presented him a plaque and an honorary varsity letter in Scottsdale, Ariz.

“It’s a very special honor that I am very proud to display,” said Glassford, Nebraska’s head football coach from 1949 to 1955. “The University of Pittsburgh (where he was an All-American and captain, leading the Panthers to a 21-0 win over Washington in the 1937 Rose Bowl), the University of New Hampshire (his first head coaching job in 1946) and especially the University of Nebraska has held a very special part in my heart during my lifetime."

Sights, Sounds, Singing Still Give Glassford the Ultimate Adrenalin Rush

“What is really important to me are the people of Nebraska – the players that I had the opportunity to work with and the University coaches and staff. I hold those memories close to my heart,” wrote Glassford, pictured above as NU's coach and below with his honorary letter. 

The third paragraph in Glassford’s heartfelt thank you is especially touching. “With the twilight of my life approaching,” he wrote, “the sounds of the crowd, the singing of the Cornhusker Fight Song, the sights of the stadium with freshly mowed grass and lined field, and the Huskers rushing on to the field for another hard-fought struggle coming, still gives me the adrenalin rush. To you, the people of Nebraska, and to the N-Club, thank you…Respectfully, Bill Glassford.” 

Glassford Led 1950 Team to No. 17, 1954 Team to Orange Bowl

At age 101, and having played for the Cincinnati Bengals in 1937, Glassford is officially the oldest living professional football player in America. Before his arrival in Lincoln, Nebraska had six different head football coaches in the previous nine years.

Glassford led the 1950 Huskers to a No. 17 final national ranking, which was Nebraska’s first top 20 ranking since the 1941 Rose Bowl team. The highlight of Glassford’s seven-year stint as the Huskers’ head coach is leading Nebraska to its first-ever Orange Bowl appearance in 1954.

Last month, Eichorst saluted Glassford in his monthly Connecting on Campus column. “The momentum created from the teams Bill coached eventually helped develop the fan base that has sold out every Nebraska home football game since 1962,” Eichorst said while congratulating Glassford “for what your teams accomplished on the field and for the positive impact that you have had on the lives of countless Husker student-athletes.”

For Those Who Just Hear the Sounds, Here are Nebraska Fight Songs' Words:

Hail Varsity
Words by Joyce Ayres, class of 1930
Music by Wilbur Chenoweth

Hail to the team,
The stadium rings as everyone sings,
The Scarlet and Cream.
Cheers for a victory, echo our loyalty;
So, on, mighty men,
The eyes of the land, upon every hand
Are looking at you.
Fight on for victory
Hail to the men of Nebraska U.

Dear Old Nebraska U (There Is No Place Like Nebraska)
Words and Music by Harry Pecha, class of 1924

There is no place like Nebraska,
Dear old Nebraska U.
Where the girls are the fairest,
The boys are the squarest,
Of any old school that I knew.
There is no place like Nebraska,
Where they're all true blue.
We'll all stick together,
In all kinds of weather,
For dear old Nebraska U

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