Category: Sports

Remembering a Man with “No-Name”

Tom Landry once quipped that the Miami Defense of the early 1970s was a “bunch of no-names.” In fact, it seemed the only defensive player on the team with any kind of recognition at all was Middle Linebacker Nick Buoniconti. The rest were treated like uncredited extras in a B-movie. That didn’t stop them. In fact, it seemed to fuel the fire in their bellies. They were the first team to make it to 3 Super Bowls in a row (winning 2 of them.) The 1972 Dolphins remain the only completely undefeated NFL team in the Super Bowl era.

Manny Fernandez – the college years

In spite of his lack of name recognition, Manny Fernandez absolutely dominated opposing lines – on a defense chock-full of dominating players. Manny was undrafted out of Utah in 1968 before signing with the Dolphins. One of the unofficial reasons for signing him was his Latin heritage. The large Hispanic population was an under-represented demographic within the Miami fan base; and the ownership wanted to change that. In an interview with NFL Films, he laughed, saying, “I am a Spaniard, but I don’t speak a word of it.”

The team also joked about his poor eyesight. Without his glasses, he was “blind as a bat.” But that was OK. He only needed to follow the moving blur that was holding the football. Some sources cite him as the first in the NFL to play the Nose Tackle position (directly opposite the Center.) This meant that he was typically blocked by 2 offensive linemen. In Super Bowl VII, the Washington Redskins attempted to contain him against a single player. Manny said, “It was like a vacation.” He racked up an incredible 17 tackles and 3 sacks that game. And he played all 8 seasons of his career with the Dolphins.

Both Pro Football Weekly and USA Today have listed him in ‘all time Super Bowl’ lists. In a January 2015 article in Shutdown Corner, Frank Schwab of Yahoo Sports named Fernandez among the all-time greatest NFL Super Bowl players. Manny was ranked 10th.

This morning, the news reported that we Dolphins fans have lost another great.   Manuel Jose Fernandez died at the age of 79. His name and jersey #75 are immortalized at Hard Rock Stadium’s Ring of Honor in Miami, Florida. Although never enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, his photo and signature are proudly honored in my personal (and literal) hallway.

Rest in Peace, #75. We all remember you.

-Toph

“On Belay?”

On this day in 1908, legendary mountaineer and wilderness outdoor education pioneer Paul Petzoldt was born in Creston, Iowa. He developed several specialized climbing practices that are now considered standard. Examples include the ‘call and reply’ voice commands that are practiced all over the world (note the title of this article). And the ‘Sliding Middleman’ is a climbing practice that allows larger expedition teams to more safely traverse snow and ice fields.

Petzoldt, late 1920s

In 1930, he formed Exum Mountain Guides (later known as Exum School of American Mountaineering), and in 1934, Paul led the first single-day double traverse of the Matterhorn (on the Swiss/Italian border). He was also a member of the First American Karakoram Expedition (also known as K2) in 1938.

 

10th Mountain Division

By World War 2, most of the major combatants had specialized mountaineer units. The Americans were lagging behind in mountain warfare expertise, so in 1943, the US Army developed the elite 10th Mountain Division. Paul entered the unit as a sergeant (at age 36) bringing years of hard-earned mountaineering and survival skills. He was then deployed with the unit on the Italian Front in 1944.

 

He was Colorado Outward Bound’s first Chief Climbing Instructor in 1963. In 1965, Petzoldt founded NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School). His work in adventure education raised the training bar to new heights (yes, that was intentional). In the mid 1970s he (along with Dr. Frank Lupton, Robert Christie and Charles Gregory) formed the Wilderness Education Association.

I am very fortunate to have met Paul on 2 different occasions. He spoke as a guest lecturer in several of my classes in the Recreation and Park Administration department at Western Illinois University. The anecdotes were filled with wisdom and wit that will stay with me forever. I also got to buy him breakfast at my residence hall cafeteria in 1988. As a 1987 graduate of the Environmental Conservation and Outdoor Education Expedition (ECOEE), I was certified as an Outdoor Leader in Paul’s curriculum. I have read and re-read his New Wilderness Handbook and Teton Trails many times over.

In 1994, several prominent mountaineers organized a Grand Teton climb in honor of the 70th anniversary of Paul’s first ascent. Just short of the summit, inclement weather began to roll in. Paul then announced that being 86 years old, and nearly blind, he ought to exercise some of that judgment he’d been teaching all these years, and turn around now. As they say, “There are old mountaineers, and there are bold mountaineers. But there are no old, bold mountaineers.”

The INSIIDE cover of my copy of Teton Trails

Paul died on October 16, 1999 at the age of 91, leaving a legacy that continues to shape the experiences of climbers, adventurers, and experiential educators alike.

“On belay?” “Belay on, Paul!”

-Toph