The State of Things in 1964

In 1964, the year of my matriculation to Penn State, the following things were true:

• Joe Paterno was an assistant to Rip Engle
• Girls had to live in women-only dorms unless they were 21 or married
• Jerry Sandusky was playing defensive end and also played offense
• Girls had to be back in the dorm at 11:30 on weeknights and 1:00 on weekends
• Pittsburgh still had operating street car lines
• Dick Anderson was a graduate assistant who taught my phys ed class
• The only State Store in Centre County was in Bellefonte
• Galen Hall was already an ex-quarterback
• The academic year was comprised of four quarters
• Mike McQueary wasn’t born yet
• Glenn Ressler was our only All-America team member
• It was the Look All-America Team then, sponsored by a long defunct weekly picture magazine
• We smoked cigarettes and pipes in class
• Beaver Stadium held about 45,000 people
• Players played both ways, offense and defense
• In State College, bars served beer but not liquor
• The Pitt game was the big rivalry, it was always the last game of the year, and I always froze my ass
• A gallon of gas cost $0.29
• The Nittany Lions played a 5-3 defense, because defending the run was what it was all about
• Cornerbacks were called defensive halfbacks
• Lyndon B. Johnson was the President of the United States
• Since the run was the thing, the offense lined up with two halfbacks, a fullback, and two ends
• The fullback was always the most productive runner.
• The fullback in 1964 was Tommy Urbanik.
• You could buy a new, fully equipped, full-sized car for $3000
• Syracuse used to kick our ass regularly
• Elizabeth Taylor was totally hot in Cleopatra
• Freshmen were not allowed to play varsity football, so there was a freshman team
• All freshmen except commuters had to live in the dorms
• The unranked Nittany Lions trounced the #2 Buckeyes in Columbus, 27-0
• There were no such things as co-ed dorms
• Our quarterback was Gary Wydman, backed up by Jack White
• The Steelers sucked
• The Pirates were good
• Jenny wasn’t born yet
• Neither were some of the McCabe Sisters

We’re talking 43 years ago here, folks. Boy, am I old! But I hope these factoids were fun for you.

If anyone else is still alive from that period, please post your reminiscences in the comments below.

Thanks!

—TNT