LSU came from nowhere to win 1958 championship

• By BUD JOHNSON
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: Jan 3, 2008

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Before the 1958 football season, “We’re No. 1” was a war cry heard in other parts of the country, not in Tiger Country.

There were no grand expectations for this LSU team. It was picked to finish eighth in the 12-team Southeastern Conference by the Birmingham News and The Morning Advocate.

When someone questioned Billy Cannon, the team’s star running back, about this forecast he replied, “It will be between us and Ole Miss.”

University authorities expected no surge in fan interest. They ordered 30,000 tickets per game for a stadium that seated 67,510. There were a little more than 9,000 season ticket holders. The LSU student body numbered less than 10,000.

LSU came from nowhere. To win them all, a lot of little things had to fall into place. Coach Paul Dietzel retooled the offense. His version of the Wing-T seemed a perfect fit for a trio of talented Baton Rouge backs — Cannon, quarterback Warren Rabb and halfback Johnny Robinson. The Wing-T offered power, misdirection and a running quarterback. On paper, few teams in the South could match LSU’s running game. Cannon, at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, could run the 100-yard dash in 9.5 seconds consistently.

Rabb could throw deep, run, block and tackle, a necessity in the day when players played offensively and defensively. Robinson, the right halfback, had speed, cutting ability and the best hands on the team. Dietzel’s starting backfield was bigger and quicker than it had been in his three previous years as LSU coach.

J.W. Brodnax was the team’s leading rusher in 1956. In 1958, he moved to fullback and became the team’s lead blocker. He flourished in his new assignment. Brodnax won the Swede Nelson Award for Sportsmanship, a national honor, the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the best blocker in the SEC as well as LSU’s Most Valuable Player Award in 1958.

It is easy to see why LSU fans boasted about having the best backfield in the country. But in the summer of ’58 there was little boasting.

Two of the Wing-T’s foremost experts came to Baton Rouge in the offseason. Iowa’s Forest Evashevski and Delaware assistant coach Milo Lude offered their knowledge to the LSU coaching staff. Evashevski had adopted the offense in 1956 and promptly won the Big Ten.

Lude was a key member of the Delaware staff which created the Wing-T. Lude’s visit solidified the thinking of some members of the Tigers coaching staff, especially offensive line coach Bill Peterson, who had his blocking rules in place as soon as Lude left town.

Cannon, Rabb and Robinson honed their ball-handling skills during the summer. They practiced handoffs, reverses, counters and double reverses to get a jump on fall practice.

Strong and tough on both sides of the ball, Cannon and Robinson added another element to the mix in the offseason — strength training.

Alvin Roy, a strength training pioneer, provided the guidance. The two worked daily to become stronger. Roy had others under his supervision — pro football’s Jimmy Taylor and pro basketball’s Bob Pettit were among the new believers.