Colorado

The one year experiment with the helmet's buffalo horn theme ended and the Buffaloes took the field with an attractive new helmet and what would become a long-used identifying decal. The gold helmet shell was tastefully decorated with a white one-inch center stripe with black one-half-inch flanking stripes. The identifying player numerals were placed on the back of the helmet utilizing black three-inch, thick full block numerals. What would become an immediately identifiable black interlocking "CU" logo was placed on both sides of the helmet for a great appearance. After the drop in '68, the Buffs rebounded to an 8-3 record in 1969 with many outstanding individual performances. The best of course was by TB Bob Anderson who ran wild for yet another All Big Eight selection and All American recognition. He became CU's all-time rushing leader,and Big Eight total offense record setter with 4565 yards. He won the MVP in the Liberty Bowl in an astounding performance where the Buffaloes crushed Alabama 47-33 with Anderson's record-setting 254 yards on the ground the highlight. Anderson was the Denver Broncos number one draft pick and played through the '74 season. Limited by injury, he retired after rolling through two teams in limited action in 1975. Anderson was moved to TB after the third game when Jimmy Bratten took over the QB position, using FB's Ward Walsh and 215-pound Steve Engel as rushing adjuncts to Anderson. Engel played for the Browns the following season. Center Don Popplewell was another All Conference pick. Defense was strong with safety Pat Murphy seen as a ferocious hitter but soph DE Herb Orvis, a former serviceman who had met Coach Crowder at a coaching clinic in Germany, was the Big Eight Soph Defensive Player Of The Year, playing next to DT Bill Brundige who was All American, the Big Eight Defensive Player Of The Year by virtue of his thirteen sacks, and the Redskins second-round pick. He played a key role for the 'Skins from 1970-'77.

SPOTLIGHT ON BOB ANDERSON:

Highly recruited out of Boulder High School, Bob Anderson could have gone almost anywhere to play collegiate football but decided to stay home, follow in the footsteps of his brother Dick, a Buffalo defensive back, and become part of the University Of Colorado tradition. He did a bit more than that, becoming one of their most storied players. He was an immediate star, quarterbacking the freshmen team and took over the starting position as a sophomore. An Honorable Mention All American, he led his team to a 9-2 record and a Bluebonnet Bowl win over Miami, being named the game's MVP in the 31-21 victory. The team slumped in '68 but Anderson was the All Big Eight quarterback and played the first three games of his senior season as the signal caller. Needing and wanting to get the ball into his hands more as a runner, Head Coach Eddie Crowder moved him to tailback against Indiana and Anderson immediately responded with 161-yards rushing and three touchdowns. By the time the '69 season and his collegiate career was over, Bob Anderson again was All Big Eight and a first-team consensus All American but this time, at running back. He left his mark at CU, setting eighteen single-season and career records, among them 4565 total yards in offense which was a Big Eight record, and school rushing marks of 2367 yards with 212 points scored. He put the explanation point on his sterling career in his final game, a 47-33 romp over Alabama in the Liberty Bowl where he ran roughshod over the Tide to the tune of 254 yards on the ground, 295 total yards tallied, and three touchdowns scored, all contributing to his MVP trophy. Eleventh in the Heisman voting, Anderson's number 11 was retired and he was subsequently elected to the Colorado Sports Hall Of Fame, The Big Eight Football Hall Of Fame, and the University Of Colorado Athletic Hall Of Fame. The 1970 first round draft choice of the Denver Broncos, he performed well through 1974, finishing his pro career with the Patriots and Redskins in the 1975 season.

Still a strong conference contender, the Buffs put up a 6-4 record in 1970 that included an upset loss to Tulane in the Liberty Bowl by a 17-3 score. The offense was led by center Dan Popplewell, an All American and All Conference pick and big-play soph wide receiver Cliff Branch, a JC transfer from Texas. FB Ward Walsh remained effective and then split two seasons between the Oilers and Packers while soph HB John Keyworth piled up 678 yards on the ground. The defense had the stars with safeties Pat Murphy, an All American, and "Bad Dude" John Stearns a pair of ferocious hitters and CB mate Cullen Bryant a mound of muscle. Herb Orvis was a 6'5" roadblock at DE and All Conference. Golfer Hale Irwin's brother Phil, finished his career as a three-year starter at LB. The Buffs lost to the Big Eight's big three of OU, Nebraska, and Missouri and were upended by K-State to ruin their season.

A 9-2 record in the regular season of 1971 got the squad an invitation to the Bluebonnet Bowl where they spanked Houston 29-17 to complete a fine season where the only losses were to national powerhouse teams Oklahoma and Nebraska. HB John Keyworth went down in the first game with injury so WR Cliff Branch became the attack's focus and an All American, winning team MVP honors. His eight TD's on kick returns (six punts, two KO's) were an NCAA record and his 18.5 yards per catch made him a goal line to goal line weapon. He went on to a terrific career with the Raiders from 1972 through '85, finishing his pro career with 501 catches, 8685 yards, and a whopping sixty-seven TD's as a four-time All Pro. Soph TE JV Cain was unstoppable at times and HB Charlie Davis with his 1386 rush yards was unstoppable at all times, the nation's top soph rusher and Bluebonnet Bowl MVP. Bakersfield JC transfer John Tarver spelled Davis with obvious ability and split a few years between the Patriots and Eagles. DE Orvis was still the mainstay, an All American who became the Lions first draft pick. He stayed in Detroit until '77 and then finished with the Colts from 1978-'81. Cullen Bryant at 6'1" and 220-pounds was a huge and hard-hitting DB. Bud Magrum, a Marine vet who had won two Purple Hearts in Vietnam was an All America mention at MG and recorded over one-hundred tackles, twenty of them in an upset win against Ohio State where he was named National Lineman Of The Week.

SPOTLIGHT ON CLIFF BRANCH:

At 5'10" and 172-pounds, wide receiver Cliff Branch looked almost fragile on the football field but once he began to run, few could stay close to him. As an All State wide receiver at Houston Worthing H.S., Branch moved on to Wharton JC in Texas before enrolling at Colorado and lettered in both 1970 and '71. He was a first-team consensus All American as a senior with a gaudy 18.5 yards per reception average, an-anywhere-on-the-field threat to go all the way as a receiver or kick returner. His six punt and two kickoff returns-for-touchdowns set an NCAA record. He totaled 755 yards on kickoff returns and another 733 yards returning punts. The fourth round draft pick of the Oakland Raiders, Branch excelled immediately and had a lengthy fourteen-year pro career, totaling 501 receptions for 8685 yards, and 67 touchdowns. He was a four-time All Pro and contributed to three Super Bowl wins for the Silver And Black. Taking one last shot at the game, Branch returned for a final turn with the LA team of the Arena Football League in 1988.

The 1972 version of the Buffaloes struggled with inconsistency, beating Oklahoma but losing to Oklahoma State, Nebraska, and again to Missouri. With so many All Americans and All Conference picks, many boosters felt that Crowder's teams should have been able to handle at least two of the conference Big Three of OU, Nebraska, and Missouri on a season-to-season basis. The team went 8-4 with a Gator Bowl loss to Auburn. John Keyworth was back, but at wingback instead of halfback as the rushing was handled by Charlie Davis and FB Bo Matthews who with QB Ken Johnson rushed for 2693 yards. JV Cain contributed 30 receptions from his TE post as an All Conference choice. The two All Big Eight DB's, "Bad News" Stearns and Cullen Bryant went on to pro success, Stearns taking his sixteen career INT's to the baseball Mets for ten years after winning the Big Eight batting championship, and Bryant, as an All American DB, to the Rams where he immediately switched to running back and played from '73-1982 with them until going to Seattle for '83 and '84. Bryant surprised a lot of fans by helping the Rams in the strike season of '87 by being in good enough condition to play the three replacement games for them. Bud Magrum again had a huge year as an All American with over one hundred tackles, playing at both LB and DT.

With the great secondary gone, the squad struggled through a 5-6 year in '73 and under pressure, Crowder announced his retirement to focus full-time on the Athletic Director's job. Charlie Davis finished his CU career and had a year with the Bengals as their second round pick, and another with the Bucs at RB. JV Cain played at All America level and was the All Decade of the '70's Big Eight tight end, and the Cardinals top choice. A solid pro, he died suddenly in pre-season camp in 1979 of heart-related symptoms. John Keyworth, almost a forgotten man, enjoyed a productive pro career, drafted by the Redskins but cut and picked up by the Broncos his first season, and playing RB for the home-state squad until 1980. The huge 6'4", 230 pound RB Bo Matthews who had supplanted Keyworth was the Chargers first draft pick, with an eight-year career, six of those with San Diego. The defense was hurt when two-time All American Bud Magrum left school early to sign with the CFL. With a dozen members of this squad that dropped five of their final six games and gave up over twenty-three points per contest going to the NFL, expectations were not met and it was believed that Crowder was forced to leave his coaching position while remaining as AD.

If interested in any of these Colorado helmets please click on the photos below.