Lee Grosscup

Lee Grosscup
No. 11
Date of birth (1936-12-27) December 27, 1936
Place of birth Santa Monica, California
Career information
CFL status International
Position(s) QB
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 187 lb (85 kg)
College Washington
Utah
NFL draft 1959 / Round: 1 / Pick: 10
Career history
As player
1959–1961 NFL New York Giants
1962 AFL New York Titans
1963 CFL Saskatchewan Roughriders
1964 AFL Oakland Raiders
1965–1966 Cont. FL Hartford Charter Oaks
Career stats

Clyde Lee Edward Grosscup (born December 27, 1936) is a former American football player and broadcaster.

Playing career

Collegiate career

Grosscup was a quarterback for the Washington Huskies in 1955. He and three of his former high school teammates left the school after their freshman season; deciding to sit out a year instead of continuing to play for the "tyrannical" John Cherberg.[1] He played at the University of Utah in 1957 and 1958, leading a passing offense that was advanced for its time. Monday Night Football analyst Al Michaels credits Grosscup for developing the shovel pass or "Utah pass", although Grosscup acknowledges that the play was used in the 1920s.[2]

Grosscup finished the 1957 season completing 94 of 137 passes (68.6%) for 1,398 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was named a first-team All-American by Look, the Newspaper Enterprise Association, the Williamson National Football Rating, and Today and finished tenth in that year's Heisman Trophy balloting.[3]

Professional career

Selected by the New York Giants with the tenth overall pick in the 1959 NFL Draft, Grosscup would appear in eight games in his three seasons with the Giants.[4] His contract was purchased by the Minnesota Vikings in 1962, but he was cut before the beginning of the season.[5] This allowed Grosscup to return to New York, this time with the New York Titans of the American Football League.[6] He began the season as the starter, but missed six weeks with a knee injury. Grosscup was cut on the final day of the 1963 preseason and signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders three days later.[7] That same year, Groscup released his first book, entitled Fourth and One.[8]

After failing to make the San Francisco 49ers, Grossup spent the 1964 season on the Oakland Raiders' taxi squad.[9] He was cut by the Raiders the following season and signed with the Hartford Charter Oaks of the newly formed Continental Football League.[10]

Broadcasting career

After the 1966 season, Grosscup began a career in broadcasting. His spent one season calling AFL games for NBC before beginning a twenty-year stint as a college football analyst for ABC.

Grosscup was also a broadcaster in the United States Football League, first as a radio analyst for the Oakland Invaders, then as a television analyst on ABC from 1984–1986.

From 1989–2003, Grosscup was the radio analyst for California Golden Bears football broadcasts. He was let go in 2004 in favor of former Cal quarterback Mike Pawlawski, despite Grosscup's willingness to continue until 2007.[11] Since 2004 he has hosted "Post-Game at the Paragon!", a postgame radio show that is broadcast live from the Claremont Resort's Paragon Bar & Cafe after Cal football games.[12]

Grosscup was the radio analyst for the Sacramento Gold Miners of the Canadian Football League during the 1993 and 1994 CFL seasons.

Grosscup is a current voter in the Harris Interactive College Football Poll.[13]

See also

References

  1. "4 Frosh Players Desert Huskies". United Press International. January 23, 1956. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
  2. http://www.utefans.net/home/ancient_ute/utahpass.html
  3. http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/utah/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/09-footbl-mg-184-189.pdf
  4. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/G/GrosLe00.htm
  5. "Vikings Buy Lee Grosscup". Associated Press. August 4, 1962. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
  6. "Titans Grab Lee Grosscup". Associated Press. September 8, 1962. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
  7. "Grosscup signs". Associated Press. September 8, 1963. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
  8. "Lee Grosscup Plans Acting As Next Field". The Pittsburgh Press. December 13, 1964. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
  9. "Lee Grosscup Plans Acting As Next Field". The Pittsburgh Press. December 13, 1964. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
  10. Frank Keyes (August 26, 1965). "Lee Grosscup to Join Charter Oaks, Former Giant QB Cut by Oakland". The Hartford Courant.
  11. "Grosscup Replaced in Cal Booth, Pawlawsji is Elevated to Color Analyst for the Football Broadcasts". Contra Costa Times. July 9, 2004. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
  12. http://www.calbears.com/ot/paragon.html
  13. http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=869530
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