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Ted Marchibroda was a football player ahead of his time when he quarterbacked the Franklin Nurserymen from 1946-48
Everybody knows he went on to star in college, first at St. Bonaventure before transferring to Detroit, where heled the nation in total offense, and was a one-timefirst-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He didn’tlast all that long with the Steelers, but stayed in the NFL,and was once Coach of the Year for the Baltimore Colts in 1975.
Because of all that, it’s probably a good bet to assumethat he was the quintessential high school quarterback –as we know quarterbacks today -- at Franklin.
But he wasn’t.
That’s because he was throwing passes downfield, which wasnot the norm for schoolboys in the late 1940s.
This is part of a story that appeared in the Sept. 25, 1947, edition of The News-Herald
.“The following is an item from the Meadville Tribune-Republican under a big black heading reading ‘Meadville Hi Must Stop Franklin’s Marchibroda’” as the Bulldogs prepared to take onthe Nursery.“
Quarterback Ted Marchibroda is the lad whom the Meadville team must keep an eagle eye on in this all-important...tussle,"the story began.
“This Marchibroda youngster connected foralmost a third of his 19 passes against Grove City last Friday night and most of these aerial heaves were over-the-line tosses to end (Jim) Kockler, which helped Franklin move toward itsonly touchdown of the game. Marchibroda quit the airline play and on a brilliant 26-yard run crossedthe pay line for a touchdown
.The Trib later reminded Meadville fans that Marchibroda was cold
Marchibroda ahead
of his time -- starting
in high school
the season before against the Bulldogs until the fourth quarter of their 14-0 victory.But then…“It was Marchibroda in the signal chirping spot who started to toss the pigskin all over the North Street lot to halfback Johnny Boughner and several were good for 20-yard gains. But their aerialattack started too late."What caught my eye was the Trib referring to Marchibroda’s passes as “over-the-line.Say what? Then I looked at a few game stories, and passes were referred to as “over-the-line” or "behind-the-line.Apparently the “line” meant the line of scrimmage, and behind-the-line meant they were laterals that would be fumbles if not caught. (But back then, I don’t know how they were scored if they weren’t caught.)Anyhow, it apparently was a Very Big Deal that Marchibroda was throwing the ball downfield.Unheard of! Way ahead of his time.When researching for this site 25 years ago, I found Marchibroda’s passing yardage for his junior year in 1947 -- 812, which includes his signature 272 against Warren. He completed 47 of126 for eight touchdowns with 11 picks that year, but no season totals for the other two.I do have yardage for eight of his other games during his sophomore and senior seasons, including his 237-yard effort against Punxsutawney in 1946. So, as with Red Law, I tried to gogame-by-game and figure out some additional yards. I came up with 2,510 (and 22 TDs), but that is probably about 300 short for his career total. And it will have to do. I don’t think he passedfor 3,000.Thing is, his passing appeared to complement his running. Marchibroda wasn’t big – 5-10 or so
-- but the guy was a magician as an athlete: A skillful runner from scrimmage and a dangerous threat on returns. Once, he returned a kickoff 12 yards to the 30, saw many would-be tacklers,
and rifled a lateral half the width of the field to Boughner who went the rest of the way for a touchdown against Titusville.
He has a three-interception game to his credit and he was first team all-state in basketball.
It sounds as if he laid the foundation for similar FHS quarterbacks of the future, including his nephew, Butch Conrad 10 years later
to be followed by Dave Bierbach, Bay Lawrence and Rich
Cerro.
Marchibroda passed for only 49 yards but ran for 66 in his high school finale on Nov. 12, 1948, against Oil City.
But he made his presence felt at Mitchell Avenue Field, scoring both touchdowns and passing
for the extra points to Kockler and Dick Russell in a 14-13 victory. The TDs came on a 79-yardkickoff return and a 9-yard run. Jay Rhoads’ block of one of Bob Porter’s tries for the extra point
turned out to be the difference, score-wise.
Marchibroda also chipped in with a punt to the coffin corner on the Oiler 2.
Said The News-Herald, "As in other recent games, Marchibroda’s running outshone his passing. On a good many plays he moved out of his usual quarterback position and ran the ball
repeatedly on a fake pass play."
Afterward, players and fans hoisted Marchibroda on their shoulders and carried him off the field as the FHS band marched up and down the turf. Marchibroda once said, "The (Thanksgiving) turkey tastes a lot better if you beat Oil City."
It must've tasted good in 1948.
Oil City's Dutch Burch, who was a year behind Ted Marchibroda in high school, went to Pitt where he starred in basketball and is believed only to player from District 10 to be drafted by an NBA team -- the Ft. Wayne Pistons. But in those days players didn't jump at the chance to go pro and elected to get on with their life's work.
Burch actually coached high school basketball at Oil City, before heading to Lycoming College in Williamsport where he coached for years.
Both Marchibroda and Burch were first team all-state in basketball. Marchibroda, hard to believe, did not make all-state in football.
Burch played football at Oil City but probably was not as highly thought of in his "second sport" as Marchibroda was in basketball.
However, here are some interesting passing stats uncovered about Burch's 1949 season in football. Not too shabby.
The above story was written three years ago, but I decided to re-run it because I think it's interesting.
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