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Subject: From The New York Times Book Review Desk (1/2/05) Author: ramMan [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 08:05:31 01/12/05 Wed In ''The Fifty-Year Seduction: How Television Manipulated College Football, From the Birth of the Modern NCAA to the Creation of the BCS,'' Keith Dunnavant, the author of a biography of Bear Bryant, weaves a fascinating tale of intrigue and betrayal. The unholy alliance began on Sept. 30, 1939, when a game between Fordham, featuring the soon-to-be-legendary ''Seven Blocks of Granite,'' and Waynesboro State played at Triboro Stadium was televised by NBC, using a single camera perched high in the stands. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

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Subject Author Date No one has ever referred to our '39 team as the Seven Blocks and the team we played was Waynesburg at Triboro Stadium beneath the bridge of the same name. I believe that the first televised football game ever was between these two teams but that it was earlier than 1939 which was the year of the New York World's Fair--the Trilon and Hemisphere world's fair in Flushing Park. (NT) OldRam. 08:53:12 01/13/05 Thu The date is actually accurate but you are otherwise correct, Old Ram. A month later was the first televised pro football game and within a year Pitt at Fordham for first televised college basketball game. (NT) -- whm, 09:10:47 01/13/05 Thu To be precise, Old Ram, it was the "trylon and PERISPHERE." (A hemisphere would be only HALF of a globe.) (NT) -- Old Prof, 09:57:56 01/13/05 Thu Four Fordham lines are commonly known as the 7 Blocks of Granite. The first were the 1929 and 1930 Rams, coached by Frank Cavanaugh. They were 15-1-2 over that period. The 1929 team is identified as National Champions in the Sorenson ratings. The other teams whose lines were called the 7 Blocks of Granite were the 1936 and 1937 Rams, coached by Jim Crowley. They were 12-1-3 over that two-year period. The 1936 Rams are probably the most famous "Blocks of Granite," although arguably the least accomplished of the four teams. The 1937 team was the last one to be identified by that nickname. (NT) -- JoltinJoe, 10:07:53 01/13/05 Thu Here's a bit of trivia: Did you know that there is a type of rock called Fordham Gneiss? It's extremely hard and among the oldest kinds of rock in the world. It would have been more appropriate to say "Seven Blocks of Gneiss" but I guess it just doesn't roll off the tongue the way "Seven Blocks of Granite" does. Not sure if the gothic buildings of Fordham are built out of this rock but that would be interesting to be able to publicize. -- DamnRam, 18:01:32 01/13/05 Thu Sorry, click above post for links on this arcane and irrelevant subject. (NT) -- DamnRam, 18:05:27 01/13/05 Thu Maybe gneiss is an extremely hard and durable rock, but the word is pronounced "nice." "The Seven Blocks of Nice (Gneiss)" doesn't sound at all like a ferocious football line. (NT) -- JoltinJoe, 19:53:42 01/13/05 Thu I believe I read the stone referred to as Fordham Genese (phonetic sp.)was obtained during the excavation for the subway system, which initially opend in 1905. I believe Dealy and Huges were constructed with this stone. (NT) FC 09:20:06 01/14/05 Fri One mildly interesting architectural quirk is the northwest corner of Hughes Hall. The bottom stones are all cut in a very rectangular way (which of course requires more skill, time and raw material), but the builders quickly abandoned that method and went for more of a randomized style. (NT) -- DamnRam, 14:35:08 01/14/05 Fri The phonetic spelling of "gneiss" is "nice." Click here for Merriam Webster on Line. (NT) -- D.Webster, 19:16:24 01/14/05 Fri "Hughes" (NT) FC 09:35:02 01/14/05 Fri