Savitsky looks back on glory days of Penn football

George Savitsky: It's difficult to think back [and pick one memory] -- I remember we had a bigger, tougher schedule than they have now, the situations were different then. We played North Carolina and Wisconsin and Michigan and Notre Dame and all those teams, but times have changed. As far as any specific thing, I can't think of anything specific. We were undefeated my senior year and we were nationally rated -- we played Army and Navy, with [Doc] Blanchard and [Glenn] Davis and all those guys. My whole four years there at Penn were outstanding as far as the football was concerned but I can't narrow it down to any one specific thing. DP: Was any one game from the great 1947 season particularly memorable? Savitsky: I think we tied Army that year, and I remember making a few good tackles on Blanchard and Davis, but it was a tug of war. I can't remember who scored first, but I know it ended up in a tie. I'll tell you something though -- [All-American halfback Anthony] "Skippy" Minisi was my roommate in college, and then he goes to Navy for a year, and we played against each other, and then the following year he comes back to Penn, and he becomes my roommate again, and we didn't speak. I'm only kidding [about the not speaking], but he came back and we were roommates again but he went down to Annapolis for a year. That was '45 probably. I don't know [why he transferred], maybe he was avoiding the draft or something. Skippy was a hell of a guy, he still is a hell of a guy. He's on the Board of Trustees at Penn. Then there was Chuck Bednarik. Chuck became better as years went by. In other words, he was good when he started but he got better each year. In his last year he was an All-American.? He got progressively better each year, like climbing the ladder -- he climbed it well. Obviously, he's a Hall of Famer and an All-Pro so that speaks for itself. There's one play that I know he won't forget, when he knocked out Frank Gifford. DP: What was it like playing for Coach Munger? Savitsky: Oh there was a man, there was a man. He was the greatest, like a father. Yeah, he was the greatest. We all loved him. I never heard a bad word about him. You young fellows don't know the man, you had to be with him to know -- he was just the greatest guy. And very knowledgeable too. And he was a great athlete in his own right if you look back in the records -- he was a track star, and a football player [at Penn]. I don't know what else to tell you. DP: You are one of just a handful of four-time All-Americans in the history of college football, how does that feel? Savitsky: I'm the only four-time All-American this century. Now, there was an All-American who started back in 1898 -- [Penn fullback] T. Truxton Hare -- but he didn't do it all in this century. I remember when I was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame that was one thing that the fellow who was introducing me said -- that I was the only four-time All-American this century. And, boy, that woke me up -- I hadn't thought about that, but he brought it to my, to our, attention. Oh, sure [I'm particularly proud about that].