Tiger n Miami AU83 25 Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Reading the thread about great AU runs and someone saying they wish they could see some old Lionel James runs got me searching for some. I only found a few NFL clips, but I did find this article, told through Lionel James eyes and experiences about his time at AU and the beginning of the Pat Dye era. I was 2 years old when my parents started taking me to games and my first memory of anything AU was the 1982 AU/UGA game which is in the article. I was too young to understand football, but I knew my parents were very emotional about that game and it was meaningful. Here are a couple of quotes from a great (and long) read about those years: Then, Georgia, the two-time defending SEC champs and ranked first in the nation, came to Auburn. The 1982 Tigers vs. Herschel Walker and the Bulldogs battle was predicted far and wide as a blowout, but somebody forgot to tell Auburn. Campbell ran the offense brilliantly, scoring on an impossible keeper to put AU ahead 7-3 in the first half. Georgia responded with a 47-yard Walker run, and followed it up with a field goal from the great Kevin Butler to lead 13-7 at the half. The defenses kept both sides scoreless in the third period. Just into the fourth quarter, the Tigers were backed up on their own 13-yard line. Campbell tossed back to James, who dodged a hulking Dawg, turned on the speed, and was gone for an electrifying 87-yard touchdown, the second longest in Auburn history. The Tigers led the top-ranked Bulldogs 14-13. Georgia came back with a powerful 80-yard drive, led by Walker, and held off a furious late Auburn drive to win 19-14. History has largely forgotten that Auburn outgained the Dawgs 350-288 yards, and held the ball nine minutes longer than Georgia. What history has not forgotten was the reaction of the Auburn fans to that heartbreaking loss. After the game ended, Dye tried to console his despondent team in the dressing room. By his own admission, he didn't have any words to soothe the hurt. Outside, in the stands of Jordan-Hare Stadium, the Auburn people stepped in for the coach. As Dye struggled, their roar came through, loud and clear for 20 minutes after the final whistle. "It's great to be an Auburn Tiger! It's great to be an Auburn Tiger!" "That was amazing," James says. "It was so important for us as a team to develop confidence, and that confidence had grown so much that it affected the fans, too. We didn't have to have guys standing up on the bench, trying to get the fans up-they were right there in the game with us. We went from having maybe ten, fifteen thousand people in the stands during warm-ups to sixty or seventy thousand, and that really pumps you up, to see the fans there that early." On November 27, 1982, Auburn beat Alabama 23-22 in Legion Field, breaking a nine-year drought and ending Paul Bryant's SEC career with a loss. The hero for Auburn was Bo Jackson. Of course, there's more to the story than that. While "Bo Over The Top" are the first words that come to mind when recalling that legendary day, Jackson would be the first to tell you he didn't do it alone. Early in the game, Auburn was on the verge of going three downs and out from the Tide 14. Two plays had failed to gain after Tim Drinkard had carried an Alabama fumble 62 yards before being dragged down. On third and ten, James took a handoff in the backfield, ran right, and dodged most of the defense on his way toward the end zone. He even managed to push past All-American Jeremiah Castille at the goal line to tie the game at seven. James would run for 62 yards and helped Auburn get back into the game after a disastrous third quarter when he nailed a corner block to free Jackson for a 53-yard dash. "I think of that as an eight-quarter game," James says, referring to the Alabama games of 1981 and '82. "In '81, the Alabama players had a solid confidence in their eyes, they knew they were going to win. In '82, I remember looking at the same guys and seeing pure panic. We were the confident ones, we knew we were going to win that thing, no matter what." In the aftermath of 23-22, Dye invited the Auburn players to return to the field and "thank our people." Few who have seen the replays, and no one who was there, can forget the sight of James, lifted off his feet and passed above the heads of the Auburn faithful in that momentous celebration. "I walked out onto the field," he recalls, "and saw all these guys hanging from the goal posts, and thought, 'this place is a zoo.' Then, a guy in the tunnel picks me up and lifts me off the ground. The next thing I know, he's passing me up into the bleachers, and I didn't touch the ground again for half an hour." http://www.autigers.com/articles/970501_James.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger n Miami AU83 25 Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 Also, two impressive things stand out stat wise for James: at 5'6, 150lbs, he totalled 1,359 total yards for AU in 1982. In a fairly brief 4 year NFL career (1985-1988 until a deginerative hip condition, very similar to Bo Jackson's, ended his career), he totaled 6,627 yards. Not bad for the 5'6 150/160lb little train. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weegleweegle 0 Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 I was in attendance at both of those games - and I must say I am well old enough to remember (LOL).....the Georgia game was a real heartbreaker for sure!!! "Bo over the top" is right up there with "Punt Bama Punt" as my old time favorite games!!! WDE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milehighfan 1,240 Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Yeah, I was at the 82 game and when I saw Jamesturn the corner, I thought to myself, he could go all the way, which he dic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marshallcotiger 0 Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Luckily for me I was about 9 or 10 then and those are my 1st memories of following Auburn. He was the perfect compliment to Bo in the wishbone quick as lightning and was a hell of a lot tougher than someone of his size and frame should be. It probably had something to do with his nickname but I liked him more than Bo back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUpocalypse 12 Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 It's nearly 1 am, and despite that... I'm ready to run through a brick wall after all the rehashed memories of these runningbacks. I'm past ready to see what our backfield is going to do this year, bring on Clemson... bring on bama. I think I'm going to form-tackle someone at work... yep.. 6am.. i'm putting someone on the ground or through a wall. Thank you and good night AE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wardon1345162806 0 Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Just as amazing is that Lionel had the weakest educational prep for college. Despite that HUGE obstacle he did his homework, stayed with his tutors, and played as one heck of a football player at the same time- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autiger221345162924 0 Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 I remember seeing it on a video a while back, when Coach Dye had his first team meeting after he was hired he pointed out James as being part of the reason the program was down, he said that James was too small to play Division 1 football! Dye later appoligized and said Auburn needed more like James. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milehighfan 1,240 Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Another facet about James, he was one heck of a blocker! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger n Miami AU83 25 Posted May 2, 2012 Author Share Posted May 2, 2012 I remember seeing it on a video a while back, when Coach Dye had his first team meeting after he was hired he pointed out James as being part of the reason the program was down, he said that James was too small to play Division 1 football! Dye later appoligized and said Auburn needed more like James. That was in the article. Here is the quote and what Dye had to say about him the next season... When everything changed, and Coach Dye was coming on, we all wanted to know, what was this guy going to be like? How tough was he going to be? Now, the player grapevine got that word really fast that this guy was as tough as they come. The Internet isn't half as fast as that grapevine is." James was the first player Dye pointed out at his very first meeting with the team. "I joke about it with him now," James says, but he was hardly in a laughing mood at the time. James recalls, "All the juniors and seniors took all the seats in the meeting room, and I was just a freshman, so I sat on the floor. Coach Dye came in, and he kicked my foot as he was walking by. He stopped and told me to stand up. He asked me what my name was, and how tall and heavy I was. When I told him, Coach Dye said, "Five foot, six and 150 pounds. That's what's wrong with this team. We can't win with people like you.'" James would soon have his chance to make a better impression. The 1981 spring practice sessions are Auburn legends in their own right. Dye and his staff hit the Plains running, determined to start their tenure at Auburn with the toughest players they could find. Under assistant coach Bud Casey (whom James calls "the craziest coach in practice I've ever seen"), the running backs began to learn the wishbone. "I really had an advantage over the other guys," James says, "because we ran the veer at Albany, and that's just the wishbone without a fullback. So I already knew how to block. Guys like George Peoples and Sam Dejarnette had always been I-formation backs, and they had a hard time getting used to the wishbone." The hard work paid off. James was named the "Most Improved Running Back" on A-Day. By the time the season started, James had gone from an unknown underclassman to a starter. "Right now, Lionel James is the best all-around (running back) we have," Dye said at the time, "and he only weighs about 150." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AURocketman 73 Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 In James' words, "Their first pick didn't make his grades, and the second guy blew out a knee, and that gave me an opening, 'cause I had good grades and two good knees." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SumterAubie 3,033 Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Dang. George Peoples and Sam DeJarnette. I forgot about those two guys. DeJarnette transferred to Mississippi Southern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SumterAubie 3,033 Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Oh, and I seem to recall a run of at least 80 yards James had against Southern. He scored but the td was called back due to a block in the back. Behind the play! Those were great days to be an Auburn student loving football. Auburn was coming out of the Barfield doldrums. CPD was telling the bamrs to stick it where the sun don't shine. Breaking the 9 game losing streak. Watching the great Herschel Walker and the Great Bo Jackson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger n Miami AU83 25 Posted May 2, 2012 Author Share Posted May 2, 2012 Oh, and I seem to recall a run of at least 80 yards James had against Southern. He scored but the td was called back due to a block in the back. Behind the play! Those were great days to be an Auburn student loving football. Auburn was coming out of the Barfield doldrums. CPD was telling the bamrs to stick it where the sun don't shine. Breaking the 9 game losing streak. Watching the great Herschel Walker and the Great Bo Jackson. No doubt, the 80's were a great time to be an AU Tiger. Best decade in our history IMO. Bo and Walker along with Dye, and the final days of Bryant, Dooley, Majors early in the decade. Best team in the country in 1983, running the wishbone and pounding people on both sides of the ball. Then NC calibre teams in 1987, 1988, and 1989. Three straight SEC championships, 4 in 7 years. 6/8 and 4 in a row over bama (should have been 8 in a row if not for two fluke plays - Bo getting the play wrong in the huddle and damn McGinty and his 3 missed FGs in 1984 and Tiffin in '85). And every Saturday in 83, 86, 87, 88, and 89 you knew it didn't matter who we lined up against, we had a team that could compete or beat anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
augolf1716 21,465 Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Oh, and I seem to recall a run of at least 80 yards James had against Southern. He scored but the td was called back due to a block in the back. Behind the play! Those were great days to be an Auburn student loving football. Auburn was coming out of the Barfield doldrums. CPD was telling the bamrs to stick it where the sun don't shine. Breaking the 9 game losing streak. Watching the great Herschel Walker and the Great Bo Jackson. No doubt, the 80's were a great time to be an AU Tiger. Best decade in our history IMO. Bo and Walker along with Dye, and the final days of Bryant, Dooley, Majors early in the decade. Best team in the country in 1983, running the wishbone and pounding people on both sides of the ball. Then NC calibre teams in 1987, 1988, and 1989. Three straight SEC championships, 4 in 7 years. 6/8 and 4 in a row over bama (should have been 8 in a row if not for two fluke plays - Bo getting the play wrong in the huddle and damn McGinty and his 3 missed FGs in 1984 and Tiffin in '85). And every Saturday in 83, 86, 87, 88, and 89 you knew it didn't matter who we lined up against, we had a team that could compete or beat anyone. yep got that right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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