MIZZOU TO HONOR DENEKE, FORMER TEAMMATES

Bob Deneke laughs when he thinks about today's high school football players, who routinely tip the scales at 275 pounds -- or even heavier.

"When I played, the heaviest guy on the team was 240 pounds," he said with a laugh. "I played fullback and linebacker and weighed 202 -- and that was big for those positions then.

"Now it's not unusual for high school players to be 6-4 and 275 pounds or even a lot bigger."

Deneke and his teammates at the University of Missouri 50 years ago did quite well despite not having the weight of today's players.

A Cape Girardeau native who went to high school in Sikeston and now lives just north of Cape, Deneke will be in Columbia Saturday for a football reunion.

Honored during Missouri's homecoming game with Oklahoma will be the 1948, 1949 and 1968 Mizzou teams that all played in the Gator Bowl.

Deneke was a member of the 1948 and 1949 squads that went a combined 15-7 under legendary coach Don Faurot, who Missouri's stadium is named after.

"It's the 50th anniversary of the 1948 team and the 30th anniversary of the 1968 team, so they're including all three for this Gator Bowl reunion," said Deneke. "It should be a great time and I'm really looking forward to it."

The 69-year-old Deneke and his former teammates will have a reception with Missouri's chancellor and president Saturday morning. They'll be introduced to the Faurot Field crowd just before the game, then will attend a reception and banquet Saturday evening.

After starring at Sikeston High School under coach Lou Bona, Deneke arrived at Missouri in 1947 but could not play for the varsity because freshmen were ineligible at the time.

During his sophomore season in 1948, Deneke did some kicking but no other playing for the Tigers as they went 8-3, losing to Clemson 24-23 in the Gator Bowl.

One of Deneke's most fond collegiate memories actually took place during that sophomore season in 1948, even though he never saw much action.

Recalled Deneke, "Doak Walker and SMU came to Columbia. They were ranked No. 1 and we beat them. I only kicked and, even though I wasn't really involved, that was one of my memorable games."

In 1949, during Deneke's junior season, he got to play quite a bit as the Tigers went 7-4 and lost to Maryland 20-7 in the Gator Bowl.

During Deneke's senior season, in 1950, the Tigers only went 4-5-1 and received no bowl bid. But Deneke started both ways, at fullback and linebacker. He also did the kickoffs and some extra points and wound up making two field goals in his career.

"I was really proud of the fact I was able to play both ways because only two other guys did that," he said.

Deneke ran with the football frequently in high school but at Missouri he was primarily a blocker, although he did gain 80 yards on 12 carries and scored a touchdown against Kansas State as a senior.

"At Missouri, we ran the split-T, which Don Faurot made famous, and the fullback was very important. He was mainly responsible for blocking the end," Deneke said. "Since I was primarily a running back in high school, I had to learn how to block and it took me a while to adjust."

After graduating from Missouri, Deneke lived in Sikeston for a while before taking a job that necessitated him living in several different states.

In 1987, Deneke retired and moved back to the area, where he lives near Jackson with his wife Merle. They have two daughters, a son and seven grandchildren.

Of the differences between football when he played and now, Deneke again brings up the size of the players.

"They're so big now," he said with a grin. "All the high schools even have weight rooms. We didn't lift weights. Whatever people weighed naturally, they played at.

"And the number of coaches is a lot different. In high school, we had two coaches. At Missouri, it was Faurot and five assistants. Now some high schools have more than that."

Deneke says he follows local high school and college football and has been to a number of Missouri games over the years, although Saturday's will be his first this season.

"I'm glad to see the team doing so well again," he said. "And I'm really looking forward to seeing a lot of guys that I haven't seen in a long time."