Colorado State University Athletics
Memorable Moments: Rams have Father-Son Thanksgiving Memories
11/28/2020 12:00:00 PM | Football
Hughes coached his son in 1935 game
Thanksgiving is a day of family togetherness where fathers and sons watch football, carve the turkey and spend time together on a fall afternoon. CSU head coach Steve Addazio and his son, offensive line coach Louie Addazio are the first father-son coaches at CSU since Sonny Lubick had both his sons Matt and Marc on the sidelines for the Rams. The Addazio's will, however, were not the first father and son to be on the field in a CSU football game on Thanksgiving Day since Harry Hughes coached his 21-year-old son and former team mascot, William in the 1935 Thanksgiving Day game in Albuquerque.
The 1935 season was celebrated across the front range of Colorado as the silver anniversary of 48-year-old Harry Hughes' coaching career at Colorado State. He was lauded across the nation as the longest serving coach in the country at one school and given the title by the national press as the "Dean of American Football Coaches."
At the onset of the 1935 season, Coach Hughes' son William, announced he had decided to leave the University of Nebraska and play halfback for his father during the 25th anniversary season. The Aggies' former ball boy in his youth, Bill Hughes had tried his skills in Lincoln to escape his famous father in Fort Collins, but he embraced the opportunity to come home in 1935.
Bill Hughes did not disappoint the Aggie fans and was the star of the 1935 team at halfback scoring touchdowns and catching long passes. He learned how to catch those long passes not from his father, but his assistant coach Glenn Morris, who a year later would win the decathlon in the 1936 Olympic Games. Morris looked up to Harry Hughes as a father-figure during his training for the Olympics and took young Hughes under his wing.
The 1935 season, although filled with honor and praise to the legendary Harry Hughes, was not a successful one on the gridiron. The Aggies' record stood at 2-4-1 as they headed to Albuquerque on Thanksgiving Day to play the University of New Mexico for the first time in school history. Thanksgiving Day games were special to say the least at this time, there was no television, but fans were known to make it a special outing as part of their holiday get-togethers.
The Aggies and Lobos played equal football during the first half, not crossing one another's 30-yard lines and punting frequently. However, with 30 seconds remaining in the first half, halfback Gordon Winn tossed an eight-yard pass to William Hughes in the endzone to complete an impressive drive. Leonard Volz kicked the point after touchdown and the Aggies headed to the locker room with a 7-0 lead.
The game was far from over with two evenly matched teams continuing to battle it out to the very end. Both defenses again kept the ball in the middle of the field without any scoring opportunities in sight. The Aggies defense led by end Jim Hartman kept the Lobos from even attempting a field goal. Hartman's son, Jim Hartman Jr., played for the Aggies in the 1950s, another father-son tradition at CSU.
As the game reached the final three minutes of play, New Mexico drove to their goal line in one last effort to score before the final gun sounded. Two carefully thrown passes drove New Mexico 55 yards to the endzone for the touchdown and the game hinged on an extra point to tie the game.
As the Lobos lined up to kick the PAT, Aggie guard Dale Rea broke through the line and blocked the kick, preventing the game from a tie and the Aggies won by a score of 7-6. Bill Hughes was interviewed after the game and said he scored that touchdown for his father to cap his 25th anniversary season. He went on to play in 1936 and 1937 but did not have as successful seasons as he did in 1935. Bill Hughes graduated from Colorado State in 1938.
The father-son coaching tradition at CSU has continued in various ways since Harry Hughes coached his son William Hughes. Former head football coach and athletic director Bob Davis saw his son Ted Davis play basketball for the Aggies under Coach Jim Williams. Former CSU coach Sark Arslanian's son Dave did not coach at CSU, but he went on to be a head coach at Snow College and Weber State, following in the footsteps of his father who was a head coach at both of those schools. The legendary Sonny Lubick's sons not only coached with him at CSU, but both Marc and Matt had great coaching careers in the NCAA and NFL.
With the Addazio father-son coaching tradition carried on for the Rams, it remains to be seen that football is a family sport on Thanksgiving Day. It is a great time for fathers and sons to be together, whether watching the Rams on TV or on the field guiding them in victory.
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The 1935 season was celebrated across the front range of Colorado as the silver anniversary of 48-year-old Harry Hughes' coaching career at Colorado State. He was lauded across the nation as the longest serving coach in the country at one school and given the title by the national press as the "Dean of American Football Coaches."
At the onset of the 1935 season, Coach Hughes' son William, announced he had decided to leave the University of Nebraska and play halfback for his father during the 25th anniversary season. The Aggies' former ball boy in his youth, Bill Hughes had tried his skills in Lincoln to escape his famous father in Fort Collins, but he embraced the opportunity to come home in 1935.
Bill Hughes did not disappoint the Aggie fans and was the star of the 1935 team at halfback scoring touchdowns and catching long passes. He learned how to catch those long passes not from his father, but his assistant coach Glenn Morris, who a year later would win the decathlon in the 1936 Olympic Games. Morris looked up to Harry Hughes as a father-figure during his training for the Olympics and took young Hughes under his wing.
The 1935 season, although filled with honor and praise to the legendary Harry Hughes, was not a successful one on the gridiron. The Aggies' record stood at 2-4-1 as they headed to Albuquerque on Thanksgiving Day to play the University of New Mexico for the first time in school history. Thanksgiving Day games were special to say the least at this time, there was no television, but fans were known to make it a special outing as part of their holiday get-togethers.
The Aggies and Lobos played equal football during the first half, not crossing one another's 30-yard lines and punting frequently. However, with 30 seconds remaining in the first half, halfback Gordon Winn tossed an eight-yard pass to William Hughes in the endzone to complete an impressive drive. Leonard Volz kicked the point after touchdown and the Aggies headed to the locker room with a 7-0 lead.
The game was far from over with two evenly matched teams continuing to battle it out to the very end. Both defenses again kept the ball in the middle of the field without any scoring opportunities in sight. The Aggies defense led by end Jim Hartman kept the Lobos from even attempting a field goal. Hartman's son, Jim Hartman Jr., played for the Aggies in the 1950s, another father-son tradition at CSU.
As the game reached the final three minutes of play, New Mexico drove to their goal line in one last effort to score before the final gun sounded. Two carefully thrown passes drove New Mexico 55 yards to the endzone for the touchdown and the game hinged on an extra point to tie the game.
As the Lobos lined up to kick the PAT, Aggie guard Dale Rea broke through the line and blocked the kick, preventing the game from a tie and the Aggies won by a score of 7-6. Bill Hughes was interviewed after the game and said he scored that touchdown for his father to cap his 25th anniversary season. He went on to play in 1936 and 1937 but did not have as successful seasons as he did in 1935. Bill Hughes graduated from Colorado State in 1938.
The father-son coaching tradition at CSU has continued in various ways since Harry Hughes coached his son William Hughes. Former head football coach and athletic director Bob Davis saw his son Ted Davis play basketball for the Aggies under Coach Jim Williams. Former CSU coach Sark Arslanian's son Dave did not coach at CSU, but he went on to be a head coach at Snow College and Weber State, following in the footsteps of his father who was a head coach at both of those schools. The legendary Sonny Lubick's sons not only coached with him at CSU, but both Marc and Matt had great coaching careers in the NCAA and NFL.
With the Addazio father-son coaching tradition carried on for the Rams, it remains to be seen that football is a family sport on Thanksgiving Day. It is a great time for fathers and sons to be together, whether watching the Rams on TV or on the field guiding them in victory.
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