The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 11, 2005, Page B6, Image 18
Carolinas first AP All-American proved himself
on field\ among troops, in community
I
Alex Riley
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Drive up to the home of Lou and
Kathryn Sossamon and you’ll see a
high-rise retirement complex with
small balconies up and down the face
of the building. More than 40
separate rooms fill the building, but
their home is the easiest one to spot.
It’s the only one with a Gamecock
flag hanging over the banister.
After a standout career high
school, Sossamon, a Gaffney native,
finished his career in the second
annual Shrine Bowl in 1938, which
pits the best of South Carolina high
school players agairfst North
Carolina’s best. During the fourth
quarter, Sossamon broke his
shoulder, leaving him searching for
an answer to his collegiate future.
“My father was in the newspaper
business, and he had a meeting with
the press association in Columbia in
January,” Sossamon said. “I came
down with my mother and father and
while they were in the press meeting,
I went over to the university to speak
to some of the boys from Gaffney
that I had known that had gone
down ahead of me. I happened to see
coach Rex Enright, and he asked if I’d
. like to have a scholarship. I said yes
sir, and I entered the university in
January.”
That simple offer of a scholarship
in passing proved to be one of the
best moves Enright ever made as the
legendary coach turned Sossamon
into one of the greatest two-way
players in Carolina history.
“A lot of people don’t know that
coach Enright was a ' graduate
assistant at Notre Dame,” Sossamon
said. “He was also a substitute
fullback for the Four Horsemen. He
was a second father to me. Just an all
around gentleman, wonderful man
and of course a great football coach.”
When Sossamon arrived in
Columbia, the system worked a lot
differently than it works today.
Players spent their first season on an
entirely freshman squad and had to
play offense and defense.
“It’s kind of amazing to look back
at what we had,” Sossamon said. “We
had one freshman coach by the name
of Fred Patasky, who was a three sport
All-American at Michigan. He was an
All-American in football, baseball
and basketball. He was tough as a nut
and a real strict, hard-nosed coach.
We had one coach and we had one
trainer. That was during my
freshman year. During my
sophomore, junior and senior years,
we had maybe three coaches and one
trainer. And I think possibly 35
players on our team, at the most.”
While the staff was small and the
number of players limited, getting to
the games was one of the greatest
challenges facing the football team.
“We traveled by bus and train,”
Sossamon said. “Never on a plane.
We played Kansas State in
Manhattan, Kan. At that time, that
was the central point of the United
States. We traveled by train to Kansas
State. I don’t know what day we left,
but it took us about a week. About
three days to go and three days to
come back.”
Sossamon’s play on both sides of
the ball helped the Gamecocks to two
of the most historic wins of all-time.
“We played Tennessee in
Columbia in 1942,” Sossamon said.
“They went to the Cotton Bowl that
year, and we tied them 0-0 and we
played a seven-man line most of the
time of defense. We beat North
Carolina and arrived back in
Columbia around 1 or 2 a.m., and we
were eager to get tne newspaper so we
could read about our win.”
During his time at USC, Sossamon
and his teammates managed to notch
an 18-14 win against Clemson in a
Big Thursday matchup, his only
victory against the Tigers. Even
though it was the only win against
their archrival, the accomplishment
didn’t go unnoticed.
“Coach Enright received a brand
new Cadillac automobile after that
game,” Sossamon said. “Sol Blatt Sr.
was the speaker of the House at that
time, and he was quite an athletic fan
and support of the university. I think
he’s the one that headed up the
organization to buy coach Enright a
new Cadillac.”
When he left Carolina, Sossamon
garnered respect from those who’d
seen him play. He earned All
Southern Conference honors in 1941
and 1942, as well as a spot on the
1942 Blue-Gray All-Star Classic. But
his most noteworthy honor is one
that set the standard for the USC
record books, as he became the
university’s first AP All-American,
earning a spot on the 1942 second
team.
“It’s hard to believe,” Sossamon
said. “I just came along at the right
time to receive the honors that I did.
There’s a time and place for
everything. My time was a very
fortunate time.”
Following that successful finish to
his senior year, Sossamon was drafted
by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth
round of the 1943 draft with the
47th overall pick. Before he even
thought of going into professional
sports, he married his wife of now 62
years, Kathryn. Though she was a
cheerleader while at Carolina, her
knowledge of football stretched well
beyond her time as a student, as her
father, N.B. Edgerton, was coach of
the Gamecocks from 1912 to 1915.
But duty to his country led Sossamon
into the military, as he served in the
Navy during World War II.
“Kat and I were married in July of
‘43 and I went right into the Navy,”
Sossamon said. “Then I played
football in Maryland while I was in
boot camp. Some of the finest
football players I’ve ever known were
on that team. We were undefeated.
From there I went overseas into the
Pacific. I was over there when my
daughter was born.”
When the war ended, Sossamon
came home to not only a newborn
daughter, but a new career
opportunity. Jack White, who was a
friend of Dan Topping, owner of the
New York Yankees baseball team,
talked with Sossamon when he came
in to San Francisco and offered him
the chance to play in the All
American Football Conference.
“Fie contacted me in San Francisco
and said he was trying to get names
together because he was trying to get
a professional football team
organized,” Sossamon said. “I told
him I’d be interested. So, he sent a
contract back to my home and I
signed to play with the Yankees in
1946.”
Sossamon spent four seasons with
Yankees football team, including
playing the Cleveland Browns and
quarterback Otto Graham in the
1948 world Championship game,
which New York lost by 3 points.
When football finally ended for
him, Sossamon returned home to his
native South Carolina, working
construction with his brother for a
few years before working at The
Gaffney Ledger, his family-owned,
Gaffney-area newspaper. In 1968 he
purchased the paper from his father.
The paper is being run by its fourth
generation Sossamon, his son Cody.
Sossamon’s success in the news
business affected the entire state, as
he eventually became president of the
South Carolina Press Association,
like his father and grandfather before
him. He also won the first Reid
Montgomery Freedom of
Information Award.
Sossamon points to his efforts as a
member of the USC Board of
Trustees as one of his favorite
accomplishments.
“When I served on the Board of
Trustees, I served on the
Intercollegiate Activities
Committee,” Sossamon said. “I was
working to get the university back in
to the ACC or SEC. We were trying
to feel out if we could get back into
the ACC at the time. I made a |
motion that we turn it over to the
interim president to negotiate with
both conferences and the first one
that accepted to go ahead and do it.
I’m very proud of the fact that during
my tenure we did get in to the
Southeastern Conference.”
Aside from success at running a
newspaper and handling the business
of the university, Sossamon has been
honored as one of the greatest
of South Carolina. He is a member of
the USC and South Carolina athletic
halls of fame as well has a member of
USC’s All-Time team. But his i
greatest accomplishment is none of *
those things. Instead, he turns and
looks out the balcony door with
smile.
As Sossamon says, his greatest
achievement was “having met my
wife at the university.”
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gurm.sc. edu
Photo Courtesy of Lou Sossamon
Lou Sossamon tackles a ball carrier during a game for the New York Yankees. Sossamon played for USC from 1940 to 1942, earning AP All-America honors in 1942.
■ mm
om
+ Carolina's first Associated Press
All-American, chosen to second team in 1942
+ All-Southern in 1941 and 1942, playing in the ||
1942 Blue-Gray Classic
+ Played professional football with the New
York Yankees of the AAFC
un tne Lover photos by Juan Bias, Nick hsares, /w/7e Kirkland, the
Cover Associated Press, KRT Campus; cover, design by Laura-Joyce Gough.