Northampton grad could have Hall calling

By Andre D. Williams

Of The Morning Call

Bob Novogratz cherishes what he accomplished as an All-American offensive lineman at Army in the 1950s.

He's trying not not to worry about whether he does or does not make the final cut for enshrinement into the College Football Hall of Fame.

For that mind-set, the 1954 Northampton High graduate has his 10-year-old-grandson Wolfie to thank.

Novogratz, 71, who considered himself an average football player at Northampton before gaining size, strength and considerably more skill at Blair Academy before going to West Point, will find out this afternoon if he's one of 13 former players to be selected for induction into the 2009 Hall of Fame class.

The names will be revealed on ESPNews at noon today. The class will be inducted next summer in South Bend, Ind.

Novogratz has been on the final ballot the last two years, and this year he's joined on the final ballot by notables as Troy Aikman, Deion Sanders, Eric Dickerson and Tim Brown.

''When my grandson first saw the list, he said, 'Oh Grandpa, it doesn't look good -- Troy Aikman,''' Novogratz said with a laugh on Wednesday.

''For me, it's a long shot because a lot of the people had great professional careers and are household names, where I'm sort of a dinosaur.

''Very few people remember that era, so it's a long shot.''

As the top offensive lineman for Army team in 1958, Novogratz's dominating play helped him earn him the Knute Rockne Award as the top offensive lineman in the country. He was also named a first-team All-American.

That season, Army beat Notre Dame 14-2 and ascended to No. 1 in the country. The Cadets finished the season 8-0-1 and ranked No. 3 in the nation.

''It was an exciting time for us,'' Novogratz said from his home in Northern Virginia. ''It was just pure excitement to play football under those conditions with such a great group of guys and such a wonderful coaching staff. [Earl] 'Red' Blaik was the coach, and he was a pretty incredible guy. That was his last year of coaching."

That year also marked the last time Army defeated the Irish in South Bend, and it remains a pleasant memory to Novogratz, who chose not to pursue a career in the NFL after his college career finished. Instead, he served in the Army for the next 30 years, becoming a colonel. He also served in the Vietnam War.

He remains close to many of his Army buddies. Every July, he returns to West Point to compete in a golf tournament, and this August the 1958 team will have a reunion after the Cadets' game against Temple.

Reflecting on his glory days, Novogratz took pride in the fact he maximized his 6-2, 215-pound frame to play nearly 60 minutes a game, seeing action on both sides of the line.

''We were very well-conditioned in those days,'' Novogratz said. ''We played both ways, so conditioning was always an important element in the formula. That was a great advantage to us.''

At Army, Novogratz played football his last two years only because he was initially recruited to wrestle.

Eventually, he proved himself as a dominating lineman, and 50 years later he's hoping to become a Hall of Famer.

''Whatever happens, happens,'' he said. ''If I'm on the list, that's really exciting stuff. If I'm not, my son [Matthew] said, 'If you have your teammates, the coaches, your school and your friends all behind you, supporting you, that's just as good as making it to the Hall of Fame,' so I have that gratification of having all that support and all these people that worked to get me nominated and hopefully elected.''