Kornacki: Lytle Remembered for all the Right Reasons
12/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 8, 2015
Rob Lytle
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was a ball boy on the sidelines when he watched Rob Lytle run for the Wolverines, and Lytle's prowess as a fleet runner and punishing blocker brought about a sense of awe from young Harbaugh. He also admired Lytle for the kind of guy he was, always nice to kids like him and considerate of others.
And when Harbaugh pictures a running back, he can't imagine one much better than Lytle.
"He was just a hard runner," said Harbaugh. "When I think of backs going through the line of scrimmage and lowering their pads, and the way he could run, low off the ground, like an arrow going through snow. That's how I visualize a running back. He was a great running back.
"In that movie, 'Everybody's All-American,' he was played by Dennis Quaid. When he (Quaid's character) was playing football, Rob Lytle was the back they used footage of Dennis Quaid being. I always thought that was really neat."
Quaid played Gavin Grey, a fictional All-America running back nicknamed "The Grey Ghost," who concluded his career with the Denver Broncos. NFL film of Lytle, wearing No. 41 for the Broncos, is used in the 1988 film.
Lytle was a real-life All-American at Michigan in 1976, and was one of Coach Bo Schembechler's absolute favorite players. Harbaugh's father, Jack, coached on Schembechler's staff when Lytle played and dominated games.
His career rushing record of 3,317 yards stood until Butch Woolfolk surpassed it in 1981, and his single-season mark of 1,469 yards lasted 21 years before Jamie Morris broke it with 1,703 in 1987.
Lytle will be inducted posthumously into the College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday (Dec. 8) at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. He died of a heart attack in 2010 at the age of 56.
-- Charles Woodson on Rob Lytle
He was all about family, team and meeting challenges.
His wife, Tracy, and his son, Kelly, say they couldn't have had a better husband or father. They treasured the family life they had in Fremont, Ohio, where Rob and Tracy met as high school track team sprinters before attending college together in Ann Arbor.
The Wolverines won three Big Ten championships, 1973-76, finishing in the national top 10 each season, with Lytle leading the way. He finished third in Heisman Trophy voting as a senior behind Pitt's Tony Dorsett and Southern Cal's Ricky Bell, and was named the Big Ten's MVP that season.
He received many honors, and being voted into the 2015 class of the College Football Hall of Fame is a fitting tribute to an exemplary Wolverine.
Lytle definitely met the challenge Michigan's legendary coach put to him straight when he visited campus as a senior at Fremont High.
Kelly said, "Here was Bo Schembechler's recruiting pitch to my dad: 'Rob, we have seven tailbacks here at Michigan. And when you come here, you will be No. 8. What happens is up to you.' "
His son, who also played running back at Fremont and now works in business development for a Cleveland company, chuckled after repeating that line.
"Bo put that kind of challenge in front of my dad," said Kelly, "and he rose to the challenge."
Now, he's going into the Hall of Fame.
"This honor is incredible for dad," said Kelly, who wrote a book, "To Dad, From Kelly," inspired by letters he wrote to his father after his death to help with his grieving. "And if he could have given his own speech, Dad would say, 'This only happened to me because of the great teams I played on. This is a team accomplishment.'
"Michigan was the perfect match for his personality. He played for a coach who stressed, 'The team, the team, the team.' And my dad was a player who loved his team and teammates."
Kelly was scheduled to speak on his father's behalf in a ceremony Monday night (Dec. 7) before the enshrinement, and Tracy will represent him on stage Tuesday at the actual induction.
"Rob would be very ecstatic about being in the Hall of Fame," said Tracy. "Yet, he was so humble that he never thought of himself as that good. He did it for the team and the love of the game. He was a true team player, and even played (nine games) as a fullback."
That wealth of running backs Schembechler mentioned to Lytle provided some truly unique backfields. Lytle played in two games in which the Wolverines had a trio of 100-yard rushers.
Harlan Huckleby (157), Lytle (105) and Gordon Bell (100) had 362 yards rushing on 40 combined carries (9.05-yard average) against Northwestern in 1975. Huckleby (157), Russell Davis (116) and Lytle (101) totaled 374 on 42 rushes (8.9-yard average) against Stanford in 1976.
Lytle also was highly recruited by Ohio State coach Woody Hayes, and both his wife and son agreed that his favorite win was the 22-0 demolition of the Buckeyes in Columbus in 1976.
"Woody really recruited him hard," said Tracy, a fifth-grade teacher at Lutz Elementary in Fremont. "He'd bring history books over and took the family to dinner. I had a portrait made from a photo of Rob walking off the field the day of that win at Ohio State. His helmet was so banged up and scratched, and there was this light in his eyes. He was really excited and that's how you could tell.
"We went to the Rose Bowl that year after going to the Orange Bowl the previous year. And then Denver went to the Super Bowl in his rookie year! Three straight years of going to bowl games like that was fantastic."
Lytle, a second-round pick by the Broncos in 1977, became the first player to score a touchdown in both the Rose Bowl and Super Bowl. He played seven years in the NFL and Kelly recalled that his father's right shoulder was "hurt so badly" after his playing career that he couldn't throw a ball.
"It bothered him that we couldn't play catch and we'd tease him about that," said Kelly, who graduated from Princeton and ran on its track and field team. "And so he taught himself to throw left-handed so he could be the all-time quarterback in our neighborhood sandlot games. He just loved being a part of our lives.
"He cared. I think that's the best way to summarize Dad. He cared for Mom, my sister (Erin Tober, who has two children). He was my best friend. He had a unique charm for being able to make you feel more special. He was fully invested in so many ways."
Rob Lytle's wife, Tracy, holding a plaque during a ceremony held at halftime of the BYU game on Sept. 26, 2015.
Lytle was a vice president for the Business Development Office at Old Fort Banking Company in Fremont, and also found time to be involved in the community.
Kelly said his father was an assistant offensive line coach at Fremont when Charles Woodson, Michigan's 1997 Heisman Trophy winner, played tailback and cornerback.
"Rob was an example and inspiration to all of us who came from small towns that with hard work we, too, could be recognized," Woodson said at the time of Lytle's death. "He never hesitated to share his time with us and help us prepare as we got ready to play the game he loved."
Rick Leach, the Michigan quarterback for Lytle's last two seasons, said, "He was a great competitor and such a great leader. He cared about the team, he cared about Big Ten titles and would do anything to make the team better.
"He took me under his wing to talk about football and life. I loved him like a brother."
Lytle didn't need to be in the Hall of Fame to have a lasting legacy, but somehow the shrine seems like a better place now that he's in it.
