Bronx, N.Y. - Today is the final day of the release of the Fordham Athletic Hall of Fame, Class of 2017, and since it's the final day we won't restrict ourselves to just one person. The final three honorees can be considered the fathers of the modern football era: Bill Burke, FCRH '65, LAW '68; David Langdon, FCRH '65 and Donald Ross, FCRH '65. They join Ed Bona, FCRH '83, Bart Woytowicz, John Skelton, GSB '10, Joe Moorhead, FCRH '96, Javier Martinez, FCRH '07, Kerri Gallagher, FCRH '11, Krystle Henry, FCRH '07, and Suzanne Maguire, FCRH '97.
 
The new inductees will join the likes of Frankie Frisch, Vince Lombardi, Wellington Mara and Vin Scully in the Fordham Athletics Hall of Fame when the new class is inducted on Saturday, April 22, 2017, at 583 Park, during the Inaugural Fordham Athletics Gala.
 

As part of the Gala, Fordham will also present the initial Victory Bell Award as well as honor all former team captains. The Victory Bell will be presented to individuals who have brought distinction and honor to Fordham University Athletics through achievements not related to competition, coaching and/or administration. The honoree(s) will be selected by the Hall of Fame Committee and will embody a sense of leadership and passion for Fordham Athletics and serve as inspiration to the Fordham Athletics Family.
 
The year was 1964 and a group of Fordham students were looking to return football to campus. The school had discontinued the program following the 1954 season due to financial concerns but the students were looking for something to bring life to campus on Saturdays in the fall.
 
Ross, who was running for student body president, along with his running mate John Connolly, FCRH '65, ran on the Spirit Party line with the return of football as its main goal. Ross and Connolly won the election and used money raised from on-campus concerts (featuring some of the day's top acts such as Ray Charles, Peter Paul and Mary and the Kingston Trio) to help fund the return of football.
 
But it wasn't easy as administrators were hesitant to bring football back. However new president Vincent O'Keefe, SJ, was agreeable to move forward with a club team and the announcement was made in the September 18, 1964 edition of The Ram with a one-word headline: "FOOTBALL!"
 
Langdon, the rugby team captain, was enlisted to serve as the team's volunteer head coach and Burke, the student government treasurer, served as the sports information director and was charged with promoting the return of football.
 
Langdon managed to set up a game with the NYU club team on November 18 at Fordham and the wheels started to turn. An ad for tryouts drew 140 students and the group was pared down to a 43-man roster. Langdon, Ross and Connolly then began the task of fundraising the $18,000 they believed would be needed to stage the game with each loaning $1,000 to the cause.
 
Lots need to be done to get ready of the game. Tickets and programs needed to be printed and uniforms and equipment would need to be purchased. Even the field itself had to be readied as Jack Coffey Field did not have football bleachers. Luckily they got a good deal on a set of bleachers that the students had to set up and break down themselves. The reason for the good deal was that the bleachers were on their way to Washington, D.C., for the presidential inauguration in January.
 
On the field, Ross needed a tune up for his troops so he took the team up to Maine for a game with Maine Maritime which didn't go well for the Rams, who fell, 42-0.
 
Back at Rose Hill, Burke, with the assistance of New York Giants owner Wellington Mara, FCRH '37, was busy getting the word out. He managed to get all seven daily New York newspapers to cover the game, including the great Dick Young from the Daily News.
 
The game was a hard-fought affair with the Rams clinching a 20-14 win when Roger Dexter, GABELLI '65, intercepted a Violet pass in the fourth quarter. The team carried Langdon off the field on their shoulders and did something no Fordham football team had done since 1954. Ring the Victory Bell.
 
Today the Victory Bell gets quite a workout as the team has won 32 games over the past three years. But if not for Burke, Langdon and Ross the bell may have remained quiet all those Saturday afternoons.
 
(Story taken from a May 5, 2015 article from Fordham Magazine entitled "The Spirit of '65: How a Student-Led Campaign Brought Football Back to Rose Hill")