From year one of the program til the early 60s, Florida State never had a pure passer. Even Lee Corso, best-known of the early signal-callers, ran for twice as many yards as he passed. Then Bill Peterson installed an NFL-style offense to compete against an increasingly tougher schedule of big time opponents. To pilot his aerial circus he chose Stev…

It was late 1973 and FSU Football was 0 - 11. Fans were either unhappy or apathetic. The program was in shambles and Larry Jones resigned as coach. What's more, the deck was stacked against whoever replaced him. Enter Darrell Mudra, fresh off rebuilding programs at Arizona and Western Illinois. Now if he could just work that same magic in Tallahass…

Arguably the most impressive win of the pre-Bowden era was actually a tie. The year was 1967 and FSU had lost its opener to Houston. Next up: Alabama, riding a 21-game win streak. Here's the story, told by FSU players who shocked the college football world that night at Birmingham's Legion Field. Including original radio play-by-play as the Noles s…

Meet Socrates G. Cretekos, nicknamed "Odg." It's a miracle this Greek-American from Tarpon Springs, Florida, lived to tell his story, 77 years after landing at Normandy on D-Day. Odg knows it as an eye witness who led and lost men through the landing, then helped free Paris, rescued skeleton-like prisoners at Dachau, and suffered two wounds along t…

Joe Avezzano was an undersized offensive lineman on FSU’s 1964 team that crashed the big time college football party. But you’ll know him better as the Energizer Bunny on the Dallas Cowboy’s coaching staff in the 90s when they won three Super Bowls. Along the way, he was a college assistant, a head coach, Big D. celebrity, entrepreneur and radio ta…

Listen to Geno Hayes talking Seminole memories while back at FSU for a Sod Cemetery event during the 2014 season. One of the program's most ferocious linebackers and a fan favorite, Geno passed away from liver disease on April 27 at age 33.By Rich Halten

As one of Bowden’s first recruits, Kurt Unglaub saw first-hand what the legendary coach did to resurrect FSU Football from the bottom tier of college football. And lately, Kurt’s been inside the locker room and on the field to observe how Mike Norvell is turning things around. Here’s how he compares their efforts.…

Kurt Unglaub reveals how a core group of FSU freshmen ignited a 180-turnaround for the program and laid the foundation for a dynasty under Bobby Bowden.By Rich Halten

How did Florida State's program rise from a winless 1973 season to earn 14 Top Five finishes? Mike Schumann knows first-hand. He was a Nole wide receiver during that nightmare season, and later on Bobby Bowden's 1977 team that turned it all around, going 10 and 2 including a Tangerine Bowl victory. In this episode, Mike talks about the similarities…

The way Florida State’s teams practiced in the 1960s was enough to impress a Marine Drill Sergeant. Take it from John Crowe and Dale McCullers, who lined up at linebacker and safety respectively back then. They and their teammates set the standard for how Florida State defenses should play. And their book, “FSU’s Sons of the Sixties: A Case for the…

Having a reason to get up in the morning can make life more meaningful, enjoyable — and even add years to that life. It’s one of the secrets for positive aging. There’s even research to prove it. Maybe your reason to bounce out of bed is an energizing hobby. Or the soul enrichment found in volunteering to help others. Or it could be the satisfactio…

FSU’s rise to college football prominence in the 80s wouldn’t have been possible without quarterbacks whose names still resonate with Nole fans over 40: Rick Stockstill, Kelly Lowrey, Chip Ferguson, Casey Weldon, Peter Tom Willis and Danny McManus — an unbroken line of brothers in arms, one after the other through the decade. The outlier of the gro…

In 1960, a time when Florida State was barely known outside the South, a change agent arrived on campus. And FSU football was about to get a lot more intense for the players, and a lot more fun for fans. Bill Peterson had been an assistant at LSU under coaching legend Paul Dietzel. He was a coach on the way up, much like the Seminoles’ fledgling fo…

In the early 70s, busloads of flower children trekked cross- country from Haight-Ashbury to the sticks. With no agricultural experience, they brought nothing but grit and determination to make a go of farming. And the goal of building a utopian refuge of peace and love. True to their communal philosophy, they signed a Vow of Poverty giving up every…

If not the craziest moment it was definitely unique. There was Smurf-size Dexter Carter draping a penalty flag over the dome of Miami’s Bernard Clark (watch YouTube game highlights beginning at the 4:38 mark). Carter’s spontaneous move was payback for being clipped and nearly crushed by a guy that outweighed him by at least 100 lbs. In this episode…

He calls himself an average player, but Rick Stockstill QB'd FSU to road wins over Nebraska, Ohio State and Notre Dame—victories that shocked the college football world and started a Seminole dynasty. Rick tells what motivated a good team to play great, and the things that Bobby Bowden did to turn Florida State into a Top 10 power.…

Arm yourself during the virus crisis with a soothing agent to fight fear and frustration. You'll find it on the Unleashing Kindness Facebook group. Launched long before the virus hit by retirees Rich McGuinness and Pat Fiorello, it's a resource and reminder that treating each other with compassion and respect is not only a good habit, it’s free. Ri…

Sitting down with the author of the best seller "Elderhood," we found Dr. Louise Aronson pleasant but with a forceful message. It's about about disrupting stereotypes and demanding fairness from a healthcare system geared to coddle youngsters and help ease adults from their 20s through middle age. In the author's own words, it's for anyone who is "…

One dictionary defines a gym rat as “someone who spends all leisure time playing sports or working out in a gymnasium or health spa.” The last guy you’d expect to fit that is a 97-year old Holocaust survivor named Ben Heller. But six days a week you’ll find Ben on the treadmill or cranking one of the weight machines at an Atlanta fitness club. Ben …

“I’m living on borrowed time.” That’s how a former GI describes his incredible luck in surviving the 1968 Tet Offensive, turning point of the Vietnam War. Fifty years later, he and a buddy relive the bloody attack that found them under siege in a house in Hue. His small unit fought a pitched battle against the Viet Cong until forced out by flames. …

Receiving a draft notice in the 60s felt like a death sentence. Add a growing resistance to the Vietnam War and it's easy to see why guys 18-to-26, like our friend Bob, looked for any way to avoid induction. His crafty ploy? LSD. Rumor was that taking it could make you unfit for military service. So with the help of his girlfriend, Bob dove in. Did…

You didn't have to attend high school in a small midwestern town to know a couple like Denny and Karen. They were always together, holding hands and whispering secrets. In the hall before class. After school. At the mall. Everybody knew a graduation ring would soon be followed by an engagement ring. It all rings true for Karen and Denny — except th…

How are high-mileage Americans outliving the undertaker?By Rich & Steve

Most of us remember little or nothing about being 5 years old. Frank Gregor is the exception. He recalls it all too clearly. Far better than he'd like to.

Ashton Applewhite’s book (“This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Aging”) is a wakeup call for a society obsessed with youth. The stigma of wrinkles. The stereotype of being feeble and forgetful. Ashton believes our worship of everything young creates a caste system where anybody over 50 is marginalized at best and shunned at worst. While you may no…

Break-ups, shake-ups and couch surfing at 60. Is it too late to rebuild your life when fate knocks you around like a piñata?

Honk if you didn’t have dreams of getting rich when you were in your 20s and 30s. Well, we know a guy who turned that dream into reality. An Iowa boy from humble beginnings, he became a savvy entrepreneur, and later sold his company for the big bucks. Now in retirement, he’s found that money can buy happiness — not just for himself, but the thousan…

A 60-something woman trying to hold a relationship together. A crisis at 8,000 feet. A certain...eh, bodily fluid. Dealing with loss without losing your mind. It's like a whole season of a TV drama in one short and sweet episode.

Lessons learned the hard way about what’s truly important, whether you’re 25 or 75. Listen as Hospice patients look back with the perspective only someone at the end can see clearly. Even their regrets can teach us how to live with purpose and dignity.

Ebola. Even though it's no longer a scary headline doesn't mean that it's gone. But why in hell would a comfortably retired Granddad go looking for it?

Vampires, werewolves and Godzilla gave you a chance to cuddle with your sweetie at the drive-in movies. But they couldn't compare with the scare of those gory training films your friends dared you to see in Driver's Ed. class.

During the 60s, some guys escaped the Vietnam War by going to Canada. Some by swearing they were conscientious objectors. And one guy by being very lucky. Nearly 50 years later he recalls his good fortune: Part war story, part love story, and one like you've probably never heard before.

Tom was just your average guy in the 60s: a good husband, father and breadwinner — everything society expected him to be. Except he had a secret that, in his words, "was killing me."