Today's Tidbit... Dick Tamburo and Cup Protection

Following up on the Tidbit from several days ago about the body or rolling block, Today's Tidbit looks at pass blocking in the early 1950s. The illustration shows Dick Tamburo, a center and linebacker at Michigan State who was a first-team All-American for the Spartans in 1952. 

'Michigan State's Dick Tamburo,' Pensacola News Journal, November 9, 1952.

Until the mid-1940s, most teams treated pass blocking like run blocking, using driving blocking or body blocking techniques. However, the introduction of the Modern T with the dropback quarterback in 1940 led to a rethinking and the formulation of cup or pocket protection with more passive, zone-oriented blocking. Offensive linemen still could not use their hands, however.

After pass blocking for the last time, Tamburo spent more than a decade as an assistant coach and then turned to administration, becoming the AD at Texas Tech, Arizona State, and Missouri.

---

Subscribe for free and never miss a story. You can also support this site with a paid subscription to receive additional content or check out my books here.