▪▪▪▪ It was the calm before the shuffle, er, storm. Rufus “Roadrunner” Ferguson was featured on In the second game of the ’71 season, a 20-20 the cover of the 1972 Wisconsin football media tie at Syracuse, Ferguson rushed for 149 yards and guide. An action shot of No. 21 — cradling a foottwo TDs. After being pushed out of bounds on one ball in his right arm and making a cut off his right of his runs, he unveiled a dance move, shuffling his foot — was superimposed over an aerial view of a feet while extending his arms above his head. It was sold-out Camp Randall Stadium. the dawning of the “Roadrunner Shuffle.” The cover included the ’72 schedule and some The following week, Wisconsin attracted a record pertinent information on Ferguson. Like the fact crowd of 78,535 for a nonconference game against that he had rushed for the LSU. It was the first time all-time school record of all the seats had been filled THE SPIRIT AND THE CROWDS ARE BACK 1,222 yards in 1971 and since the construction of AT WISCONSIN, WROTE ROY DAMER IN he was being touted as an Camp Randall’s upper deck THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, AND THERE’S All-America and Heisman in 1966. The Badgers lost, NO QUESTION THAT THE PIED PIPER OF Trophy candidate going 38-28. But they were enMADISON IS RUFUS FERGUSON. into his senior year. tertaining. Ferguson had The cover also noted that the Badgers averaged 97 yards and two more TDs. 68,148 fans per game in ’71 and ranked No. 3 na“I’ll tell ya what, Rufus is a showman — he puts tionally in attendance, a remarkable four-year turnlife into football,” said LSU coach Charlie McClenaround. In 1968, they averaged 43,459. don. “But, more importantly, he’s a true player. He’s UW athletic director Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch big-time. He runs so low slung that our ballplayers had done a tremendous job stumping the state couldn’t get their arms around him.” and reviving the base. Oh, yes, the Roadrunner had To read the rest of the story click here. For the something to do with the renewed enthusiasm, too. complete Camp Randall 100 list, visit CampRanThe spirit and the crowds are back at Wisconsin, dall100.com. wrote Roy Damer in the Chicago Tribune, and there’s no question that the Pied Piper of Madison is Rufus Ferguson. Damer went on to write, Ferguson sends electric shocks of excitement thru the admiring throngs when he gets his hands on the football and does wondrous things. Even though frosh were still ineligible to compete in 1969 — the NCAA didn’t clear them for participation until 1972 — the Badgers got their initial glimpse of Ferguson when he was the MVP of the freshman team. He definitely stood out. He ran for 380 yards and six touchdowns in just two games. As a sophomore, Ferguson posted modest numbers — 130 carries for 588 yards and six touchdowns — but still led Wisconsin in rushing.
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