1970 SI cover boy Irwin part of rich CU history
LB stole spotlight after historic win vs. PSU
It was Fred Casotti who made the first call that changed Phil Irwin’s life in 1970. In some ways, those calls haven’t stopped over the past five decades.
It was 50 years ago on Saturday that Colorado posted one of the biggest wins in its football history, dismantling fourth-ranked Penn State 41-13 at Folsom Field. The win propelled the Buffaloes into the top 10 and gave Irwin a unique honor in CU athletics lore, as he became the first Colorado athlete to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated.
In 1970, no one knew what a new magazine cover looked like until it arrived in the mailbox. Casotti, the legendary football SID who had been promoted to associate athletic director two years earlier, had learned the Buffs would be featured on that week’s SI cover. Irwin, a middle linebacker, never thought he would be featured player until Casotti called with the good news.
To this day, Irwin still gets the occasional call from a Buffs fan, or memorabilia collectors, asking him to sign the Oct. 5, 1970 edition of Sports Illustrated.
“It’s so strange that I get requests still from people that want me to autograph the cover
and send it back to them,” Irwin said. “I probably get 10 a year still. But there are Buffs fans that are all over the country that have collected those.”
At the time, the victory marked the highestranked opponent ever toppled by the Buffs, and Irwin and the CU defense played a starring role in ending the Nittany Lions’ 31-game unbeaten streak. Penn State brought two eventual NFL running backs to Boulder in Lydell Mitchell and Hall of Famer Franco Harris. That duo did combine for 128 rushing yards but needed 36 carries to get there. Irwin was credited with 12 tackles as the Buffs held Penn State to 290 total yards while forcing five turnovers.
CU jumped to from No. 18 to No. 8 after toppling the Nittany Lions, though the Buffs’ stay in the top 10 was short-lived with losses in four of the next five games.
“One thing I remember is those (Penn State) guys were never beat,” Irwin said. “Even at the last kickoff, when at that point we were pretty much guaranteed the victory, they really had not figured out they were going to get beat. That program was so amazing. They never felt defeated. It’s something that Colorado needs. It’s history that Penn State has still and Colorado is fighting to attain.
“Some of the great players they had were phenomenal. They had two running backs that went to the pros. Between Franco Harris and Lydell Mitchell, my day was pretty busy.”
After his CU career, Irwin, already married, immediately began a professional career in the savings and loan industry before transitioning into real estate and development over the past 40 years while remaining in Boulder County. And of course, he has been a close follower of the career of his brother and fellow CU alum Hale Irwin, the Hall of Fame golfer who is a three-time winner of the U.S. Open.
“He’s four years older than me, so I claim him as a great hero for me,” said Phil Irwin, whose son Heath Irwin was one of Rashaan Salaam’s offensive linemen during his 1994 Heisman Trophy season. “He’s always been there for me and included my wife and I in everything he’s done. It’s been neat to watch him. He was just a guy who worked hard and wasn’t flashy. We’ve got generations of family members that have played on that field.”