University of San Francisco Athletics

At 6' 5" and 243, this blond Superman stood out like the hulk of a ship. Opponents tried, but couldn't move him without a crane. The impossible occurred in the COP game when everybody scrambled for a blocked punt that plunked into the Tiger end zone. Mergen literally collapse on the ball for six point and the thing didn't even burst. 

But it was not all offense. Far from it. The defensive team, consisting for the most part of Burl Toler, Gino Marchetti, Mike Mergen, and Bob St. Clair, allowed but 61 yards on the ground to the Spartans. Even more astounding was the fact that San Jose State was not allowed a first down until the remaining twelve minutes of that game. By that time, the issue was settled. The Spartans could not unlimber their offense mainly because of the loss of their ace quarterback, Lynn Aplanalp, who suffered an injury in scrimmage (TheDon).