You and I have memories
longer than the road that stretches out ahead

----The Beatles


Saturday, September 10th in Columbia, Missouri.

The New Mexico Lobos under Head Coach Rocky Long, defeat Big 12 powerhouse Missouri, 45-35 in front of 50,701 stunned Tiger fans. It is the first time that a Lobo team has ever defeated a BCS team on the road, and one of the biggest Lobo victories of the modern era.

Somewhat appropriately, it is also the game that makes Rocky Long the winningest coach in university history, with 42 wins.

"That means nothing to me," Rocky Long heatedly told reporters after the game.

And you had better believe that too, Lobo fans. From the time Rocky Long traded in his shoulder pads for a clipboard, his one, burning desire has been for the success of his team and the players. Personal accolades simply do not interest him in the least.

"Ask me about the players" is a statement often heard out of Long whenever he is asked a question pertaining to himself.

Ah, but Rocky Long himself, was one of those "players" once upon a time. So, it should come as no surprise to anyone, that the coach that is Rocky Long, was molded from the same shape and rugged materials as the player Rocky Long, once was.

Even now, you can still see that same fiery, determined and dedicated player inside of our coach, as he strolls the sidelines focusing on plays one or two steps ahead of the action actually taking place on the field. It was something that the people we have interviewed for this series of stories all have agreed upon. Thirty-five years ago, they had witnessed the future coach inside of their player - as he out-thought and out-hustled his opponents on gameday.

It is a story of triumph and victory over long odds. It is the story of an offensive star in college who never really became a star as a professional, and yet was someone that his CFL and WFL teammates and coaches would never, ever forget. It is the story of an offensive star in college, who somehow become widely hailed as a defensive wizard when he began his coaching career.

Ultimately for Lobo fans - however, this is a story about a transplanted local hero (by way of Cucamonga, California) growing up, seeing the world and coming back home to lead his alma mater to even greater glories on the exact same field where he had once earned his wings.

Here then, is the story of our own real-life, Rocky.


Born in Provo, Utah in 1950, the chances seemed pretty good that Rocky Long was going to discover the pigskin one fine day. His father, Rod Long, was then playing at end for the BYU Cougars and would finish as a three-year letterman and all-league player at BYU from 1948-1950. The senior Long would later go on to an acclaimed 33-year coaching career in California high schools and colleges.

Sound like anyone familiar?

Meanwhile, the younger Long had a stellar career in middle school football - arriving at Alta Loma High School in Cucamonga as a 5'3" tall freshman and weighing just 125 pounds. With a mixture of the guts, smarts and rabid determination that would soon became his trademark, Rocky would make first-string and stay there all through high school - though his lack of size kept schools away from him when it became time for his college recruitment.

So how in the world did Rocky Long ever end up playing for the University of New Mexico Lobos?

Well, it wasn't quite as dramatic as we might wish it could be. As Rocky himself told CFL reporter Jim Taylor in 1973, "(It was) Because they had a new coaching staff that started recruiting late and had a couple (of scholarships) left over."

Boy, if that wasn't a blessing in disguise. Still, even from such humble beginnings, it is easy to trace the influences that made Rocky Long the man that he is. His father was certainly the biggest and most important influence on his life, but Rod Long would have plenty of reinforcements along the way. And, it would all begin with Lobo head football coach, Rudy Feldman.


Coach Rudy Feldman was Rocky Long's coach for those four seasons at New Mexico, and he would see the good times as well as the bad times that came with Lobo football in those days. The measure of the character he instilled in a young Rocky Long is perhaps incalculable, but it appears to be readily evident in the fact that Rocky had called his old coach immediately after the Missouri victory.

Coach Feldman has since retired, but you wouldn't know it to talk with him. Once again, here is another coach that you recognize as the "real deal" immediately. I am glad that he didn't order me to "drop down and give him thirty," or I would have felt obliged to try!

Sadly, in doing some research for this interview, I learned that his home had burned down during the San Diego brushfires a couple of years ago. At the time of our conversation, he was still displaced, though good news was coming just around the corner.

"Yes, in fact it (the new house) will be finished here in about two to three weeks," Coach Feldman told me.

When Coach Feldman parted with the university in 1973, he seemed to have had his fill of the college experience, choosing instead to go into the NFL, where he would go on to have a distinguished career.

"I started at San Diego after I got fired at New Mexico and I was here for four years," Feldman recalls. "Then, we moved to St. Louis where I coached for nine more seasons."

Knowing the somewhat unusual mix of success and failure against hopeless odds that Coach Feldman had endured while here, I wondered if he still kept up with Lobo football in any way.

"Actually, yes. I talk to Rocky all of the time."

Really? You've got to be awfully proud of him.

"Oh, yes. I'm really proud of Rocky Long." (smiles)

Your entry into Lobo athletics, might have been one of the most difficult for any coach around here ever. First of all, you followed a legend in Bill Weeks. Secondly, you entered at a time when the 'two-platoon' system had put mid-majors such as us at a distinct disadvantage. Bill Weeks has in fact said, that the main reason he resigned was because there was not an equal playing field here at New Mexico in those days. Thirdly, this school had gone Lobo basketball-mad at the time, and the administration made no secret as to it being the main priority for them. How did you deal with all of that?

(Laughs) "Yeah, you don't even realize how tough it was! My first year there in 1968, by the last half of the season, we only suited-out 28 people."

Only 28 People? How in the world did you ever field a team?

"That's all that we had on the team," coach continues. "Everybody had to learn how to play both ways. We started with more than that of course, but we had some people quit and had some other people injured, so that is just what we ended-up with. That was also Rocky's freshman year, but freshman weren't eligible back in those days."

"We would always work against our freshmen of course, in preparing for the games, and our freshmen would always beat us!" (laughs)

Wow, how the times had changed by 1968 here at New Mexico, due to the explosion of something called "Lobomania." It almost felt like deja vu to me, in a sense. When I had interviewed former Lobo basketball coach, Bob Sweeney, their positions had been reversed. Coach Sweeney was let go in 1961 right after the success of Lobo football, for "not winning enough basketball games."

Here it was - just seven short years later, and the team's positions had completely been reversed. Basketball enjoyed a spanking new arena under Bob King, while football languished under-budget and under-supported with a new head coach after the old one had resigned in frustration.

One had to wonder at the time...."Will UNM ever get all of their eggs in one basket?"

"Well...yeah, I had my conflicts with Bob (King)," Rudy Feldman tells me. "We went through a period of time in the early seventies, where we had a better record than he did. And he was really opposed to football getting as much publicity as we started to get. That really bothered him, because he was having some of his worst years in the late sixties and early seventies."

I know that you have been away from the program for a while, but can you tell if any of those crazy conflicts of interest have been removed through the years?

"I'm really not cognizant of any of that, to tell you the truth. I've talked with Rocky and I was back there a couple of years ago to introduce Don Woods when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. At the time, I got to visit with Rocky quite a bit and he told me that he had quite a bit of support. Apparently, the state has the ability to give walk on players...well, they pay their tuition as long as their grades are high enough."

(That fact, I was unaware of). The weekend prior to this interview, New Mexico had accomplished many firsts that I am sure Coach Feldman would have liked to have experienced. The all-time attendance record was set when over 44,000 people watched UNM defeat cross-state rival New Mexico State and it was also the weekend DonTrell Moore became the all-time leading rusher for the team. To my surprise, Coach Feldman was aware of both of these facts. To his own credit, during the most successful years of his tenure (1970 and 1971), Rudy had fielded one of the highest rushing teams in the country - much of it on the back of Rocky Long.

"Those two years that you mentioned, we were one of the top rushing teams in the country. We were like, the second team (in the country) to go with the wishbone, and people really had a hard time trying to defend us. There were a couple of games where we rushed for well over 500 yards."

But hadn't Rocky Long been recruited to play just defense? What had happened at the time, for him to have made such an abrupt 180 with the coaching staff?

"He was just such a tremendous competitor," Coach Feldman explains. "Back at that time, we played a spring alumni game and in the spring of his freshman year - while busy preparing for his sophomore year, we were still playing those alumni teams. Some real greats played in those games back then, as I recall. Don Perkins (Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor, 1961-1968) played and Paul Smith (13-yr NFL career and Denver Bronco's Ring of Honor) played, because that was seen by the players of that generation as their duty to the school. As I recall, Rocky was selected the Defensive Player of the Game. That should tell you something, because he really was a good defensive back."

"But by my second year there, we had decided to go with the wishbone and at some point, we made the decision to move him from the secondary to play quarterback for us. We just felt that we needed a better athlete than we had. As I recall, he didn't start for us until maybe the third game or so."

Rocky Long was a rock-solid, 5'10" and 175-pound player by then - although that was still considered too small for a Division one quarterback. I wondered aloud, exactly what was it that elevated (no pun intended) Rocky to such status (Besides his athletic ability)? An old case of the "size of the fight in the dog" as opposed to the size of the dog?

"He just had a great understanding of football - along with being just a tremendous competitor as I have stated before. To run the wishbone offense, you really need to have a good perception of how to run that sort of offense. Essentially, you need to be able to read defensive players in order to make the correct decision and he did that extremely well."

It was a stroke of genius, no matter how you draw it up. Rocky Long would finish that season as the team's Most Valuable Player (the first UNM sophomore to ever win that award) - which was an honor that he would later capture during his junior and senior years as well. In addition to winning the MVP during that first season on offense, Rocky would also capture the Chuck Cummings award and the spirit award. And as if that was't enough, he also became the first Lobo sophomore ever to be named as a team co-captain.

Coach Feldman had told us earlier, about the team being one of the strongest rushing teams in the country during those years. I wondered, what kind of variety of weapons did he have to choose from on offense?

"All four of our starting backfield positions - not individuals but positions, rushed for over a thousand yards during those seasons. In other words, our quarterback, each halfback and the fullback all rushed for over a thousand yards."

(As a matter of fact, the two best rushing teams ever at the University of New Mexico, were the 1971 and 1970 Lobo teams under Rudy Feldman. They gained 4,229 and 3,501 yards respectively)

" I couldn't tell you the exact numbers - it all happened a long time ago," coach continues. "But I will never forget Rocky. He was such a competitor and understood the game so well. He just posessed the qualities that we were looking for to play quarterback at that particular time."

It would prove to be a magical year for sophomore Rocky Long in every single way possible. Finishing as the leading passer for the team, as well as being number one in both kickoff and punt returns, he was also the second leading rusher on the club.

Pretty impressive stuff for a kid that barely got recruited out of high school and who had started out by playing defensive back. And, he was a star in the classroom as well, being named to the First Team All-WAC Academic Team as well as garnering Honorable Mention on the national academic squad with a perfect, all-"A" 4.0 his last semester. In fact - before he was through at UNM, Rocky would be a three-time all-academic selection, including winning the WAC Scholar Athlete Award outright in 1970. The fondness the coach still has for his player is evident throughout this conversation - as are Rocky's feelings for his old coach.

"I wouldn't know about him to me," Coach Feldman chuckles. "But, I do know about me to him!"

"When he coached at UCLA I got to see him a lot, because I am a graduate of UCLA and I have been involved with them for quite sometime - though especially, since I have been retired. As a matter of fact, I was at the UCLA - Oklahoma game just this past weekend. Of course, since I retired, we have gone to pretty much all of the UCLA home games.

UCLA had managed to defeat the Sooners that night, so I felt the need to brag about Rocky's upset of Missouri that same weekend.

"Yes - I know all about that one. In fact, I talked to Rocky right after the game."

Was he pretty excited?

"Oh, he was actually pretty low-key and just getting ready for the next one." (chuckles)

I have always felt that Rocky Long personified the "Old School" way of coaching in every single way possible. He is such a 'throwback' by today's standards, in my opinion.

"You are exactly right. Most coaches today play up to the news media and Rocky won't - he just coaches his tail off."

Clearly, Rocky is a reflection of all of the coaches that he has had in the past - beginning with his father all of the way up through his Pro career. But more to the point, that includes former Lobo coach Rudy Feldman to a great extent.

"Well, I appreciate that - I really do."

There is somewhat of a great mystery surrounding Rocky's recruitment to New Mexico. How in the world did that ever take place?

"How we recruited him, is really quite a story. We had a coach at an all-star game in the San Gabriel Valley out in California during the summer of 1968. It was a night game, so by the time the game was over, it was later in New Mexico and this coach decides to call me. I don't remember exactly what time it was - whether it was midnight or one o'clock, but it was pretty late. He says, 'Coach, I need to talk with you' and I say, 'What's that?"

"He says, 'Well, I just saw a player and you've got to give him a scholarship - do we have any more money for a scholarship?"

"So I asked him, 'Are you in a bar somewhere? Where are you calling from?" (We both start to laugh)

"He says, 'No - I just went to this game out here to watch some of the players who were coming to UNM and there was this defensive back out there who was really a good player."

"So I say, 'How big is he?"

"He says to me, 'Oh, he's about 5'9" and 165 pounds or so." (coach breaks out laughing).

"So, I am kind of doubtful, you know?" (still laughing)

"So I ask him, 'Are you sure this kid's a good player?"

"And he says, 'Yeah - we really need him."

"So, I tell him to offer him a scholarship then. Looking back, I think that we in fact, were the only school to offer him one - though you'd have to check with Rocky to be sure on that."

Rocky has championed so many overachieving walk-ons during his career, and I think that we all now know why. What Rocky told Canadian sports writer Jim Taylor back in 1973, pretty much mirrors that description of his recruitment.

When all the dust had settled and with his diploma firmly in hand, Rocky Long would eventually leave New Mexico as it's all-time leading rusher with 2,071 yards gained from the line of scrimmage - a number still good enough to be in the Top 10 some 30 years later. Even now in 2005, he ranks 4th in all-time rushing attempts, and is still 7th in career total offense (4,461 yards).

And - just like the coach we have all come to know these past few seasons, Rocky the player was a quiet man for whom actions often took the place of mere words. In 1971, Rocky joined Johnny Musso (Alabama); Lydell Mitchell (Penn State) and Stan Mauldin (Texas) as one of only four NCAA football players to visit the harried and often misunderstood servicemen in Vietnam. Coach Feldman himself, had played a large role in that endeavor.

"Yes, I visited the troops in 1970. Now, my wife really didn't want me to go at the time (laughs). Chuck Neinas was the Big Eight commissioner in those days, and it was he who asked me to go. We had enjoyed some success that season and that is why he gave me a call, I suppose. When you win, you get those kinds of things. I had coached in the East-West game and lectured at various air force bases in Europe, so this was yet another one of the perks. All as a result of having a degree of success at UNM during that particular time.

The following year, he asked me if I knew of any players that I would recommend and I recommended Rocky - as long as that was what he wanted to do, of course."

"Honestly, it was a good experience, going to Vietnam. For me, it was an eye-opener and I think for Rocky it was too - though you'll have to ask him about that. A lot of things - at least for the time I was there, I was really disappointed with. As far as the morale and the discipline and those kinds of things. Those were difficult times in this country and it was reflected back by the attitude found on most college campuses. How old are you, by the way?"

I'm forty-four.

"Well, you are somewhat younger than this timeline, but in the late sixties and early seventies, it was often really a tough time to be coaching. When we invaded Cambodia, we had riots here on the campus at UNM and they had to bring the National Guard out. It was just a tremendously difficult time in this country. We even had a few conflicts between some of our white players and some of our black players during those times. It was just a tough time all the way around."

I admire you and Rocky for choosing the high road. Not many people did at the time. The people over there doing the dirty work tended to be college age kids. The fact that you as a college coach and Rocky as a college player visited them as peers, is extremely admirable in my book, and the essence of what humanity is supposed to be about.

"Thank-you - seriously."

I caught you kind of by surprise tonight (for both of us!), but after talking with you coach, I wouldn't have missed this for the world. Is there anything that you'd like to add to this story about Rocky, before I let you go?

"You've pretty much got a good assessment of him already. Rocky is someone that doesn't change with the times. The biggest thing that I could ever say about him, is he is just a tremendous competitor. When we used to run the option, there were times that the defenses would just attack the quarterback and decide to physically abuse him. Rocky would take those shots every time - and he never surrendered to a single one of them. There is simply no 'quit' in Rocky Long."

"And another neat thing about him was, he would show you every bit as much effort in practice as he did during the game - and that means 120%. He was always trying to do his best for the team at all times. By the way, do you know who Larry Korpitz is?"

No, I'm afraid that I don't.

"Well, we recruited Larry to play quarterback as well, and he and Rocky competed for the same position at the time. Well, Larry ended-up marrying Rocky's sister - believe it or not, and he became an excellent coach himself, later on. He and Rocky in fact, coached together at Wyoming until Rocky moved on to Oregon State. Larry later contributed a lot to the offense at Wyoming and followed his head coach down to Purdue. Around the time that he left Wyoming, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and passed away. I don't think this is very well known, but they (Rocky and Larry) were very close buddies. If Larry had still been alive when Rocky got the head job at UNM, he would have hired Larry right off the bat."

Saddened by this news that I had not been previously been aware of, my heart really went out to both of the families. It is often lost on us sports fans, that our heroes deal with exactly the same kinds of tragedy and adversity that we often do - though it is not always publicized as such. I wondered to myself, how many games has Rocky dedicated to his fallen friend? I'll bet that there have been many of them.

At any rate, I was in awe of Coach Rudy Feldman. How fortunate I was to get to speak with such a Lobo insider from back in the day. It was an honor - pure and simple. In closing, I asked him one final question about those great WAC teams that he and Rocky had fielded together.

"I'm very proud of the fact that in '70 and '71 we only lost to one team in the WAC Conference. We beat Utah for two consecutive years and BYU and everybody else. Arizona State at that time was in the Top 10 in the country - in fact, they had beaten Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl, and that was the only team that beat us those two years. That's kind of my bottom line around there."

And what a great bottom line it is indeed, for Coach Rudy Feldman. Garnering back-to-back winning seasons during an era when such things were scarce, the Lobos totaled a cumulative 17-12-2 record during the Rudy Feldman and Rocky Long years. In fact, the 1970-71 Rocky Long-led Lobos were the last lobo football team to have consecutive winning seasons until the 1996-97 Lobo team was finally able to match that feat.

Upon his graduation, Rocky probably dreamed of playing in the NFL, but he was also realistic. Though he had once ran a 4.5 second 40 yard-dash for the Dallas Cowboy scouts ("on a super day when everything went just right" according to Rocky), and a few more NFL teams had come around to take look at him, on draft day, his number wasn't called.

But, just like it had always been for him, the player who seemed to have a nose for the football, found that the football still had a nose for him.

And that is where our story truly begins, Lobo fans.


In the fall leaves turn to brown
Nature sings it’s song and takes it’s course
Soon I’ll be traveling to a northern town
Where the air is cold and the season harsh
Birds are flying south on a highway in the sky
Their lives are changing and so am I
I’ve got to leave my youth behind
and become the man I hope to find
Oh, but don’t you worry...
Someday I’ll be coming home

----unknown Lobo fan



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