Wisdom of the Blog------ Greatest UMass RB

The results of the RB poll went as follows:

1. Marcel Shipp 56 votes
2. Steve Baylark 26 votes
3. Rene Ingoglia 7 votes
4. Lou Bush 6 votes
5. Gary Pearson 4 votes
6. Frank Alessio 1 vote
7. Jerome Bledsoe 1 vote

Marcel Shipp finished his UMass career with 6,250 yards, 5.2 yards/carry and 58 TDs. His career total yards record will stand for some time.

Steve Baylark ended with 5,332 yards, 4.8 yards/carry and 42 TD's.

Rene Ingoglia is third in UMass career yards with 3,624, 5.1 yards/carry and 54 TD's. He had the best run I've ever seen at McGuirk against Delaware.

Lou Bush was an All-American at UMass when there was only one division. He scored a phenomenal 39 TD's in 1931 and 1932.

Garry Pearson was a two-time first team All-American. He's fourth in career rushing with 3,859 yards 4.8 yards/carry and 35 TDs. He was especially great against UConn. Pearson averaged over 200 yards/game against the Huskies.

Jerome Bledsoe is sixth in UMass career yards with 2,216, 6.0 yards/carry and 20 TD's. How tough was Jerome? He broke his leg playing against Holy Cross and lied to the coaches and told them it was OK so he could stay on the sidelines and see the rest of the game.

Frank Alessio is fifth in UMass career rushing with 2,887 yards, 5.6 yards/carry and 20 TD's. He holds the UMass single game record of 337 yards against BU. In 1995 he averaged 7.9 yards every time he carried the ball. Two of the top ten longest runs in UMass history belong to Alessio.

UPDATE: I should have mentioned Rene Ingoglia was one of two RB's included in the Yankee Conference's 50th Anniversary Team. Being rated as one of the top two running backs in 50 years covers a lot of territory.