BUBear1994DFW said:
Assassin said:
Botchey Koch was an all-state end for Temple in 1926, and four years later as a Baylor guard became the first consensus all-American in Southwest Conference history. Photo courtesy Baylor Hall of Fame.
I once read where Knute Rockne said Botchey was the best lineman he had ever seen. Anyone else heard this too?
Wiki: Knute Rockne also wrote of Koch's outstanding play in a letter to Baylor University shortly before Rockne's death in a plane crash. Koch was chosen the outstanding defensive player in the East-West Shrine Game at San Francisco's Kezar Stadium. It was a game in which the West defeated the East, 3-0. The
San Francisco Chronicle reported, "there were a lot of great linemen in that game . . . but Koch was easily the best. A steamroller could not get over him." In 1940, Harry Stuhldreher, quarterback of Notre Dame's Four Horsemen, and Rice named Koch to their All-Time All-American team for publication. "He was the best guard I ever saw," Stuhldreher said. "Rockne also told me he was far and away the best guard Knute ever saw. Koch was big, fast, smart and aggressive - a powerful lineman with a keen football brain. I haven't seen as good a guard since - either in college or pro."
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