Dick Wallen
Encyclopedia
Dick Wallen is a former American football
player who was a consensus All-American
at the end position in 1957 while playing for UCLA. He was awarded the 1957 W.J. Voit Memorial Trophy
as the outstanding football player on the Pacific Coast. He was inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996.
, Wallen won 11 letters at Alhambra High School, including letters in football, tennis, track and basketball. He was also voted the prep Player of the Year in the Pacific League. Wallen enrolled at UCLA in 1955. He was converted by UCLA coach Red Sanders from a wingback
to an end. Wallen was a three-year starter at the end position for UCLA in 1956, 1957, and 1958. As a sophomore, he caught 23 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns.
Opposing coaches also praised Wallen. Stanford's Coach Joe Ruetz said, "Dick Wallen is as fine a receiver as I've ever seen." After an October 1957 game against Washington, Los Angeles Times sports writer Dick Hyland called Wallen a "Giant on Defense," writing as follows:
For his performance in 1957, Wallen received numerous awards, including first-team All-American designations from the Associated Press
, American Football Coaches Association
, Football Writers Association of America
, Newspaper Editors Association, and Walter Camp Football Foundation. He was the only junior selected to the 1957 AP All-America Team. He also received the American Legion Trophy as UCLA's most valuable player, and the W.J. Voit Memorial Trophy
, awarded each year by the Helms Athletic Foundation to the outstanding football player on the Pacific Coast. Wallen was only the second junior to receive the Voit Trophy and received 60 votes in the balloting, double the total of the second highest vote recipient.
rules. He had one of his finest games in an October 1958 loss to Florida
. Wallen caught two touchdown passes (UCLA's only touchdowns) in his final home game, prompting Mal Florence to write the following:
Wallen finished his collegiate career at UCLA with 62 receptions for 822 yards, nine touchdowns and an average of 13.3 yards per reception.
Wallen was inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who was a consensus All-American
College Football All-America Team
The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...
at the end position in 1957 while playing for UCLA. He was awarded the 1957 W.J. Voit Memorial Trophy
W.J. Voit Memorial Trophy
The W. J. Voit Memorial Trophy was awarded by the Helms Athletic Foundation from 1951 to 1978 to the outstanding college football player on the Pacific Coast. The recipient was determined based on votes cast by West Coast football writers and later broadcasters as well. Award recipients include...
as the outstanding football player on the Pacific Coast. He was inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996.
Early years
A native of Alhambra, CaliforniaAlhambra, California
Alhambra is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, which is approximately eight miles from the Downtown Los Angeles civic center. As of the 2010 census, the population was 83,089, down from 85,804 at the 2000 census. The city's...
, Wallen won 11 letters at Alhambra High School, including letters in football, tennis, track and basketball. He was also voted the prep Player of the Year in the Pacific League. Wallen enrolled at UCLA in 1955. He was converted by UCLA coach Red Sanders from a wingback
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
to an end. Wallen was a three-year starter at the end position for UCLA in 1956, 1957, and 1958. As a sophomore, he caught 23 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns.
Consensus All-American in 1957
Wallen's greatest success as a football player came in his junior year in 1957. That year, Wallen caught 20 passes for 303 yards. He was also a star on defense, intercepting four passes and recovering six opposition fumbles. Wallen led the UCLA team in minutes played, playing 399 minutes out of a possible 600. UCLA coach Sanders praised Wallen's skills:"'Wallen's got the best hands I ever saw in college ball,' says Sanders, 'and that includes fellows like Don HutsonDon HutsonDonald Montgomery Hutson was the first star wide receiver in National Football League history. He is considered by many to have been the first modern receiver....
when he was at Alabama. He's a natural born receiver; you don't learn those finger-tip haul downs Dick makes. His hand aren't big either. But he just has an instinct for catching a football, plus intelligence, quick judgment and perfect balance. It's a joy to coach a kid like that because he's eager to learn and never makes the same mistake twice."
Opposing coaches also praised Wallen. Stanford's Coach Joe Ruetz said, "Dick Wallen is as fine a receiver as I've ever seen." After an October 1957 game against Washington, Los Angeles Times sports writer Dick Hyland called Wallen a "Giant on Defense," writing as follows:
"Wallen was much more than a pass receiver. True, he again jumped in the air and duplicated his Illinois game stunt of making an unbelievable one-handed catch of a ball thrown over his head. ... His big contributions, however, were on defense. Twice, acting with the quickness of a cat, the 175-pound Bruin junior backed away while rushing Washington Quarterback Al Ferguson and intercepted the latter's short lob passes aimed to go well over Wallen's head."
For his performance in 1957, Wallen received numerous awards, including first-team All-American designations from the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, American Football Coaches Association
American Football Coaches Association
The American Football Coaches Association is an association of over 11,000 football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "maintain the highest possible standards in football and the profession of...
, Football Writers Association of America
Football Writers Association of America
The Football Writers Association of America is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the NCAA...
, Newspaper Editors Association, and Walter Camp Football Foundation. He was the only junior selected to the 1957 AP All-America Team. He also received the American Legion Trophy as UCLA's most valuable player, and the W.J. Voit Memorial Trophy
W.J. Voit Memorial Trophy
The W. J. Voit Memorial Trophy was awarded by the Helms Athletic Foundation from 1951 to 1978 to the outstanding college football player on the Pacific Coast. The recipient was determined based on votes cast by West Coast football writers and later broadcasters as well. Award recipients include...
, awarded each year by the Helms Athletic Foundation to the outstanding football player on the Pacific Coast. Wallen was only the second junior to receive the Voit Trophy and received 60 votes in the balloting, double the total of the second highest vote recipient.
1958 season
As a senior in 1958, Wallen's eligibility was limited to five games under Pacific Coast ConferencePacific Coast Conference
The Pacific Coast Conference was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pacific-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, the older league had a completely different charter and was disbanded in 1959 due to a major crisis...
rules. He had one of his finest games in an October 1958 loss to Florida
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
. Wallen caught two touchdown passes (UCLA's only touchdowns) in his final home game, prompting Mal Florence to write the following:
"Florida won the ball game, but Bruin end Dick Wallen won the acclaim of everyone in the ColiseumThe restriction on Wallen's playing time as a senior caused him to fall short of breaking UCLA's all-time pass receiving records. In October 1958, the Los Angeles Times noted: "Had the Pacific Coast Conference not limited him to five games this season though, Wallen perhaps would have swept the slate clean."Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumThe Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...
who witnessed his spectacular pass-catching exhibition last night. Wallen, a five-game senior playing his final local game, was the talk of both dressing rooms. Bob Woodruff, whose Gators triumphed 21-14, said following the game, 'There's no pass defense against a great receiver like Wallen.'"
Wallen finished his collegiate career at UCLA with 62 receptions for 822 yards, nine touchdowns and an average of 13.3 yards per reception.
Wallen the "Model Collegian"
Wallen excelled in the classroom as well as the football field. A 1957 profile of Wallen in the Los Angeles Times bore the headline: "MODEL COLLEGIAN: Wallen Tops on Campus as Well as Gridiron." Wallen was a physics major who expressed no interest in playing professional football, stating his intent instead to attend law school and become a patent attorney. He spent his summers working in a patent law office, and the author of the Times profile opined that "if they were picking an All-America of model college students, this 21-year-old junior from Alhambra might be named captain of the first team."Wallen was inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996.