Holy Cross scat back Earl Schneider had speed to burn

But none of these great athletes accomplished the feat Brownson’s last grid star, Earl Schneider, achieved in 1954. Weighing a scant (and scat) 148 pounds, the senior tailback became the city of New Orleans’ first recorded 1,000-yard rusher. And he did it in a Herculean way.
    

Schneider gained all that real estate using raw speed. He was a 9.8 sprinter in the 100-yard dash, run on cinder tracks that were often inundated with rainwater. And he converted that speed into an incredible statistic on the football field in his senior season, when he gained 1,280 yards on 86 rushing attempts. That’s 14.3 yards every time he touched the football.
    

A quiet, unassuming student, according to some of his closest classmates and athletes who competed against him, Schneider spent most of his adult life serving his alma mater. Following his graduation from Southeastern Louisiana University, he returned to the Lower Ninth Ward campus to coach football and track and teach mathematics. And when he retired from the classroom in 1987, Holy Cross’ loyal son continued to work in the school’s maintenance department.
    

Schneider died July 24 at age 83. But his legacy lives on as a member of the school’s Sports Hall of Fame and as  namesake of the new campus’ maintenance building.
 

Disregarded statistics
    

There were, perhaps, other 1,000-yard rushers in this city’s history. But apparently, the sportswriters of the day did not record yardage statistics for every game. Research of local prep history revealed that touchdowns were the published statistics of choice. 
    

In his senior season of 1952, Lou Deutschmann nearly became the first to crack the yardage summit. In the second game of his sophomore season, the 220-pound Deutschmann rushed for a record 341 yards on 16 carries in a 26-14 Tiger win over Baton Rouge High. But a knee injury during the season caused the future LSU linebacker to fall short. He finished the year with 928 yards on 78 carries.
    

Playing full seasons, St. Aloysius’s Johnny Campora turned in a 948-yard season in 1940, and Walter Kelly of De La Salle rushed for 960 yards in 1953.
    

By the time Schneider became a senior, Brownson had left Holy Cross, and a former Jesuit star, Eddie Toribio, became the head football and track coach. He groomed Schneider into one of the state’s top sprinters as well as tailbacks.
    

Jesuit had won nine consecutive senior track championship meets until Holy Cross snapped the streak in 1955. Schneider and Jesuit’s Mickey LaNasa waged legendary duels in the 100- and 220-yard dashes when Earl was a junior. 
    

“They swapped wins every time they met,” recalled Jimmy Lacava, St. Aloysius’ top sprinter during the Schneider-LaNasa years. “Earl won one week, then Mickey would win the next.”
    

A year older, LaNasa won the ones that counted at the state AA championship meets in which he ran a 9.7 in the 100 and a 21.8 in the 220. Schneider was a step slower on a muddy track in Natchitoches.
 

Hampered by an injury
    

The track season of 1955 was supposed to be his stellar year. Schneider’s performance in the Southwestern Louisiana (USL) relays caught the attention of college coaches. He chose to run track only at Southeastern in Hammond.
    

Schneider was unbeatable in early meets and had his sights set on taking on future Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon of Istrouma in the two sprint events and in the 880-yard relay in which both were anchors for their teams. But in a dual meet against Istrouma, the Holy Cross senior pulled a hamstring. Although he qualified for the state meet three weeks later, he was unable to compete. 
 

Meanwhile Cannon set records. He tied a 15-year-old, 100-yard state mark of 9.7 and turned in a 21.2 in the 220. He then ran the final leg of the Indians’ winning 880-yard relay team. And for good measure, he set a record in the shot-put with a toss of 53 yards, 5 inches.
 

Schneider watched again as Cannon won three events in the NORD Meet of Champions the next week in City Park. He opted to rush for the final meet of his prep career three days later. And in that meet, Schneider finished second to teammate David Seeman in the two sprints, while teaming with his partner to lead the 880-yard relay team to victory. But his 10 points helped the Tigers unseat Jesuit as the meet champion.

Schneider was a quiet champion – almost enigmatic. His 242 yards rushing in a 40-19 win over Cannon’s Istrouma team belied his shyness. In later years when asked about his numbers, Schneider would just smile and change the subject.
    

“He was a mysterious guy,” remembered Lacava. “I never saw him on the streets. He stayed to himself. But, as an athlete, he was strong and quick. No (opponent) would get a good shot at him. He was gone too fast.”
    

Vincent Guttuso, a 205-pound center who shared All-State honors with Schneider, concurred. “Yes, Earl kept to himself. We coached and taught together. He was a great person and friend. He stayed at the school for 50 years.”
    

Holy Cross’s administration and coaching staff will host a memorial and celebration of life for Schneider at the school on Aug. 15. This is my tribute to a man who was one of my prep heroes at the age of 13.
    

Ron Brocato can be reached at [email protected].