Camp Countdown: Wake Forest in Japan, 1974

7/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football

From the Wake Forest Sports Information Office, January 1974

A group of 50 student athletes from Wake Forest traveled to Japan to play a series of football exhibition games against teams composed of Japanese College All-Stars. The results of the games were as expected with the Deacons winning 28-3 over Kwansei University and 35-0 over the Tokyo All Stars. The big difference, as expected, was physical size, as the Deacs outweighed their Japanese opponents by about 40 pounds per man and held a height advantage of several inches.

A ticket stub from the Rice Bowl.


Coach Chuck Mills conceded, though, that the Japanese team was "200% improved" over his last trip there in 1971.

Stars in the game for Wake Forest were Felix Glasco, who had a 71-yard runback of a missed field goal and fullback Jim Gregory who scored two touchdowns. Freshman Bob Paquette and senior Ken Griffith had the other Wake scores. Glasco did a good job kicking for extra points considering he hadn't kicked since high school. Kansai's score came on a 27-yard field goal.

It wasn't the game itself, however, which provided most of the excitement and entertainment for the American delegation. Days of sight-seeing and picture-taking have kept the team more than occupied. Middle guard Frank Mariani summed up the general feeling with one word - "Fantastic."

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