Bear Down Wildcats

Art Luppino grew up in La Jolla, the son of Sal and Catherine Luppino. He was born with legs so twisted, his parents were told he would be a cripple, and he had to wear leg braces and corrective shoes until age five. (Maybe that's where that part of the Forrest Gump story came from.)

By the time he played football in high school, he could run a sub-10.0 100 yard dash, but his real speed was evident in the 60 yard dash, which he could perform in world-class sub-6.0 second speed. His other talent was in reading defenses, following blocks, cutting, and generally using his elusiveness to avoid would-be tacklers. He was relatively small at 5-9, but with his talent, he had a number of options for college. Due to a connection with a vice principal at La Jolla High School who was a UofA grad, and his (short-lived) desire to play baseball for Frank Sancet, he picked Arizona.

Warren Woodson was the football coach. He was considered something of an offensive genius with his traps and sweeps, and he had a pretty good offensive line. It was a perfect fit. His sophomore season of 1954 was Luppino's best season at UofA, as he set a record with 2,193 all-purpose yards. He led the nation in rushing, was on a national magazine cover, and received the nickname The Cactus Comet.

1955 was also a decent year for Luppino, although his team's overall record wasn't as good. One issue was that he was a target for cheap shots, as opposing teams frequently tried to knock him out of games. (This was in the period prior to face masks.) Then, prior to his senior year, in a practice scrimmage, he twisted his knee while being tackled. He should have had knee surgery, but he thought he could play, and in fact, he played the entire season on a bad knee.

Luppino concedes that, considering his size, he wasn't NFL material, and he wasn't interested in pursuing a pro career, even if he hadn't hurt his knee. So, after his college years, he became a school teacher in Oceanside.

But, he was the first truly national star at the UofA, and the #22 jersey of The Cactus Comet has a permanent place of honor overlooking the field at Arizona Stadium.

Oct. 16, 1954 — Arizona 35, Idaho 13
The Wildcats are in the dark jerseys, and you see Luppino, No. 22, as a running back and as a safety … and he’s the guy kicking the extra points.

Some things to note:

At about the 7:37 mark, you’ll see a big Arizona gain on a nifty jump pass that would make Tim Tebow proud.

As for Luppino, he scores around the 22:50 mark on a 1-yard plunge, has a interception and a 42-yard return at 23:59 and scores on a 25-yard run on a pitch around left end at 31:04.

Also, at 13:55, Arizona’s Bill Codd picks off a pass and returns it 20 yards for a touchdown.

There are a couple of gaps late in this video, which is a shame, because you don’t see the Cats’ final score. That must have been Luppino’s 22-yard interception return for a touchdown, completing the now-rare offense-defense scoring feat.

Luppino rushed 23 times for 178 yards in this game, also catching two passes for 22 yards.

Oct. 1, 1955 — Arizona 47, Idaho 14

Arizona is wearing the white jerseys this time, as Luppino rushed 16 times for 129 yards and a 5-yard touchdown. That scoring run around right end comes at the 12:16 mark of the video.