Tom Watkins Remembers "Paper Lion"

AMES, Iowa- This year marks the 40th anniversary of the release of one of the best and most underappreciated sports movies of all-time. In 1968, the movie “Paper Lion” was released to rave reviews. It chronicled the experiences of writer George Plimpton, who introduced his best-selling book "Paper Lion" in 1966 about going through an actual National Football League training camp with the Detroit Lions as a rookie quarterback in 1963.

The breakthrough book was history in the making. It was the first time an “outsider” got an up-close look of life in the NFL. Plimpton, who was one of the most revered writers of the 1960s, had done previous sports-themed stories before. In 1960, he pitched to the American League All-Stars and retold the harrowing experience in his book “Out of My League.” He also wrote a piece for Sports Illustrated on his opportunity to spar three rounds against boxing legend Sugar Ray Robinson.

"Paper Lion" was the book that made Plimpton famous. The success of the book garnered interest from Hollywood and Stuart Miller productions decided to begin filming the motion picture version of the book in 1967.

So where does Iowa State University fit into this scenario? Rather than hiring actors to attempt to portray the Detroit Lions, the production company decided to start filming at the start of the 1967 Lion training camp and have the Lions players appear as themselves. The Lions were well-represented with former Cyclones at the time. Four former ISU gridiron stars (Tom Watkins, Tom Vaughn, Chuck Walton and Carl Brettschneider) appear and have significant roles in the movie. Watkins and Vaughn, who were key members of the Lions squad, have numerous speaking lines in the flick. Brettschneider, who had retired from the NFL but was an assistant coach with Detroit, is seen and heard briefly. Walton is present in a couple of scenes, but did not have any speaking parts.

Watkins had the unique opportunity to be on the Lions team for both of Plimpton's experiment in 1963 and the production of the movie in 1967.

“We really did not know what was going on when we saw this guy (Plimpton) show up for training camp,” Watkins recalled. “When he did get a chance to participate, he was clumsy as an ox. He couldn't walk with two feet. But he was really determined to do it, so we respected him.”

Watkins, who graduated from ISU in 1961, is one of the best running backs in Cyclone history. A member of the famed 1959 “Dirty Thirty” team, Watkins ranked second in the nation in rushing that season and earned All-America honors the following year in 1960. He played seven seasons in the NFL, leading the league in punt return yardage as a Lion in 1963 and 1964. He was inducted into ISU's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.

“The book and movie was a good portrayal of our camp,” Watkins said. “We did not have much say in the filming of the movie. Management made the decision to let the filmmakers come to our training camp. We just listened to our management and coaches and went along with what they wanted.”

For Cyclone football fans and football fans in general, the movie is a must-see. The film takes you right inside the interactions of a real-life NFL training camp. What you see is basically real, not scripted. It also takes you back to a different era of professional sports, where big-money and greed was absent, and teammates treated each other like family.

“Most of the stuff you see in the movie is pretty real,” Watkins said. “Alan Alda (who played Plimpton in the movie) was good to work with. We had no problems with any of the actors. Basically, there were hardly any outside actors in the movie. You had Alda, you had the female role (played by Lauren Hutton) and the rest were football players.”

“There were times when we were given lines and we screwed them up just like any other actor,” Watkins added. “We would reshoot the scenes to get it right. But a lot of the movie is working out, scrimmaging and playing, so you didn't have time to rehearse in those scenes. Practically all of that stuff was not rehearsed. Everything on the football field was real. They did not go back in and clean it up.”

In the movie's closing moments, the production company showed an actual preseason exhibition game with the Lions pitted against the St. Louis Cardinals in a brand new Busch Stadium. A pair of Cyclones make key plays in the Lions' win, as Watkins returns a punt over 50 yards to set up a Detroit score and Vaughn intercepts a pass and returns it for a touchdown.

“Tom (Vaughn) and I were pretty close and both of our families would visit each other a lot,” Watkins said. “We had a good relationship. I played with Carl (Brettschneider) before he became an assistant. I came to the Lions in 1962 and played two seasons with Carl. We had a whole bunch of Cyclones with the Lions. There was another Iowa Stater, Dick Limerick, who was in our camp for awhile as well.”

Watkins was also first to admit that his teammate, all-Pro defensive tackle Alex Karras, was probably the real star of the movie. Karras would later become an actor after retiring from professional football.

“Alex was always the life of the party,” Watkins said. “He wanted to be the Big Dog. There is no doubt that Alex got his break in Hollywood after his performance in the movie.”

Watkins is proud to be a part of movie history.

“Whenever the movie is on, I always call up my parents, my kids and my grandkids and I tell them, ?you have to check this show out to see a great actor in it,'” Watkins said with a laugh. “My grandkids watched it and they couldn't believe it was me on the screen. I was honored to have some speaking lines in the movie. It was a great honor to be a part of it.”

Watkins reveres his Iowa State experience as well.

“It was also a great honor for me to be a part of the Dirty Thirty,” Watkins added. “We brought life back to Iowa State and brought excitement. We felt we put ISU back on the map and I am proud to be part of the history of the program.”

Iowa State University Athletics

Related Videos

Sponsors