Merl (Merlyn) Condit

May 7, 2020, 5:05 PM

During my high school days back in the 1930's, I read every word on the sports pages of the FLORIDA TTIMES UNION and listened to the sports programs and University of Florida football games over WRUF. I actually started reading the sports pages as soon as I learned how to read. My Dad would read to me some of the stories and the first name I remember was Bronko Nagurski. Bronko was my hero.

In the late 1930's Notre Dame had excellent teams. Elmer Layden was the head coach at that time and in the late 30's (I don't remember the season) they were undefeated. Their next game was against Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh. Following the Carnegie Tech game, they were scheduled to play Fordham, Fordham had an excellent team and their defensive line was known as "The Seven Blocks of Granite".Layden figured Carnegie Tech would provide little opposition so he let the assistants handle the game in Pittsburgh and he went to New York City to scout the Fordham team. Well, Merl Condit ran wild in that game and Carnegie Tech put a whipping on the undefeated Notre Dame Irish.

Now, I had another hero. A few years later I found myself in the U. S. Army and the powers that be decided I should go to Carnegie Tech to gain a bit more knowledge. What a stroke of luck. There I was attending the same school Merl Condit had attended. Naturally, Merl Condit was a legend and a few trips to the library provided more information about my "long distance" hero.

Now, let's fast forward a few years. I was doing some research on dust control. I was interested in exploring the various types of filters for collecting dust samples. Mine Safety Appliances Co. in Pittsburgh was one of the leaders in this field.so I made arrangements to visit their headquarters. Upon my arrival, the receptionist led me down the hall and to a door with the nameplate, Merl Condit. She introduced me to Mr. Condit. The nameplate on his desk read "Merl Condit", his age looked to agree with his time frame and a few pictures on the wall assured me this was the real Merl Condit.

Needless to say, we had a long conversation about his exploits although he was reluctant to accept all of the credit I was throwing his way. It was easy to see in his eyes nd his actions that the victory over Notre Dame was one of the greatest thrills in his life. How I wish I could have recorded our conversation.

By the way, we finally got around to discussing dust filters. Noon time came and he invited me to lunch. I told him about my being at Carnegie Tech during WW2 and we talked some more football.

Another interesting tidbit. He played professional football and I believe he took over Banks McFadden's spot on the Brooklyn team when Banks retired.

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Merl (Merlyn) Condit

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