Jim Skidmore was sitting at home in Sea Girt, N.J., on Saturday when he received a series of mysterious phone calls.

“They were all saying ‘the record is broken,’ and I didn’t know what they were talking about!” he said

What they were talking about was Dan Deighan’s 95-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Vaughn to seal the Muhlenberg football team’s 34-13 win at Franklin & Marshall. It was the longest pass play in Mule history, eclipsing the 90-yard pass Skidmore threw to Gene Reed against Albright in 1951.

(watch video of the Isaiah Vaughn touchdown)

Although that game was nearly 60 years ago, Skidmore remembers the play very well.

“The first two passes I threw that day were for touchdowns – one for each team,” he recalled. “The first pass was in the right flat. The ball got tipped and a guy on the other

Jim Skidmore then ...

team ran it back.”

Skidmore was a sophomore then in his first year on the varsity after helping the 1950 freshman team to an undefeated season. Freshmen were not eligible to play varsity in those days.

“Here I was, the underclassman. And when I got back into the huddle, all the upperclassmen told me not to worry about it. So I called a pass.”

The play was called “flood left.” Muhlenberg had two receivers line up to the left, with Reed split out to the right. According to the game report, Reed, who passed away earlier this year, caught the ball at the 22 and took off to the end zone with a single Albright defender in futile pursuit the whole way.

“The irony is that because of the encouragement you’re given by others, you try again immediately,” said Skidmore. “I do believe that the lessons we got on those athletic fields were tremendous foundations for life.”

It is a life that has taken Skidmore many interesting places. He played football for the Marine Corps after graduating from Muhlenberg and had professional opportunities with the Packers and Giants, but he decided to “go make a living.” Now 78, he is the chairman

... and now

of Science Management, an international professional services business. He serves on the boards of 13 public companies and is a member of Muhlenberg’s Board of Trustees. He was appointed by Muhlenberg president Randy Helm to the Fitness and Wellness Committee.

“I really care a lot about the school,” he said.

Sure, but how does he feel about getting knocked out of the record book after all these years?

“I think you realize that anytime you set some kind of record, you know it’s going to be broken. I’m elated for Dan Deighan. I think it’s terrific.”