Darrow seems to have made all the right moves

He's caught a few breaks along the way, and made a few of his own, but mostly he has capitalized on those breaks.

The result is that Darrow was able to live out his dream of playing professional football despite being "slowed" by knee problems since high school in Great Falls.

Being 6-foot-6 and 235 pounds as a high school player certainly didn't hurt. But Darrow, with some natural-born ability and some timely coaching, was able to parlay what he had into a talent level people simply couldn't ignore.

Knee surgery as a high school sophomore put Darrow under the radar for most college football scouts, but as chance would have it, he was discovered by Western Montana College coach George Marinkovich following Darrow's senior season under then C.M. Russell coach Sonny Holland.

Marinkovich was at C.M.R. looking at football film and happened to notice Darrow easily dunking a basketball on the gym floor. When quizzed, Holland told Marinkovich he wasn't sure Darrow would be able to play college football because of his knee problem.

After watching Darrow on film, Marinkovich decided to make an offer. It was the only scholarship offer Darrow would get, and he accepted it with the caveat that he also could play basketball and compete in track in Dillon.

"It was a partial ride and I had a job where I cleaned the floor of the dormitory and every other odd job I could do down there," Darrow recalled.

Darrow quickly became a starter on the Bulldogs' offensive line as a freshman, but it struck him that if he wanted to pursue his dream of playing professional football, he might need to step up a level.

"It was a very successful year for me," Darrow said, noting that he also had "bulked up" to about 240 or 245 that first year.

Darrow had noticed the improvement in the University of Montana program under head coach Jack Swarthout and decided to go to the Missoula school on his own. He watched the Grizzlies go undefeated in 1969, and then approached Swarthout about trying out for the team.

Darrow remembers Swarthout being excited to see him, especially when Darrow bumped his head on the door frame walking into the coach's office. When 1970 spring ball came around it took just three days for him to make the team.

"The door opened for me in Missoula," Darrow said. "It was where all of my dreams started to come true."

It took Darrow just a couple of games in the fall of 1970, when the Grizzlies posted another 10-0 regular-season record, to land a starting spot at offensive guard that he held on to for three seasons.

Darrow's knee provided him with plenty of pain during his college career but didn't keep him from earning All-American status both in 1971 and 1972. He was protected somewhat by the center and tackle and, because he often initiated contact, didn't take many hits on the sides of his knees.

Darrow said it was "awful" having to be in the stands watching the Grizzlies go undefeated in 1969, especially since he had given up a scholarship at Western and his parents weren't very happy with his decision.

He was able to wrangle some non-athletic aid for the 1969-70 school year but admitted to having gone "out on a limb" with the move to Missoula. But as often was the case, things worked out for the best.

"I just knew somewhere deep inside that I could play here," Darrow said recently in his office at Montana West Lumber in Missoula. "It was something that I had always wanted, and I figured if I couldn't go to what I perceived as the top level (of football) that I didn't want to do it anyway."

Darrow was more than a little excited to join the Grizzly team after watching the 1969 season, especially as part of an offensive line that would include another All-American, Steve Okoniewski, and a future Canadian Football League player, Willie Postler.

The anticipation made the undefeated 1970 season dreamlike for Darrow. The players knew they were good, and so did their head coach, whose pregame speeches were to the point.

"He gave the same one every week," Darrow noted. "He'd come into the locker room and he'd say, 'you guys know it and I know it. You're better than they are so go out and find a way to win.'"

Darrow said the thought of losing a game never entered the minds of Grizzly players in 1970, something he has rehashed often with former teammates since he left UM. They also speak often of their respect for Swarthout, who died in October 2005.

As for blocking for backs like Steve Caputo and Jeff Hoffmann, Darrow said, "It was fantastic. And those running backs appreciated the line that they ran behind."

To Darrow that was another sign of the respect the Grizzly players had for each other, the kind of camaraderie he believes doesn't happen all that often, at least to that degree.

"To this day, the ones that I'm in contact with will never forget it," Darrow said. "It's an experience you can't duplicate."

Darrow started to generate interest among professional scouts even while he was at Western, and he said there was a regular parade of scouts coming through Missoula while he played at UM from 1970 through 1972.

"We were written up as being one of the biggest offensive lines in the country," Darrow said, "and that we had actually four or five professional playing at that time."

Darrow's size obviously was an attraction to the scouts, but so was his mobility. He credits competing in basketball and track for part of that, but especially the work of high school track coach Don Bedker, who taught form running.

"Learning to point your toes and get the proper running style, using your arms and your whole body as a unit," Darrow explained. "It's harder than it looks and it takes some practice."

Darrow wanted to continue his track career at UM as well, but offensive line coach Bill Betcher would have none of it.

"'You're not going out for track,'" Darrow quoted Betcher as saying. "'You're an All-American football player and that's the way it's gonna be. You're gonna stay out for spring ball.'"

Darrow said Betcher probably did him a huge favor even though he would have enjoyed being out for track.

Darrow also admits to being somewhat disappointed with the National Football League draft even though he understood that his history of knee problems might raise some red flags. He would up being drafted nearly last by the San Diego Chargers in what used to be a 17-round affair.

But providence seemed to be in Darrow's favor again, because former Green Bay and Dallas star Forrest Gregg was the offensive line coach for the Chargers.

"He put me between the bags against some All-Pro defensive linemen and I put 'em on their backs," Darrow said. "And he said, 'if you can drive block like that we can teach you how to pass block and do the other things you need to do.'"

But Darrow sustained another knee injury during two-a-day camp in 1973. By the time he was ready to go again the Chargers had replaced him on the roster. To fill the void Darrow played nine weeks of semi-pro football in New York, all the while staying in touch with Gregg.

The pay of $500 per week kept him going, and Gregg had promised to get him back in the San Diego fold when the time came.

But once he was back in San Diego he learned that Gregg was moving to Cleveland to be the offensive line coach for the Browns. Gregg told him not to sign with San Diego because he wanted him in Cleveland.

Darrow had been a Cleveland Browns fan for years, so he was glad to take Gregg's offer. Within half of the 1974 season he was the starting right tackle.

Following a second knee surgery at the pro level Darrow was traded to New Orleans during winter 1979. At the age of 30 Darrow, who was not impressed with the Saints organization, decided to call it a career.

"I was a little long in the tooth for an offensive lineman," Darrow said. "I could have kept playing, and that's a decision that every player has to make is how long do I want to do this, and what do I have to look forward to afterwards if I beat myself up too bad?"

The decision wasn't easy, but again, Darrow looks back and believes his timing was right.

"I loved the game, and I still love the game, and I was successful at it," he noted. "But there's just a time when you have to make a decision. Luckily, it wasn't made for me."

Darrow made a whopping $26,000 his first year in the NFL, but for a kid fresh out of college that wasn't bad. But it was the love of the game, and not the money, which he and the others played for, and in hindsight he believes the NFL hierarchy took some advantage of that.

"Now we've gone completely the other way (and) the players get 59 percent of the gross," Darrow pointed out, "and the gross is just gross."

Darrow doesn't want to believe that the love of the game has taken a back seat to dollars n today's NFL.

"My opinion is, if the money's there, then the players ought to make it," Darrow said, "and the owners aren't entitled to more than half of the gross of the league.

"The level of competition is greater (today)," Darrow added. "The players are fantastic. I believe their longevity is probably quite a bit shorter and the injury rate is quite a bit higher and more frequent because of the sheer size and speed."

Darrow immediately returned to Missoula after leaving the NFL because it felt like home. He had invested a lot of money in real estate, but he wanted to create a job for himself. So he bought a John Deere dealership, something that he now admits wasn't a very good move.

"I was only a 29-year-old going on 30 that didn't know a lot about business," he explained. "That was a mistimed investment. I got a pretty good education in retail business, and by 1982 I had to close the doors."

Darrow returned to UM for his teaching certificate and spent five years teaching and coaching, first at Big Sky High School in Missoula for three years and then in Stevensville.

In 1987 he began looking for something outside education and through a recommendation of former Missoula clothing store owner Barry Whitmore, an insurance agent in Hamilton, got a job with a Great Falls-based lumber brokerage firm called Yaw-Kinney that had an office in the Bitterroot.

Nineteen years later Darrow is still brokering lumber, although the focus has changed over time. Montana West has two mills and Darrow now sells remanufactured products such as paneling and flooring.

When Darrow first returned to Montana, and up until about four years ago, he avoided college and pro football games in person or on television because he found himself being too analytical, something that took away the enjoyment of watching.

"It becomes more of a labor than a love," Darrow explained. "Criticism is easy. Practice is not. It was frustrating for me for a number of years.

"I've become more of a fan now," Darrow went on. "I really enjoy the Grizzlies nowadays. I even watch a few of the pro football games now. I still enjoy the greatness of the game. I still think it's the greatest game on earth."

Darrow is convinced that his Grizzly teams of the 1970s would not be able to compete with the current version because of the improvement in not only the athletes but also the training and facilities.

After all, in his day, UM had a universal gym in the locker room for the players to share.

"(Things) all turned out wonderfully," Darrow said when asked to look back on his life. "Just exactly as the way I pictured it, maybe even better.

"A lot of people think maybe I overachieved," he added. "Maybe. I don't know. That's the question you always have to ask. Could you have done better? I suppose. I think I did fine."