Col's Improbable Hero

The last time the University of California at Berkeley fielded a top-ranked football team was in 1958, when the Golden Bears went on to the Rose Bowl (and lost). Since then, the campus has been stirred up more by student rebellions than football victories. Now Chuck Muncie has changed all that. Playing with a combination of power and brains that left defenses wondering where he would strike next, the Cal tailback scored 14 touchdowns, averaged 132yds. rushing per game, and caught 37 passes for 354 yds. this season. He could well be the No. 1 draft choice of the pros next month. He helped carry California to their best record (eight wins, three losses) in 24 years.

One year ago, the prospect that Muncie would lead such a revival seemed remote. In the 1974 season he had played routinely. He was known primarily as "the guy who wears glasses during the game." Then in January he watched Cal Quarterback Steve Bartkowski, who had excelled only as a senior, get drafted No. 1 by the pros. "That seemed to light a fire in Chuck," says California Head Coach Mike White. A little commitment was all Muncie needed to take advantage of superb natural gifts: the strength to bench-press 275 Ibs., the speed to run the 100 in 9.7 sec., and the coordination and leg power to high-jump 6 ft. 9 in.

Living off-campus in Oakland with his German shepherd and the coach of Cal's junior-varsity team, Muncie is happiest when he can disappear into the California wilderness on cross-country skis or with a backpack. "I really enjoy getting away," he says. "Out there, no one can hassle you." Last winter he spent four grueling days climbing 3,500 ft. up snowbound Rte. 120 into Yosemite National Park. The purpose: three days of skiing in pristine Tuolumne Meadows. "No one had set foot in that snow," he says.

A native of Uniontown, Pa., Muncie is the fourth brother in his family to play football. Nelson is a cornerback with the Baltimore Colts, Bill was an all-star running back with the B.C. Lions in Canadian football, and George played briefly with the Minnesota Vikings. Chuck, who changed the spelling of his last name from Munsey because "Muncie goes back to my grandfather and great-grandfather," wants to be drafted by a California team. But wherever he ends up, Muncie does not plan to overstay his welcome. He is thinking of attending law school during the off-seasons, because of his concern about white-collar crime. For the next few years, though, N.F.L. defenses will have their hands full trying to collar Chuck Muncie.

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