IN: Brown grew up in Massillon, Ohio, where he moved with his family from Norwalk when he was nine years of age. His father, Lester, was a dispatcher for the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad. Massillon was a shipping and steel town obsessed with its high school and professional football teams, both called the Tigers. Massillon's main rival at both levels was nearby Canton, at the time a bigger and richer town.

Brown returned to Massillon in 1932, when he was 24 years old and barely two years out of college. His assignment was to turn around a Tigers team that had fallen into mediocrity over the six seasons since the departure of Stewart, Brown's old coach. In 1931, the year before Brown arrived, the Tigers finished with a 2-6-2 record. Brown's strategy was to build up a disciplined, hard-working team. He fired an assistant early on for arriving at a practice late because he had to work on his farm. No Tigers player was allowed to sit on the bench during a game; Brown made them stand. At Massillon, Brown put in an offense and blocking scheme he learned from Duke's Jimmy DeHart and Purdue's Noble Kizer. He emphasized quickness over strength.  In his first season at Massillon, Brown's team posted a 5-4-1 record, better than the previous year but far from Brown's exacting standards. The Tigers improved again in 1933, ending with an 8-2 record but losing to their chief rivals, the Canton McKinley High School Bulldogs. In 1934, Massillon won all of its games until a 21-6 defeat to Canton in the final game of the season. As the pressure on Brown grew to turn the tables on Canton, Massillon finally accomplished the feat the following year in an undefeated season, the first of several with Brown at the helm.  By then, Brown had put his system into place: a strict, systematic approach to coaching combined with a well-organized recruitment network that drew promising young players from Massillon's junior high school football program. He paid no attention to race, and brought several African-American players onto the team at a time when many northern schools excluded them.  In the ensuing five seasons, Massillon lost only one game, a 7-0 defeat at New Castle, Pennsylvania in 1937 after several players came down with the flu. As the Tigers' prestige grew, Brown in 1936 convinced the school to build a new stadium almost triple the size of the existing 7,000-seat facility. The stadium was finished in 1939, and is now named after Brown. The pinnacle of Brown's career at Massillon was a victory in the 1940 season against Toledo's Waite High School. The Tigers and Waite both went undefeated in the 1939 season, and both claimed the state championship. The teams decided to settle the score the following year, and Brown's team won 28-0. The Massillon 1940 squad is still regarded by historians as one of the best in the history of state high school football.  During his nine years at Massillon, Brown invented the playbook, a detailed listing of formations and set plays, and tested his players on their knowledge of it. He also originated the practice of sending in plays to his quarterback from the sideline using hand signals. His overall record at the school was 80-8-2, including a 35-game winning streak. Between 1935 and 1940, the team won the state football championship six times and won the High School Football National Championship four times, outscoring opponents by 2,393 points to 168 over that span. After the early losses to Canton, the Tigers beat the Bulldogs six straight times.

Who were the Massillon Tigers?

OUT: a Tigers team that had fallen into mediocrity over the six seasons since the departure of Stewart, Brown's old coach.


IN: Born in Goulburn, New South Wales, Poidevin played rugby at St Patrick's College (now Trinity Catholic College) in New South Wales, and made the Australian Schoolboy side. Upon finishing school he played a season with the Goulburn Rugby Union Football Club and then, in 1978, he moved to Sydney to study at the University of New South Wales, from which he graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science (Hons). He made his first grade debut with the university's rugby union team in 1978. In 1982 he moved clubs to Randwick, the famous Galloping Greens, home of the Ella brothers and many other Wallabies.

Poidevin continued to play for New South Wales in 1982, and travelled to New Zealand for a three-match tour with the team now coached by former Wallaby Peter Crittle and containing a new manager - future Australian coach Alan Jones. New South Wales won their first match against Waikato 43-21, their second match against Taranaki 14-9, and their third and final match against Manawatu 40-13.  Following the tour to New Zealand, Sydney played in a match against a World XV. However, because several European players withdrew, the World XV's forward pack was composed mainly of New Zealand forwards, including Graham Mourie, Andy Haden, Billy Bush and Hika Reid. Sydney won the game 31-13 with several of its players sustaining injuries. Poidevin was severely rucked across the forehead in the game and required several stitches to conceal the wound he sustained. All Black Andy Haden was later confronted by Poidevin at the post-match reception, where he denied culpability. Poidevin would later write that, "All evidence then seemed to point to [Billy] Bush, who was the other prime suspect. But years later Mourie told me that he had been shocked at the incident and, being captain, he spoken to Haden about it at the time. Haden's response? He accused the captain of getting soft." Public calls were made for an injury into the incident, with NSW Manager Alan Jones a prominent advocate for Poidevin. However, no action was taken. Poidevin would later write that with examination of videos and judiciary committees "the culprit(s) concerned would have spent a very long time out of the game."  Following NSW's game against the World XV, the team was set to play two interstate games against Queensland - both scheduled to be played in Queensland to celebrate the Queensland Rugby Union's centenary year.  Queensland won the first game 23-16.  Following an injury to New South Wales captain Mark Ella in the first game, Poidevin was made captain of the team for the first time in his career for the second game, lost 7-41 to Queensland.  Following the interstate series against Queensland, the Scotland national rugby union team toured Australia for the 1982 Scotland rugby union tour of Australia, which included two Tests. With eightman Mark Loane likely to be selected for the Australian team, Poidevin was faced with strong competition for the remaining two backrow positions at breakaway, with Tony Shaw, Gary Pearse, Peter Lucas and Chris Roche, all vying for national selection.  Prior to New South Wales' provincial game against Scotland, a newspaper headline read "Poidevin Needs a Blinder". Scotland defeated New South Wales 31-7, and Poidevin missed-out on national selection, with newly appointed Australian coach Bob Dwyer selecting Queenslanders Chris Roche and Tony Shaw for the remaining backrow positions. This was the first time Poidevin was dropped from the Australia national rugby union team.

when did simon poidevin play for new south wales?

OUT:
Poidevin continued to play for New South Wales in 1982,