The Spaceman Cometh

[Wolverine1975]

...in the person of Dan Lloyd.  A rookie in 1976, he was already making waves in that year's training camp with an unusual helmet.  This is an excerpted article by Vinny DiTrani of The Bergen Record dated July 28, 1976.
'SPACEMAN LOVES TO HIT'
by Vinny DiTrani

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y.-Dan Lloyd flipped Charlie Bray to the ground, then fell on top of the chunky guard for a near pin.  Thus ended one of the better training camp fights in recent years.  "Way to go, Spaceman!" yelled Pat Hughes.  On the next play Lloyd, the Giants' rookie linebacker, took a shot at Doug Kotar.  That drew a vicious stare from the running back, and more cheers from the defensive players.  "Man, you're hitting everybody today, Spaceman!" yelled Hughes as Lloyd came off for a breather.  Lloyd had trouble in high school with the common suspension helmet.  "It caused a lot of scars on my forehead," he explained.  "But the trainer at Washington (where Lloyd played in college) built me a helmet padded to fit my head."  Lloyd has brought helmet to the Giant camp.  Its unusual shape, plus large bird-cage mask have earned him the Spaceman.  Actually, the linebacker has both feet on the ground.  "That's the whole key to being a tough player.  You have to be in the right place at the right time to make the good hits.  You can be as big and ferocious as you want, but if you're not where you're supposed to be, you'll never get a good hit."

[MightyGiants]

Interesting thanks for the post.   You wouldn't have any picutures or more info would you?

[Wolverine1975]

Dan Lloyd, Part Deux:

GIANTS' ROOKIE 'SPACEMAN' ENJOYS KNOCKING DOWN FOES, GETS REWARD

This is an excerpted special article from the New York Times which is dated September 29, 1976.

     PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y., Sept. 28--The Spaceman is a rookie linebacker with the Giants who doesn't get to do much linebacking.  He made the 43-man squad not because he was a sixth round draft choice out of the University of Washington, not because he could some day be a star linebacker in the National Football League.
     The Spaceman made the roster because he knocks people down and because nearly 20 percent of the opportunities to knock people down occurs in "special-team" situations-punts, kickoffs, extra-point and field-goal attempts.
     "It may be the only factor as to why I'm here," the 22-year-old rookie said today after the first day of practice for the game at St. Louis.  "They had six linebackers they wanted to go with and I think my work with the 'specials' decided it for me."
     "I'm not looking for a place to hide out there," said Lloyd.  "I'm looking for a place to stand out."
     Lloyd's work on the specials was so outstanding that Coach Bill Arnsparger named the rookie one of the Co-captains for last Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams.
     Lloyd understands he must put in his time with football's kamikaze squads.  "This is my first year here, and there's some good people ahead of me at linebacker," he said.  "I'm just happy about being here at all."
     "Let me tell you, I've watched a lot of television in the last few weeks," Lloyd said.  "I think 'Baa, Baa, Black Sheep' is my new favorite.  Most of the stuff you watch is just to take up time."
     Dan Lloyd doesn't care whom he learning not only the nuances of strongside linebacking--he is the backup for Brad Van Pelt, while at Washington he was all Pacific-8 at middle linebacker--but also those of coaching.  "Just the other night I sat outside and watched the Pace coaches," he said. 
     Van Pelt may be first-team linebacker, but Lloyd knows his place.  "On some of the specials Brad is my backup, on others it's Pat Hughes [the starting weakside linebacker]," Lloyd said.
     Does that mean he considers himself first-team, the others second?  "It's a fact," he said.  "They are."

   

[Wolverine1975]

Another article on Dan Lloyd, courtesy of Vinny DiTrani from 1976.

SPACEMAN, CADET ARE RATHER SPECIAL
by Vinny DiTrani

from The Bergen Record, November 17, 1976

PLEASANTVILLE, NY--Spaceman and the Space Cadet is not a new Saturday morning TV show for the kiddies.  It's a somewhat unlikely pair, teamed up recently, that's having a heckuva time on the Giants' special units.
     Spaceman is Dan Lloyd, the rookie linebacker whose only NFL experience has come running under kicks.  The Cadet is Pat Hughes, who for the past six seasons had been spared the kamikaze duty while performing regularly at outside linebacker. 
     Hughes recently was benched when Harry Carson was given the regular middle linebacking job and Brian Kelley moved outside.  It was tough for the veteran to accept the demotion, but playing on special teams with Lloyd has helped Hughes shake the doldrums.  "When we break the huddle, he'll say something like 'See ya down at the 20-yard line'," Hughes said.  "Then we race down to see who gets there first."
     Hughes originally tagged Lloyd "Spaceman" because of the weird helmet the rookie from Washington wears.  But the name has stuck, not so much for the helmet as for the limb-endangering tendencies Lloyd sometimes displays. 
     Those tendencies have made him a terror on the specials, and his work hasn't gone unnoticed.  Just yesterday he was presented the first "Hit Of The Week" award by the Giants' staff for his vicious crunching of the Redskins' Eddie Brown in Sunday's 12-9 Giant triumph. 
     The award is a carved wooden statue of a bull, one of 12 purchased by director of operations Andy Robustelli on a trip to Spain. 
     "It's got bent up horns,"said Lloyd, pointing to the statue's head.  "That may be significant."
     Lloyd also received praise from Washington's Rusty Tillman, one of the league's more accomplished special teams performers, and from Denver coach John Ralston, who yesterday watched movies of Lloyd's work against the Skins.  Just two weeks ago coach John McVay said, "I wish I had 10 more Dan Lloyds."
     "That comment upset a lot of players," Lloyd admitted.  "A lot of guys couldn't believe signing 10 more like me was the answer to their problems.  So the practices have gotten a lot more inspired the past few weeks.  Guys like [Jack] Gregory and [John ] Mendenhall have been fired up.  The offensive  linemen have been looking to make their blocks harder.
     "I guess indirectly, and I emphasize the indirectly, I've stirred up the whole thing.  But that's good because some guys have a tendency to go through the whole week at three-quarters speed.  When you get in a game you can't react to the others guys going full speed.  So it's good to have some of your practice sessions full speed during the week."
     Lloyd has been making his contributions on the special teams while waiting for a chance to make the defensive unit.  Hughes has resigned himself that the Giants are going to use Carson, Brad Van Pelt and Kelley in the future, and has dedicated his play on specials to showing people he's still a good football player.
     "I still take pride in what I'm doing," he said.  "I just have to see what's going to happen in the offseason.  I still can play, whether here or somewhere else.
     "If I had my choice, I'd like to stay with the Giants.  But I want other people to know I'm still working hard and contributing."
     Spaceman had some praise for the Cadet.
     "Pat's a competitor," he said.  "A lot of other guys in his position would have quit and just packed it in.  But Pat still contributes, and that's good."

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