As Dick Butterfield of Marshall told me the story, Dave "Ox" Ochsenschlager, a football player for Missouri Valley College, did not want to come off the field although he was in a world of hurt.

His Dad, David W. Ochsenschlager, from Aurora, Ill., was sitting in the stands at the game which took place in the 1950s. He and his wife attended every Valley football game, home or away, to watch Ox and the other young men compete.

When the players in the huddle, including Butterfield, couldn't convince Ox that it was to his benefit to leave the field, and the coach also couldn't make the young man leave, it was his Dad who convinced him to come out of the game.

They walked off the field together.

That's toughness.

In sports, there are two kinds of toughness -- mental toughness and physical toughness.

To play at a high level, both mental and physical toughness are required.

In football, the physical toughness is apparent to whomever is watching the game. The young men crash into each other at speeds that are hard to believe sometimes. And, after those bone-rattling hits, the player bounces back up, ready for more.

The mental toughness comes in many varieties. There is the mental ability to remain in position, no matter what the defense or offense is doing, until the ball is snapped. A good team with mental toughness will have few penalties called against it for offsides or illegal procedure -- the result when one side or the other moves too soon.

There is also the mental toughness needed when the team falls behind in a game or sees a misfortune occur, such as a fumble or interception of the ball. Since football is a game of momentum swings, a disastrous play can rob a team of its momentum -- and if the members of the team are not mentally tough -- the momentum is never recaptured the rest of the game.

From Butterfield's recollections, the Valley teams he played on were physically and mentally tough.

With the Vikings falling just one game short of the NAIA championship game a couple of weeks ago, there's no doubt in my mind that the mental and physical toughness has returned to the Missouri Valley College football program.

One mark the present-day Vikings can shoot for is the one set in the 1955 and 1956 seasons in which Valley played in two bowl games and didn't lose in either.

In the 1955 Mineral Water Bowl, Valley beat Hastings (Neb.) College, 34-7. In the 1956 Tangerine Bowl, Valley broke Juniata (Pa.) College's 23-game win streak by struggling to a 6-6 tie.

Since I was only born in 1955, I have only had the opportunity to see that era's brand of football in pictures and movies. I do know that many times the players played "iron-man" football, playing on both the defensive and offensive side of the ball -- essentially staying on the field for every play.

That's mental and physical toughness.

And, while some might argue that today's athletes with their improved conditioning, nutrition and weight programs are superior to those of the 1950s era, I would contend that the football players of the 1950s hit each other just as hard as today's players hit each other.

I look forward to witnessing more exciting football seasons at Missouri Valley College. If you're a sports fan or just appreciative of the accomplishments of youth, you should, too.

Mason is the editor of The Marshall Democrat-News. Spectrum appears Friday.