and 1951, with Ostendarp serving as a backup to the team's leading rushers Eddie Price and Choo Choo Roberts. Ostendarp appeared in seven games for the 1950 Giants and scored two touchdowns, including one against his hometown Baltimore Colts on November 19, 1951. He also rushed for 144 yards in 1950, including a career-long 55-yard run against the New York Yankees on December 3, 1950. Ostendarp also returned nine punts for 117 yards and four kickoffs for 83 yards. During the 1952 season, Ostendarp played halfback for the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League. In an interview with The Montreal Gazette, Ostendarp discussed the process of adjusting to Canadian rules: When I first came up here and learned that you only had three downs in which to make 10 yards. I wondered if a team ever moved the sticks. All I could think of is how difficult it is in American football where there are four downs. But I soon saw that it could be done. In fact, I think three downs makes it a better game for the crowd. Ostendarp made the adjustment to Canadian rules, led the Big Four in rushing yards, and received the Lord Calvert Trophy as the Most Valuable Player on the 1952 Alouettes team. Following the 1952 season, Ostendarp was reported to have had a contract disagreement with Montreal's team management. In early June 1953, The Montreal Gazette reported that Ostendarp had agreed to salary terms with the Alouettes, but Ostendarp announced a short time later that he had accepted a coaching position at Bucknell University and would not be returning to the Alouettes. Early coaching career Ostendarp began an informal coaching career in 1952 while playing for the Montreal Alouettes. While walking near the campus of McGill University, he was approached by a group of ten- to twelve-year-olds who were playing football. He recalled his introduction to coaching as follows: I showed them a few fundamental things like how to carry the ball and how to hold it for a kick or a pass. A few days later I was up there again and they said they were going to form a team and would I coach them. I taught them one formation and gave them a few plays -- a smash off tackle, an end sweep and a couple of pass patterns. A couple of Sundays later they waited for me