Henry Holland Captain Played Center 1966

[Caroline]

Henry passed away April 14, 1969 and had signed on with the Atlanta Falcons. The newspaper said he was murdered in Dallas at his Apt on Birchbrook. Does anyone know more about this ? 

[Jonnyeagle]

[Caroline]

Did they knew who committed the murder ?

[greenjoe]

“…and had spent the 1968 season with the Falcons farm club in Huntsville, Alabama.”

I never heard of a farm team in the NFL.  

[Caroline]

I looked it up. The Falcon Farm Club is some separate club associated with horses. Henry was drafted with the Atlanta Falcons . It is in the UNT archives. Joe Green and John Love were there as well when I went to school. We had a great football team !

[DeepGreen]

Henry Holland was a "force" on the North Texas line.

[greenjoe]

I assumed “farm club” meant AAA or AA level pro sports instead of cows and horses, cotton and grain.  

[Eagle71]

 

 

[Caroline]

Exactly. Go to win, There were 4 dorms at the Quads. 1 and 2 were girls and 3 and 4 were guys mostly the athletes. Henry always came by to visit me out on the lawn. I was just a freshman. Joe Greens thighs were bigger than my waist ! We had the best players. Ron Miller on the basketball team was unbelievable. He was the star and was not too tall !!

[greenjoe]

Caroline, tell us more about you.

[Marty]

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8607749/richard-henry-holland/photo

[Caroline]

Hi Marty 

That is a 4 yr old grave site. I saw that too. Did you know Henry ?

[Caroline]

4 hours ago, greenjoe said:

Caroline, tell us more about you.

I have to say College Football is the most exciting and North Texas had it going on. I am from Dallas and so Denton was not that far. You could walk to the stadium and it was packed. One day I was walking down the sidewalk and a car pulled up. It was Henry. Sorry to say a lot of us smoked and he said get in and lit my cigarette and we became friends. It was safe to do that back then. Henry was always fun and super nice to me. I was 17 in college and he was 4 1/2 yrs older. NTSU was so much fun. 

[PlummMeanGreen]

2 hours ago, Caroline said:

I have to say College Football is the most exciting and North Texas had it going on. I am from Dallas and so Denton was not that far. You could walk to the stadium and it was packed. One day I was walking down the sidewalk and a car pulled up. It was Henry. Sorry to say a lot of us smoked and he said get in and lit my cigarette and we became friends. It was safe to do that back then. Henry was always fun and super nice to me. I was 17 in college and he was 4 1/2 yrs older. NTSU was so much fun. 

NTSU Nostalgia:  This is what students looked like in the early-to-mid  70’s in Denton.  There was this one girl I’d see walking to class on Welch Street on M-W-F class days who....(I’ll stop). 🤢

Edited June 7, 2021 by PlummMeanGreen

[Marty]

43 minutes ago, Caroline said:

Hi Marty 

That is a 4 yr old grave site. I saw that too. Did you know Henry ?

Its a typo, if you look at the actual headstone it shows Henry was born in 1944.

No, I did not know him. I've followed NTSU/ UNT since 1974 & this is the first time I've heard the tragic story of Henry.

Edited June 7, 2021 by Marty

[Caroline]

2 minutes ago, Marty said:

Its a typo, if you look at the actual headstone it shows Henry was born in 1944.

No, I did not know him.

Thanks so much !!!

[Caroline]

44 minutes ago, Caroline said:

Hi Marty 

That is a 4 yr old grave site. I saw that too. Did you know Henry ?

I just saw that, Thank You "Eagle Eye " !!

[DeepGreen]

Four of us, all NTSU students, were headed to New Orleans one particular weekend for Mardi Gras and had to pick up one guy at the Quads.  Somehow we encountered Mr. Holland in a not so friendly way.  I think we blocked his car and he couldn’t get out.  The details are fuzzy.  Henry wasn’t real friendly and things we’re not looking too good.  Fortunately, one of our guys was a smooth talker and knew Henry.  It was all good and we drove off to begin our road trip to N.O.  Honestly, I was scared schitless!
 

I’ll always remember what a great player Henry Holland was. A real warrior.  

[Tom McKrackin]

Quote

 

1966-69 team reflects on seasons

 

Miguel Artiga and Abel Prado

 

With a 30-8-1 record from 1966-1969, the North Texas State University football team had two conference championships to match.

 

In 1967, under first year head coach Rod Rust, it finished 7-1-1 and placed 10 players on the offensive and defensive teams of the Missouri Valley Conference. Rust won the MVC coach of the year award and had the best record of any new major college coach.

 

"We had talent, I can assure you of that," said ex-offensive line coach Bob Way. From 1966-1969, there were 12 Mean Green football players drafted by NFL teams. In the next two years, 11 followed. From 2000-2006, only eight were drafted.

 

Highlighting this group of players was Charles Edward Joseph Greene, or better known as "Mean" Joe Greene, who was drafted No.1 over all by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969 and anchored the "Steel Curtain" defense that won four Super Bowl titles.

 

The nickname did not surface until the Steelers drafted him, since NTSU was always known as the Mean Green.

 

"Mean Green was always about the Mean Green Eagles," Greene said. "It started on the defense and then spread throughout the whole team."

 

While the word "mean" might indicate a personality trait, that was not the case with Joe, said ex-assistant coach Ken Bahnsen.

 

"Joe wasn't mean, he's never mean." Bahnsen said. "He was a hell of a player, but he's not what you would call mean."

 

On the field, he led a defense that had 12 interceptions and 11 fumble recoveries through the first three games of the 1967 season.

 

"We had a very aggressive defense," Way said.

 

The '67 defense that swarmed opponents with its tough front seven also included Henry Holland, Ed Brantley, Bob Tucker, James Ivy and Johnny Mata.

 

Defensively, the 1966 Eagles held opponents to 219 passing yards per game along with 51 yards rushing. In Greene's 29 games at defensive tackle, NTSU held opponents to 2, 507 yards gained on 1,276 rushes.

 

"We were becoming proud of the Mean Green defense," Greene said.

The Mean Green offense averaged 259 yards passing per game and 49 on the ground, a direct contrast to the Darrel Dickey-led offenses, which were more run-oriented, featuring back-to-back NCAA rushing champions Patrick Cobbs and Jamario Thomas.

 

Quarterback Steve Ramsey led the nation in total passing yardage and touchdowns thrown in '67, while wide receiver Ron Shanklin led the nation in touchdown receptions that same year.

The offenses from 1966-1969 scored 30 or more points in 22 out of 30 games.

 

"They knew they could move the ball on down the field," Way said. "The one thing that was very instrumental with that team was that they knew that at any given time, they could take the ball and go to one end of the field to the other."

 

Greene said there's one thing that still doesn't sit well in his stomach.

 

"As a team, we had a great deal of confidence," Greene said. "But my biggest disappointment was not going to a bowl game."

 

NT has played in 11 bowl games in its 90-year history, winning only two. The Mean Green won four straight conference championships under Dickey, compiling a 25-1 conference record from 2001-2004.

 

LINK:https://www.gomeangreen.com/forums/topic/33829-1966-69-tream-reflects-on-seasons/