I Know Many Hate TU.....

aztecskin · November 8, 2012

Woah. I thought I accidentally typed in organgebloods.com

All this talk about wishbones is making me hungry.

And nice to see a shout out to Barry Horn.

Good thing we all went to Texas. Oh wait.

Good news is that we'll all die someday.

Greenhorn · November 8, 2012

Bellard went to OU and showed them the offense during the 1970 football season? What a strange thing to do midseason for an archrival.

Anyway, what happened, according to Switzer, Fairbanks, Jimmy Johnson, and others on the OU staff at the time was Barry and the defensive coaches sat down in the film room and studied the offense. Switzer, in the middle of the 1970 season, convinced Fairbanks to switch to it. Emory Bellard never went to OU to teach them to offense, and Switzer and Fairbanks never went to Austin to learn it from them.

Also, OU was mediocre between the retirement of Wilkinson and Fairbanks/Switzer making the midseason switch to the Bone in 1970, going 40-25-1 from 1964 to the third game of 1970, winning more than seven games only once in that span. Wilkinson, in his 17 years as head coach, only lost 29 times. So, yes, the Sooners had become middle of the pack mediocre following Wilkinson's retirement.

OU's only national titles to the point of the wishbone were won during Wilkinson's tenure. After winning their conference titles in 14 of the 17 seasons Wilkinson led them, OU won only two in the in the eight years following, 1963-1970.

The Wishbone, and having those fast, black Texas halfbacks that Darrell Royal wouldn't recruit led to the Oklahoma resurrection, saved Chuck Fairbanks' job, and provided the impetus for Barry Switzer being chosen over other assistants to lead the Sooners when Fairbanks was hired away by the New England Patriots a couple of year later.

The 1972 OU coaching staff consisted of Wilkinson, Switzer, Jerry Pettibone (head coach at Northern Illinois, 1985-90, and Oregon State, 1991-96), Jimmy Johnson (heach coaching history well known in these here parts), Jim Dickey (Kansas State head coach, 1978-85, father of former UNT head coach Darrell Dickey), Galen Hall (Florida head coach 1984-1989, during the Emmit Smith years, 1987-89). Many careers saved/launched by Texas/Royal racism in recruting.

Racism can have many unintended consequences. For Darrell Royal and Texas, the uninteded consequence was reawaking a fallen giant...that happened to be their cross border rival.

From Sports Illustrated's recruiting history article in 2008:
"Lacewell said the most important recruiting innovation the Oklahoma staff brought to its corner of the world had nothing to do with NCAA rules. 'We were some of the only ones,' Lacewell said, 'who would recruit black players.' While much of the nation had already integrated, the schools of the SWC and SEC remained mostly segregated in the late '60s and early '70s. Switzer, the assistant in charge of recruiting Texas, used this to Oklahoma's advantage.

Switzer, who had grown up on the black side of town in Crossett, Ark., related easily to black players and their families. He also didn't hesitate to point out the fact that Oklahoma's rivals remained lily-white. 'If you were to sign with a Southwest Conference team,' Switzer recalled telling black recruits in Bootlegger's Boy, 'just think how lonesome it would be to look around in the huddle and see nothing but honky faces.'"

Ka-pow! A salesman knows how to sell! Royal and the good old boy white guys running the SWC schools and football programs did OU and other Big 8 schools a huge favor with their high brow racism.

I sense jealousy or a strong hate of UT from this guy.

oldguystudent · November 8, 2012

they had to seek housing in the predominately black part of town.

That part of town being South Dallas? Aside from the black student population, I don't think I've ever seen a black person in Denton.

greenminer · November 8, 2012

Has anyone ever considered that many coaches didn't give a flip about race, but were pressured by outsiders (donors/media) to keep the team all-white?

LongJim · November 8, 2012

Bellard went to OU and showed them the offense during the 1970 football season? What a strange thing to do midseason for an archrival.

Yeah. Kooky. Except it wasn't mid-season. and except DKR was pretty cool.

**************************************************

Giving back: Switzer's Wishbone

Maybe that's why in 1971, after sending Wilkinson into retirement and beating Chuck Fairbanks' Sooners four years in a row, Royal finally showed Oklahoma some compassion.

After using Bellard's Wishbone to go 30-2-1 over three seasons and winning national championships in 1969 and '70, Royal called Bellard into his office with a startling request.

Bellard retold the conversation in Wann Smith's book, "Wishbone: Oklahoma football 1959-85":

"Chuck Fairbanks and his coaches are in bad shape up in Oklahoma," Royal said, according to Bellard's 2009 interview with Smith. "They're fixin' to get fired. I want to help him. Barry Switzer will be calling you to learn about the Wishbone."

Switzer, also in a 2009 interview with Smith for the book, was equally stunned at Royal's impossible goodwill.

"When you consider the nature of the situation," Switzer said, "here was Texas, a blood rival, helping us out. It was an incredible thing for them to do. Ford would never give Chevrolet ideas on how to beat them at production or marketing, but Darrell and Emory, to their credit, helped us. And from that point on, we killed them."

Just like it had under Wilkinson and Royal, the tide turned once more on the Red River Rivalry. In Switzer's two years as OU's offensive coordinator and 16 as head coach, the Sooners beat Texas 11 times.

"I gave them all our knowledge about the formation," Bellard told Smith. "And within a year or so, we couldn't catch 'em. They had too much speed and talent. In retrospect, I doubt Darrell would be nearly as benevolent if he had it to do over again."

GrayEagle · November 8, 2012

That part of town being South Dallas? Aside from the black student population, I don't think I've ever seen a black person in Denton.

Denton at one time had a black high school (Fred Moore). It was located in the southeast part of town off of Dallas Drive. That is the area where Abner Haynes stayed.

Baby Arm! · November 8, 2012

Yeah. Kooky. Except it wasn't mid-season. and except DKR was pretty cool.

**************************************************

Giving back: Switzer's Wishbone

Maybe that's why in 1971, after sending Wilkinson into retirement and beating Chuck Fairbanks' Sooners four years in a row, Royal finally showed Oklahoma some compassion.

After using Bellard's Wishbone to go 30-2-1 over three seasons and winning national championships in 1969 and '70, Royal called Bellard into his office with a startling request.

Bellard retold the conversation in Wann Smith's book, "Wishbone: Oklahoma football 1959-85":

"Chuck Fairbanks and his coaches are in bad shape up in Oklahoma," Royal said, according to Bellard's 2009 interview with Smith. "They're fixin' to get fired. I want to help him. Barry Switzer will be calling you to learn about the Wishbone."

Switzer, also in a 2009 interview with Smith for the book, was equally stunned at Royal's impossible goodwill.

"When you consider the nature of the situation," Switzer said, "here was Texas, a blood rival, helping us out. It was an incredible thing for them to do. Ford would never give Chevrolet ideas on how to beat them at production or marketing, but Darrell and Emory, to their credit, helped us. And from that point on, we killed them."

Just like it had under Wilkinson and Royal, the tide turned once more on the Red River Rivalry. In Switzer's two years as OU's offensive coordinator and 16 as head coach, the Sooners beat Texas 11 times.

"I gave them all our knowledge about the formation," Bellard told Smith. "And within a year or so, we couldn't catch 'em. They had too much speed and talent. In retrospect, I doubt Darrell would be nearly as benevolent if he had it to do over again."

Ohhhh those pesky facts. TFLF will have a tough time accepting that to fit in with his UT hatred skewed view of history.

I've heard it said that Royal's motivation for teaching the wishbone to Switzer et.al., wasn't 100% altruistic. Royal needed a strong rival using black players in order to convince the powers that be towards intergration. It was a tatic that Royal learned from his friend Bear Bryant (who he also taught the wishbone too) . Bryant had scheduled his Crimson Tide against an integrated USC team in 1970 knowing his squad would probably lose. When they did lose in a lopesided fashion Bryant was able to use that as reason to convince the Bama powers that it was time to intergrate his team.

VideoEagle · November 8, 2012

Article in today's DMN poitns out DKR coached black players in the CFL and recruited and coaches them while at U of Washington BEFORE he became the head coach at Texas. His first black star player also talked about how it was the BOOSTERS at Texas that fought against integration of the team. And he would have been fired if he offended too many boosters. He was a classy guy, period.

UNTLifer · November 8, 2012

That part of town being South Dallas? Aside from the black student population, I don't think I've ever seen a black person in Denton.

You're not looking very hard.

risinggreen · November 8, 2012

My brother has a football signed by every member of their '69 national championship team (including DKR) that he got from Corby Robertson when we were both at Corby's Camp Olympia. Neither one of us were/are UT fans, but I bet that thing is worth a pretty penny by now. I could've gotten one too, but stupid me decided to use my accumulated merits to purchase something more "practical". I probably would had taken it out to the local field and started up a game anyway.

Monkeypox · November 8, 2012

Article in today's DMN poitns out DKR coached black players in the CFL and recruited and coaches them while at U of Washington BEFORE he became the head coach at Texas. His first black star player also talked about how it was the BOOSTERS at Texas that fought against integration of the team. And he would have been fired if he offended too many boosters. He was a classy guy, period.

Coached, not recruited. He didn't recruit any at Washington.

And he was tenured and had already won a National Championship when UT integrated. You think he would've been fired for having a few scholarship black kids, even though much of the SWC already did?

http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/1996-10-04/524684/

The Fake Lonnie Finch · November 9, 2012

Oklahoma switched to the Wishbone during the offweek between games 3 and 4 in 1970, not during the offseason.

http://articles.latimes.com/1988-09-23/sports/sp-2851_1_head-coach

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080113_1_A8_spanc88381

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1086586/index.htm

http://newsok.com/digging-up-the-bone-rice-bringing-once-feared-wishbone-offense-back-to-owen-field/article/2712632

http://books.google.com/books?id=iRBRTABxO1EC&pg=PA182&lpg=PA182&dq=Wishbone+1970+Oklahoma+Oregon+State+Fairbanks&source=bl&ots=EIoAwxerjS&sig=Sj8scJDCo95-XMxSZDvcr019y4s&hl=en&sa=X&ei=B3-dUPusCqj8yAHvzYHYDQ&ved=0CCsQ6AEwADge#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://alabama.scout.com/2/1237406.html

http://newsok.com/darrell-royal-coached-the-texas-longhorns-but-he-was-still-one-of-us/article/3726499

"When OU famously implemented the wishbone in mid-season 1970, and the Longhorns thrashed the Sooners 41-9 in its debut, Oklahoma coach Chuck Fairbanks called Royal and asked if Switzer, OU's offensive coordinator, could chat with UT offensive coordinator Emory Bellard about the offense Texas had made famous."

It was installed during the 1970 season, and all that happened was after the first game OU installed it - the Texas game in 1970 - OU's head coach called Royal to ask if their offensive coordinator's - Barry Switzer and Emory Bellard - could discuss it.

The history is well known...just like the history of Texas and Royal not recruiting black players...and, OU then taking the Wishbone and running it with their black players from Texas, Florida, California, Pennsylavian, Arkansas, and all point in between, and beating Royal for the next five games in a row, and tying them for a sixth...until Texas, finally recruiting black players, caught up with them.

Athletes of all colors - OU recruited them to resurrect their program, surpassing Texas in almost every measure since then - wins, conference titles, national titles, Heisman Winners, Outland Winners, etc., etc., etc.

Royal and Texas did OU - and, consequently Nebraska as well, who began to recruit Texas with more vigor once Tom Osborne was elevated to their head coaching position - a huge favor by lagging in recruitment of black athletes.

So...again...when you see OU thrash Texas, remember who is was and for what reason: Darrell Royal and the big southern dummies that ran Texas at the time allowed them to do so.

You can watch OU's and their black players run all over Texas' Fighting Whities a year after they installed the offense (about 7:00 mark to about 10:00 mark):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFcixV0As-w

In addition to guys like Greg Pruitt, Roy Bell, and Al Chandler of offense, you can see that OU's defense back then was almost entirely composed of black players.