University of Oklahoma Football: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports

By Daniel J. Brush, David Horne and Marc CB Maxwell

The first title in the new, exciting, and completely original Sports by the Numbers series!

The University of Oklahoma Sooners Football program has produced seven national championship teams, four Heisman Trophy winners, and countless legendary coaches, players, and characters. This inaugural book in the new Sports by the Numbers franchise unlocks the captivating history of this football program by providing OU fans with Sooners history in a fresh, provocative, and unique numerical framework.

The format created by the authors distinguishes Sports by the Numbers from everything else available today. University of Oklahoma Football is composed of ten chapters, each offering one hundred numbered factual “mini-stories”—facts, anomalies, records, coincidences, and enthralling lore and trivia. Each chapter begins with an introduction that highlights the many exciting stories detailed in that chapter.

The Sports by the Numbers team has you covered, from “Personal Events” stories that include the following:

“101: US Army Airborne unit (101st) that OU All-American Bob Kalsu was assigned to during the Vietnam conflict. Kalsu was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1968 and played in the NFL for one year before being called to duty. On July 21, 1970, Kalsu was killed in action, making him the only active professional football player to be killed in Vietnam.”
. . . to statistical entries like the following:
“846: Number of yards passing (846) by QB Beryl Clark during the 1939 season, his last at OU. Sixty-four years later, QB Jason White surpassed Clark’s total by exactly 3,000 yards, finishing the 2003 season with 3,846 yards in the air.”

Oklahoma fans will cheer as Sports by the Numbers dedicates pages to renowned names like Bob Stoops (current OU coach), Barry Switzer (legendary coach, 1973-1988), Bud Wilkinson (coach, 1947-1963), Billy Sims (Heisman Trophy winner), Steve Owens (running back), Jason White (Heisman Trophy winner), the defensive Selmon family trio of Lee Roy, Lucious, and Dewey, Billy Vessels (halfback), Brian Bosworth (linebacker), Josh Heupel (quarterback), and many, many more.

Sports by the Numbers books are not just for die-hard sports fans, but for every fan and sports history reader who loves sports and wants to know more about their heroes and favorite franchise. Sports by the Numbers books will quench any fan’s thirst for entertainment and knowledge.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Savas Beatie
• Release date: Aug 3, 2007
• ISBN: 9781611210279

Daniel J. Brush

Daniel J. Brush is currently working on his Ph.D. at the University of Oklahoma. David Horne is a professional educator and former high school athletic director currently pursuing his doctoral degree at the University of Oklahoma. Marc CB Maxwell is a Ph.D. student at the University of Oklahoma and is the author of Surviving Military Separation: 365 Days (Savas Beatie, 2007).

Book preview

frontcover

Also by Marc CB Maxwell

Surviving Military Separation: 365 Days, An Activity Guide for Family Members of Deployed Personnel (Illustrated by Val Laolagi)

title

Printed in the United States of America

© 2007 by Daniel J. Brush, David Horne, and Marc CB Maxwell

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN 13: 978-1-932714-33-3

eISBN: 978-1-61121-027-9

10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01

First edition, first printing

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For Joseph L. Rodgers, Ph.D.

Contents

Foreword by OU Head Coach Bob Stoops

Preface / Acknowledgments

The Locker

Chapter 1

The First 100, or Why the Three Selmon Brothers from Eufaula, Oklahoma, Embody the Spirit of OU Football

Chapter 2

Sooners and Soldiers, or How One OU All-American Left the Field of Play and Became Immortal as an American Hero on the Field of Battle

Chapter 3

Where 83,000 Screaming Sooners Come Each Saturday to Find a Piece of Home—a Home That Will Never be Completely Built

Chapter 4

How One Oklahoma Legend Stood in the Eye of the Hurricane and Weathered the Storm

Chapter 5

Oklahoma Hearts Josh…Forever

Chapter 6

Why One Texan May be Considered the Greatest Sooner Team Player in Recent Oklahoma History

Chapter 7

How a Former Hen Went West and Ended up in Canton with Oklahoma Support and Henryetta Dreams

Chapter 8

Why Players Risk Life and Limb During a Shootout in Dallas for a 10-gallon Cowboy Hat That You Can’t Even Wear

Chapter 9

When You’re a Guy Named Joe and You Hire a Guy Named Bob, People Will Call You a Genius

Chapter 10

The Streak

Bibliography

Photos, illustrations, charts, and tables have been placed throughout the book for the benefit of our readers.

Foreword

any conversation concerning football at the University of Oklahoma will quickly turn to the numbers. We can recite them by heart … seven national championships, 40 conference titles, 142 All-Americans, 47 straight victories, four Heisman winners, and on and on.

The impressive numbers don’t necessarily define the program, but they certainly illustrate the achievement and dominance that the Sooners have enjoyed for so many years.

The definition is found then in the people—the players, the coaches, the administrators, the support staff, the fans, and many others who have given of themselves so we might enjoy the great OU tradition that exists today. For me, the authors of this book—Daniel J. Brush, David Horne, and Marc CB Maxwell—found a way, through the numbers, to remind us of those people.

Long-time Sooner fans will revel in the flood of memories that flow from these pages. You’ll think back to a defining moment—that favorite player, an afternoon next to the radio, or that special day at Owen Field. And the information contained here is so thorough that you’ll relive those memories many times. We love the greats and the victories they won, but tradition is such a wonderful thing because of what it means to each one of us individually and within our families.

Another group that is sometimes known by its numbers, yet defined by its people, is the Bob Stoops Champions Foundation. We established the foundation in 2000 to assist organizations that help disadvantaged or ill children in the Norman and Oklahoma City areas. Since its inception, the Champions Foundation has contributed more than $700,000 to worthy causes, and has made a profound impact on the lives of many children and their families.

Part of the proceeds from the sale of this book will benefit the Champions Foundation, and with that money we hope to add more special moments, similar to the ones you have enjoyed with Sooner football, for young people facing significant challenges.

As you thumb through this book, I invite you to do as I did and think back on those who made it all possible. At the same time, be reminded of what you can do to improve the lives of those around you.

If you’d like more information on the Bob Stoops Champions Foundation, please contact us at 405-325-2345.

Now, enjoy a great read, and Boomer Sooner!

Coach Bob Stoops

Preface

Our Sports by the Numbers™ (SBTN) journey began in the summer of 2006 on the campus of the University of Oklahoma in Norman.

In the middle of a psychological statistics course taken as a part of our doctoral studies, our professor began a discussion of pi that so intrigued us, we continued it that night as we sat in front of a big screen TV watching ESPN at Rudy’s Country Store and Bar-B-Q.

Of course, in the most simplistic of definitions, pi is a number that never ends (pi = 3.14159265 …)

Our professor made us realize the implications of that statement: In pi, every statistic from every sporting event in the world can be found in the correct sequence in which they occurred.

If that seems like a bold statement, we thought so too. It turns out though, he is right. If you look far enough, at some point in pi you can find any sequence of numbers you want.

So how did that lead us to SBTN? It’s pretty simple, really.

We were sitting in front of ESPN, with the scores from all the ball games rolling across the ticker at the bottom of the screen. We had unlimited refills of the best sweet tea in all of Oklahoma at our disposal and some free time. It began as a challenge among three diehard sports fans.

I will give you a number, one of us announced, and you give me a sports story that goes with it.

Pick any sport, and any number, it doesn’t matter because just like pi, it never ends. It could have been as much as three or four hours later—even though we were drinking sweet tea we can’t say for sure—but our game continued long after the game we were watching on the big screen ended.

Some of our most cherished childhood memories came flooding back to us in the middle of our game, and because of that our game soon shifted just a bit.

Pick a number and tell us why it means so much to you. We all nodded in agreement.

That was an easy one for Marc. Seventy, he announced.

It turns out he made a seventy-foot buzzer beater as a freshman in high school to help get his basketball team into the state playoffs. (When he told us, we didn’t believe him either! But he later produced footage from Good Morning America—of all places—that backed up his number. Now that was pretty amazing stuff!)

Dan didn’t hesitate either. Ninety-eight.

He let us chew on it long enough to realize it was one we should get, but he didn’t give us enough time before he exclaimed, The Drive!

His was not a happy ninety-eight, though. John Elway broke his heart when he orchestrated a memorable playoff drive to beat the Cleveland Browns in 1986—and Dan is not even from Cleveland. He grew up in Europe in a military family and adopted the Browns as his favorite team. Then, along with his father, he rooted desperately for Cleveland during the playoffs that season.

It was basketball for Marc, football for Dan, but for David it was baseball and Hall of Fame legend Johnny Bench. The catcher for the Cincinnati Reds wore jersey number five. As a kid, David posed for a spring training picture with Bench.

So it was number five for David, and he told of wearing that same jersey number throughout little league, of begging his coaches to let him play catcher, and of listening to Reds games on the radio.

It was a good time, that night at Rudy’s, but the best part came next when Sports by the Numbers™ was born.

Just as the three of us stood to leave, an older couple from the table behind us did the same thing. They were the third or fourth couple to occupy that table during our time spent in front of the big screen.

The older man had a Sooners hat on. He looked at us, caught our collective eye, and smiled. Forty-seven. He paused a few seconds and then added with a broad smile, The longest winning streak in NCAA history, set by OU.

He gave us a big laugh, and as he passed by us on his way out the door he touched Marc on the shoulder. His comment and smile lingered within each of us. Looking back, his contribution was a turning point, a hinge, and perhaps the first real step on this amazing journey.

We lingered outside in the parking lot, unsure what to do next.

Go back to the apartment and study?

We considered that, briefly. Instead, Marc drove us up Jenkins Avenue until we hit Boyd Street, and then we circled back around Gaylord Family–Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

The stadium is an amazing place and an inspiring sight. Of course we tried to get in. On most days you can go through gate eleven and sit in the bleachers. Chances are, you won’t be the only one there, either.

But it was late, and our expectations for getting into the stadium were not all that high. As it turned out, the gate was open because someone much more influential than us was getting a tour of the stadium that same night. We got in, too.

In the bleachers behind the south end zone, and with something along the lines of fate on each of our minds, we contemplated the lore of Sooners football, the legends of Coaches Wilkinson and Switzer, the genius of Coach Stoops—and the accumulation of numbers and the amazing stories waiting to be told.

We must have studied during the next few weeks because OU still claims us—but we didn’t study that much. Instead of studying the library stacks in the social sciences, we searched out archived news stories on the legends of Sooners football and began compiling a list of numbers. Our search bordered on obsession, but something compelled us to keep going long enough for us to realize that our list was rapidly becoming a book.

In the world of statistics and mathematics, every number can be found in pi. But in the world of sports, every number tells a story.

We decided upon a simple goal: use numbers to tell OU football fans 1,000 stories. We began to refer to ourselves as the SBTN guys, and we are passionate about what we do.

Since that summer of 2006, our ideas have grown into a publishing contract, six written books, and (at our publisher’s suggestion) an interactive website designed for every sports fan. It should be no surprise to anyone that our first published title is the one you are now holding in your hands: University of Oklahoma Football: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports.

So much more is on the way. Our readers can look forward to the same unique format in upcoming books for every major sport in every region of the country.

Inside every SBTN title is a numerical list beginning with number one and stretching to number 1,000. Each number is accompanied by a story touching on personalities, accomplishments, statistical facts, anomalies, records, and fascinating trivia. Like pi, the list is endless.

If you love sports, we think you will love SBTN. If you have a hero from your favorite team, our books are for you. If you want to learn about a sport or a specific team, our books are for you.

Our books, however, are not just for diehards like us. If you want to teach a new fan about a team or sport, SBTN is perfect for that, too.

But just in case you are as passionate and obsessive a fan as we are, look for future SBTN titles on your sports and your favorite teams, and reminisce with us about days gone by and championships won and lost.

We are excited to write that the SBTN experience does not end inside the book. In fact, it only begins there! Inside each book are numbered entries tagged SBTN–All Star or SBTN–Hall of Fame. When you see those, click over to www.sportsbythenumbers.com and use those specific numbers to access more content (text, audio, video, photos, etc.) and to take part in our SBTN Interactive World of Sports! You will also find on our website some of our SBTN memories. We invite you to check them out, and then post some of your own.

Our ability to write and publish a series of books comes from the fact we have been blessed much more than we deserve. In our books and on our website, you will find content that praises all those who demonstrate strength of character and who understand the impact sports can have on young people. We recognize that if not for the impact of such people on our lives, then you surely would not be reading this book now.

Because of this, our vision for