Martin introduced himself to Moore, who had just graduated from high school in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and asked him where he was going to college, thinking that he must have already signed with Missouri or Arkansas. To Martin’s surprise, Moore said he had not yet found the right place.
“The kid said he wanted to throw, but that he really wanted to play football, too,” said Martin. “I couldn’t believe no one had signed him yet. I told him Oklahoma would be the perfect place for him to do both.”
Minutes later, Martin was desperately trying to track down an OU football coach to help persuade Moore to sign with OU. He finally got freshman coach Don Jimerson on the phone and explained the situation.
“I asked Don to give him a quick tour and to tell him all about the football program. Just talk him into coming here and I’d give him a track scholarship,” said Martin.
Before climbing back on a bus for Poplar Bluff, Moore told Martin if his dad said it was OK, he’d go to school there. A follow-up call a few days later confirmed the good news, and Moore showed up that fall ready to play football.
“Derland really wasn’t recruited much out of high school. He played football, and he was a track guy who somehow didn’t attract a lot of attention,” said Barry Switzer, who was an OU assistant when Moore showed up in 1969. “All of the sudden he squatted down there and started beating people up. We found out real fast just how good he was.”
Moore, who played defensive tackle, was big and strong with great quickness. The entire OU staff was stunned at how athletic this walk-on kid really was.
“Switzer called me after the team’s first practice in pads and asked me where I found this kid because he was manhandling all of their All-Americans,” said Martin. “Derland ended up being a good thrower in college, but football was his true calling. And soon after his freshman season he received a football scholarship.”
Moore wound up being a three-year starter, earning All-Big Eight honors twice and All-America honors as a senior in 1972. He was a second-round NFL draft pick by New Orleans that year and went on to enjoy a 13-year career with the Saints.
“That’s unheard of,” added Switzer. “A walk-on who turned out to be a first- or second-round draft pick in the NFL. But Derland was the real deal.”
Owens to the Rescue
When Barry Switzer and Larry Lacewell recount their days as assistant coaches at Oklahoma, both are quick to point to Steve Owens as one of the main reasons they roamed the sidelines in Norman for so many years.
The 1969 season is memorable basically because of Owens’ Herculean efforts on a team that would eventually finish just 6-4 and fail to earn a bowl berth. It was a time when coach Chuck Fairbanks and his staff were under fire and many believed a new regime would be running the program to start the new decade.
In the season finale at Stillwater, the Sooners and Bedlam rival Cowboys hooked up in a toe-to-toe slugfest that saw Owens carry the ball a record 55 times for 261 yards. The senior back had 20 carries and 97 yards in the third quarter alone. And still the Sooners trailed 21-14.
“Steve did it all that day. He had all of those carries, and I think he even made a couple of special teams tackles,” recalled Lacewell, the Sooners’ defensive coordinator. “We always knew Steve was physically tougher than anyone else on the field, and that day he proved it over and over. It was amazing to watch.”
Owens, who had won the Heisman Trophy a week earlier, was in the process of changing the course of OU football history. After helping the Sooners regain a 28-21 edge, an exhausted Owens watched anxiously as OSU scored in the final two minutes and lined up for what could be a game-winning two-point conversion.
“We really needed to win the game because there had been talk of firing our coaching staff that week,” said Owens. “We, as players, really wanted to win, and every one of us did everything in our power to make that happen.”
That everyone included backup defensive end Albert Qualls, whom Lacewell surprisingly substituted in for All- American Steve Zabel, just for the conversion attempt. Qualls chased OSU quarterback Bob Cutburth down from behind, forcing a fumble that OU’s Johnny Watson recovered to ultimately preserve the victory.
The coaching staff was retained for the 1970 season and the nucleus of that group would later win three national championships with Switzer as head coach.
Who Called Timeout?
At one point of the 1969 Bedlam game, Oklahoma running back Steve Owens had carried the ball close to a dozen straight plays. The Sooners were driving, and momentum had shifted to their side.
But Owens was exhausted, and he could barely breathe when he stumbled back to the huddle after another bruising carry.
“I told our quarterback Jack Mildren we were going to have to call timeout because I needed a break. So he called timeout,” recalled Owens, who finished with 55 carries for 261 yards that day.
Suddenly, offensive coordinator Barry Switzer is screaming at the coaches on the sidelines over their headsets, trying to find out who jeopardized their momentum by calling timeout.
“Jack got on the headset and explained it was me who wanted the rest, and Switzer screamed back down, ‘Tell Owens this is the last game of the season, he’ll have the rest of the year to rest,”’ laughed Owens.
The Sooners eventually scored on the drive and won the game 28-27.
Steve Owens vs. Nebraska. Photo courtesy of the University of Oklahoma
CHAPTER FIVE
The 1970s
Popsicles and Gatorade
AT SOME POINT during every Oklahoma practice the freshman receivers would break from their normal routine and take part in one-on-one drills against the varsity secondary. It was a chance for the young guys to measure up against some of the best defensive backs in the country.
Chuck Fairbanks’ Sooners had already opened the 1972 season with a 49-0 shellacking of Utah State, so the starting lineups were pretty much solidified as they ran through preparations for their week two opponent, Oregon.
Tinker Owens joined the OU program as a running back, but had decided to test his talents as a receiver since the Sooners were already loaded in the backfield. The pressures of following in big brother Steve Owens’ footsteps were a bit daunting, especially as a freshman.
Little did young Tinker know that his life was about to change as he made his way down to the field for one-on-one drills one afternoon that week. Owens demonstrated soft hands and deceptive speed as he scored three touchdowns against starting cornerback Kenny Pope, with Fairbanks looking on.
Afterward, as the freshmen were being dismissed, Fairbanks told Owens to go get a popsicle and Gatorade.
“That’s what the varsity players had at the break,” said Owens. “I’m not very smart, so I walked over to get a popsicle and drink and started walking to the locker room.”
Fairbanks yelled out to Owens, telling him to stay out with the veterans. Then after practice Owens was asked to report to assistant coach Galen Flail about playing with the varsity against Oregon.
“Coach Fairbanks had seen me that day in one-on-one drills and wanted to see what I could do with the varsity. I was just in the right place at the right time. It was almost by accident,” offered Owens.
Thrilled with his new role, Owens never dreamed he would play against Oregon that week. He watched intently as the Sooners slowly began dismantling the Ducks, and suddenly the unexpected occurred. Receiver John Carroll came up lame and Fairbanks began yelling for Owens to go into the game.
“I was in shock and I had laid my helmet down somewhere and couldn’t find it. So I’m running around searching through all of the helmets,” recalled Owens. “It was crazy.”
Once Owens finally got to the huddle, another surprise was waiting—quarterback Dave Robertson called a pass play. Trying to remember his routes, Owens lined up and ran an out pattern. As he turned he saw the ball diving toward the ground, so he stretched out and made a beautiful catch just inches off the turf. The 10-yard completion was good
for a first down.
As members of the press began checking their lineup cards for the name of this new acrobatic pass catcher, they discovered there was no number 11 listed. Even the public address announcer had no idea who the mystery man was. Later, someone radioed down to the sideline to get number 11’s name.
Tinker Owens. An amazing start to an All-America career.
No More Little Red
During the Vietnam War, the National Indian Youth Council organized protests of Oklahoma’s official mascot, Little Red, saying the university’s depiction of an Indian in costume was stereotypical and demeaning. A debate ensued with OU president J. Herbert Holloman stuck in the middle.
Little Red, originated in the 1950s by OU’s public relations office to complement the football program’s famous “Big Red” nickname, was officially sanctioned as the school’s mascot in 1957 with Anadarko, Oklahoma, native Phil Waller in costume.
“The administration was 100 percent behind me. The response was absolutely marvelous,” Waller said. “I was treated with the utmost respect.”
Little Red became a popular feature at OU home games, dressed in a war bonnet, fancy dance-bustle, moccasins, furs and traditional beadwork. He helped rev up crowds with his well-versed routine for almost 15 years before the protests began.
“I’m not sure I followed some of the logic about how (Little Red) was demeaning to Indians,” said Kirke Kickingbird, a Kiowa tribal member who served as the famed mascot from 1963-68. “When you look at mascots, it’s usually something people admire. I think that was the whole purpose of putting Little Red into place.”
Even though Hollomon officially banished Little Red on April 17, 1970, the longtime tradition would not die so easily. Randy Palmer, a Kiowa tribal member and student from Anadarko, danced as Little Red for three more seasons before demand finally faded and the mascot was retired.
The Greatest Game Ever Played
Oklahoma’s wishbone offense was humming as the secondranked Sooners cruised through the 1971 season headed for a showdown with No. 1 Nebraska. The game would not only determine the Big Eight title, but possibly the national championship.
The lineups read like a Who’s Who, with Greg Pruitt, Johnny Rodgers, Rich Glover and Jack Mildren topping the marquee.
In what became known as the “Game of the Century,” Nebraska defeated the second-ranked Sooners in a 35-31 victory on Thanksgiving Day. It was one of the most memorable collegiate football games in history, said Penn State coach Joe Paterno, whose words echoed the sentiments of the entire football world.
For OU defensive coordinator Larry Lacewell, it was a bitter disappointment. While the Sooner defense held the Cornhuskers to one offensive touchdown and led 17-14 at the half, Lacewell admittedly called a conservative game defensively after the intermission, and it cost Oklahoma dearly.
The Sooner offense, led by quarterback Mildren, was rolling up yards and points, but they were getting little help in the way of defensive stops.
“That game taught me a lot of lessons as a defensive coordinator,” said Lacewell. “It taught me to be maybe a little more reckless in big situations, like third and long or third and five. I should have had our guys go after them a little more.”
But as it turned out, the undefeated Huskers managed to convert basically every critical third-down situation they faced. It slowly drained the life from OU’s attack unit and set them up for the kill with a 12-play, 74-yard fourth-quarter scoring drive.
“It was a case of which team had the ball last,” OU coach Chuck Fairbanks would say. “If we would have had enough time, I’m certain we would have scored.”
Unfortunately, OU got the ball back deep in its own territory with just 1:38 remaining. The wishbone offense wasn’t built for the two-minute drill, and it showed as the Sooners turned it over on downs after just four plays.
“It was a quintessential college football game,” added Mildren. “I certainly can understand how it was voted the greatest game ever played.’”
On Again, Off Again
When it came to practice, linemen Terry Webb and Jaime Melendez were less than enthusiastic. Practically every day at some point during workouts, either one or the other would do something to cause offensive line coach Gene Hochevar to reconsider their starting status.
“I must have kicked both of those guys out of the lineup or off the team a dozen times each,” admitted Hochevar. “But every time they’d go to Barry [Switzer] and talk him into letting them back on the team, which I knew he would. The funny thing was, as uninspired as they were during practice, they were both fantastic when Saturday rolled around.
“They just hated to practice.”
Halftime Break
The halftime locker room can be a rather intense place depending on how a team played during the first 30 minutes of action. Many spirited speeches have been delivered during the intermission with hopes that fortunes would be altered or sustained.
That was not the case when Oklahoma met Oregon in the 1975 season opener. The Sooners had rolled out to a 44-0 lead by the time the two teams exited Owen Field for the break.
As was tradition, OU’s players went to the locker room and its coaches went to the coaches’ offices to talk strategy before joining the players. This time, however, several minutes went by and no one made a move toward the locker room. Barry Switzer and his staff kicked back and ordered up some lunch.
After a few more minutes, assistant coach Bobby Proctor stood up and asked if they were going to the locker room to coach the players. Everybody just turned around and looked at him.
Finally, Switzer said, “Bobby, if you want to, you can go coach them. But if you don’t mind, we’re going to stay here and eat these hot dogs and drink these cokes.”
Avoiding Disaster
The final stages of recruiting were winding down, and OU assistant Larry Lacewell had just a few loose ends to shore up before turning his focus to other things. Little did he know that history was about to be made, and it didn’t necessarily include his Sooners.
Lacewell rolled in to Eufaula, Oklahoma, in mid-afternoon, fully expecting to sign a player named Lucious Selmon. Although he had pursued the defensive prospect without much fanfare, Lacewell figured the kid was in the bag.
“When I pulled up, I saw Lucious with Colorado coach Eddie Crowder. His school books were in Crowder’s car, and I immediately knew we might be in trouble,” explained Lacewell. “I didn’t even bother having Chuck [Fairbanks] come with me, because I didn’t think Lucious was interested in going anywhere else. I was embarrassed because I really thought I was going to lose this guy.”
Lacewell was meeting with the Selmons later that evening, so he decided to grab something to eat with Crowder at a local restaurant. During their meal, Crowder excused himself to make a phone call, and Lacewell knew was what coming next.
“The phone was in the back of the restaurant, and I walked back around the corner and listened to everything Crowder told the Selmons I was going to say and ask,” said Lacewell. “So I had all kinds of ammo when I went to their house that night. The main thing I told Lucious was the best reason to pick Oklahoma is because it’s the better school. And that was true.
“Then I told his mother that it was 109 miles from Eufaula to Norman and it was a lot farther than that to Boulder. I asked her how in the world she was ever going to watch her son play, especially toting two other boys along. That was a key issue.”
In the end, Selmon signed with Oklahoma, and two years later, Lee Roy and Dewey followed their older brother to Norman. During the five years that followed, the Sooners went 41-6-1 and won two national titles.
“At the time, we didn’t realize what we were getting. If I hadn’t listened to Eddie Crowder that day, history may have been changed,” added Lacewell. “The good Lord looked down on us that day. And then for us to get all three Selmons—that seemed hardly fair.”
The Wishbone
The 1969 season, even with the Heisman Trophy p
erformance of running back Steve Owens, was viewed as a major disappointment in and around OU circles. Two years removed from capping a 10-1 season with a victory over No. 2 Tennessee in the Orange Bowl, the Sooners had become onedimensional and a bit predicable in their veer offense.
While archrival Texas was winning a national championship in ’69, coach Chuck Fairbanks’ staff was worried about keeping their jobs. A 28-27 victory over Oklahoma State in the season finale had provided a short reprieve, but the natives were growing restless.
After watching the Longhorns run the wishbone to absolute perfection during their title run, OU offensive coordinator Barry Switzer started wondering why the Sooners shouldn’t borrow a little from their southern neighbors.
“Hell, Texas was scoring half-a-hundred on every team they played. They were running all over the yard and no one could stop them,” recalled Switzer. “I looked at their roster and I looked at ours, and it was pretty clear we had better athletes than Texas did. So why not switch to the wishbone?”
Switzer suggested the change in a meeting with Fairbanks, and it was discussed again during a team meeting after the Sooners had started 2-1 in 1970.
“I basically talked Chuck into it,” added Switzer. “I told him if we wanted to save our jobs he’d better make the switch to the wishbone.”
On October 10, 1970, Oklahoma debuted its version of the wishbone in a 41-9 loss to—who else—Texas.
“To change in the middle of the season, that’s a terrifically tough decision. I found it hard to fathom why,” admitted quarterback Jack Mildren. “It was a tumultuous two weeks, to say the least. To install a new offense and then go play a team like Texas wasn’t easy.
“But the coaching staff’s jobs were on the line. They felt they needed to do something drastic, and I think they deserve a lot of credit for having the courage and vision to make the change.”
Tales from the Oklahoma Sooner Sideline Page 8
