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The 1922 Rose Bowl
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A Triumph Through Tragedy
The 1999 Texas vs. Texas A&M football game was more than just a rivalry game. Played just 12 days after the tragic collapse of the Aggie Bonfire, it became a symbol of unity and resilience in the face of adversity.
Pre-Game Tragedy:
On November 18, 1999, the Texas A&M student bonfire tradition collapsed, taking the lives of 12 students and injuring 27 others. The tragedy cast a dark shadow over the Aggie community and the upcoming game against Texas.
A Decision to Play:
Despite the tragedy, the decision was made to play the game. The Aggies, with the support of the Texas Longhorns and fans from both sides, decided to take the field as a way to honor the victims and show strength in the face of adversity.
An Emotional Game:
The atmosphere at Kyle Field was electric. The Aggie faithful, clad in maroon and white, sang the school's fight song with renewed fervor. The Texas Longhorns, dressed in black jerseys with a bonfire memorial patch, showed respect and solidarity.
A Thrilling Victory:
The game itself was a nail-biter. The Aggies, fueled by emotion and the spirit of their fallen comrades, played with remarkable courage and determination. Quarterback Randy McCown led the team to a 20-16 victory, sending the home crowd into a joyous frenzy.
A Symbol of Unity:
The 1999 Texas vs. Texas A&M game transcended the sport. It became a testament to the power of community and the ability to overcome tragedy. The image of the Aggies celebrating their victory while still grieving their loss, became a lasting symbol of hope and resilience.
Legacy and Impact:
The 1999 game continues to hold a special place in the hearts of Aggies and Longhorns alike. It serves as a reminder of the importance of community and the strength that can be found in the face of adversity. The game also cemented the Aggie Bonfire as a symbol of unity and sacrifice, ensuring that the memory of the victims will never be forgotten.
Pre-Game Tragedy:
On November 18, 1999, the Texas A&M student bonfire tradition collapsed, taking the lives of 12 students and injuring 27 others. The tragedy cast a dark shadow over the Aggie community and the upcoming game against Texas.
A Decision to Play:
Despite the tragedy, the decision was made to play the game. The Aggies, with the support of the Texas Longhorns and fans from both sides, decided to take the field as a way to honor the victims and show strength in the face of adversity.
An Emotional Game:
The atmosphere at Kyle Field was electric. The Aggie faithful, clad in maroon and white, sang the school's fight song with renewed fervor. The Texas Longhorns, dressed in black jerseys with a bonfire memorial patch, showed respect and solidarity.
A Thrilling Victory:
The game itself was a nail-biter. The Aggies, fueled by emotion and the spirit of their fallen comrades, played with remarkable courage and determination. Quarterback Randy McCown led the team to a 20-16 victory, sending the home crowd into a joyous frenzy.
A Symbol of Unity:
The 1999 Texas vs. Texas A&M game transcended the sport. It became a testament to the power of community and the ability to overcome tragedy. The image of the Aggies celebrating their victory while still grieving their loss, became a lasting symbol of hope and resilience.
Legacy and Impact:
The 1999 game continues to hold a special place in the hearts of Aggies and Longhorns alike. It serves as a reminder of the importance of community and the strength that can be found in the face of adversity. The game also cemented the Aggie Bonfire as a symbol of unity and sacrifice, ensuring that the memory of the victims will never be forgotten.
Longhorns Upset #1 Arkansas in 1964 Thriller
On a cloudy October afternoon in 1964, the #5 ranked Texas Longhorns traveled to Razorback Stadium to face the undefeated and top-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks. The stage was set for a monumental clash between two of the nation's best teams, and the game lived up to the hype.
Arkansas entered the game as heavy favorites, riding a 15-game winning streak and boasting a potent offense led by quarterback Bill Burkett and running back Bobby Burnett. However, the Longhorns, under the leadership of head coach Darrell Royal, came out with a determined spirit and refused to be intimidated.
Texas' defense, led by All-American linebacker Tommy Nobis, played a crucial role in the victory. They held the high-powered Arkansas offense to just 14 points, forcing two crucial turnovers and limiting their explosive plays.
On offense, the Longhorns relied on a balanced attack. Quarterback Duke Carlisle and fullback Tommy Ford combined for two rushing touchdowns, and kicker Phil Dawson added two field goals.
The game remained close throughout the fourth quarter, with the score tied at 14-14. With less than five minutes remaining, Texas mounted a decisive drive. Carlisle orchestrated a crucial 14-play, 80-yard march, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Ford.
Arkansas had one last chance to tie the game, but their final drive stalled at the Texas 43-yard line. The Longhorns held on for a thrilling 21-14 victory, snapping the Razorbacks' winning streak and handing them their only loss of the season.
Arkansas entered the game as heavy favorites, riding a 15-game winning streak and boasting a potent offense led by quarterback Bill Burkett and running back Bobby Burnett. However, the Longhorns, under the leadership of head coach Darrell Royal, came out with a determined spirit and refused to be intimidated.
Texas' defense, led by All-American linebacker Tommy Nobis, played a crucial role in the victory. They held the high-powered Arkansas offense to just 14 points, forcing two crucial turnovers and limiting their explosive plays.
On offense, the Longhorns relied on a balanced attack. Quarterback Duke Carlisle and fullback Tommy Ford combined for two rushing touchdowns, and kicker Phil Dawson added two field goals.
The game remained close throughout the fourth quarter, with the score tied at 14-14. With less than five minutes remaining, Texas mounted a decisive drive. Carlisle orchestrated a crucial 14-play, 80-yard march, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Ford.
Arkansas had one last chance to tie the game, but their final drive stalled at the Texas 43-yard line. The Longhorns held on for a thrilling 21-14 victory, snapping the Razorbacks' winning streak and handing them their only loss of the season.
Peter Oltchick
Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? “My average isn’t .385 in hitting; it’s .107 in getting splinters.” These were lines 4-5 of a poorly hand-written fourth grade ‘Ode […] — authorsguild.org
Peter Oltchick is the co-author (with beloved longtime New York Daily News journalist Bill Bell) of Football for Fun: The Story of Coach Stewart “Fergie” Ferguson. Tom Flynn (Dan Rather Reports, CBS News) writes: “Fergie, the football coach, is an All-American character. The book is a rollicking fun read.” Peter has written for the online magazine Suite101 and is the author of Clean Clara, a children’s picture book celebrating friendship. He loves to visit schools for customized classroom and library programs and still loves Wordle.
Peter is an accomplished marketing and business development thought leader, an advocate of a positive, inclusive youth sports culture, and would welcome a shot to compete in a Connect 4 championship down the road. He is an alum of Colgate University and Columbia University Business School, and lives in New York City with his wife and two children.
Football Early Executioner Mask
Broken noses were primarily relegated to football’s past in the 1960s due to the widespread use of face masks. Before that, broken noses were common, so players, trainers, and equipment manufacturers developed methods to protect the proboscis or, at least, to keep them from further harm once injured. Noses went unprotected until 1892 when Harvard captain Arthur Cumnock developed a hard rubber device to protect a teammate’s broken nose. Cumnock soon sold the rights to his invention to John Mo — www.footballarchaeology.com
Timothy Brown takes his Football Archaeology focus towards some player protective gear evolution our way, was he studies early face guards.
First and Five, Eight, Ten, or Fifteen
During the game’s early years, football’s rules were virtually identical to those of rugby which did not allow teams to maintain possession from one scrimmage or scrummage to another. When football went down the possession path in 1880, the rule makers assumed that teams possessing the ball would play honorably, punting when they could not advance the ball after a few scrimmages. However, Princeton had other ideas and kept the ball play and after play versus Yale in 1880 and 1881, leading to — www.footballarchaeology.com
A look at the early yardage penalties in football and the evolution of the yardage enforcement on Football Arcaeology
Sideline Plays and How We See the Past and Future
Studying history helps us understand that each of us understands the world through a unique perspective that results from the time and place we were born, educated, and all our life experiences. For example, as someone living in 2023, it isn’t easy to see the world through the eyes of someone living in the 1920s and 1930s because we bring a worldview informed by the events of the last 100 or 90 years. Likewise, try as they might, those living in the 1920s and 1930s struggled to see the future, — www.footballarchaeology.com
Football Archaeology provides a brilliant viewpoint of how side-line plays were viewed prior to 1932 and the strategy was a bit different than we understand it today.
From Goat to Good
Teams did not kick field goals in the 1950s with the same frequency as today. College teams often did not attempt field goals in situations we would consider nearly automatic today because straight-ahead kickers were less accurate, did not kick as far as the sidewinders that soon became popular, and the limited substitution rules of the time meant the player doing the kicking was generally among the team’s eleven starters. The kicker was often the best all-around athlete on the team, which is — www.footballarchaeology.com
The football story of a player that took a no-win situation and was successful, propelling him to be remembered in gridiron lore for years to come. Fron Football Archaeology.com
Football's First Coaching Schools and Clinics
I recently came across a claim that the first football coaching clinic came in 1924 under the direction of Ira \"Irl\" Tubbs, then the football and basketball coach at Wisconsin’s Superior Normal School. Tubbs played football at William Jewell before coaching at Superior High School, where his top player was Ernie Nevers. Tubbs’ 1920 team was widely considered the best team in the state. Their only competition for the mythical state title came from East Green Bay High, coached by a young Cur — www.footballarchaeology.com
A look back at some of the early coaching clinics and educational venues for football coaches
Unintended Consequences of the Fair Catch Signal
As football transitioned from rugby, it brought along rugby’s rules and traditions, including rugby’s fair catch, in which players signaled the fair catch by \"heeling in\" as they made the catch. Heeling in occurred when players struck the ground with the heel of their foot, creating a divot to mark the spot. Since heeling in occurred simultaneously with or just after the catch, the kicking team players covering the punt could not tackle the returner until they saw whether or not he heeled — www.footballarchaeology.com
The fair catch signal was derived from rugby and Football Archaeology dives into the history of this signal
The 1932 Colgate Football Team
Comparison to Today and a great story on the Undefeated, Untied, Unscored Upon, and Uninvited: The 1932 Colgate Football Team. NCAAF 1932
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Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer
We invite you to take a ride through 1920's sports history in the audio drama that takes the listener through the sounds and legendary events of the era through the eyes of a young newspaper journalist. You will feel like you were there!
Brought to you by Number 80 Productions and Pigskin Dispatch
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To learn more about joining the fun in preserving football history go to The Official PFRA Website.
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Sports Jersey Dispatch
If you like remembering players of the NFL by their numbers then you may also enjoy going uniform number by number in other team sports as well. We have it for you on our other website in baseball, basketball, hockey and more on the Sports Jersey Dispatch.
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Gridiron Legacy: Pro Football's Missing Origin Story
Author Gregg Ficery tells the story of the beginnings of Pro Football through the pro football career of his Great Grandfather, Bob Shiring
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Sports History Network
A Proud Partner in the Headquarters of Sports Yesteryear, SHN.
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Bears versus Cardinals: The NFL's Oldest Rivalry
Author Joe Ziemba the master historian of football in Chicago has released another beauty. It is titled Bears versus Cardinals: The NFL's Oldest Rivalry.
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