Tales from the Oklahoma Sooner Sideline

by Barry Switzer

  But on the eve of the January 2 game with Florida State, the news broke that Lance Rentzel, Ralph Neely, Jim Grisham and Wes Skidgel were being suspended due to their dealings with an agent. The team was informed by head coach Gomer Jones during a team meeting less than 24 hours prior to kickoff.

  The following day, still in shock, the Sooners were burned for four touchdown passes by receiver Fred Biletnikoff, who finished the 36-19 FSU victory with 13 catches for 192 yards.

  Hey, We Care

  The 1969 season would not be all that memorable for OU football fans if not for the extraordinary performance of Steve Owens. Inconsistent defense had the Sooners headed for a 6-4 mark, despite the fact Owens was churning up yardage and scoring touchdowns at record pace.

  OU’s heralded back was running his way toward the Heisman Trophy, and his numbers grew more impressive by the week. He entered the Colorado game having rushed for 100-plus yards in 13 straight games, and no one figured the Buffs would put an end to that.

  But the Sooners scored early and often without a whole lot of help from Owens, who had totaled a little over 80 yards by mid-fourth quarter. With OU leading 35-23 and the final minutes winding down, Owens told quarterback Jack Mildren to simply kneel on the ball and end the game.

  “That didn’t go over too big,” said Owens. “I said [the 100 yards] didn’t matter to me as long as we were winning. Well, one of our guards, Billy Elfstrom, looked over at me and said, ‘It might not matter to you, but it matters to us.’”

  Elfstrom was, of course, talking about the offensive line unit that had been opening holes for Owens for three seasons.

  Well, Owens got the ball three more times and kept his 100-yard-game streak alive, which eventually ended at 18.

  Remembering the Land Run

  Although it would not become the official mascot until the October 6, 1980 season, the Sooner Schooner became a popular addition to Oklahoma’s rich football tradition 19 years earlier when the Bartlett Foundation began donating it for Saturday games. The Bartlett family had originally built the Conestoga with hopes that the covered wagon replica similar to those used by the pioneers who settled in Oklahoma would eventually be phased in as official mascot.

  Powered by matching white Shetland ponies, originally named “Mike” and “Ike” after the popular candy, the Sooner Schooner represented the essence of the infamous 1889 Oklahoma Land Run. These days, the Schooner is pulled by “Boomer” and “Sooner” across Owen Field after every Sooner score, and it has become one of the most recognized symbols of OU athletics.

  The Sooner Schooner. Photo courtesy of the University of Oklahoma

  The Schooner, which is driven by members of the Oklahoma RUF/NEKS spirit group, is still maintained and quartered at the Bartlett Ranch in Sapulpa, Oklahoma.

  Now Boarding

  Jim Mackenzie almost never became head football coach at Oklahoma. And it had nothing to do with his strategy, vision or ability on the sidelines. He was well equipped in all of those categories, and he was more than qualified to lead what many believed was the necessary revival of the Sooner program.

  It also had little to do with the fact the Sooner braintrust was trying to persuade Texas coach Darrell Royal to return to his alma mater. Instead, it was a short nap that nearly cost Mackenzie his chance in Norman.

  After completing the 1965 season as the top assistant on Frank Broyles’ Arkansas staff, Mackenzie was contacted, with much difficulty, about possibly replacing the retiring Gomer Jones at OU. He scheduled an interview and arranged for a trip to meet OU President George L. Cross.

  On his AAR flight from Fayetteville to Oklahoma City, Mackenzie fell asleep and did not wake up when his plane touched down at his intended destination, some 20 miles north of Norman. It wasn’t until the plane landed again in Wichita Falls, Texas, an hour later that Mackenzie discovered he had missed OKC.

  “He was honestly concerned that missing that interview would cost him any chance at the job. Hell, I would have been worried, too,” said Barry Switzer, who was also an assistant at Arkansas at the time. “But he called Dr. Cross and explained the situation, and they rescheduled everything. Fortunately, we were able to laugh about it later.”

  Ultimately, Mackenzie was hired as OU’s head coach in late December 1965. His first move was to surround himself with assistants like Switzer, Chuck Fairbanks, Pat James and Galen Hall.

  The File on this Guy

  During the final recruiting period of Jim Mackenzie’s first season, the Sooners had a couple of extra scholarships they were looking to find good homes for. During the previous fall, Mackenzie had spotted a skinny quarterback at Fort Smith (Arkansas) Southside whom he could not get out of his mind.

  “Jim kept saying there was something about this kid. He probably wasn’t going to play quarterback, but he might just fill out and make a player,” explained assistant coach Barry Switzer. “He thought we should give him a shot.”

  Mackenzie’s instinct turned out to be right. After redshirting as a freshman, Jim Files matured into his 6-foot-3 frame. He became a three-year starter at linebacker for the Sooners and ended up being a number-one draft pick of the New York Giants in 1968. In fact, he was selected six players before teammate and Heisman Trophy winner Steve Owens was by Detroit.

  Granny

  A decade had passed since Oklahoma had won more than nine games in a single season and truly figured as a legitimate contender for the national title. But the fall of 1967 would prove magical in the resurgence of the Sooners. And a large portion of that magic could be traced to the performance of Granville Liggins.

  Liggins was, according to every OU coach on Chuck Fairbanks’ staff, the most explosive, most devastating defensive lineman in the country from 1966-67. The physical 5-foot-10, 215-pound Tulsa product was so quick off the ball that OU coaches had to remind game officials to watch the ball and not Granville during snaps.

  “That’s how quick he was. He was already moving while everyone else was thinking about moving on the snap,” said Barry Switzer. “Granville was one of the greatest players to ever wear an Oklahoma jersey. No doubt, he was the quickest, most explosive player during my time at OU.”

  Granville Liggins. Photo courtesy of the University of Oklahoma

  It’s been said Liggins defined the nose guard position during his career as a Sooner. His famous charges of opposing centers are still legend in Norman. OU finished 10-1 his senior season, as he earned All-America honors for the second straight year.

  And to top off his athletic career at OU, Liggins won the heavyweight title at the 1967 Big Eight Wrestling Championships. In his first and only season on the varsity mat squad, he also earned All-America honors and finished sixth at the NCAA Championships.

  The Fourth-Quarter Class

  Motivation was not a problem when Jim Mackenzie took over Oklahoma’s football program in 1966. He made sure of that in a hurry by implementing a highly rigorous regiment of drills called the fourth-quarter class.

  “It was the hardest workout I’d ever been through, or anyone else on the team, for that matter. It was patterned, to some degree, after the things Bear Bryant did in his heyday,” said quarterback Bobby Warmack, shaking his head at the very thought of it. “I don’t think it was any secret they were trying to set a standard for the type of players they wanted at Oklahoma, and running people off was just part of the process. Those that survived would play.”

  The dreaded “class” mostly took place in a building at the old South Base near campus and included an array of agility drills, exercises and physical hardships that tested a player’s mettle and stamina.

  “We did all of that stuff and then we’d go out into the sticker patch and do any number of other drills so that by the time you were through, your sweat top would be full of goatheads and stickers,” added Warmack. “It was tough, very tough at times. But they knew what they were doing. I think everyone who went through that and survived was a better man for it.”

  Stealing f
rom Texas?

  Barry Switzer always believed one of the main keys to building a successful football program at Oklahoma was the Sooners’ ability to recruit in Texas. The Lone Star State produced an endless pool of talent every year at the high school level, and if OU could just find a way to tap into that pipeline, it would make all the difference in the world.

  During the fall of 1967, Switzer found himself hot on the trail of a dandy young quarterback prospect from Abilene, Texas. Jack Mildren was a proven passer whose smarts and leadership ability made him a hot commodity in recruiting circles.

  Texas wanted Mildren. Oklahoma wanted him more.

  “I was out in Abilene thinking we’ve really got to sell this kid on what we were doing with our program and how he fits in to our future,” said Switzer, an assistant for Chuck Fairbanks at the time. “Fm figuring that since he grew up right there in Texas’ backyard, Fve got to convince him somehow to become a Sooner. But I come to find out that Norman is almost as close to Abilene as Austin is. That’s how big Texas is. It’s no wonder they produce so many great players down there.”

  Barry Switzer. Photo courtesy of the University of Oklahoma

  Mildren eventually opted for OU.

  “I liked the coaching staff at OU, and the school had everything I wanted,” explained Mildren. “I wasn’t steeped in OU history, but I knew they had been successful in the past. It was the best situation, and I’ll never regret a day of my time there.”

  Over the next 20 years, many great prep stars from Texas would follow Mildren’s path to Norman.

  A True All-American

  Oklahoma’s tradition-rich football program produced its share of heroes over the years, but few more memorable than Bob Kalsu. The strapping offensive tackle was described once by Barry Switzer as “the best offensive lineman on the team,” adding, “Bob wasn’t only a great player, he was a great leader.

  Kalsu proved that during his three-year stint in Norman. Strong, fast and smart, Kalsu earned All-America honors his senior year helping lead Chuck Fairbanks’ first OU team to a 10-1 record and an Orange Bowl victory.

  Kalsu was drafted in the eighth round by the Buffalo Bills in 1968 and played one season before he was called to join the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam. Only 24, Kalsu was killed by North Vietnamese mortar fire on July 21, 1970, thus earning the unfortunate distinction of being the only professional football player to lose his life in that war.

  A plaque in his honor at the Pro Football Hall of Fame is inscribed with the following: “No one will ever know how great a football player Bob might have been, but we do know how great a man he was to give up his life to his country.”

  In 2001, OU coach Bob Stoops established the Bob Kalsu Award, which recognizes uncommon dedication and fortitude. More than 30 years after his death, Kalsu’s legacy is stronger than ever.

  Light-Hearted Lion

  Ask any of the players who donned the crimson and cream at Memorial Stadium during the late 1960s what character they best remember from those days, and almost to a man, they’ll bring up the name Byron Bigby.

  Bob Kalsu. Photo courtesy of the University of Oklahoma

  The South Carolina native was a fun-loving teddy bear when it came to off-the-field antics, but he was a different man every time he dug in in the trenches with OU’s offensive line. He was tough. Nicknamed “Big Kid,” Bigby was always into some kind of shenanigans when it came to putting smiles on his teammates’ faces.

  “He kept us in stitches,” said All-America tight end Steve Zabel. “He was hysterical. He was a wild man. Byron always managed to put a lighter spin on situations that seemed pretty tough at the time.”

  From time to time, Bigby experienced difficulty learning all of his blocking assignments in OU’s system. When that happened, he would go to the line, get into his four-point stance and look to guard Eddie Lancaster for directions.

  “I knew when I saw Byron’s head finally settle down into the line, he knew where he was going and I could go ahead and start the snap count,” laughed Bobby Warmack, OU’s quarterback and Bigby’s roommate for a time. “We all still light up every time we see Byron, because he’s the one guy who reminds us of who we were and how we were back then.”

  Gone Too Soon

  Oklahoma fans barely had time to embrace Jim Mackenzie, the tough but likeable coach who seemed to have the Sooners pointed in the right direction after one brief season at the helm. The Big Red finished 6-4 during Mackenzie’s inaugural season, recording victories over Texas and Nebraska along the way.

  The win over the Longhorns was especially sweet since it snapped an eight-game losing streak in Dallas. It was reported that on the day of that victory, Mackenzie smoked five packs of Camel cigarettes.

  But before Mackenzie could truly begin enjoying the success he believed was not far away, he died of a heart attack, just 16 months after taking the Oklahoma job. Two months later in May 1967, assistant coach Chuck Fairbanks was named as his replacement.

  Barry Switzer once said, “Anybody who knew Jim Mackenzie, loved Jim Mackenzie.”

  The Black Athlete

  While African Americans were making some strides in the equal rights movement as early as the 1950s, it wasn’t until the mid-1960s that many of the best black athletes really began to break through the color barriers of most major universities, especially those in the south. Until then, they often attended black colleges due to discrimination and unspoken quotas.

  The University of Oklahoma was well ahead of the curve when it came to signing black athletes to scholarships. In 1956, Bud Wilkinson brought in Prentice Gautt, who went on to earn All-Conference honors and help the Sooners forge a 27-5 record during his career.

  While the Southwest Conference did not sign a black athlete until 1966—SMU’s Jerry LeVias—the Sooners proved more insightful to the north. Players like Ben Hart, Eugene Ross and Granville Liggins were making their mark on OU’s history books long before Texas even thought of signing its first black player in 1971.

  “It wasn’t that Oklahoma was trying to champion any cause; we always just looked at it as going out and recruiting the best available athletes,” Barry Switzer said once. “That’s what we believed in, and it was the right thing to do.”

  Can’t Block, Can’t Win

  Think before you speak. Always good words to heed when it comes to the sporting arena. Despite being a veteran Division-I coach, Pepper Rodgers found that out the hard way in 1968.

  Rodgers let his mouth get away from him during an interview held the week prior to the annual Big Eight showdown between his third-ranked Kansas club and Oklahoma. And it would prove costly when the Sooners got wind of his remarks.

  The undefeated Jayhawks had a pair of defensive ends in John Zook and Vernon Vanoy, both of whom would someday enjoy successful NFL careers. Rodgers was so confident that his talented bookends would ravage the Sooner offense that he told the Lawrence media as long as Mike Harper was OU’s fullback, the Sooners couldn’t beat Kansas.

  “Coach [Barry] Switzer heard about what Rodgers had said, and he played it up all week,” said OU tailback Steve Owens, the man Harper was responsible for blocking for almost every down.

  “Switzer drilled that into us all week, and Mike certainly took exception to the comment.”

  Once the game kicked off, it was obvious the entire OU team had taken the comment as a slap in the face. The Sooners took it to Rodgers’ Jayhawks, stuffing Zook and Vanoy throughout. KU’s dynamic duo combined for three tackles the entire afternoon, as Owens ran 37 times for 157 yards, mostly behind Harper.

  During the aftermath of OU’s 27-23 victory, Harper shook hands with Rodgers and said, “I guess I proved you wrong today.”

  No doubt.

  Hard to Know

  Chuck Fairbanks wasn’t one to mince words with coaches or his players. He was often described as suspicious, aloof, hard to get to know, never too friendly and downright mean. He was also a very good football coach, and he pr
oved that during the six seasons he served as the top man at Oklahoma.

  His record during that period was a sparkling 49-18-1. He was in charge when the Sooners transformed their offense into a juggernaut via the wishbone. His staff brought in the Selmon brothers—Lucious, Lee Roy and Dewey—and he helped turn the OU program into a budding national power. “Chuck was a tough son of a gun, just like the rest of his staff. He was a disciple of Jim Mackenzie, who was a disciple of Bear Bryant. And everyone saw what Bear was like in the Junction Boys,” said quarterback Bobby Warmack. “Chuck wouldn’t hardly say two words to you, but when he did say something you listened. He was hard, but fair—always fair.”

  Fairbanks surrounded himself with one of the best young staffs in college football, including Barry Switzer, Pat James, Galen Hall and Larry Lacewell. He always had the respect of his staff and players, according to quarterback Jack Mildren.

  “Chuck could be a distant figure, but he never seemed that way to me personally,” added Mildren. “He didn’t talk a lot, but there was no doubt he was in charge.”

  Giving It His Best Shot

  It’s very rare that a big-time recruit in any sport slips through the cracks and winds up on the roster of a school that had no idea of the depth of his talents. Derland Moore was the exception to that rule.

  In the summer of 1969, Norman hosted a Region 8 AAU track and field meet that included competitors from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas. Serving as one of the rules officials, OU track coach J. D. Martin made his way from event to event, overseeing the competition, at least until he got sidetracked.

  Standing near the shot put area, Martin watched as a six-foot-five, 250-pound youngster named Derland Moore put on a show. Said Martin, “This big kid was chunking it out there pretty good, somewhere around 60 feet. He was very impressive.”