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The tale this month is about the day that the Hogs ended more than a decade of straight losses to their key rival Texas Longhorns.
in our series on hawg-tales.com. Feel free to make
comments and suggestions for subjects that you would enjoy seeing. Be sure and tell your friends about us, so they can also take part. Thanks for your support.
The tale this month is about the day that the Hogs ended more than a decade of straight losses to their key rival Texas Longhorns.
It was a 73 degree day with an 8 mph wind at 2:00 pm in the Ozarks, when Ed Price brought his No. 4 Texas Longhorns (4-0) to meet the Razorbacks on the fall afternoon of October 20, 1951. An estimated crowd of 18,000 was on hand to watch the rivalry scheduled between the two teams in Razorback Stadium. The Hogs had not defeated the Longhorns since 1938 when Tommy Thompson had coached them. Otis Douglas was now at the helm and Thompson, who had been the coach from 1929 through 1941, was now at his side.
It was the days of the old Southwestern Conference. A rivalry that goes all the way back to 1894 and the beginning of Arkansas football. In that inaugural year, Texas would win 51-0 in Austin. Setting the stage and with the win, the rivalry was ON.
By the mid to late ‘60s, Texas Week would develop to where all tests on campus would be cancelled, parties were everywhere, pep rallies were at their peak, and times were good. The UT/Arkansas rivalry was orders of magnitude greater than what is now experienced with the Alabama, or LSU games. After all this was TEXAS! Arkansas, as the only non-Texas team in the conference, always had to fight an uphill battle as the red-headed stepchild. This day would be no different.
But on that warm Saturday afternoon it would once again be the Texas Longhorns matching up against the Razorbacks of Arkansas in what fans had grown accustomed to being a loss. The first quarter had almost been a draw until Hog tackle Fred Williams recovered Texas’ Carl Mayes fumble. With 37 seconds left Bobby Sutton ended a two play 15 yard possession by punching through the left side for the final yards to give the Hogs a six point lead. Following the touchdown, the extra point kick was blocked by Texas’
5’-11”, 160 lb. senior Don Barton. The quarter would end with the Hogs leading 6-0.
Halfway through the second quarter, Longhorn Gibert Dawson took a pitchout from quarterback T. Jones, sprinted around right end breaking free and ran 78 yards for Texas’ first touchdown. The PAT was good, and Texas was once again in command over their opponent. Arkansas 6, Texas 7. Fans had seen this all too often, when what appeared to be success would suddenly be taken away.
It was the days of the old Southwestern Conference. A rivalry that goes all the way back to 1894 and the beginning of Arkansas football. In that inaugural year, Texas would win 51-0 in Austin. Setting the stage and with the win, the rivalry was ON.
By the mid to late ‘60s, Texas Week would develop to where all tests on campus would be cancelled, parties were everywhere, pep rallies were at their peak, and times were good. The UT/Arkansas rivalry was orders of magnitude greater than what is now experienced with the Alabama, or LSU games. After all this was TEXAS! Arkansas, as the only non-Texas team in the conference, always had to fight an uphill battle as the red-headed stepchild. This day would be no different.
But on that warm Saturday afternoon it would once again be the Texas Longhorns matching up against the Razorbacks of Arkansas in what fans had grown accustomed to being a loss. The first quarter had almost been a draw until Hog tackle Fred Williams recovered Texas’ Carl Mayes fumble. With 37 seconds left Bobby Sutton ended a two play 15 yard possession by punching through the left side for the final yards to give the Hogs a six point lead. Following the touchdown, the extra point kick was blocked by Texas’
5’-11”, 160 lb. senior Don Barton. The quarter would end with the Hogs leading 6-0.
Halfway through the second quarter, Longhorn Gibert Dawson took a pitchout from quarterback T. Jones, sprinted around right end breaking free and ran 78 yards for Texas’ first touchdown. The PAT was good, and Texas was once again in command over their opponent. Arkansas 6, Texas 7. Fans had seen this all too often, when what appeared to be success would suddenly be taken away.
Pat Summerall's FG. Click to enlarge The Hogs were now down but not out, as this lead
would again switch hands, when after a 65 yard drive Arkansas would find itself with fourth down at the 2-yard line. Pat Summerall (later to become a CBS, Fox,
and ESPN television sports announcer) was called on for a 12-yard field goal attempt. Boos went up from the crowd over this decision, rather than going for
six. Why would Douglas do this? What was he thinking? Regardless, the ball was snapped, the kick was on the way. It’s GOOD! The crowd, in just a blink of the eye, went from booing to cheering as Arkansas had once again claimed the lead and pulled ahead of Texas 9-7.
Halftime came and went with its usual festivities.
The momentum would not shift. The third quarter would start with the Hogs once again scoring after a short kickoff to the Arkansas 40 yard line. On the next play, Jack Troxell sprinted 40 yards to the Texas 20. Quarterback Lamar McHan then carried for eight, followed by fullback Lewis Carpenter (older brother of Preston Carpenter who later would make his own mark on Razorback football history) carrying to the ten yard line. Troxell then swept right end and went the final 10 yards for the score. This culminated a 60 yard 4 play drive.
The kick by George Thomason was good, increasing the score to 16-7. The scoreboard showed the Hogs ahead, but you knew that the hammer was surely going to fall.
Texas would not score again until 7:30 in the final quarter on a seven yard pass from quarterback Dan Page to No. 45 junior right end Tom Stolhandske. The pass had been set up when Texas’ right guard June Davis recovered a fumble on the Arkansas 16. This would be the only pass completion by the Longhorns that day as they went one for twelve in their
passing.
The PAT was good, giving the final margin of victory 16-14 to the Razorbacks. Summerall’s three points had made the difference. The monkey was finally gone. The red-headed stepchild had stepped up and beaten the No. 4 team in the nation. So for the first time since 1938, the Hogs had beaten Texas, and it had taken place before an ecstatic home crowd.
Although Texas would go on and win most of the games played in this series, this was one that had gotten away.
This would not happen again until the 1954 Southwestern Conference Champion Razorback squad under Bowden Wyatt with a 20-7 win in Austin. Texas would end the season 7-3 and claim a No. 16 AP ranking.
Football in the Ozarks! Does it get any better? Pat Summerall would emphatically say, “No
way!”.
Arkansas had gone five for fourteen (55 yards) in passing with one interception. Both teams had 173 yards rushing. In the first down category, Texas had five first downs, Arkansas
fifteen.
This would be Douglas’ high point as he would leave Fayetteville after only one more season with a record of nine wins and 21 losses. Bowden Wyatt would be up next as head coach on his way to a conference championship.
would again switch hands, when after a 65 yard drive Arkansas would find itself with fourth down at the 2-yard line. Pat Summerall (later to become a CBS, Fox,
and ESPN television sports announcer) was called on for a 12-yard field goal attempt. Boos went up from the crowd over this decision, rather than going for
six. Why would Douglas do this? What was he thinking? Regardless, the ball was snapped, the kick was on the way. It’s GOOD! The crowd, in just a blink of the eye, went from booing to cheering as Arkansas had once again claimed the lead and pulled ahead of Texas 9-7.
Halftime came and went with its usual festivities.
The momentum would not shift. The third quarter would start with the Hogs once again scoring after a short kickoff to the Arkansas 40 yard line. On the next play, Jack Troxell sprinted 40 yards to the Texas 20. Quarterback Lamar McHan then carried for eight, followed by fullback Lewis Carpenter (older brother of Preston Carpenter who later would make his own mark on Razorback football history) carrying to the ten yard line. Troxell then swept right end and went the final 10 yards for the score. This culminated a 60 yard 4 play drive.
The kick by George Thomason was good, increasing the score to 16-7. The scoreboard showed the Hogs ahead, but you knew that the hammer was surely going to fall.
Texas would not score again until 7:30 in the final quarter on a seven yard pass from quarterback Dan Page to No. 45 junior right end Tom Stolhandske. The pass had been set up when Texas’ right guard June Davis recovered a fumble on the Arkansas 16. This would be the only pass completion by the Longhorns that day as they went one for twelve in their
passing.
The PAT was good, giving the final margin of victory 16-14 to the Razorbacks. Summerall’s three points had made the difference. The monkey was finally gone. The red-headed stepchild had stepped up and beaten the No. 4 team in the nation. So for the first time since 1938, the Hogs had beaten Texas, and it had taken place before an ecstatic home crowd.
Although Texas would go on and win most of the games played in this series, this was one that had gotten away.
This would not happen again until the 1954 Southwestern Conference Champion Razorback squad under Bowden Wyatt with a 20-7 win in Austin. Texas would end the season 7-3 and claim a No. 16 AP ranking.
Football in the Ozarks! Does it get any better? Pat Summerall would emphatically say, “No
way!”.
Arkansas had gone five for fourteen (55 yards) in passing with one interception. Both teams had 173 yards rushing. In the first down category, Texas had five first downs, Arkansas
fifteen.
This would be Douglas’ high point as he would leave Fayetteville after only one more season with a record of nine wins and 21 losses. Bowden Wyatt would be up next as head coach on his way to a conference championship.
The song this month is Short Squashed Texan, which expresses the sentiments of most fans during the SWC period. If you didn't beat anyone else, you wanted to beat Texas. The song may sound a little (or maybe a lot) cheesy today, but it was popular during the mid to late '60s. The song was a parody of Long, Tall Texan first performed in 1959 and made famous in 1963 by The Kingsmen of Louis, Louis fame. Hope you enjoy it.
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