Happy Birthday, Coach!

[GottaHavePride]

Today is Gene Thrailkill's 71st birthday.

And hell no, I'm not burying this in the big happy birthday thread. The man ran the Pride of Oklahoma for 30 years. He deserves his own damn thread.

:D

[TheHumanAlphabet]

Dang, I am getting old if he is 71!

Happy Bday Coach.

[stoopified]

Damn band geek thread. :)

[C&CDean]

Who/what is this "pride" you speak of?

[TUSooner]

Only 71 ? I figured he'd be about 90. It seem like he ran the band for 70 years.
Many happy returns, Sir.

[AlbqSooner]

Thrailkill has a son who is an assistant coach for the OU women's BB team.
The thing I always think of when I hear of Thrailkill is the OU/tejas game in the 60s. The OU and whorn bands were each to do a half time show. They were given 12 minutes each.

OU did the first part and took 26 minutes. Tejas did not get to participate. When confronted about it, Gene said, "Geez, I dunno what happened. It timed out at 12 minutes all week in practice".:D

[OklaPony]

Thrailkill has a son who is an assistant coach for the OU women's BB team.
The thing I always think of when I hear of Thrailkill is the OU/tejas game in the 60s. The OU and whorn bands were each to do a half time show. They were given 12 minutes each.

OU did the first part and took 26 minutes. Tejas did not get to participate. When confronted about it, Gene said, "Geez, I dunno what happened. It timed out at 12 minutes all week in practice".:D
Great story. Unfortunately Thrailkill didn't take over until 1971. Still a great story, though.

Happy B-Day, Coach!

[TheHumanAlphabet]

Great story. Unfortunately Thrailkill didn't take over until 1971. Still a great story, though.

Happy B-Day, Coach!

Must have been Gene Braught...;)

[GottaHavePride]

The Pride w/ directors named Gene = WIN.

[NormanPride]

Must have been Gene Braught...;)

Yeah, that was Dr. Braught. My dad was in Pride his last years and there were stories about that game going around then.

I was in Pride Coach's last year, and the stories about him revolved around an OSU game in the 80s. He had a field pass, but the game was close and the poke officials couldn't stand that we played Boomer Sooner all the time so they kicked him out. His last instructions to the Pride were to play Boomer Sooner until the clock hit zeros. I believe it was sometime in the third quarter. :D

The Pride actually got a game ball from Coach Switzer for that game, the "Game the Pride Won".

Happy birthday, Coach!

[Sooner04]

NP, you're referring to the infamous "Lashar On-Side Kick" game of 1983.

An Aggie performance for the ages it was. They blew a 20-3 lead in the 4th quarter.

[NormanPride]

NP, you're referring to the infamous "Lashar On-Side Kick" game of 1983.

An Aggie performance for the ages it was. They blew a 20-3 lead in the 4th quarter.

Awesome. :D I was one at the time, so I don't remember it very well. I'm sure my dad had me cheering by the end of the game, though!

[Sooner04]

The stories I received were probably exaggerated but here's the gist.

Coach is on the sidelines and we're getting shellacked. The Aggies throw him out. He leaves and gives his fateful order.

We start coming back in the 4th. Switzer calls for the onside with the score 20-10 (I think). But then Switzer calls off the onside. Everybody gets the word but one important member of the team: Tim Lashar, the kicker. He kicks the onside and doinks it off some Aggie's head. We recover.

We score again and Switzer goes for two. Now it's 20-18.

Lashar kicks the FG to win it, 21-20.

Switzer gives the Pride the game ball.

Jimmy Johnson decides he'll never beat OU while at O-State and leaves after the season for Miami. College football is never the same.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

Didn't the aggots slash the drum heads at this game and Coach was fuming and calling for security that he pissed them off and he was thrown out.

Aggots from dorm in 1978 threw buckets of water on us. Several uniforms and clarinets were ruined. I shielded some of the water toss with my Sousa bell. Aggots in Stenchwater are crap.

[SoonerDood]

Aggots from dorm in 1978 threw buckets of water on us. Several uniforms and clarinets were ruined. I shielded some of the water toss with my Sousa bell. Aggots in Stenchwater are crap.

After that incident, Coach exaggerated the "damages" at over $1000. The Aggie Director said he'd be more than happy to pay for it if we apologized for marching through the dorms while playing, which had prompted the buckets of water. Since that was a complete lie, Coach told him to FO.

When the aggies made their return trip the next season, the Aggie Director called Coach to get his assurances that since it was a big game, no students would be seeking revenge from the year before. Coach informed him that the students really didn't know or care who they were playing, and it was just another game that they would win.:D

Coach really hated those Stillwater trips.

[NormanPride]

I remember him fuming about having to go to that place. Listening to him, they have the worst fans in the history of sports!

But we all know that aggots aren't that good at anything.

[King Crimson]

big ups to Gene Thrailkill. a name that resonates with nothing but sublime memories of a childhood at Owen Field.

i listened to the 83 Pokie game on the transistor radio in the bagroom at the golf club where i worked in Norman. the whole golf course came to a complete stop for 20 minutes as the game wound down, every group had a radio in the cart. good times and old school media.

aggie=aggie.

[OklaPony]

Yeah, that was Dr. Braught. My dad was in Pride his last years and there were stories about that game going around then.

I was in Pride Coach's last year, and the stories about him revolved around an OSU game in the 80s. He had a field pass, but the game was close and the poke officials couldn't stand that we played Boomer Sooner all the time so they kicked him out. His last instructions to the Pride were to play Boomer Sooner until the clock hit zeros. I believe it was sometime in the third quarter. :D

The Pride actually got a game ball from Coach Switzer for that game, the "Game the Pride Won".

Happy birthday, Coach!

I thought the quote was "Play Boomer 'til we win!".

[TheBobbyTrain]

But we all know that aggots aren't that good at anything.

except losing

[proud gonzo]

Happy Birthday, Coach!!