Vintage Bill Connors Article on The King 1989

[The VIIIth]

I hope some of you remember Bill Connors, the best sports writer I have ever read, bar none. His style always had historical references and was written elegantly and without malice.

BILL CONNORS
BILL CONNORS
06/29/1989
TULSA WORLD (FINAL HOME EDITION Edition), Page B5 of SPORTS

IF BARRY SWITZER gets around to ranking the "bests" of
his 16 football years at Oklahoma, Billy Sims and Lee Roy
Selmon will top the individual charts.
Teams and games will not be as easy to select. From opener
to finale, the 11-0 national champions of 1974 were probably
Switzer's best team, the ex-coach is inclined to think.
But he will listen to arguments that his first team was
his best. The unsuspecting 1973 Sooners were tied in their
second game by Southern California, the defending national
champion and ranked No. 1 at the time, when their field
goal kicker missed short attempts.
But beginning with the Texas game, the '73 team was magnificent,
bulletproof on defense (with the three Selmons side by side
in the line) and overpowering on offense (Joe Washington
rushed for 1,173 yards; Waymon Clark for 1,014 and Steve
Davis for 980).
The '73, '78 and '86 teams were as good or better than the
national championship teams of 1975 and 1985. The '78 team
was clearly the best team in the nation but lost the national
championship on Sims' goal line fumble at Nebraska.
The best-played big game, Switzer thinks, was a 52-13 smashing
of Texas in 1973 when the Sooners had 508 yards, including
225 passing, and only one turnover.
Another game he would consider was the 17-7 victory over
Nebraska in 1987, a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown at Lincoln
that the Sooners dominated more than the score suggests
with Charles Thompson making his second start.
The uncontested low-point, Switzer said, was a 31-6 loss
to Arkansas in the 1978 Orange Bowl when the Sooners were
runaway favorites and had a chance to be No. 1.
The top achievement would probably be a 17-7 upset of Nebraska
in 1984 when, Switzer said, "They were the best team and
deserved to be national champions."...
Incidentally, Switzer wants it known that he has no health
problems. "I am just tired," he said. "I am behind in
my rehabilitation of my (operated) knee, but my health is
fine."...
Correction: A reference to Switzer's generosity in this
space mentioned the untold five and six-figure checks he
has given to the needy and charitable causes. It should
have been three and four-figure checks. He is generous,
but not THAT generous...
Gary Gibbs said he did not seek head coaching jobs because
he would rather be an assistant at OU than head coach "at
a school where there is no chance to win." His strategy,
he admitted, may have taxed the patience of his wife.
"I never set a timetable or deadline for becoming a head
coach," Gibbs said. "Jeanne may have, but I never felt
frustrated."...
Like Switzer, Gibbs endorsed plans for OU to play at TU
again, tentatively scheduled for 1996. "I thought the '87
game at Tulsa was good for everyone," Gibbs said...
Among the NFL players profiting by free agency was former
OU fullback Lydell Carr. He was not protected by New Orleans,
which in 1988 paid him an $80,000 salary and $65,000 signing
bonus. He was scheduled to be raised to $100,000 this year
and receive a $10,000 roster bonus and would rise to $125,000
in 1990.
Phoenix picked Carr up when he became available and gave
him a $50,000 signing bonus, raised his salary to $155,000
with a $15,000 roster bonus, and agreed to raises in 1990
to $190,000 salary plus a $20,000 roster bonus...
Dick Foster, OU's new recruiting coordinator, was succeeded
as football coach at Coffeyville (Kan.) Junior College by
his 28-year-old son Skip...
Bud Wilkinson was 47 when he resigned at OU. Darrell Royal
was 52 when he burned out at Texas. Frank Broyles was three
weeks shy of his 52nd birthday when he retired at Arkansas.
Frank Leahy was 44 when Notre Dame officials, convinced
that the job was going to kill him, persuaded him to resign.
Leahy speculated that the time would come when there would
be no coaches over 40.
Royal thinks how long a man coached, not his age, is a more
accurate barometer of his fitness.
"If you become a head coach at 30 or 31 or 32 like Coach
Wilkinson and Frank and I did, I don't think you are going
to go much beyond 50, if that long," Royal said. "Twenty
years as a head coach is about all a man can stand. So,
you are cooked at 50. But if you don't become a head coach
until you are 40, I think you can coach well past 50."
Royal was head coach for 24 years, 20 at Texas; Broyles
20 years, 19 at Arkansas; Wilkinson 17 years, all at OU.
Woody Hayes was 65 when Ohio State fired him following his
32nd year as a head coach, 28 for the Buckeyes.
Bear Bryant coached 38 years and had his greatest success
after turning 50. He coached until he was 69. But, Bryant
was an exception to every rule.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

i've got a bunch of them stored...

Shoate: Unsung to a star
BILL CONNORS
10/06/1999
Tulsa World (FH Edition), Page B1 of SPORTS
WHERE ROD Shoate ranks on the football mantel of
Oklahoma linebackers is debatable. As a three-time
All-American, Shoate had a distinction that eluded Jerry
Tubbs, Brian Bosworth, Kurt Burris, George Cumby, Tom
Catlin, Bob Harrison, Carl McAdams and Myrle Greathouse.

Had he not opted for the NFL after his junior year,
Bosworth probably would have followed Shoate and guard
Buddy Burris as OU's only players to make All-America three
times.

Observers differ on who was OU's best linebacker. Some
who played in the '40s tend to favor the lightish
Greathouse. Those who followed the '50s, when the torch was
passed from Catlin to Burris to Tubbs to Harrison, lean to
Tubbs. Cumby followed Shoate in the '70s with Shoate-type
skills. The '80s belonged to Bosworth. McAdams was a giant
on depressed teams in the '60s.

In all, 12 OU linebackers were named All-America 21
times, including Daryl Hunt who made it twice while playing
in the shadow of Cumby. But Shoate, who died Monday at
46, had a second distinction that separated him from his OU
peers: he was unrivaled as the greatest unsung recruit.

The scholarship Shoate received from OU in 1971 was his
only offer. As a fullback at Spiro, Shoate did not impress
recruiters. It was said his small hands caused fumbles and
negated his outstanding speed. Had it not been for the
persistence of Gerald Blankenship, OU would have never
offered Shoate a scholarship.

Blankenship (father of Union High School coach Bill
Blankenship) coached Shoate through his junior year before
becoming principal at Spiro. On signing day in 1970, when
OU assistant Larry Lacewell was in Spiro to sign end Wayne
Hoffman, Blankenship introduced him to Shoate, a junior.
Blankenship suggested Shoate was a prospect Lacewell might
sign the following year.

Lacewell promised to keep an eye on Shoate. When, one
year later, another assistant eliminated Shoate from OU's
consideration list, Blankenship called Lacewell and
reminded him of his promise. As a courtesy to Blankenship,
Lacewell went to Spiro to watch the same film that led
other recruiters to ignore Shoate.

Lacewell agreed Shoate had no future as a fullback. But,
at the urging of Blankenship, Lacewell watched defensive
film of Shoate and ``the bells went off.'' Lacewell took
the film to Norman. When Chuck Fairbanks saw it, he told
Lacewell, ``Go sign him.'' As a member of the last freshman
class (1971) before freshmen were eligible for varsity
play, Shoate impressed.

In his first spring practice (1972), Shoate convinced OU
coaches that he would be an instant star. Warren Harper,
OU's witty linebacker coach, teasingly said, ``Chuck, if we
have two linebacker coaches I will volunteer to coach
Shoate and try to make a player out of him.'' Harper went
to his grave two decades later thinking ``Rod was the best
linebacker we ever had.''

Oklahoma lost only one game (Colorado in 1972) during
Shoate's varsity career. Barry Switzer, who became head
coach when Shoate was a junior, spent part of his 62nd
birthday on Tuesday ordering flowers for Shoate's funeral
and recalling ``what a great, great player he was. He had
4.4 speed (in the 40) and he looked like a rocket zooming
across the field and splattering people.

``I remember him dominating Texas in '72 and Nebraska in
'73. We had great linebackers like Bosworth and Cumby.
Shoate was right there with them.''

Shoate, after Fairbanks made him a first-round pick for
New England in 1975, had a good but not outstanding career
with the Patriots before he was traded to the Bears and
released. He landed a third time with Fairbanks at New
Jersey in the USFL and finished his career at Memphis.

Friends said personal and lifestyle problems plagued
Shoate's final years. He was rarely seen at OU games or
functions. But he will be remembered as the best
linebacker, and perhaps the best player, the Sooners ever
had that no one else wanted.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

UNFINISHED BUSINESS
BILL CONNORS
05/14/2000
Tulsa World (FH Edition), Page B1 of SPORTS

Unsung skills qualify Barry for induction

BARRY SWITZER is a friend. There is a personal bias in
wishing he would be voted into the College Football Hall of
Fame. There is also professional objectivity in believing
he should be inducted, because he was a cerebral coach
whose technical talents were exceptional but obscured by
his reputation as a recruiter.

His record in 16 years at Oklahoma easily qualifies
Switzer. His 157-29-4 record, including three national
championships, is the best career winning percentage (.837)
in the last half century of Division I-A, and the
fourth-best percentage in I-A history.

Two factors caused the selection lords of the National
Football Foundation, and some of its members, to reject
Switzer last month, the fourth time his name was on the
ballot.

The scandalous conclusion to his career at OU in 1989 --
when in a matter of weeks rape, shooting and drug charges
against players exploded while an NCAA investigation was
under way (and led to proba-
tion) -- forced Switzer to resign and deepened the resentment
of estab-
lishment critics who viewed Switzer as a fast-lane
operative with lax standards.

Switzer was a victim of timing and jealousy. His program
had no more scandals than those of other elitist coaches;
his just came at once. Many of the old coaching lions
disapproved of Switzer's brashness and held him to a higher
standard of ethics than they set for each other.

The second factor in the HOF doors being closed to
Switzer is a perception that he did nothing but recruit and
motivate. That is a flawed argument, but one for which
Switzer must accept blame.

As OU's offensive coordinator under Chuck Fairbanks,
Switzer was an outstanding X's and O's teacher. He
orchestrated the conversion to the wishbone during an open
week, before playing Texas, in 1970 when Fairbanks was
under fire.

At the time, Texas was the only college team using the
wishbone. The only learning tools for Switzer were OU's
1968 and 1969 Texas game films. Switzer had to learn the
offense, then teach it to the staff and players in 12
days.

``He wore out all the (film) projectors,'' said
defensive coord-
inator Larry Lacewell. Offensive line coach Billy Michael
said, ``I don't know when he slept, but he inspired all of
us that this might save our jobs.''

One year later when OU regained its place in the sun and
set a flock of offensive records, Switzer's mentor and
Arkansas coach Frank Broyles said, ``Barry's decision to
put in the wishbone on short notice was the gutsiest I ever
heard of and his work in expanding the wishbone (beyond
what Texas had done) makes him one of the hottest
assistants in the country.''

Broyles was among the coaches who sent aides to Norman
to pick Switzer's mind about the wishbone. Although he
recruited highly sought quarterback Jack Mildren in 1967,
Switzer was viewed as an unproven recruiter when he became
head coach in 1973. His celebrity was as a bright offensive
thinker who dazzled at the blackboard and clinics.

Although Darrell Royal, at the height of his 1976 feud
with Switzer over a spying incident, said, ``Barry's team
is very well instructed,'' Switzer's reputation as head
coach changed to recruiter, primarily because of his own
comments.

He routinely said OU won ``because we have better
players.'' In the coaches' dressing room after his first
team humbled Texas 52-13, Switzer told aides, ``Always
remember, we won because of the people (players) in the
next room; don't ever quit recruiting good players.''

It never bothered Switzer that he did not win
coach-of-the-year honors. ``I'd rather win games,'' he
said. He was so confident of his ability that he felt no
need to be praised. His candor generated ammunition for the
press to use to slight his coaching.

When times were best, he perpetuated the myth that he
was a push-
button coach by not keeping killer hours, visiting with
friends at practice and giving aides considerable control.


But when the ship was in peril, Switzer was the
unmistakable and able captain. When 1976 blueprints blew up
in October, Switzer elevated the very raw Thomas Lott to
starting quarterback and drove a sophomoric team to a No. 5
finish in the polls.

When OU ran out of weapons in 1982, Switzer junked the
wishbone in favor of the I-formation that was ideal for
freshman tailback Marcus Dupree. Dupree led a revival.
After Dupree quit in 1983, Switzer remarried the wishbone
and coached like a tiger in grooming quarterback Jamelle
Holieway and a sophomoric team that won the national
championship in 1985.

Believe it, the guy could coach, especially when he
sensed a threat or challenge.

If untainted lifestyle was a prerequisite for admission
to the Hall of Fame, Switzer would have no chance. If
compassion, genero-
sity and helping friends were prerequisites, he would be a
landslide choice. But sainthood is not a requirement. An
outfit that admitted the rogue Red Sanders cannot quibble
about standards. A lot of the 130 coaches in the HOF were
rascals.

NCAA probation is not a disqualifier. OU received two
probations under Bud Wilkinson. Bear Bryant got Texas A&M
on probation. Critics said Switzer's lax policies led to
criminal acts by players. But other coaches with antiseptic
images were not blamed when their players ran afoul of the
law.

Colorado, under the religious Bill McCartney, had more
players facing charges than OU when the roof crashed on
Switzer. A succession of criminal acts by Nebraska players
did not keep the religious Tom Osborne from being inducted
one year after he retired. Does anyone think Florida
State's problems will keep nice-guy Bobby Bowden from being
inducted when he is eligible?

Politics is obviously a factor in who goes on the
ballot, moreso in who gets picked. Support from state
National Football Foundation clubs is a factor. Switzer was
friendly with Wilkinson, but some Wilkinson exes opposed
Switzer's nomination. One reasoned the probation should
disqualify Switzer. Reminded that Wilkinson had two
probations, the man was speechless.

Buddy Leake, a '50s halfback for Wilkinson, is chairman
of Oklah-
oma's NFF Club and said the club vigorously supported
Switzer's nomination since he became eligible in 1998. He
first became eligible in 1993, but was ineligible while he
coached Dallas in 1994-97.

Those who criticize Switzer for having outlaw players
tend to concentrate on the 1989 felons and ignore the
extraordinary character of his first championship teams
featuring the Selmon brothers, Steve Davis, Joe Washington,
John Roush, Randy Hughes and Wayne Hoffman. When poor
evaluating in the '80s resulted in trouble, there were
model citizens like Ricky Bryan, Keith Jackson, David
Vickers and Spencer Tillman for every troublemaker.

In time, it is believed Switzer will be inducted. His
experience at Dallas should be no factor. Unlike
basketball, which has only one hall of fame and college
coaches must compete with the NBA and foreign figures for
membership, football has a Professional HOF in Canton,
Ohio, for the NFL, and a shrine in South Bend, Ind., for
college coaches and players.

Membership in the College HOF approaches 800. To be
sure, this is not an exclusive club. The pool of candidates
is shallow. Numbers and time favor Switzer.

So does forgiveness. Joe Paterno, once a Switzer critic,
became a friend and wrote the foreword for Switzer's
autobiography. The late Woody Hayes changed his mind about
Switzer after meeting him and lecturing him on the perils
of salt.

At Osborne's 1998 induction, a HOF figure suggested,
``Barry is hurt by his image. But eventually I think he
will make it.'

It should happen for a guy who coached better than he
led critics to believe.

[GDC]

Wow, those bring back memories, he is one of my all-time favorite sportwriters also.

[crimson&cream]

I to enjoyed his article's as I always felt he was fair and objective. I wonder what he would think of OU winning the 2000 NC.?, as not to long before his death he reasoned with the way things were today in college FB OU would have trouble getting back to the elite. Do you have that article as that would be interestiing reading now to.

[RacerX]

Wasn't he the one that Eric Moore asked if he had ever played football?

[RacerX]

And I should've posted this on the FB board instead of the SO

http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62576