Who are the toughest Sooners ever in any sport?

[GDC]

I would start with Port Robertson, Danny Hodge, "Cowboy" Bill Watts, and the Burrises.

[BOOMERBRADLEY]

Brent Rawls

[SoonerStormchaser]

Moe Dampeer

[Harry Beanbag]

Rocky Calmus.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Wayne Wells was impressively tough. He was an olympic champion wrestler in '76, at a very competitive weight, and pinned most of his opponents, it seemed. After each match at OU, he would do a bunch of pushups, just to freak out the other team.

[soonerlaw]

Najera.

[soonerboy_odanorth]

Jerry Tubbs
Granville Liggins
Steve Owens

[tbl]

http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/spt/colleges/redrivershootout/images/1985bosworth.jpg

[MojoRisen]

I heard WAHOO could clear a bar when you could still do that and not be sued and arrested or shot.

[sooneron]

One of the Burrises as mentioned
Cumby
Mike McKinley

[PDXsooner]

torrance marshall

[NickZeppelin]

Here are the ones I think of as tough. Being only 21 I don't remember anyone from the 80's or before.

Football: Josh Heupel, Jason White, Rocky Calmus
Basketball: Eduardo Najera, Hollis Price, Ernie Abercrombie, Kevin Bookout
Womens Basketball: Dionnah Jackson, Stacey Dales, Phylesha Waley
Baseball: Chip Glass

I don't really follow the other sports enough.

[MojoRisen]

Tough or just simply never tested- Tommie Harris is someone that I don't think anyone would have ever tested- 500+ Bench big man- that would be power with both hands and could cave your face in.

[soonerinabilene]

nate hybl was one of the toughest guys ive ever seen. bomar will probably be on this list when his career is over, too.

[tbl]

Good point about Bomar, Abilene. If he keeps it up, there's no doubt he'll go down as one of the toughest QB's ever.... for any school. Let's just hope he DOESN'T keep it up. ;)

[Okieflyer]

http://www.midsouthwrestling.com/Group4.jpg

[MojoRisen]

nate hybl was one of the toughest guys ive ever seen. bomar will probably be on this list when his career is over, too.


Bomar = much tougher than Hybl- Hybl = Glass Joe from Mike Tyson's punch out.

Just because he would get hit- be all woozy and then snap out of it- doesn't make him tough but not durable maybe. certainly not a woos...

[BrockLanders]

Justin Fuente

[SouthFortySooner]

I had to ride 5 floors on an elevator with Reggie "killer" Kinlaw once, I was skeered.

[PDXsooner]

jason skurcenski

[soonerboy_odanorth]

Bomar = much tougher than Hybl- Hybl = Glass Joe from Mike Tyson's punch out.

Just because he would get hit- be all woozy and then snap out of it- doesn't make him tough but not durable maybe. certainly not a woos...

Good gravy Mojo... I know it's "5 o'clock somewhere", but I hope you're not going back to work... or driving anywhere, for that matter.

[MojoRisen]

Good gravy Mojo... I know it's "5 o'clock somewhere", but I hope you're not going back to work... or driving anywhere, for that matter.


Soonerboy, What is Drunk about my comments? Bomar get's Rocked- get's up shakes it off, Hybl get's rocked- wobbles at the Knees and falls down runs to the Sideline holding his face mask - asked what time of day it is and who is he playing against after 10 minutes goes back in.

Both tough- but Bomar would = Tougher but we are going to have to define tough.

Peace

[Sooner04]

1. Danny Hodge

[Jimminy Crimson]

Matt Anderson, 2005

[Coloradosker]

Was Najera the one who took the chin shot in the NCAA tourney? If it was, then he is. That gave me chills from head to foot.

[TheGodfather889]

Got to say Jason White. How can you get beat up for 6 years like he did at OU and not be considered tough?

[NickZeppelin]

Was Najera the one who took the chin shot in the NCAA tourney? If it was, then he is. That gave me chills from head to foot.

Yep against Michigan State who would win it all that year I think.

[sooneron]

Bomar = much tougher than Hybl- Hybl = Glass Joe from Mike Tyson's punch out.

Just because he would get hit- be all woozy and then snap out of it- doesn't make him tough but not durable maybe. certainly not a woos...
Yeah, N8 was such a *****. Broken collarbone? pffft!

[titus1]

Mateen Cleeves got Najera right in the chin with his forehead. It was a close game that OU had a chance to win, but with Najera woozy the Sooners fate was sealed. MSU was crowned champion that year.

[OUGreg723]

Derrick Strait

[shavedmarmoset]

quentin griffin. no major injuries as a four-year starter. had a ridiculous streak of like 150 carries without losing a fumble

[TripleOption14]

The thing is there are soooo many different ways an individual can define "tough." Are we talking about... on the field tough, in a dark alley tough, dealing w/ the cards life gave us tough, weight room tough etc etc. I always like to look at tough as in dealing w/ the cards life gave us tough. And in that case i would say..

Dr. Death
Jason White
Wayne Chambers

[King Crimson]

Danny Hodge was in my granddad's bible study class in Perry when i was a kid. i remember shaking hands with him.....and it was like shaking hands with a catcher's mitt.

[DeadSolidPerfect]

Jimbo Elrod
Lydell Carr
Nate Erdman

[MiccoMacey]

Danny Hodge - Wrestling - Could crush an apple/break pliers with his grip. Could tear a quarter in two. Ungodly strength.

Brian Bozworth - Football - had a bigger name on campus as a true freshman for crashing frat parties and beating up people than he had as a football player.

Jason White - Football - named starter then tear ACL. Sit out remainder of year. Next year named starter then tear other ACL. Sit out remainder of year. Then win Heisman, lead football team to two Big XII and two NC title games.

[critical_phil]

mark schultz: undisputed #1 most badassest of all time.......

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/181/markufc2an.jpg

[MiccoMacey]

mark schultz: undisputed #1 most badassest of all time.......

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/181/markufc2an.jpg

Thanks, phil.

I KNEW I was leaving someone off the list.

4x World Champion, 3x NCAA National Champ, Olympic Gold medalist...

And the baddest man to ever walk the planet when he was shute fighting.

[Geekboy]

Here's what's weird. I know Bill Watts, Steve Williams and Danny Hodge if it is the same Danny Hodge that wrestled with Mid-South wresting back in the 70's.

I know Watts and Steve very well. Hodge I talked to a few times, if it's the same Hodge, he did have hand strength that was bizarre.

That all being said.........Watts, Williams and the few times I did have encounters with Hodge.......they were the nicest guys you could meet.
Even though they did have a reputation for being some tough SOB's.

I also knew 'Dirty Dick Murdoch' from Texas (God rest his soul).....also a GREAT guy!

These guys that had reputations for being severe bad asses were and are some of the nicest and kindest people I've met. Yes, they had their wild times without question and they had 'reputations' to uphold but if you knew them personally.....you could not meet nicer guys.

The reason I knew them was because we used to tape the Mid-South matches here in Shreveport at Irish McNeils back then. Watts was in charge of the whole Mid-South organization back then. You can catch some of those matches we taped every now and then on ESPN Classic.

Even badass Ernie Ladd who I knew was a great guy. Almost always the 'bad guys' in wrestling were the nicest guys and the so called 'good guys' in wrestling were sometimes *******s. Life is weird.

[Half a Hundred]

From what I've heard Tommy McDonald could go toe to toe with about anyone when it comes to toughness (perseverance, determination, tenacity).

[Desert Sapper]

Bomar's got my vote for actually completing some passes with that line we had last year. I think he had the whole 1-2-HOLY S***!!! thing more times than I can remember. That was reminiscent of the Boo Blake years last year.

I think J-Dub was Mr. Perseverence. The double knee thing was Lane Frost tough. Cowboy up, J.

Rocky Calmus is one of the toughest LBs to ever play the game. The Boz ranks right up there with him.

I'll say that AD's performance in the second half of last year has to merit something for toughness. He has no quit in him.

And...TRRW for the Superman in RRS '01. Christy still cringes when he thinks about it.

http://students.ou.edu/C/John.L.Culbreath-1/williams-okla.jpg

[birddog]

Hollis, Najera. And come on, Hybl was a tough SOB.

[birddog]

Oh yeah, Dvoracek, on and off the field.

[birddog]

Soonerboy, What is Drunk about my comments? Bomar get's Rocked- get's up shakes it off, Hybl get's rocked- wobbles at the Knees and falls down runs to the Sideline holding his face mask - asked what time of day it is and who is he playing against after 10 minutes goes back in.

Both tough- but Bomar would = Tougher but we are going to have to define tough.

Peace
Getting repeatedly pounded on his arse play after play over the course of a season and still putting up decent #'s.

[jthomasou78]

Bob Kalsu was tough as nails and the fact that list has gone three pages without mentioning him is a sad sad thing

[Sooner24]

I can't remember if it was Terry Peters or Tony Peters but whichever one it was that guy knocked himself out two or three times a game wasting the ball carrier. He always was back in the next series head hunting again. I never saw anyone give up his body like that to make a play over and over again.

[Octavian]

Scott Hill

[AlbqSooner]

I can't remember if it was Terry Peters or Tony Peters but whichever one it was that guy knocked himself out two or three times a game wasting the ball carrier. He always was back in the next series head hunting again. I never saw anyone give up his body like that to make a play over and over again.
That would be the late Jerry "KO" Anderson. If memory serves correctly he had 7 KOs his senior year. Two being Jerry Anderson.

This list should have Joe Don Looney, Ralph Neely, Eddie McQuarters and Jim Riley on it.

With Wahoo, it was not so much a matter of toughness as a matter of being too insane to feel pain. Guy chugged a quart of motor oil on a $5 bet.

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Norm is the toughest SOB I can think, see what all he has overcome :(

[soonerjoker]

Danny Hodge

[Sooner04]

Mateen Cleeves got Najera right in the chin with his forehead. It was a close game that OU had a chance to win, but with Najera woozy the Sooners fate was sealed. MSU was crowned champion that year.
MSU was crowned champion the NEXT year.

They made it to the Final Four in '99 but lost to Duke (or UConn) in the National Semifinals.

[soonerboy_odanorth]

Soonerboy, What is Drunk about my comments? Bomar get's Rocked- get's up shakes it off, Hybl get's rocked- wobbles at the Knees and falls down runs to the Sideline holding his face mask - asked what time of day it is and who is he playing against after 10 minutes goes back in.

Both tough- but Bomar would = Tougher but we are going to have to define tough.

Peace

Mojo.. I was just crackin' on you because your sentences were almost undecipherable. Your opinion I understand... but your diction... whoo boy.

And I'm not even one to grammer smack or play English language police.

"Glass Joe from Mike Tyson's punch out." You get an award for one of the all-time malaprops for this one. It's called a glass JAW and a KNOCK out. Punching out in boxing means that you are in close quarters and need to extricate yourself by "punching out." If you are looking for names for guys that are an easy mark in boxing they are called Palooka Joes or tomato cans.

What you've done here is put all of these boxing terms in a blender and hit "frappe".

Then this:

"Just because he would get hit- be all woozy and then snap out of it- doesn't make him tough but not durable maybe. certainly not a woos..."

Huh?

Could you please run that by one more time. Wait... let me help you first:

"Just because he would get hit, be all woozy and then snap out of it doesn't make him tough. Maybe he is durable. Certainly he is not a wuss."

Proceed:

;)

[yur-out]

Rod Shoate......well on the field any was!

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

[herr] Vince Young is tougher than any of your Sooner heroes, he ****ed solid gold [herr]

[Okieflyer]

Bob Kalsu was tough as nails and the fact that list has gone three pages without mentioning him is a sad sad thing

Totally agree with you. Great pick.

[The Consumate Showman]

Indian Jack Jacobs
Joe Don Looney
Benny Owen

[soonerboy_odanorth]

These two aren't getting enough love, so I'm going to flesh-out why I think they ought to be included:

Jerry Tubbs- I'm tellin' ya... Jerry Tubbs would strike a match on a rattlesnake's *** and the snake would just look at him and say "Thank you sir, may I have another?"

Don't forget, not only was he an All American center, he also anchored the defense at LB.

Granville Liggins- All-American nose guard and All-American wrestler (for Port, if I'm not mistaken, though I could be). Whether he actually ever did or not, he had a reputation of having a grip so powerful as to snap bones. And think about the environment in which he was playing and wrestling: late mid-sixties when Civil Rights conflicts were raging and against competition that still hadn't integrated its sports programs (Texas in particular). And I'm fairly certain that there weren't too many men of color even participating in the sport of wrestling (at the D1A level) at the time.

Seems to me that is all sorts of tough.

[tbl]

"Glass Joe from Mike Tyson's punch out." You get an award for one of the all-time malaprops for this one. It's called a glass JAW and a KNOCK out. Punching out in boxing means that you are in close quarters and need to extricate yourself by "punching out." If you are looking for names for guys that are an easy mark in boxing they are called Palooka Joes or tomato cans.

What you've done here is put all of these boxing terms in a blender and hit "frappe".

Dude... Glass Joe is a character from the Nintendo video game "Mike Tysons Punch-Out". He was the first guy you fought and he obviously had a glass jaw. The analogy made sense, if you played video games in the 80's. You must be old or really young, not in the late 20's to mid 30's demographic. ;)

[Harry Beanbag]

Dude... Glass Joe is a character from the Nintendo video game "Mike Tysons Punch-Out". He was the first guy you fought and he obviously had a glass jaw. The analogy made sense, if you played video games in the 80's. You must be old or really young, not in the late 20's to mid 30's demographic. ;)


When I was playing it in the arcade, Mike Tyson wasn't in the name. it was a few years before anybody even knew who he was.

[soonerboy_odanorth]

Well slap my *** and call me silly... What was I thinking wasting my youth on reading, playing music and sports?...

All this time I should have been hunkered down in front of the cathode ray tube... workin' out the thumbs...

My apologies Mojo... I bow to your analogical superiority...

Now if you all will excuse me I've got to go drown my embarrassment in a bottle of grape Ne-hi and good game of Yar's Revenge...

[soonerboy_odanorth]

I must admit my "cool factor" feels like it slips a notch or two just about every other day. For instance: My work offered suite tickets at the Xcel Energy center to see a performance by Third Day.

Presumably you have to be a fairly large gig to play a boffo arena like the Xcel. (I saw AC/DC there two years ago.)

My only response was, "Third Day... that's either Tuesday or Wednesday depending on how you look at it... right?"

I still have no idea who they are.

[Desert Sapper]

Bob Kalsu was tough as nails and the fact that list has gone three pages without mentioning him is a sad sad thing

I agree. He was also a pretty tough guy after his sooner career.

That's why the 101st Airborne named an Iraq FOB after him.

[Duke o Brewery]

I know it's a bit of a list, but all these men need to be recognized for their incredible toughness:
Lucius Selmon
Rocky Calmus
J.D. Runnells
Steve Owens
Kurt Burris
Bubba Burris
Jerry Tubbs
Port Robertson
Eduardo Najera
Danny Hodge
Bob Kalsu
Bennie Owen
Prentice Gautt
And in his own way, David Ross Boyd

[ucosooner]

I must admit my "cool factor" feels like it slips a notch or two just about every other day. For instance: My work offered suite tickets at the Xcel Energy center to see a performance by Third Day.

Presumably you have to be a fairly large gig to play a boffo arena like the Xcel. (I saw AC/DC there two years ago.)

My only response was, "Third Day... that's either Tuesday or Wednesday depending on how you look at it... right?"

I still have no idea who they are.


Don't feel bad, most Christian bands are still unknown to the majority of the population.
Has Ruuuuuufus been mentioned? I think he's one tough mutha. I know I wouldn't want to encounter him on the football field.
My dad always told me that Steve Williams was one of those guys that on the field would knock you down, then spit in your face. That and the fact that he was fighting cancer, and from reports has wrestled recently.
I think I need to find me an old Nintendo and play some Punch-out.

[Desert Sapper]

I think I need to find me an old Nintendo and play some Punch-out.

Not necessary...
http://www.davieboy.net/play/game.punchout.asp

The internet is kewl.

[RedstickSooner]

Getting repeatedly pounded on his arse play after play over the course of a season and still putting up decent #'s.

Word choice, Bird... Word choice :D

[ucosooner]

Not necessary...
http://www.davieboy.net/play/game.punchout.asp

The internet is kewl.

Heck yes!
Thanks for the link.

[Boffingham]

Oleg Retsov

[Sooner24]

That would be the late Jerry "KO" Anderson. If memory serves correctly he had 7 KOs his senior year. Two being Jerry Anderson.

This list should have Joe Don Looney, Ralph Neely, Eddie McQuarters and Jim Riley on it.

With Wahoo, it was not so much a matter of toughness as a matter of being too insane to feel pain. Guy chugged a quart of motor oil on a $5 bet.


Jerry Anderson it was. He played with Terry Peters and I got the two confused. :O

[OhU1]

It took 3 pages for someone to get to the guy I was going to put in: Mark Schultz.

Bozworth, Tommie Harris, and any other football player I can think of with the possible exception of Steve Williams would be whipped, and probably quite easily by Schultz. Schultz was a world class wrestler and a winning fighter in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He came in as a substitute on short notice and easily whipped a much larger powerful and more experienced fighter.
There was speculation that Schultz could have become the UFC champion if he continued to fight. Schultz was a wrestling coach at BYU and was forbidden to fight again.
OU had another very good fighter in the UFC named Evan Tanner. I'm not sure if he was even an OU athlete. OSU had some bad *** wrestlers who kicked *** in the UFC: Randy Coutre, Don Frye, and Dennis Erickson.
Don't mess with wrestlers! They can take a pounding for one thing, but are much more likely to be dishing a pounding out while their opponent is on the ground helpless and immobile.

[Desert Sapper]

Pfffft...Ultimate Fighting. Just because you can kill somebody with your bare hands doesn't make you tough...deadly, maybe...but not tough. Bull Riders are tough. They don't kill anybody but themselves. ;)