OKC-SLC
8/20/2006, 02:06 PM
Hadn't seen this posted yet. I remember as a freshman at OU reading about Prentice Gautt, and the more I have learned about him over the last 10+ years, the more I am so proud he was a Sooner.
http://www.newsok.com/article/2833843/?template=sports/ou
NORMAN - Oklahoma’s No. 38 is “sitting out” this season.
The jersey, not a player.
In a move decades in the making, it’s a salute to Prentice Gautt, who broke OU’s color barrier 50 years ago this fall. No Sooner will wear Gautt’s 38 this season, although every Sooner will feature a 38, with decals affixed to all helmets.
Reminiscent of the tribute recently orchestrated by Major League Baseball for its brave race pioneer, Jackie Robinson, OU is honoring Gautt for his own challenging journey as the first African-American athlete on campus in 1956.
“In a way, he’s Oklahoma’s Jackie Robinson,” said Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione. “Very, very similar. Pioneers of that era.”
Since his days as a star athlete and student, OU has maintained the legacy of Gautt, who died in March of 2005.
The athletic department academic center bears his name, with a large photo of a smiling Gautt, situated behind a mound of textbooks, greeting all those who pass through its doors at the North end of Memorial Stadium. Several other photos of Gautt hang in buildings on campus.
Gautt’s name was attached to the academic center in 1999. In 2003, he was granted an honorary doctorate from the university.
In 2004, the Big 12 Conference, for whom Gautt worked, named its postgraduate scholarships in his honor. Two months after his death, he was posthumously given the 2005 Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award by The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame.
“Prentice took a very important step in the history of this university and football program, but he didn’t stop there,” Sooners coach Bob Stoops said. “He achieved many things in his life and won the respect of everyone he met.
“It is important for our players and our university to remember people like Prentice and it is right for us to honor him in this way.”
A numbers game
Oklahoma resists any movement to retire football numbers, no matter how fitting the gesture.
For one, where would the Sooners start? Of for that matter stop?
Yet if OU did decide to retire numbers, starting might actually be easy - with Gautt.
“Absolutely,” athletic director Joe Castiglione said.
Gautt was a sensational athlete, twice All-Big Eight and the MVP of the 1959 Orange Bowl. Led the Sooners in rushing in ’58 and ’59.
And he was so much more. Gautt not only broke the color barrier, despite facing many of the same discriminatory acts as Robinson, but he also excelled in the classroom and built a bridge for many to follow, at OU and elsewhere.
Right man, right time
Eventually, Prentice Gautt grew to become a fan favorite at OU.
Eventually.
Oklahoma first started admitting black students on a nonsegregated basis in 1950. Final restrictions on undergraduate enrollment were lifted for the 1955-56 academic year.
It was then that Sooners coach Bud Wilkinson sought to integrate his team.
“In this part of the country, that was a monumental decision,” Castiglione said.
At Texas and Arkansas, integration didn’t reach the football teams until a decade later. By then, the Sooners featured a black quarterback and captain.
Still, in 1956, Wilkinson recognized the magnitude of such a move. Not unlike the Dodgers’ Branch Rickey with Jackie Robinson, Wilkinson understood the certain trials that awaited OU’s first black player.
“My father knew it would take a special person,” Wilkinson’s son Jay told mourners at Gautt’s funeral. “He knew it would take someone with a deep intellectual capacity as well as an inner strength.”
Gautt, who played in the state’s first integrated game at Douglass and was the first black to play in the coaches All-State Game, was that special person.
To deflect criticism, a group of black Oklahoma City professionals had raised the funds to pay Gautt’s enrollment at OU. A few months later, Wilkinson gave them their money back and put Gautt on scholarship.
Wilkinson led the Sooners to three national championships, a record 47-game winning streak and forged a football powerhouse. Yet, Jay Wilkinson said his proudest achievement was integrating the football program, and essentially, the entire athletic department.
After OU
Gautt’s journey as the first black athlete at OU was only a beginning.
He went on to play eight seasons in the NFL with Cleveland and St. Louis, before turning to a career in athletics administration. Gautt coached for Dan Devine at Missouri, where he received a doctorate in counseling psychology.
Later he joined the Big Eight Conference as an assistant commissioner, then served as special assistant to the commissioner with the Big 12. Along the way, Gautt made friends and impressions.
“Prentice was my hero when I was an 8-year-old OU fanatic,” said Bill Hancock, who worked with Gautt. “At times, when you grow up, you discover your heroes are not what they seem. When I got to be Prentice’s friend, I found out he was even more than he seemed.”
Remembering “38”
“When you mention Prentice Gautt’s name anywhere in college football, people stop and there’s a feeling that comes over them,” Castiglione said. “Hopefully this will inspire others to learn more about this incredible human being.”
Gautt made a difference 50 years ago. It is OU’s intention to keep his memory fresh.
“In honoring Prentice Gautt, the university is helping all of us to remember that one person can make a difference in the society in which we live,” said OU president David Boren.
http://www.newsok.com/article/2833843/?template=sports/ou
NORMAN - Oklahoma’s No. 38 is “sitting out” this season.
The jersey, not a player.
In a move decades in the making, it’s a salute to Prentice Gautt, who broke OU’s color barrier 50 years ago this fall. No Sooner will wear Gautt’s 38 this season, although every Sooner will feature a 38, with decals affixed to all helmets.
Reminiscent of the tribute recently orchestrated by Major League Baseball for its brave race pioneer, Jackie Robinson, OU is honoring Gautt for his own challenging journey as the first African-American athlete on campus in 1956.
“In a way, he’s Oklahoma’s Jackie Robinson,” said Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione. “Very, very similar. Pioneers of that era.”
Since his days as a star athlete and student, OU has maintained the legacy of Gautt, who died in March of 2005.
The athletic department academic center bears his name, with a large photo of a smiling Gautt, situated behind a mound of textbooks, greeting all those who pass through its doors at the North end of Memorial Stadium. Several other photos of Gautt hang in buildings on campus.
Gautt’s name was attached to the academic center in 1999. In 2003, he was granted an honorary doctorate from the university.
In 2004, the Big 12 Conference, for whom Gautt worked, named its postgraduate scholarships in his honor. Two months after his death, he was posthumously given the 2005 Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award by The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame.
“Prentice took a very important step in the history of this university and football program, but he didn’t stop there,” Sooners coach Bob Stoops said. “He achieved many things in his life and won the respect of everyone he met.
“It is important for our players and our university to remember people like Prentice and it is right for us to honor him in this way.”
A numbers game
Oklahoma resists any movement to retire football numbers, no matter how fitting the gesture.
For one, where would the Sooners start? Of for that matter stop?
Yet if OU did decide to retire numbers, starting might actually be easy - with Gautt.
“Absolutely,” athletic director Joe Castiglione said.
Gautt was a sensational athlete, twice All-Big Eight and the MVP of the 1959 Orange Bowl. Led the Sooners in rushing in ’58 and ’59.
And he was so much more. Gautt not only broke the color barrier, despite facing many of the same discriminatory acts as Robinson, but he also excelled in the classroom and built a bridge for many to follow, at OU and elsewhere.
Right man, right time
Eventually, Prentice Gautt grew to become a fan favorite at OU.
Eventually.
Oklahoma first started admitting black students on a nonsegregated basis in 1950. Final restrictions on undergraduate enrollment were lifted for the 1955-56 academic year.
It was then that Sooners coach Bud Wilkinson sought to integrate his team.
“In this part of the country, that was a monumental decision,” Castiglione said.
At Texas and Arkansas, integration didn’t reach the football teams until a decade later. By then, the Sooners featured a black quarterback and captain.
Still, in 1956, Wilkinson recognized the magnitude of such a move. Not unlike the Dodgers’ Branch Rickey with Jackie Robinson, Wilkinson understood the certain trials that awaited OU’s first black player.
“My father knew it would take a special person,” Wilkinson’s son Jay told mourners at Gautt’s funeral. “He knew it would take someone with a deep intellectual capacity as well as an inner strength.”
Gautt, who played in the state’s first integrated game at Douglass and was the first black to play in the coaches All-State Game, was that special person.
To deflect criticism, a group of black Oklahoma City professionals had raised the funds to pay Gautt’s enrollment at OU. A few months later, Wilkinson gave them their money back and put Gautt on scholarship.
Wilkinson led the Sooners to three national championships, a record 47-game winning streak and forged a football powerhouse. Yet, Jay Wilkinson said his proudest achievement was integrating the football program, and essentially, the entire athletic department.
After OU
Gautt’s journey as the first black athlete at OU was only a beginning.
He went on to play eight seasons in the NFL with Cleveland and St. Louis, before turning to a career in athletics administration. Gautt coached for Dan Devine at Missouri, where he received a doctorate in counseling psychology.
Later he joined the Big Eight Conference as an assistant commissioner, then served as special assistant to the commissioner with the Big 12. Along the way, Gautt made friends and impressions.
“Prentice was my hero when I was an 8-year-old OU fanatic,” said Bill Hancock, who worked with Gautt. “At times, when you grow up, you discover your heroes are not what they seem. When I got to be Prentice’s friend, I found out he was even more than he seemed.”
Remembering “38”
“When you mention Prentice Gautt’s name anywhere in college football, people stop and there’s a feeling that comes over them,” Castiglione said. “Hopefully this will inspire others to learn more about this incredible human being.”
Gautt made a difference 50 years ago. It is OU’s intention to keep his memory fresh.
“In honoring Prentice Gautt, the university is helping all of us to remember that one person can make a difference in the society in which we live,” said OU president David Boren.