Why is it the Gomer Jones cardiac care center?

[stoopified]

At Memorial Stadium the meical facility first aid center is named for Jones.My question is why?He has a dorm across the street named after him so why also the cardiaccare-first aid center?I have alway medical facility should be called the Jim McKenzie cardiac care center since Jim died of a heart attack while coaching at OU.Switzer has said that Mckenzie who brought Fairbanks and Barry to OU would have done very well at OU had he not died after one season on the job('66).It is no Great controversy but I was wondering if anyone knew the whys and wherefores.

Btw my wife was once treated their and said the staff was very good and very nice.My wife is a nurse and if she was impressed then they must be pretty good.There was no charge for her treatment or medicine .I thought that was pretty cool So I would also like to thank those who volunteer their time to provide this game day service.THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

[AlbqSooner]

You must be too young to have seen Gomer's teams play. He was an outstanding Coordinator, but as a head coach not so much.

[Remembering Tom Stidham]

Didn't Gomer die from a heart attack? I thought the dorm was called "Bud Wilkinson" but I could be wrong. I knew Gomer pretty well. He was a wonderful man and a great line coach. I enjoyed sitting in at his Monday night poker sessions at a friend's home on Chautauqua.

[aurorasooner]

My question is why?He has a dorm across the street named after him so why also the cardiaccare-first aid center?I have alway medical facility should be called the Jim McKenzie cardiac care center since Jim died of a heart attack while coaching at OU. I agree. it's just probably been overlooked. gomer's name on the dorm is enough and I don't recall jim mckenzie's name on anything. jim was an excellent coach, and do to untimely circumstances, had a short stay.

[SoonerShark]

Wasn't McKenzie here just one year? Gomer Jones died when OU was on a NIT trip to NYC in basketball in the early 70s. A cardiac center named for someone who died of a heart attack goes along with naming our local airports for Will Rogers and Wiley Post.

Gomer was at OU for nearly 20 years.

http://www.answers.com/topic/gomer-jones

"Gomer Thomas Jones (February 26, 1914 - March 21, 1971) was a football athlete and coach. He was a Hall of Fame center for the Ohio State University Buckeyes and a coach of the University of Oklahoma Sooners for 19 years.

Playing Career

Jones was one of the outstanding college football players in the 1930s. From 1933 to 1935 he played for the Ohio State University Buckeyes as a center on offense and a linebacker on defense. Jones was the anchor of the Buckeye offensive line, and was named team MVP following both the 1934 and 1935 seasons. In 1935 he was named team captain, and was a consensus All American. Jones was selected by the Chicago Cardinals in the 1936 NFL draft, the 15th player selected overall; however, he chose instead to pursue a career in coaching.

Jones was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1978 as a player. Earlier that year he had been inducted into Ohio State's own Varsity O Hall of Fame."

[douxpaysan]

When I was a student I worked several years part-time for the athletic department. Gomer Jones was a good man, a good coach and a friend to everyone that met him. Whenever you follow legends Like Bud, Barry and now Bob it is very difficult to be successful.

[mightysooner]

My question is.....why would anybody actually name thier kid Gomer?

[soonerjoker]

McKinzie also brot in Chuck Fairbanks, the chevy dealer in DeSoto.

[OklaPony]

McKinzie also brot in Chuck Fairbanks, the chevy dealer in DeSoto.
The Chevy dealer is actually Chuck, Jr. His brother Toby is involved there as well.

[stoopified]

The Chevy dealer is actually Chuck, Jr. His brother Toby is involved there as well.Toby Keith isd Chuck's son?

Seriously while I apprreciate Gomer's 18 years of service to OU,I think having a dorm named after you isenough.Yes the Bud house is also across the street from Owen Field,Jones House is right next door to Bud.Apprprate,don't you think?My point is no other coach at OU has 2 facilities named for them(let alone a coach with a 9-11 mark).

I do not wish in anyway to denigrate Gomer or his memory.I simply think McKenzie would be better suited for the Cardiac Care center since he died of a heart attack while he was the OU football coach.I was also curioys as to why Gomer has both a dorm and the CCC named after him?Donor requwst perhaps?

[ou4me]

I think I heard at one time that Gomer's family donated the money for the first aid center. It's staffed by volunteers. It used to be staffed by employees of Norman Regional Hospital. Two years ago that switched to OU Med Center. If you're a volunteer, you get a ticket into the game, watch one half in very good seats and work the other half in the First Aid Center. It's a pretty sweet deal, if you don't have season tickets. :)

[soonerjoker]

i knew it was chuckie jr, i think sr. lives in AZ.