Mule Train passes on

[stoopified]

All-American ( 1950) OU fullback Leon MULE TRAIN HEATH died Friday night in OKC.You can now team up once again with your old rinning mate Billy Vessels.Guess this time Billy led the way for you, Rest in Peace .Say hi to Bud and the guys for me.

[LoyalFan]

All-American.... (1959) ....OU fullback Leon MULE TRAIN HEATH .

Uhhhhh, 1950, y'think?
Sorry to learn of a great Sooner's passing. Thanks for the post.

LF

[Jay C. Upchurch]

I knew Leon Heath to be a fine gentleman and from everything I have read, heard and researched, he was a great football player on both sides of the ball.

This is a piece I wrote on Leon Heath for the 100 Greatest Sooners book in 2004...

Leon Heath, No. 40

What happened in between Sept. 25, 1948, and Jan. 1, 1951, was nothing short of incredible. During that span, Oklahoma established itself as one of the elite football programs in the country by winning 31 straight games and a national championship.

Smack dab in the middle of that success was Leon Heath, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound bulldozer of a running back, whose bone-jarring blocks cleared the way for Billy Vessels, Darrell Royal, George Thomas and Jack Mitchell to earn All-America status. And when he wasn’t escorting his teammates through enemy lines, Heath demonstrated a punishing style of running that struck fear in the hearts of opponents.

“Leon was a handful,” said Royal, who quarterbacked the Sooners to a perfect 11-0 mark in 1949. “He had tremendous power for guy his size. He didn’t run on his toes — he planted all of his cleats in the ground and he wasn’t shy. Not only was he a strong runner, he also had some maneuverability when he got in the open field, and he could catch the football.”

First-year head coach Bud Wilkinson recognized Heath’s spirited manner as a freshman and was anxious to find a spot for the young back once he became eligible to participate with the varsity the following autumn. After playing just a handful of snaps in OU’s 1948 season-opening loss to Santa Clara, Heath was inserted as starting fullback the following week.

The Hollis, Okla., native was a fixture there for the next 32 games. During that time, Heath established himself as a fan favorite and eventually earned the nickname “Mule Train” for his unyielding resolve.

Heath began turning heads in only his second career start when he churned out 137 yards on 17 carries in a 20-14 win over rival Texas. The victory broke a string of eight straight losses to the hated Longhorns and basically set the tone for the Sooners’ impressive winning streak.

“To be at Oklahoma during that period was memorable for a lot of reasons, mostly because of Bud Wilkinson,” said Heath. “I thought very highly of the man. Obviously he was a fine coach, but he was a gentleman, too.”

After toying with the idea of playing basketball at OU, the strapping fullback turned his full attention to the gridiron with hopes of somehow catching Wilkinson’s attention. Ironically, it was OU basketball coach Bruce Drake, who also served as public address announcer at OU football games, who borrowed Heath’s nickname from pop singer Frankie Laine’s hit song of the same name.

After beating Texas in ’48, the Sooners reeled off seven more victories to finish the regular season at 9-1. That was good enough to earn them a spot in the 1949 Sugar Bowl opposite third-ranked North Carolina. OU served notice to the country that New Year’s Day in New Orleans with a 14-6 victory.

Wilkinson’s crew carried the momentum of the previous season into the ’49 campaign and turned in one of the most impressive wire-to-wire performances in OU history. The Sooners opened with a 46-0 thrashing of Boston College and never looked back en route to 11 straight victories.

Heath helped the Sooners avenge the prior Santa Clara loss by ripping off an 81-yard touchdown run that helped carry them to a 28-21 victory. The sophomore carried 13 times that afternoon for 128 yards.

Oklahoma capped the season with a 35-0 romp over Louisiana State in the 1950 Sugar Bowl. In that contest, Heath scored on runs of 86 and 34 yards on his way to earning most valuable player honors. He finished the season with 854 rushing yards and the nation’s best per carry average (9.12).

While many believe the ’49 Sooners compared favorably to any team in the country that year, they had to settle for the runner-up spot behind Notre Dame in the final polls. It was an oversight Wilkinson’s program would soon rectify, albeit with a team that had more of a “Cardiac Kids” personality than its dominating predecessor.

The 1950 Sooners won 10 straight games, including four of the come-from-behind variety, on their way to the school’s first national championship.

“Honestly, we didn’t have the talent we had in 1949, but we had the desire to keep that winning streak alive. And as it turned out, the 1950 season was pretty special,” said Heath.

While Heath carried a career-high 122 times for 727 yards during his senior campaign, he was even more effective as a battering ram for a talented young back by the name of Billy Vessels, who would win the Heisman Trophy before his OU career was finished. Vessels finished with 938 rushing yards and 15 TDs, as the Sooners established an almost unstoppable ground attack that fall.

After being crowned national champs in December, the Sooners saw their hopes for a second straight undefeated season end via a 13-7 loss to Bear Bryant’s Kentucky Wildcats in the 1951 Sugar Bowl. Heath led OU with 121 rushing yards in what turned out to be only the second loss of his college career.

A few months later, the Washington Redskins selected Heath with the 12th overall pick of the 1951 NFL Draft. He enjoyed some solid success during his three seasons in the nation’s capital and later spent 28 years in the oil field business.

These days, Heath, 75, and his wife (Wanda) spend much of the summer at their vacation cabin in Ouray, Colo., far away from Oklahoma’s scorching heat. Although he doesn’t make it up for many games, he still keeps close tabs on his alma mater and the tradition-rich football program he helped build so many years ago.

[olevetonahill]

Thanks for that Jay .

[Tailwind]

RIP Muletrain. :(

[stoopified]

Uhhhhh, 1950, y'think?
Sorry to learn of a great Sooner's passing. Thanks for the post.

LFMy bad ,typing that is.Jay thanks for the article.

[Blues1]

RIP & Keep Rockin "Mule Train" - You and Billy were my early Sooner Hero's
God Bless you and your Family....

Blues1

[insuranceman_22]

Nicely done Jay, thanks for posting it.

[Jay C. Upchurch]

Herman 'Leon' Heath went to his eternal home in Heaven through the sacrifice of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Friday, March 23, 2007. A devout Christian, husband and father of seven sons, Leon was an OU Football Legend as varsity fullback 1948-50 and named the Outstanding Player of the 1950 Sugar Bowl, 1950 Consensus All- American, along with many other athletic awards. Leon was born in Hollis, OK in 1928 and graduated Hollis High School in 1947 where he was an All-State Basketball player. He graduated OU in 1950 with a BS in Education and played for the Washington Redskins for three years. Leon interrupted his football career to serve as a 1st Lt. in Field Artillery in the US Army and was the head football coach of the National Service Champs in 1955. Following his football career, he was employed by Baroid Industries as an engineer and senior sales representative, until he retired in 1985. Leon married Wanda Catherine Cole on August 4, 1950 and had seven boys in fourteen years, all of which survive him: (from oldest to youngest) Steven L. (Cynthia), B. Alan (Becky), David L. (Kristi), M. Don (Marsha), N. Paul, Dennis M. (Kimberly), P. Jay (Mary Lynn). He is also survived by his sister Charlottie Testerman, twelve grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. Preceding him in death are his parents, George M. Heath and Hattie Hanner Heath; his sisters, Velma Adamole and LaVena Moke; and his brother, Dewey Heath. Serving others and his Lord was Leon's greatest joy. He enjoyed hosting senior groups for Church of Christ Christmas parties and visiting shut-ins. Woodworking in the winter and summer trout fishing with his wife in Southwest Colorado were also favorite pastimes. His closed casket service will be held at the Southern Oaks Church of Christ in Chickasha on Tues., March 27, 2007 at 10:30 a.m. Interment will be at the Fairlawn Cemetery on North Hwy 81 immediately following. Viewing will be at McRay Funeral Home Mon., March 26 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Leon would be pleased to know that in lieu of flowers, donations were made to Westview Boys Home, 120 West Broadway, PO Box 553, Hollis, OK 73550.

Published in The Oklahoman on 3/26/2007.

[OU-HSV]

Sad to lose another Sooner great
R.I.P.

[dkfreebird]

Thank you all for the thoughts of our family.


Dennis Heath

[bixby28]

Rest in peace, Mule Train.

[Piware]

Sad to lose another Sooner great
R.I.P.

Another of Bud's Boys has left us but will forever be known as one of the greats of the program. May your journey be easy and your teammates waiting to welcome another Sooner home.