Not exactly. Gautt went to OU on a scholarship funded by some OKC businessmen. Bud later gave him a scolly.Originally Posted by Jacie
Not exactly. Gautt went to OU on a scholarship funded by some OKC businessmen. Bud later gave him a scolly.
"To this day, Schnellenberger is not held in high esteem by Sooner fans, in part because he made no secret of his lack of interest in the program's history."
I didn't see this article in this thread, but if it is sorry.
Dennis Dodd
CBSSports.com
What would Prentice Gautt have thought about SAE and Oklahoma?
March 13, 2015 6:22 pm ET
Prentice Gautt passed away 10 years ago but his thoughtfulness would be useful today. (USATSI)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- SAE and Oklahoma aren't going away anytime soon. That much is assured. In a story broad enough to lead Good Morning America, the midday talk shows and the nightly news, sadly disquieting but marketable elements are in place.
Racism, bigotry, sports, law, even recruiting.
" ... I definitely would have reconsidered making my decision if it would have happened like that," OU forward TaShawn Thomas told a small group of reporters here at the Big 12 tournament.
OU football players have marched in solidarity, skipping spring practice since the damaging video debuted. They have taken the initiative, kept the issue alive -- on campus and nationally. Now comes the news that Sigma Alpha Epsilon is considering legal action against Oklahoma.
All of it reminds us that things aren't getting better anytime soon at Oklahoma. Former coach Barry Switzer has urged critics not to paint the fraternity with a broad brush, the same thing those kids in the video did with their racial slurs.
In the slimy world of recruiting, the hope is that rival coaches don't cross a moral boundary. But usually, negative recruiting knows no boundaries. The sense is at least some rival recruiters have the SAE video loaded on their phone, eager to show prospects a reason not to attend OU.
"Yes, the opponents will use it against us," Switzer told me this week. "No question."
One thought, though, keeps coming to mind: What would Prentice Gautt think?
Gautt was the kindest, gentlest, most thoughtful person a lot of us have ever known. Monday will mark the 10th anniversary of his death at age 67. His life still endures. We wept when he passed not just because of the end but because of the end of his wisdom.
You see, Gautt didn't have to actually talk to be heard. It was the way he carried himself, his class, the way he lived, what he went through. Prentice Gautt was the first African-American football player at Oklahoma.
The school was segregated until 1950. The final restrictions weren't dropped until May 1955. Even when Gautt joined the Sooners in 1956, his coach -- Bud Wilkinson -- was pressured against giving him that first scholarship.
Gautt broke down barriers while breaking tackles. Most of all, he never broke. Oh, they tried. Author Jim Dent's account of Gautt's college days in The Undefeated will bring tears to your eyes.
In 1957, Gautt wasn't allowed to stay at the team hotel in Fort Worth for the Texas game. At the time, Texas laws didn't allow African-Americans to stay at white-only hotels, Dent wrote. The team stood firm and made sure that Gautt was able to at least eat breakfast with them the morning of the game.
"Guys, Prentice Gautt is our teammate," Dent quoted tackle Jim Lawrence as saying. "Last night, he didn't get to stay at our hotel because he's colored. Godammit, that's a shame. Football teams are supposed to stick together."
Dent wrote: "The Sooners were still buzzing when Wilkinson assembled them minutes before kickoff at the Cotton Bowl: 'Win this one for Prentice Gautt.' He didn't need to say another word. The Sooners almost ran over the coaches and everyone else for that matter, as they roared down the long tunnel toward the playing field."
The Sooners won 21-7.
Twice, Gautt was an All-Big Eight running back. He was an Academic All-American and MVP of the 1959 Orange Bowl. Gautt went on to earn a master's and doctorate in psychology. He played eight years in the NFL.
If there was a reason to be bitter, Gautt had it. Dent wrote that Wilkinson received "hate mail" as Gautt's debut approached. Undercover police worked practice and games for protection.
If that bitterness ever existed at all, it didn't show. Gautt's subsequent career in college sports administration working for the Big Eight and Big 12 touched a lot of us. Walk in that old conference office in downtown Kansas City and Gautt always greeted with his signature, "How are you?"
And he meant it.
"Gentle, kind, perceptive, deep," recalled College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock, who worked with Gautt at the Big Eight. "He always wanted to know how things worked and always wanted to know what people were thinking. The best listener I've ever known."
"Coach Wilkinson knew his character or he wouldn't have been there," Gautt's former OU roommate Jakie Sandefer once said.
It might be arrogant to predict what influence Gautt would have on the current situation. But can we all agree his presence would help? He would be 76 today. His wisdom no doubt would have been valued in this knee-jerk society. Perhaps he would have directed us to the words of Jean Delance. It was Delance who made national news by decommitting from OU when the video hit.
Delance told Bleacher Report, "My grandmother's people picked cotton" and that it would be "disrespectful" to her to play at OU.
Perhaps he would have pointed out fairly that other Oklahoma recruits are staying with their commitments. Gautt might have even joined hands with Bob Stoops and those Sooners in the show of solidarity.
Most likely, he would have somehow diffused the tension, perhaps with a greeting accompanied by those kind, gentle eyes -- always making it about the other person -- saying, "How are you?"
great post
"To this day, Schnellenberger is not held in high esteem by Sooner fans, in part because he made no secret of his lack of interest in the program's history."
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