RIP Darrell Royal

by Robert Wilkinson

Ordinarily I don't give much of a flip about football coaches, but Darrell Royal was head coach at the University of Texas when I was there back when dinosaurs walked the Earth and Nixon was in his first year.

I was a first semester sophomore at UT when it became the national champion in college football. As you can imagine, the campus was electric that Autumn, and the general attitude was that if Darrell Royal didn't sit on the right hand of God, he certainly had His ear.;-)

From NBC news:

In 20 years at the University of Texas, Royal won 11 Southwest Conference titles, 10 Cotton Bowl championships and two national championships (1963 and ’69). His 167-47-5 record at UT was the best record of any program in the country between 1957-1976. Royal later became athletic director at UT from 1962-1979.

The Oklahoma family has also extended its regrets — Royal played for the Sooners and earned All-America status in 1949 — following the news of Royal’s passing.

“The University of Oklahoma joins the rest of the nation in celebrating the life’s work of Darrell Royal,” said OU AD, Joe Castiglione in a statement. “We’ve truly lost an icon – a champion, an innovator and an educator. As an All-America player at the University of Oklahoma, he represented his home state with a unique versatility that we still celebrate today. Without question, he left an even more indelible mark on collegiate athletics during his distinguished coaching and administrative tenure at the University of Texas, where he made on immeasurable impact on the University and the countless individuals he touched.”

A believer in a solid run game, Royal installed the wishbone offense in 1968 and was quoted famously for “Three things can happen when you pass and two of `em are bad.”

RIP Coach.

© Copyright 2012 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Matt]

I saw the obit on the NYTimes website but am quite surprised to see this cantina make a mention!

RIP - while before my time, Coach Royal seemed liked a class act.

[dcu]

Thank you Coach Royal for all the fond memories. You were truly a great one. University of Texas Class of 1978.