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Posted
1 minute ago, Gordon Shumway said:

That is going to be awesome. 

I played for Emory Bellard at Westfield High School from 1989 - 1990.  Obviously we ran the wishbone back in the day, so I am looking forward to this. 

I played for Glenn "Pop" Warner at Cornell in 1906. Obviously we ran the single wing. The forward pass was also legalized that year, but we stuck steadfastly to good 'ol Student Body Right. Unfortunately, the flying wedge had been outlawed on kickoffs back in 1894 and was no longer available to us. John Heisman's first trophy wasn't awarded until 1935; shame I couldn't have stuck around long enough for that. Timing is everything, I guess.

Damn, I love these strolls down memory lane.

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Posted
7 minutes ago, GreenspointTexas said:

Could be titled “how DKR rescued OU football”

And rescued Alabama football - Bryant practiced the wishbone all summer and sprang it on USC in game 1 of 1971 after warming up in the same old pro set.  Halftime score 17-0 zip Bama.  Ole Bear true to form sat on the lead and the defense made it stand. Final 17-10.  After 6-win seasons in 69 and 70, Bama went through the 71 reg season undefeated but ended up being stomped by Johnny Rodgers, Rich Glover, Jerry Tagge and the Nebraska Corncobbers in the Orange Bowl, 38-6, and it wasn’t that close.

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Posted
4 minutes ago, Bama Llama said:

And rescued Alabama football - Bryant practiced the wishbone all summer and sprang it on USC in game 1 of 1971 after warming up in the same old pro set.  Halftime score 17-0 zip Bama.  Ole Bear true to form sat on the lead and the defense made it stand. Final 17-10.  After 6-win seasons in 69 and 70, Bama went through the 71 reg season undefeated but ended up being stomped by Johnny Rodgers, Rich Glover, Jerry Tagge and the Nebraska Corncobbers in the Orange Bowl, 38-6, and it wasn’t that close.

It also might have helped that Bama didn't integrate the football team until the 1971 season. Elevate talent, innovate on offense and, voila, a great decade. 

When did Bryant switch out his aging staff for a bunch of new blood? My father's told me all of my life that one of the key things Bear did that DKR didn't was that he switched out his staff when things got stale and Bama wasn't winning at the level that Bryant thought they should be. I've never really fact-checked that, but your post reminded me of the premise. 

Posted

I think the new documentary will show Bryant, after four subpar seasons, was mulling over going to coach the Dolphins, but those negotiations went sideways and Royal recommended the wishbone, so Bryant gave it a shot.  Bama averaged 10 wins for ghe decade of the 70s. Not bad when considering teams played 11 games per year then. Notre Dame and Texas beat Bama in 72, 73 and 74 bowls, which could have been championship seasons for Bryant.  Bama was undefeated champ in 79 after splitting the title with USC in 78. Texas whipped Bama in the 80 Cotton Bowl.  Bryant had a couple more decent years before hanging it up after 83.  He died in January 83.  Mrs Llama and I went to stand as the funeral procession went by the stadium en route to Birmingham kne final time.  I think Royal, Wilkinson and Woody Hayes all went to the funeral.  My old man played end for Bama when Bryant was a freshman. He took me to practice in 61 and Bryant shook my hand and said something about “ASS” and “HELL,” but I honestly couldn’t understand what he said otherwise.  He was a helluva coach and wanted to integrate long before the white conservatives on the UA board of trustees would allow it.

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Posted
1 hour ago, Royale with cheese said:

I played for Glenn "Pop" Warner at Cornell in 1906. Obviously we ran the single wing. The forward pass was also legalized that year, but we stuck steadfastly to good 'ol Student Body Right. Unfortunately, the flying wedge had been outlawed on kickoffs back in 1894 and was no longer available to us. John Heisman's first trophy wasn't awarded until 1935; shame I couldn't have stuck around long enough for that. Timing is everything, I guess.

Damn, I love these strolls down memory lane.

Quit bragging, Son.

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Posted

Sorry, but the fact it is titled :SEC Storied: Wishbone" is wrong at some level.  

Similar to showing clips of Ricky as one of the SEC's trophy winners. 

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Posted (edited)
15 minutes ago, PGFrog said:

Sorry, but the fact it is titled :SEC Storied: Wishbone" is wrong at some level.  

Similar to showing clips of Ricky as one of the SEC's trophy winners. 

It's not like we like any of that shit either, but this is the path the school's leadership chose. Some byproducts of that decision are fine - the competition, bigger brands, money, recruiting. Some are not - generally being affiliated with a bunch of mouthbreathing, chestbeating hillbillies, seeing credit taken for UT's achievements and players' achievements, cheating, SEC chants, etc. 

Edited by closetojumping
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Posted
4 minutes ago, Zeus said:

Bring it back

Wingo and Baxter with Gibson at FB

The time to bring it back was 1996.  Rickey, Shon and Priest in the backfield with James Brown at QB.  

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Posted
5 hours ago, closetojumping said:

It also might have helped that Bama didn't integrate the football team until the 1971 season. Elevate talent, innovate on offense and, voila, a great decade. 

When did Bryant switch out his aging staff for a bunch of new blood? My father's told me all of my life that one of the key things Bear did that DKR didn't was that he switched out his staff when things got stale and Bama wasn't winning at the level that Bryant thought they should be. I've never really fact-checked that, but your post reminded me of the premise. 

I don’t know- Royal never had much of a coaching tree (Pittman? MacWilliams, Bellard, Akers), and Bryant’s is definitely better (Schnellenberger, Stallings, Perkins, fuck Sherrill, Bum Phillips). They both had long term security blankets as DC- Campbell at Texas and Donahue at Bama. 
 
I collect old game programs and I’m amazed at some staffs that teams can put together. Examples:

1966 Oklahoma- HC MacKenzie, assistants Fairbanks, Switzer, Rice, Hall, Lacewell

1984 Iowa- HC Fry, assistants Snyder, Stoops, Ferentz, Alvarez

I don’t know that Texas ever had a staff like that. 

Posted
3 hours ago, closetojumping said:

It's not like we like any of that shit either, but this is the path the school's leadership chose. Some byproducts of that decision are fine - the competition, bigger brands, money, recruiting. Some are not - generally being affiliated with a bunch of mouthbreathing, chestbeating hillbillies, seeing credit taken for UT's achievements and players' achievements, cheating, SEC chants, etc. 

Well to be fair, UT made some of those achievements kicking SEC ass starting in the 1965 Orange Bowl, plus more over the decades.

Posted
5 hours ago, GreenspointTexas said:

Could be titled “how DKR rescued OU football”

DKR rejected multiple head coaching offers from blOU after Wilkinson retired (makes sense, no one wanted to be the guy who followed Wilkinson). In some twisted way he probably felt bad and figured he would help his alma mater. Bellard and Akers both tried to talk him out of giving Switzer the keys to the offense, all in vain. DKR later said he regretted the decision after Switzer repaid the favour by spying on his practices.

Switzer refined the wishbone and turned the ground attack aspect of it up to 11. Bryant went the opposite way and improved the passing attack. He first saw the wishbone in action when his Crimson Tide battled the Sooners to a 24-24 tie in the 1970 Bluebonnet Bowl.

Posted
2 hours ago, Zeus said:

Bring it back

Wingo and Baxter with Gibson at FB

 

2 hours ago, Hellraiser97 said:

The time to bring it back was 1996.  Rickey, Shon and Priest in the backfield with James Brown at QB.  

So you guys would like to go, dare I say, back to the bone?!?!

IYKYK

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Posted

Whew! Thought I was getting doxxed.

But seriously, would be kinda cool to perhaps run a “‘bone play” a couple of times a season. Even if it’s just to show something different.

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Posted
1 hour ago, Wishbone said:

Whew! Thought I was getting doxxed.

But seriously, would be kinda cool to perhaps run a “‘bone play” a couple of times a season. Even if it’s just to show something different.

Then throw it to new tight end Caleb bluett?

Posted

The wishbone was only ever effective back in the days when fast, strong guys never played in the front 7 on defense. Those days are long, long gone….

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Posted
5 hours ago, Steamboat1874 said:

 

Formation was way to wide, and man in motion took it out of the wishbone.  And ran a play that DKR never would have done from the formation.

Posted
10 hours ago, Bama Llama said:

 Texas whipped Bama in the 80 Cotton Bowl.  

It was the 82 cotton bowl (81 season) and I don't know if I'd call a come from behind 14-12 victory a whipping, but I'll take it.

Fun fact most  announcers of Baylor Texas games hardly ever mentioned- the winning touchdown was scored by a guy whose son was not offered by UT.

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