Tweeted by Barry Switzer...
http://www.soonersblog.com/2015/05/former-sooner-all-american-eddie-foster.html
http://www.soonersblog.com/2015/05/former-sooner-all-american-eddie-foster.html
R.I.P. Eddie Foster...OU All American...
- Thread starter Senior Sooner
- Start date
Eddie was in the Wylie-Pruitt class, but played a year longer as one of the few in the class who redshirted.
I remember walking by accidentally hearing a conversation while he was still in the non varsity dressing room. He was talking with Jimmy Johnson who was presenting the case for him to redshirt before his soph year. They hadn't decided where to play him and he was considered a DTackle possibility at the time. Ended up alternating with Robert Jensen at right O tackle some in 1971 and by his fifth year, was one of the few older guys on that great 73 team that was loaded with sophs from the freshman class of '72: Washington, Selmon, Selmon, Owens.
This is a sad deal. Eddie wouldn't have made it to retirement age yet, if you consider 65 to be the benchmark. But the last couple of times I saw him, was when they introduced alums at a couple of spring games, and he'd gotten really overweight looking.
A really good man. Active in BSU and ROTC. From out in the desolate area of west Texas, called Monohans. A loss of another great Sooner. Too many guys from that era left us way too soon.
I remember walking by accidentally hearing a conversation while he was still in the non varsity dressing room. He was talking with Jimmy Johnson who was presenting the case for him to redshirt before his soph year. They hadn't decided where to play him and he was considered a DTackle possibility at the time. Ended up alternating with Robert Jensen at right O tackle some in 1971 and by his fifth year, was one of the few older guys on that great 73 team that was loaded with sophs from the freshman class of '72: Washington, Selmon, Selmon, Owens.
This is a sad deal. Eddie wouldn't have made it to retirement age yet, if you consider 65 to be the benchmark. But the last couple of times I saw him, was when they introduced alums at a couple of spring games, and he'd gotten really overweight looking.
A really good man. Active in BSU and ROTC. From out in the desolate area of west Texas, called Monohans. A loss of another great Sooner. Too many guys from that era left us way too soon.
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Thanks, plaino, for adding these personal comments...Your behind-the-scenes observations add much to the Big Picture...
DOK...Additional Coverage...
http://newsok.com/former-all-american-football-player-dies/article/5419410
http://newsok.com/former-all-american-football-player-dies/article/5419410
BTW, I really appreciate your posting this. I didn't see it mentioned on the premium site.
For me, the benchmark game of Sooner football was the GOTC in '71. We've now lost from guys who played in that game, besides Eddie, Jack Mildren, Steve Aycock, Bruce Deloney, Lionel Day, Larry Roach, Darrell Emmert, Albert Qualls, and maybe a couple others. None of them made it to 65. Hard to imagine.
For me, the benchmark game of Sooner football was the GOTC in '71. We've now lost from guys who played in that game, besides Eddie, Jack Mildren, Steve Aycock, Bruce Deloney, Lionel Day, Larry Roach, Darrell Emmert, Albert Qualls, and maybe a couple others. None of them made it to 65. Hard to imagine.
Here is the story from the DOK. The picture was the freshman class that were my age. I would have thought that I could easily name most of them, but without the caption, barely would have gotten more than half.
That was the last OU football team, the 1969 Boomers, to wear the NW sleeve stripes. When they tossed those jerseys, I gleaned a couple of them. That was a really good freshman team. I think Eddie played center and a little Dtackle
.http://newsok.com/ou-football-all-american-eddie-foster-dies/article/5419410
That was the last OU football team, the 1969 Boomers, to wear the NW sleeve stripes. When they tossed those jerseys, I gleaned a couple of them. That was a really good freshman team. I think Eddie played center and a little Dtackle
.http://newsok.com/ou-football-all-american-eddie-foster-dies/article/5419410
Plaino, where would you rate Eddie Foster on the all time list of OU wishbone linemen. I don't have your memory, but I do remember he was number one, if not the second best offensive lineman of the era. I personally rate he behind center Tom Brahaney, but not by far. I'm sure I can't remember the names you can.
I loved Eddie as a human being, but I wouldn't rate him in the top ten of the wishbone era. He was redshirted because every starter in 1971 was better than he was. Brahaney was a two time AA. Dean Unruh and Ken Jones were studs. Darrell Emmert was a three year starter. Eddie alternated with Robert Jensen because he wasn't one of the top five. Robert started and played more. Jensen was older by a year. Eddie got his reps, but he wasn't as good as those five guys. Look at guys who came later and there were some really good OLinemen. Not trying to dis somebody who just passed.
Eddie was a guy who cared about doing a great job. I don't believe he stuck in the NFL though he was drafted. There would be some people who liked Mike Vaughn better. John Roush was a three year starter. Eddie wasn't really a full time starter until his senior season.
But I'd think there were a lot of great linemen over a 20 year period, until it finally went away.
Not sure if you'd consider Chuck Thomas a wishbone era guy, but he was a GREAT player.
Mark Hudson. Some of the guys who blocked for Billy Sims and Kenny King. It's hard to compare guys from the early 70s to the mid to late 80s.
I'd look at three or maybe a few four year starters.
Eddie was a guy who cared about doing a great job. I don't believe he stuck in the NFL though he was drafted. There would be some people who liked Mike Vaughn better. John Roush was a three year starter. Eddie wasn't really a full time starter until his senior season.
But I'd think there were a lot of great linemen over a 20 year period, until it finally went away.
Not sure if you'd consider Chuck Thomas a wishbone era guy, but he was a GREAT player.
Mark Hudson. Some of the guys who blocked for Billy Sims and Kenny King. It's hard to compare guys from the early 70s to the mid to late 80s.
I'd look at three or maybe a few four year starters.
Well I got schooled as usual. how could I forget Mike Vaughn and John Roush. Maybe it was because Eddie was my generation and his longevity that I remember him. Same for Jerry Arnold. Thanks for the answers.......
Thanks to our gal Senior Sooner for the original post. Us "younger" fans need reminding of our greats from the past.
Wow. I didn't realize Larry Roach and Albert Qualls also passed. And of course coaches Wendell Mosely and Chuck Fairbanks.
I think Greg Roberts was the best OL of the wishbone era.
I think Greg Roberts was the best OL of the wishbone era.
SnLA, Qualls passed away 21 months ago. I linked the DO story about it.
Larry was maybe the first of those guys to die. He had a brain tumor, I believe in his early 40s. I knew Larry a little. I still talk to his good buddy, Mike McLaughlin. online a little. Until their senior year, (and mine) those running OU's intramural dept wouldn't allow scholarship athletes to play any intramural sports. OUr senior year, they decided to allow no more than two per team. Mike was like an all state basketball player at Cherokee I think.
So Larry and Mike were two of the best players on our intramural basketball team. Larry was a really good guy, but as a db, he would strike you. Mike could have been a great wishbone tight end, but Al Chandler was in his class, and rather than redshirt and be a five year guy, he wanted to go to law school, which he did. He and Tim Welch told me about Larry's early death a long time ago.
Larry was a two year starter at corner, back in the days when there was a lot more run support than pass coverage. And he was really good at it. Two year starter. Qualls was a three year starter at outside linebacker/defensive end and was really fast for a linebacker in that era. I believe he ran a 9.6 100 yard dash in high school, and went about 220, which was OUr largest linebacker.
http://newsok.com/former-oklahoma-defender-albert-qualls-dies-in-houston/article/3873467
We've lost at least two other coaches. Warren Harper died in the last century I believe and Gene Hochevar died almost five years ago. Harper was the only assistant on that staff that had already been a college HC. Six of them ended up eventually getting HC jobs. Pettibone, Lacewell, Jimmy Dickey, Billy Michael and of course Jimmy Johnson and Barry.
I had just made Facebook contact with Gene maybe two months before he died suddenly of a heart attack in December 2010. He told me that Coach Michael was in very poor health and living in north Texas. I'd asked him about the wisdom of trying to see him and he told me he'd ask and get back to me. Less that a couple of weeks later, I saw his Obit. So I don't know if Coach Michael is still surviving. I worked for him for three years and he was really good to me. He was an old school line coach. When somebody asks me what a manager does or did, I tell them my three primary tasks were washing jock straps, keeping up with practice balls and dummies, and making sure the OLine coach had his Beechnut Chewing Tobacco before practice every day.
I thought he got a bum rap on the Kerry Jackson deal, but that's kind of who he was. He took the fall for everybody.
There are way too many of those guys who've already left us. Way way too early.
Larry was maybe the first of those guys to die. He had a brain tumor, I believe in his early 40s. I knew Larry a little. I still talk to his good buddy, Mike McLaughlin. online a little. Until their senior year, (and mine) those running OU's intramural dept wouldn't allow scholarship athletes to play any intramural sports. OUr senior year, they decided to allow no more than two per team. Mike was like an all state basketball player at Cherokee I think.
So Larry and Mike were two of the best players on our intramural basketball team. Larry was a really good guy, but as a db, he would strike you. Mike could have been a great wishbone tight end, but Al Chandler was in his class, and rather than redshirt and be a five year guy, he wanted to go to law school, which he did. He and Tim Welch told me about Larry's early death a long time ago.
Larry was a two year starter at corner, back in the days when there was a lot more run support than pass coverage. And he was really good at it. Two year starter. Qualls was a three year starter at outside linebacker/defensive end and was really fast for a linebacker in that era. I believe he ran a 9.6 100 yard dash in high school, and went about 220, which was OUr largest linebacker.
http://newsok.com/former-oklahoma-defender-albert-qualls-dies-in-houston/article/3873467
We've lost at least two other coaches. Warren Harper died in the last century I believe and Gene Hochevar died almost five years ago. Harper was the only assistant on that staff that had already been a college HC. Six of them ended up eventually getting HC jobs. Pettibone, Lacewell, Jimmy Dickey, Billy Michael and of course Jimmy Johnson and Barry.
I had just made Facebook contact with Gene maybe two months before he died suddenly of a heart attack in December 2010. He told me that Coach Michael was in very poor health and living in north Texas. I'd asked him about the wisdom of trying to see him and he told me he'd ask and get back to me. Less that a couple of weeks later, I saw his Obit. So I don't know if Coach Michael is still surviving. I worked for him for three years and he was really good to me. He was an old school line coach. When somebody asks me what a manager does or did, I tell them my three primary tasks were washing jock straps, keeping up with practice balls and dummies, and making sure the OLine coach had his Beechnut Chewing Tobacco before practice every day.
I thought he got a bum rap on the Kerry Jackson deal, but that's kind of who he was. He took the fall for everybody.
There are way too many of those guys who've already left us. Way way too early.
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Thanks, ia...
I sometimes feel like 'The Grim Reaper' of this board, by posting the Obits, but I think that it's good for us to be updated on our increasing losses, as well as to Salute the Men of the Crimson and Cream. Even if they never played a down, they paid the price with blood, sweat, and tears to be called a SOONER, and that earns them the right to be remembered...
It's especially good when some of us are able to add personal notes...A funny experience...A shared class...Knowledge of something unique...Lest we forget, we need to be reminded that these men were NOT simply a number on a jersey...
In 'My' Group, 'The Men of the 47 Straight', the numbers are shrinking at a frightening pace. It will be interesting to see who is the last man standing...
I met Ed in 1989 when he was working for Steve Owens' insurance agency selling mechanical breakdown insurance to lenders that the company I worked for insured. He has worked with Tinker and Steve, who have their own separate businesses for the past 30 years or so, and I last saw him the night that the guy blew himself up outside the stadium when OU beat Kansas State. Geez, I can't even remember the year. Tinker gave me a couple of tickets for the game and got a chance to talk with Ed for a while before the game. I just missed seeing him a few years ago as he had just left Don Carlton Acura, who is one of Ed's dealer customers. I've posted this on the board before and I still mean it, Ed Foster is one, if not the # 1, nicest guys I've ever had the pleasure of doing business with. I'm not saying we were great friends but we did have lunch on several occasions and he (and Tinker) was one the first guys I contacted when I joined the company here in Tulsa in 1995. Ed made you feel that he was your best friend. He was that type of man. I am just shocked!
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Plainosooner and others: Thanks to all for your info, responses, the link, and your personal stories about these players. I remember all of these players and coaches and I am greatly saddened by their loss. They created great college memories for me and I will be forever grateful. I went to OU from my hometown of St. Louis but grew to love Oklahoma, the people, the school and state because of my experiences at OU.
Like Senior Sooner I also enjoy stories about our brushes with these Sooner greats. I have a few, here is one of them. I took a Petroleum Land Management class and, to my surprise, a number of the Sooner starting offensive line was in the class-- Tom Brahaney, Dean Unruh, the late Ken Jones, and Darrell Emmert. Two things I found interesting about these players/classmates.
1) When they sat in their seats in class they sat in the same order they lined up on the football field. Brahaney in the center, with the guards surrounding him and then the tackles.
2) I remember hoping one would get drafted by my hometown St. Louis Football Cardinals. When the draft came they were ALL drafted by the Cardinals. An unbelievable coincidence I thought
Like Senior Sooner I also enjoy stories about our brushes with these Sooner greats. I have a few, here is one of them. I took a Petroleum Land Management class and, to my surprise, a number of the Sooner starting offensive line was in the class-- Tom Brahaney, Dean Unruh, the late Ken Jones, and Darrell Emmert. Two things I found interesting about these players/classmates.
1) When they sat in their seats in class they sat in the same order they lined up on the football field. Brahaney in the center, with the guards surrounding him and then the tackles.
2) I remember hoping one would get drafted by my hometown St. Louis Football Cardinals. When the draft came they were ALL drafted by the Cardinals. An unbelievable coincidence I thought
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I did not know about the passing of Ken Jones. And I never had a class with any of the OLinemen, that I recall. So I didn't know about their class alignment inclinations.
I did know that Ken ended up a lawyer in OKC. The only one of those guys you mentioned who was from Oklahoma was Emmert. Ken was from Nebraska. Omaha I think. Dean Unruh was from Colorado. Brahaney was from Midland.
I did know that Ken ended up a lawyer in OKC. The only one of those guys you mentioned who was from Oklahoma was Emmert. Ken was from Nebraska. Omaha I think. Dean Unruh was from Colorado. Brahaney was from Midland.
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