1967 OU highlights film

[CTOkie]

on soonersports.com:
A great video showing OU's great 1967 season going 10-1 with only a 9-7 loss to Texas.
Things that stood out to me:
The lack of size overall is eye-popping when compared to teams today.
The defensive pursuit by OU was relentless, unlike anything I have seen by OU in this century.
The overall quickness on offense and defense.
The tandem of Ron Shotts and Steve Owens at tailback running behind a smallish OL that had great blockers....Kalsu and Mendenhall among them.
Gordon Wheeler's punting.
The low key celebrations after scoring and big play making.
The lone loss to Texas was in part due to Mike Vachon's four....4....missed field goals and late in the game Steve Owens had a near breakaway run but was caught from behind around Texas' 30 yard line at the end of a 50 yard run.
This team was one of my favorite Sooner teams ever. I can't compare them to teams of 40-50 years later as far as match ups because of the size differentials.....not with offensive linemen weighing no more than 215 lbs, or defensive ends at under 200 lbs, or DT's at under 215 lbs, LB's under 200 lbs and the lack of black talent aside from superstar wingback Eddie Hinton (who went on to be drafted in the first round by the Colts in 1969).

 

[Plainosooner]

Rules changes, changed the game substantially. 1967 was the beginning of the virtual change to two platoon football. They'd had some transition stuff since the beginning of the 60's, and it wasn't totally two platoon until into the 70's. If you watched Johnny Rodgers punt return in the GOTC in 1971, we didn't have special teams players out there covering the punt. We had five OLinemen trying to track down Johnny Rodgers, because you weren't allowed to trade out a whole team, except on first down.

But the biggest change came a decade after. Blocking rules changes, changed the game. When DRK was still the HC at Texas, he used to say that three things can happen when you throw he ball, and two of them are bad. And with the old rules, that was true. Actually, more than two were bad. A holding penalty in 1967 was a 15 yard penalty. And way blocking is allowed today, would have meant a holding call on every play. You weren't allowed to block anywhere with an open hand. Any hands on a defender was holding.

It made pass blocking much much much more difficult. And a much severer penalty. That's why the wishbone mostly dominated the national champions. USC had a couple, in an I form with good passers. And GREAT athletes. ND had a couple. But Bama and OU dominated the 70's running the triple option.

And of course, half of the great programs in the 60's had few, or no black athletes. When the blocking rules changed to allow virtual holding on every play, defensive atheticism and quickness was essential to be able to survive defensively. There were no huge guys on offense before the blocking rules changed, because you had to have incredible foot quickness to block anybody.

After the rules changed, bigger guys could be better blockers, because they could latch onto you, and not let up. Strength was much more important. And until first the Huskers started emphasizing weight training, it was not a big deal. OU had a tiny weight room with three weight machines. And of course roids, were certainly around in the 60's, but not nearly as big a factor, became and bigger and bigger advantage.

The athletes today are obviously bigger and stronger and quicker. But the guys from the old days would be just as big and just as good, if they had the kind of science that produces the men today. That, if they had the kind of commitment that is required today. Guys went home for the summer in the 60's. Coaches had most of the summer off. It's just a different game.

 

[CTOkie]

Good stuff, Plaino.

 

[CTOkie]

I remember how Coach Mackenzie came on board in 1966 following Gomer Jones and immediately decided he wanted a leaner, quicker team. That off-season (1965-66) the team shed over 1,400 lbs. That 1966 season saw OU finally end an 8 year drought against Texas and post a stunning upset of then unbeaten Nebraska.
My opinion of Mackenzie is that he initiated the success of OU football for the 54 years to follow...outside of those years following the 1989 probation. And his first coaching staff was incredible: Faibanks, Switzer, Hall, Lacewell, Rice and James.
OU had gone 33-27 from 1960-65, with 16 of those 33 wins in just two seasons, 1962-1963. The bleeding stopped in 1966.
37 year old Jim Mackenzie restored the winning tradition at OU which continues to this day and even though his time at OU was short lived, his impact on Oklahoma's program is immense and needs to be remembered.

 

[Oklabama]

The ‘67 team is just about my favorite Sooner squad. We weren’t ranked much above 20th in preseason and by the end of regular season I think we could beaten just about anyone. We could have played Texas three more times and probably won each game. They weren’t very good which made losing to them that year all the more frustrating. Beating Tennessee more than made up for the Texas loss for me though. Kalsu’s last OU game. Robert was a special guy and one of my true heroes.

 

[CTOkie]

The ‘67 team is just about my favorite Sooner squad. We weren’t ranked much above 20th in preseason and by the end of regular season I think we could beaten just about anyone. We could have played Texas three more times and probably won each game. They weren’t very good which made losing to them that year all the more frustrating. Beating Tennessee more than made up for the Texas loss for me though. Kalsu’s last OU game. Robert was a special guy and one of my true heroes.

1967 was my favorite as was 2000. Two Sooner teams came out of nowhere following an era of bad times to put OU back to relevance.

 

[owenfieldreams]

That loss to Texas still haunts me. I had seats literally in the Texas student section. We should have been up by a couple of TD's at the half. Owens was running roughshod over the Horns. DKR'S famous halftime quote..." there's a hell of a fight going on out there. Don't you think we ought to get in it?"

 

[CTOkie]

That loss to Texas still haunts me. I had seats literally in the Texas student section. We should have been up by a couple of TD's at the half. Owens was running roughshod over the Horns. DKR'S famous halftime quote..." there's a hell of a fight going on out there. Don't you think we ought to get in it?"

Would have been nice if Vachon had made just one of his four FG attempts.

 

[iasooner1]

Since ND broke my Dad’s heart in the game in the 50s and we were racing then and I was pretty young I may have heard parts. Proud of the Wardog of Miami of course.

 

[Oklabama]

Since ND broke my Dad’s heart in the game in the 50s and we were racing then and I was pretty young I may have heard parts. Proud of the Wardog of Miami of course.

We were racing then??

 

[hornrush]

That loss to Texas still haunts me. I had seats literally in the Texas student section. We should have been up by a couple of TD's at the half. Owens was running roughshod over the Horns. DKR'S famous halftime quote..." there's a hell of a fight going on out there. Don't you think we ought to get in it?"

My first Texas-ou game. Sat right behind the ou bench. Saw a lot of blood in that game. Made quite an impression on me.

 

[iasooner1]

My Pop spent all his non-working hours building dirt track cars from about 61-76 to race in Tulsa & OKC mostly. I didn’t see many Sooner games on TV until the first GOTC and I was hooked

 

[Oklabama]

My Pop spent all his non-working hours building dirt track cars from about 61-76 to race in Tulsa & OKC mostly. I didn’t see many Sooner games on TV until the first GOTC and I was hooked

My dad sponsored Aaron Madden in 1960. Dad was a stock car driver from 46-57 before we moved to OKC. If you ever visit Talladega you will see his photo in the Pioneers of Racing HOF (class of 2002) museum there. I remember as a kid watching a group of his friends cut in the old quarter mile track at Talladega. We lived in Anniston at the time and Dad was at the top of his game about then.

 

[sooners49]

Delbert Bates lived down the street and as a young kid there was so much going on we had to hang out there as much as we could. Doug Johnson,Gary Tapp and a bunch of others. Then every Saturday night at Tulsa Speedway. The new track was so nice and we loved going. Went to the races even after they moved north.
Alan Burton was my motocross buddy and he won a track championship one year.
Told me even running in the back in a 410 sprint was a thrill he couldn’t describe.

 

[iasooner1]

I dated D Johnson’s girl for a while in 75-6. The 3/8 mile track at the fair grounds was good but when they rebuilt to 1/2 it got scary as the turns were not banked correctly. Our first date he crashed badly and was never the same man

 

[sooners49]

I remember that wreck and I remember he was different after that. Tapp went off and into the pits and it almost killed him at the Yale track. Saw him after and it was sad. That half mile was wicked fast and dangerous. I was there opening night when Benny Taylor won and was in awe of that place.
Best facilities in the Midwest as drivers from all over would race there.
I saw Herschel Thompson years ago and we talked a long time about the good old days.

 

[iasooner1]

My Dad grew up around the Taylor boys and Benny was our first driver before he was very good. He was #71 & his bro was 70 in about 1964. Then Dad switched to the small block division for awhile & Geo Armstrong was our driver for a long time

 

[sooners49]

Wow you were in the sport big time. I go to the old school websites every once in awhile and it takes you back. Ray Crawford’s daughter dated one of the group at the time. Shotgun Sams after and Bells Amusement
Park. Good times.
We were just punks at the time and could never envision where racing would eventually end up.

 

[iasooner1]

The last I saw of the old hood on 24th Ave near Sheridan needed a lot of work; most of the areas were blighted and the yards, bad. Sad

 

[sooners49]

I grew up on the East side and it was good blue collar people at that time,now it’s a mess.

 

[iasooner1]

Our roots were in the heart of N Lewis/Springdale Elem area & Dad built a racer in a one stall garage every winter. I used to turn a wrench or fetch the light, etc

I finally got to “pack the track” before race night started when I was 16 or 17 and threw a little bit of mud one time which was fun. I didn’t go to many races after Johnson’s wreck in Tulsa. I went to the Knoxville Nationals a few times when my Brother was helping the Outlaw Sprinters. The sport got too expensive to be competitive without big time sponsors by the late 70s

The old Tulsa race folks meet for lunch once a month, the Catoosa Hard Rock usually. If you are ever interested let me know and I’ll get you the time/location

 

[iasooner1]

CT, sorry for getting off topic. How about a link to some 67 Sooner highlights ?

 

[Plainosooner]

three hours of the 68 Orange Bowl

 

[CTOkie]

CT, sorry for getting off topic. How about a link to some 67 Sooner highlights ?

The 1967 season highlight film is on Soonersports.
Once on there, click "Multimedia"....then "Soonersports.TV".....then you will see 3 bars across the screen ("all categories", "all sports", "search"): Enter Highlights in categories...Football in all sports...1967 in search.
The picture quality is good and each game is included. Narrated by Bob Barry.