1969: The Season - Longhorn Network documentary
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2021
- From the highs of winning a National Championship, to the extreme lows of losing a beloved teammate, 1969 follows the Texas Longhorns on their path to winning their second National Championship.
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As a huge Nebraska fan, this has to be one of the best college football documentaries I've ever seen. I certainly remember that Texas team and they ranked right up there as one of the best ever.
As a Razorback fan, this doc moved me to many inspirational tears.
Now we are in the same conference again! I can't wait!
I’ll never forget when Coach Royal told the team about Freddie Steinmark’s cancer diagnosis in the Moore Hill Hall dining room. Very somber and emotional.
I had no idea that Moore Hill used to be a dining room! That was where my college dorm was freshman year when I was on the Forty Acres!!
That was the first football game I watched from start to finish at that time.I was 11yrs in the 6th grade.🤘
I was 12.
I grew up an ou fan , but now a days just a fan of college football, this was an inspiring team. Freddie steinmark was a truly courageous overcomer, who had faith in Jesus! What matters most in life is not the trophy or the rings, but are we born again , have we trusted Jesus and received Gods free gift of salvation?
Amen
Peschel's catch would've been an unreal highlight today. And he did it with no sticky gloves. Over the shoulder like that with 2 defenders right there. That's an all world throw and catch
That is one of the best football documentaries and stories ever.
This was a great video. I have the 1969 Championship poster given to me by my brother-in-law for my 12th birthday. Most of the players signed the poster and Freddie's signature is one of the boys that signed it. I have been told that because it has signatures it is a one-of-a-kind poster.
I was blessed to be on the Texas track team from 1969-1972. Those were magical years.
Byrd--magical is the correct word. i was there breathing the same air at the same time in the same place.
@@dougpalandech4748 Wonderful memories!
@@UTEXTRACK You ran with Dave Morton. What a stud. I tried as a walk on. God had other plans.
Thank you for being a part of Texas Athletics you are a Longhorn legend for that I will always respect you 🫡
Hook Em Horns
Hours away from a renewal of the Texas/Arkansas football rivalry, and I am drawn to memories of the 1969 football season which culminated in 'The Game of the Century" between these two teams. I had just turned 9 years old, and it was the the first year I had ever followed the Razorbacks and college football. I was devastated by the loss to the Longhorns on that cold December day, and I mourned in a childish way--as the child I was--until perspective penetrated my young mind, thanks to my mother.... It was she who, just a few days after the game, brought to my attention the unfortunate fate of Texas defensive back, Freddie Steinmark.... A young man who had overcome many obstacles to find himself playing for the University of Texas, and who had become the heart of their team. He had played the 1969 season for the Longhorns, fighting through excruciating pain which turned out to be the result of bone cancer in his left leg.... Days after that enormous contest, Freddie's leg had had to be amputated at the hip. He faced his fate with tremendous fortitude and faith, but succumbed to the cancer 18 months later. He is remembered as an icon of courage at Texas--as well he should be--and he is ever in my mind when our two teams meet. Freddie Steinmark was everything a young man should hope to be, and I will never forget my mother's tears when she related his story to me to help me get over the mere loss of a football game....
Just knowing that the Longhorns will be joining the SEC soon, and that the Razorbacks will once again have our old friend/foe as an annual conference game fills me with nostalgia for the past and excitement for the future. In honor of the storied history between these two former Southwest Conference rivals, I'm re-posting my 50th anniversary recap of their legendary contest from December 6, 1969--now 52 years ago...and still as fresh in mind as it was on the afternoon it took place:
50 YEARS AGO:
On this date-December 6-it was a Saturday. The first Saturday of the month, yes, but also the last Saturday of regular-season college football in its first century of existence. And there was only one contest scheduled to mark this moment in history. It would be a “battle of unbeatens”-both at 9-0. It would be #1 Texas vs. #2 Arkansas.
100 years earlier-on November 6, 1869-Princeton vs. Rutgers had begun it all. That contest, too, had been-of course-the only game played on that day. A very different game than the one that ten decades of evolution-growth, rule changes, administrative oversight, and actual gameplay innovation-would produce by the time of the sport's centennial year. But on this day, 100 years after its birth, College Football was alive and well, and about to showcase what many, who witnessed it, would forever afterward refer to as “The Game of the Century.”
Arkansas won the coin-toss and elected to kick-off, pitting the Razorbacks' #1 scoring defense against Texas' #2 scoring offense to begin the game. With a worldwide radio audience, a national television audience, and a deafening standing-room-only live audience in attendance, the teams faced each other on the cold and damp astroturf of Razorback Stadium even as helicopters landed to the south of the playing surface, bearing various dignitaries which included among them the President of the United States, himself: Richard M. Nixon.
Bill McClard booted the ball beyond the endzone for a touchback, and the vaunted Texas “wishbone” triple-option offense would begin its attack from its own 20 yard-line. With the Southwest Conference title-as well as a National Championship-on the line, Razorbacks and Longhorns collided on the first play from scrimmage: a mere one-yard gain into the heart of the Arkansas defenders, led by DT Rick Kersey and LB Cliff Powell. What followed would fuel the feeding-frenzy in Fayetteville for the football team, and fans alike, for most of the rest of the afternoon: On 2nd-and-9, the Hogs disrupted the handoff exchange, and DB Bobby Field fell on the loose ball at the Texas 22 as the stadium erupted with elation. Five plays later, from the one yard-line, RB Bill Burnett vaulted over the line and into the endzone. After McClard's P.A.T., the Razorbacks had the early lead, 7-0, over the top-ranked Texas Longhorns, and the foothills of the Boston Mountains reverberated with the roar from Razorbacks fans.
The season-long pressure-cooker of anticipation had heightened the sensibilities of all onlookers and participants. Emotions were high on “The Hill,” and throughout the 1st half, the Razorbacks defense performed purposefully, disrupting the Texas rushing attack, and preventing positive results from the rare pass. Punishing collisions prevailed at the end of each play. Every single snap of the ball seemed electrically-charged with potential, right up to a Texas block of a Razorbacks punt as the clock expired on the 2nd period. At halftime, the Centennial Celebration of College Football found the Razorbacks still ahead of #1 Texas, 7-0.
In the 3rd quarter, after further back-and-forth drama on the field, Arkansas finally struck again. With under 9:15 to play, QB Bill Montgomery hit WR Chuck Dicus for 29 yards and a second Razorbacks touchdown. McClard's kick was good, and the Hogs' dominant performance, intoxicating to all in attendance, continued till the quarter's end: #2 Arkansas-14, #1 Texas-0.
On the first play of the final period, however, Longhorns QB James Street, attempting to pass, was forced to scramble, and did so to the tune of 42 yards and a Texas touchdown. Street then kept for the 2-point try, and sliced into the endzone to narrow the Razorbacks' lead down to 14-8.
With an entire quarter to play, it suddenly was a whole new ballgame, and the atmosphere in Razorback Stadium was intense. Arkansas responded right away, with Montgomery shredding the Texas secondary with pinpoint passing, moving the Hogs all the way down to the Longhorns' 7 yard-line. But, on 3rd and goal, Texas' Danny Lester stepped in front of Dicus in the endzone and picked Montgomery off, returning the ball upfield, and providing the Longhorns with another opportunity.
The Arkansas defense bent for a moment, but bounced back by forcing another Texas turnover. Now, however, the Longhorns defense asserted itself, forcing the Razorbacks to punt. With under six-and-a-half minutes to play, Texas was 64 yards away from the tying touchdown, and time was not the friend of a trailing triple-option offense. The stingy defenders of Arkansas dug in and made them work for every inch, until finally, with 4:47 left in the game, it was 4th and 3 for Texas, from their own 43 yard-line....
Fourth down... Three yards needed to convert... With the “wishbone” triple-option, featuring a stable of four backs who each averaged approximately 5 yards-per-carry in the nation's leading rushing attack...
But Texas threw The Bomb.
On fourth down, with the Southwest Conference Championship on the line...with a National Championship on the line...with The Game of the Century on the line...Texas QB James Street dropped back and launched an improbable pass, 44 yards down the field and into the waiting outstretched arms of WR Randy Peschel....
There were tumbling Longhorns cheerleaders...
And joyous “Texas Fight”...
And what had before seemed lost in a cardinal-clad cloud...
Now beckoned with burnt-orange light.
First and ten at the Arkansas 13.
Two plays later, RB Jim Bertelsen carried the ball across the goal line from 2 yards out, and the score was tied at 14-14. Placekicker Happy Feller kicked the P.A.T. true, and with 3:58 remaining in the contest, Texas had overcome 6 turnovers and a two-touchdown deficit. It was Texas-15, Arkansas-14.
3:58 on the clock. An eternity for the likes of the Arkansas offense. 80 yards from the goal line, but only needing field goal range, the Razorbacks went to work. Texas, however, resisted, forcing the Hogs to convert a fourth down to keep the drive alive. Nevertheless, passing to Dicus down the middle, and working the sidelines to Burnett, QB Bill Montgomery moved his team into Texas territory with only 1:22 left on the clock. It was then, however, that DB Tom Campbell of Texas wrestled away a pass intended for WR John Rees, putting an end to the Arkansas threat, and allowing the Longhorns to run out the remaining time in the final major college football game of the sport's first 100 years.
The final score: Texas-15, Arkansas-14.
It had been every bit as good as advertised. Everything one could hope for in a game of such magnitude. Except victory for the Razorbacks.
The Longhorns would remain #1 in the next AP poll, while Arkansas would only drop one spot, to #3. Undefeated Penn State would move up to #2, but having accepted an Orange Bowl invitation, they would miss out on the opportunity to play the winner of Texas vs. Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl, in what would have been another National Championship game. Instead, the Nittany Lions would be paired with #6 Missouri.
On New Year's Day, 1970, the #3 Arkansas Razorbacks found themselves back in New Orleans, LA for another Sugar Bowl outing. This time the opponent was the Southeastern Conference's #13 Mississippi Rebels, led by QB Archie Manning. Arkansas came out flat, fell far behind early, and played catchup in the second half, but fell short of the Rebels, 27-22. It has been said that the Razorbacks had simply lost to Texas again, such was the emotional letdown they had suffered those few weeks before.
Meanwhile, Penn State defeated Missouri in the Orange Bowl, 10-3. And, in the Cotton Bowl, Texas, once again, heroically came from behind--this time--to defeat Notre Dame, 21-17.
100 years of College Football was complete. Texas (11-0) was the 1969 AP National Champion in the final poll. Penn State (11-0) finished at #2. And the Arkansas Razorbacks (9-2) descended the rungs of the rankings to settle at #7.
Arkansas' football team did not win The Game of the Century. They did, however, solidify themselves as icons of football history, performing admirably in what is also known as “The '69 Shootout,” joining with the Texas Longhorns to deliver an event worthy of its nicknames. What happened that day in Razorback Stadium will never be forgotten, and never be repeated. The game continued to evolve over the following 50 years, and it is very different today than it was on that cold day in Fayetteville, AR. Rules change, players change, coaches change... What will never change, however-for all of time to come-is that two rival members of the now-defunct Southwest Conference ran the table on all their opponents, reaching national prominence in many statistical categories, while rising through the ranks to become the top two teams in the country; whereupon, they faced-off against each other in a final fiercely-contested, highly-dramatic regular-season showdown for the ultimate prize: a National Championship. There could be no finer way to close out the first 100 years of College Football.
It happened on December 6, 1969....
It was #1 Texas vs. #2 Arkansas....
And it was-without a doubt-THE GAME OF THE CENTURY.
That's quite a comment! We'll done!
Wow! Texas playing again in the same Conference, it brings joy to my heart!!! SWC!!!
This is the longest comment I have ever seen in my life
The next time Texas and Arkansas can play on December 6 that falls on a Saturday won't be until 2025
I know all about the game I watched it that day and many times on CZcams
RIP to my favorite all time Longhorn Steve Wooster a great player on this 69 team.
Unbelievable yet truth sometimes is. So glad I found out about this group and that more story is available. Thanks. C.Stone Jr.
Love this and both my uncles Bobby Wuensch and Bill Atessis. Great memories and loved this era as a kid growing up in the 60’s-70’s.
Texas has won 3 national championships on crucial 4th down calls. 🤘
Tom Campbell. 🤘
Wonderful Doc. Brings back so many memories. 69 was my freshman year there. I made every home game , and both Cotton Bowls
I didn't realize that so many of them have joined Freddie. Very sad.
Had the honor of meeting Bobby Wuensch at His Business in Houston!
Back when college football was the greatest.
Lmao the CAUCASITY of that comment 😅😅
How was it great without earl Campbell ricy Williams Vince Young and black and brown people
One of the best Longhorns team ever!
This was inspiring to watch - I hadn’t seen it before. Justin Street did a great job and the spirit of Jimmy Street lives through his children today. RIP Jimmy and Freddie. And beat Arkansas tomorrow.
Absolutely brilliant work. What a legendary team. Guts, spirit, talent, ambition, self-belief, determination. This entire team was exceptional. Freddie Steinmark was an inspiration to all. Great work!
outstanding documentary ............ wishbone ........ end of story ........ love watching this offense .................... still today .............. with army ..........navy ........... and air force
Amazing
That documentary just about brought tears to my eyes. Very well done on this production.
The LHN also did great retrospectives on the '63 and '08 teams.
Yes sir! I plan on getting those 2 uploaded as soon as they re-air!
Great Documentary
Damn good video. I'm gonna save this one for sure. I watched this game on TV in Dallas with my dad and I confess I was sweating bullets in the fourth quarter wondering if Texas was gonna pull this one out. The Hogs QB, Bill Montgomery, was from my high school just up the road. Great season for the Horns.
This is beautifully done. Wonderful to watch
Hook Em! I was 12 and 13 when they won it all. Made me a Longhorn for life.
This is one of the best videos I've seen on youtube, thanks! I saw Texas trounce Tennessee in the Cotton Bowl and saw the Longhorn steer mascot on the sideline and I was a fan right after that! I vividly remember the 1968-1970 Texas powerhouse teams. The 15-14 win over Arkansas was epic and was played on relatively new type of field called, Astroturf.
Great documentary
THIS is a Great Video. Well done.
I was in the stands at the Cotton Bowl when they beat Norte Dame. It was pure electricity.
How about the next year when Notre Dame ended Texas' long winning streak ?
@@michaelleroy9281 Not here, please
Awesome
What a great season I was there in the band
"We felt like they could announce the play on the PA system, and we didn't care. We were gonna be able to run it anyway." Now that's confidence.
Some young boys went to Vietnam.....others went to Fayettenom .
Love them
45-20 UT wins against a good team out of the SEC bleed burnt orange 🍊 can't wait for Saturday again the build up for this game is hog wild 😜 hookem horns beat Arekansas here little piggy great history back in swc horns always up bring another win back to the 40 acres Texas longhorn football
I got into an argument with other Longhorn fans about who is the best QUARTERBACK in Texas football history, and I strongly think that James Street is the best QUARTERBACK and most iconic Longhorn Quarterback then Vince Young. Everyone who knows football would agree that people like James Street is the Longhorns QB, just like Sammy Baugh is for TCU. They are the first names who should cross people's minds than any modern player.
This is why I am a Longhorn -Hook'em
LONGHORNS
The Horns can thank The Razorback Off. Coordinator for calling for a pass (the same play twice in a row) and not kicking a FG . McClard would not have missed from that close. It was equal to an extra point and would have put The Hogs up 17-8. Mervin Johnson I hope that call haunts you like that loss does me.
Bill Montgomery . It was NOT your fault ! You were a GREAT Razorback !
It;s the human element that makes it a game worth playing
Did they made a movie about Freddie??
Yes, My All American. Sadly, it wasn't all that great.
'69, dudes!
James street a Longview lobos legend 903 east Texas baby Wolfpack nation
At 51:32, 2 seconds after the biggest play of the 1969 Texas vs Arkansas, The Biggest Game in College Football History at that time, just as the play ends, some A Hole Texas cheerleader Runs onto the Field Between the Players, and does a series of Running Flips, How in the Hell is This not a Penalty?
It was 1969 and such things were "permitted". His name was Robert Worsham, if memory serves.
Quite common. Maybe, let it go?
The War on Fun hadn't been declared yet.
They don't call penalties on cheerleaders at least not in 1969
While Texas was an undisputed national power during that era, they were overrated as an all-time program. So were their arch rivals, the Arkansas Razorbacks. The reason is as plain as black and white. PUN INTENDED!! LILY WHITE RACISM!! Beginning with their 1959 matchup with Ben Schwartzwalders, great Syracuse team, the Longhorns left something on the table in their matchups with other elite programs. A well integrated Orangemen squad outplayed the Horns 23-14 on their way to the National Title. Even Texas coach Darrell Royal was quoted years later as saying, "I wish another team would have played Syracuse. In all my years in football, theyre still one of the best teams we played." On that fabulous team was the incredible Ernie Davis. Quite possibly the best college football player of all time. Perhaps even greater than his Syracuse predecessor, the legendary Jim Brown. How great was Davis? Even Brown was unable to be voted the Heisman Trophy because of Jim Crow prejudice. Losing to Notre Dame's Paul Hornung. Quarterback of an 8 loss team!! Davis's career was so transcendent that he was the first black Heisman Trophy winner. Had he not been tragically struck down by leukemia, Davis would have surely had a fabulous pro career. Jim Brown himself cited how eerily similar they were in terms of talent. Even the 1969 matchup with Arkansas was a "Tainted Game of the Century." The last major game between too "Lily White" squads. By all accounts, neither team was as talented as Woody Hayes's Ohio State team. Who had their asses handed to them by their arch rival the Michigan Wolverines in a 24-12 upset. The REAL GAME OF THE CENTURY was the Thanksgiving day matchup between Nebraska and Oklahoma in 1971. The Sooners possessed a Wishbone offense that made the Longhorns option attack look like a broken twig!! The Cornhuskers defeated that juggernaut 35-31 in Norman on their home field. Even more impressive was their annihilation of Bear Bryant's Akabam team in the Orange Bowl, 38-6!! That Nebraska team was voted the greatest team of all time 17 years later by a panels vote. The Horns and the Porkers would have been canon fodder for that colossus. There is no all white team ever assembled that could compete on equal footing with a squad composed of all the best players. ALL THE BEST AVAILABLE PLAYERS!! That is their true legacy. A stain on the collegiate football landscape.
Imagine trying to sign with Texas!! And they say no because your black 🖤#!!!
Notre Dame class act cussing out your opponents
Not surprised
At 44:31 How old is that male cheerleader in the middle? Dude looks like a middle age European. 😂😂
Those college students knew little about that war, asides from what their teachers told was not helping, neither was insulting the soldiers who have been there and sacrificed for their freedoms. I dare those hippies and college students put their money where their mouth is. Boomers of that era ruined everything and has made the country into entitled babies(Millienals) who don't know the meaning of sacrifice. The people of that era are similar to the current generation only difference is that they support the war in Ukraine(Despite it is not our war! and supporting real Nazis in Ukraine) and they would not go and fight if that's what they believe. So the opinions of college students on serious matters don't matter since they flip flop according to what they are told to by their teachers and peers. I would not forgive those college students for how they treated returning soldiers since they would never put their lives on the line.
I wished they could have tried to match up with Florida A&M or Alcorn State in 1969.
I'm a Longhorn, but we don't win anything without the help of Michigan and Ohio State was the better team, probably.
And as a Longhorn, I expect to get nasty replies from other Longhorns due to my truthful response. They can't deal with truth very well and a lot of them are just true assmonkeys . Inside Texas, the internet site, is full of the biggest jerks in sports and f the lot of them.
Not one black player!!?? Texas should be ashamed of itself!!!!😮!
No minorities on the team..? It must be nice to have all the opportunities back then.. and have the ability to lift up there families, plus have the ability to leave something for there kids and grandkids.. .
Ohhhhhhh the nonsense about the notre dame game
The next year Notre Dame won 24-11
Nixon stole this year’s title and gave it to Texas, Penn State took it to them the next year
Penn State and Texas didn't play each other until the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day 1972
1:27...a sea of burnt orange and white. Really white.
beautiful aint it
I now live in Texas and love this state. But….I am originally from Pennsylvania. Texas would not have scored on the 69 Penn State defense. We will never know though.
Got 1969 Ohio State 47 Texas 21
They didn't play each other in 1969
No Black players?
Texas CHOSE to play then #9 8-1-1 Notre Dame instead of undefeated #2 Penn State in the Cotton Bowl. Texas ducked Penn State who really deserved to be national champions that year.
Incorrect. Back then the Southwest Conference Champion was obligated to go to the Cotton Bowl regardless of their opponent. Also back then teams had to make their decision on which bowl game they were going to in mid-november. The Penn State football team voted to go to the Orange Bowl instead of the Cotton Bowl. Probably more or less because of the weather I would guess. So actually no one "ducked" anyone.
@@donaldtobleman5971 Nope. PSU wanted the Cotton Bowl to beat Texas. ND was invited because that's what Darrell Royal wanted.
Unfortunate that the producer allowed one of the Texas players to lie about the behavior of the coaches and priest on the Notre Dame sideline. Anyone who knew Ara Parseghian will attest to his being a gentleman and no priest would behave the way it was described. Shame on the Texas liar!
Everybody lies on news/tv/film nowadays.
Oh, and you know this, because,..?
Lol you think all priests are high and mighty that do no wrong? Ever read the news of priests molesting kids???? You're a moron dude!
It's almost shocking now to see a college football team with only white people.
Especially 'National Champions' at the time
That's because they thought black people were disgusting and sub-human.
Wow not one black player even in 69. Smh
I know. Shameful.
they won the national championship. they did the job with the men they had
They were all in Vietnam
Someone has to bring race into the chat but then this is 2022
@@corypeacock556 They were in the Big 10, Big 8, Pac 8 and other conferences. They were not allowed in the ACC, SEC and SWC which of course Texas was a part of.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Steinmark:_Faith,_Family,_Football