HOOKED : Growing into a Lifetime Longhorn Fan (LLF)

[Michael Inman]

September, !959 I'm 8 years old, I grew up in The Avenues, Hyde Park its early evening and I hear the roar of the crowd, and I ask my mother, what is that? She says that is the crowd at the Longhorn football game. I sat on the porch listening in excitement till I fell asleep. the next day talked to my mother about going to a game. She said, honey, you are a little young, maybe in a couple of years. Two years latter, 1961, at the age 10, I was in the fourth grade at Baker school. Knothole tickets could be had at the office, that allowed students to see all home games for 50 cents a game, so my buddies and I all got one. I was so excited,  I showed it to my mother, (No Dad), when I got home, and told her what the deal was. Turns out one of my friends parents had season tickets, and would take us to and from the game. My Mother consented after speaking with the parents. I was beside my self with excitement. The parents, after walking from the parking area, took us to the North endzone area, (not hole section) and showed us where to meet up after the game. I had saved my lunch money all week,(35 cents a day) so I would have some spending money, plus my mother gave me a Dollar. I was loaded! We climbed the stairs to the seating area, and WOW, people every where (capacity, 65,000) . We found a place to sit, and looked out over the playing field. Texas Tech was warming up in the north endzone right in front of us. The Longhorns at the south end. Once the warm ups were finished and the teams cleared from the field, next thang, here comes the Longhorn Band. At the time the band hall was directly across the street from the tunnel entrance. first was big Bertha, then the 300 piece Band of The Southwest. GOOSEBUMPS, what a special event , "I WAS HOOKED" ! Texas won 42-14 , finished 10 and !, and played Ole Miss in The Cotton Bowl and won 12-7 and finished #3 and Ole Miss finished #5!   SO MUCH MORE TO COME ! "HOOK'EM"!

Edited September 27 by Michael Inman

[GetHooked]

1 hour ago, Michael Inman said:

HOOKED : Growing into a Lifetime Longhorn Fan (LLF)

So you're about to GetHooked.  It happens.

[Michael Inman]

Hooked: Growing into a Lifetime Longhorn Fan, page 2, 1962 !  I had just turned 11 years old. All summer long I was looking forward to the start of the college football season, and going to the games again. After all the home games the previous season, I would walk through the stands and look for a program that was in good shape, and take it home with , and by the of the season, I had 5 to study so I could memorize the names of the players and their position, team history and statistics, etc. I had also spent the months prior to the start of the 1962 season, selling magazines subscriptions. I had my eye on winning a Royce Union 3 speed bicycle. I forget exactly home many I had to sell to win the bicycle (50 0r 60). I sold enough subscriptions to qualify for the bicycle and in August 2 days before my 11th  birthday, I received this huge box that contained the bicycle. I had to partially put the bike together. and when I finished, I just marveled at my first  bike. What a life changer that was. Now I had a bike to ride from my house to the stadium, bout 3 miles, to watch Longhorn Practices during the week, before each game. That was the reason for selling the magazines. Back then, the Longhorns practiced at freshman field, that was located across San Jacinto, just south of the Ex-student association. The team would dress in the locker room, located under the west side stands,(bout the 50 yd line), and walk across the street, cross the creek on a bridge. to freshman field. That was my destination each day after school, and was so exciting to be so close to the players. I had memorized the players names, going through the game programs I had collected after the games the previous season! Names like Duke Carlisle (QB),Tommy ford (RB), Jim Hudson (RB-Safety), Scott Appleton (All-American Tackle, Outland Trophy winner and 5th in Heisman voting), Ernie Koy (RB)., and Johnny Genung (QB). Again there were Knot hole tickets to be had at the Baker School office. I was very familiar with the Stadium, as anythang associated with Longhorn Football, was my second home. The team won the SWC, finishing 9-1-1, having tied rice 14-14, and lost to LSU in the Cotton Bowl, and finished#4 in top 10. The Arkansas game that year was a good one! Arkansas led 3-0 till 40 seconds left in the game. Everyone was on the edge of their seats, the horns were on the 3or4 yard line, all the sudden I thought we were having an earthquake. Longhorn fans were standing and started stomping their feet on the bleachers, loud. loud, loud. Tommy Ford took the hand off and made it into the endzone, and the Horns remained undefeated at 5-0. After the game, a buddy and I hurried down to the dressing room entrance, as I had realized an added adventure to being at the games was being a part of the victory line that formed after the games, from the bottom of the stairs that the team used to get to field level, and the entrance to the dressing room. Getting to be close to the players as they would pass through the line, was so cool. During the season the parents with the season tickets took my friends and I to and from the games, and the 1/2 mile walk from the parking lot near the Texas History Museum, was always a fast walk, cause the sooner you got to the stadium the better seat you could in the knot hole section. 

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Edited September 29 by Michael Inman

[Bobby Burton]

Good stuff!

Origin stories are always a good trip down memory lane.

[Jbf19]

I absolutely love this!

[Lavalulu]

Amazing stories.  Love it!