MORE THAN JUST A GAME...PART 1

AND THEN IT WAS OVER

“Men, the only people who never lose are the ones who never play the game”

– Bud Wilkinson

Notre Dame Irish vs. Oklahoma Sooners

Owen Field

Norman, Oklahoma

November 16th, 1957

The year was 1957...

Dwight D. Eisenhower was in the White House. The Dodgers were still in Brooklyn. The Everly Brothers were trying to 'Wake up Little Suzie' and Jerry Lee Lewis had a 'Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On.' 

Carey Grant and Deborah Kerr were having an 'Affair to Remember,' there was 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' and sadly, Old Yeller was about to die. 

Ford was introducing the Edsel, Wham-O was introducing the Frisbee and Paul McCartney and John Lennon were introducing themselves to each other.

Earlier that week in 1957, the title on the cover of Sports Illustrated read: ‘Why Oklahoma is Unbeatable.’

That day in 1957, the 50th birthday of Oklahoma's statehood, was cloudy and windy. The stands at Owen Field were packed with 62,000 fans. Lindsey Nelson and Red Grange were in the broadcast booth to call the game for a nationally televised audience.  When the Sooners took the field to play the 18 point underdog Irish that day in 1957, they hadn’t lost a game in five years….but that was about to change.

On 4th and goal from the three yard line, Irish QB Bob Williams faked the dive play to FB Nick Pietrosante and then pitched the ball to halfback Dick Lynch. Lynch raced around the right end and strolled untouched into the end-zone. Three minutes and fifty seconds later, it was over.

It...Was college football’s longest unbeaten streak...and after 1,512 days and 47 games, it was over. 

 

 

THE STREAK:

47 Straight

"We want to build a university the football team can be proud of" - George Cross, University of Oklahoma President, addressing Congress in 1951

From 1953-1957, the Oklahoma Sooners won 47 straight football games, an unbeaten streak that many feel is the greatest team achievement in sports history. No school before or since has even come close to matching the accomplishment, the basis for why many consider the Sooners streak the most unbreakable record in sports.

When you look at the numbers during the winning streak, it shows that not only were the Sooners winning, they were dominating. The Sooners were:

-6-0 against ranked teams
-Outscored their opponents by an average of 34.5 to 5.9
-Shut-out their opponent an amazing 21 times
-Gave up less than 10 points 34 times
-Scored over 50 points 31 time, over 40 points 20 times
-Won by 20 or more points 31 time, by 40 or more 16 times
-Won 27 games on the road, won in 12 different states
-In 1956 they won 5 straight games outside of Oklahoma
-All 47 victories were against teams that were Division I

Longest NCAA Football Winning Streaks in the Modern Era:
School	Win Streak	Seasons	Coach(es)
1. Oklahoma	47	1953-1957	Bud Wilkinson
2. Toledo	35	1969-1971	Frank Lauterbur, John A. Murphy
3. Miami (Fla.)	34	2000-2003	Butch Davis, Larry Coker
4. Oklahoma	31	1948-1950	Bud Wilkinson
5. Texas	30	1968-1970	Darrell Royal
6. Miami (Fla.)	29	1990-1993	Dennis Erickson
7. Oklahoma	28	1973-1975	Barry Switzer
Alabama	28	1978-1980	Paul "Bear" Bryant
Michigan State	28	1950-1953	Clarence Munn

To say that the Bud Wilkinson led Sooners were the dominant team of the late 1940s thru the decade of the 1950s is an understatement.  In addition to the 47 game winning streak, Wilkinson and the Sooners:

-Won National Titles in 1950, 1955 & 1956
-Won 31 consecutive games from 1948-1950
-Won 74 straight conference games (1947-1959)
-Won 13 straight conference titles (1947-1959)

But if the Bud Wilkinson and the Sooners had a kryptonite, it was the Notre Dame Irish.

 
VIDEO CLIPS FROM THE 1957 OU - NOTRE DAME GAME

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQeFKjrD7M8

Next....Part 2

Notre Dame the Evil Empire & The Sooner Nation

 Just the opinion of one mildly interested guy

The Overweight Armchair Sooner

Buddy Putty

This is a ticket stub from the 1957

OU-Notre Dame game that is part of

my OU Sooner memorabilia collection