Before Bob and Barry, even before Bud, there was Bennie, and he might have been the best of them all. He was certainly the most innovative. Best remembered as the mentor of the University of Oklahoma's football team from 1905 through 1926, Bennie Owen also coached baseball and basketball and served as the director of athletics. He retired as intramural director at the age of seventy-five. A visionary and a builder, he exerted the driving force that created the university's Memorial Stadium, one field house, Memorial Union building, men's swimming pool, baseball field and bleachers, concrete tennis courts, nine-hole golf course and intramural playing fields. A true man of all seasons, he laid the foundation for a Sooner tradition of excellence--in football and beyond.

The Oklahoma Football Encyclopedia is an historical description of every University of Oklahoma football game from the beginning in 1895 through 2004. Learn how the team got its start and how coach Bennie Owen laid the foundation for the Sooners to become one of the most respected teams on the college football scene.Bud Wilkinson, Barry Switzer and Bob Stoops later directed the Sooners to college football's elite prize. Wilkinson was a great teacher of the Split-T formation, which guided the Sooners to three national championships, 72 consecutive conference games without a loss and a major college winning streak -- a record that may never be broken. Switzer, a master recruiter, implemented the Wishbone formation, which brought another three national titles and 12 conference crowns to Norman. After the Sooner football program had dropped to mediocrity status, Stoops turned the program around and won the national championship in his second year at the helm.This book provides insight into "Sooner Magic." Many OU football teams appeared to have a supernatural force carry them to victory when victory was not assured. Was it sleight of hand? Smoke and mirrors? No, just pure talent and inspiration helped push the Sooners to the overwhelming tradition the teams have displayed on the gridiron.

This book profiles histories of stadiums and arenas in America and Canada. How they came about and how they became known. Great performances, upsets, anecdotes, pageantry and traditions, all factors that glorifies these venues. Pageantry - Chief Osceloa intimidates Florida State Seminoles foes with flaming spear. Great performances - Don Larsons perfect no hit World Series conquest and UCLAs seven straight national basketball titles. Upsets - Jets downing Baltimore in Super Bowl III. Anecdotes - wrong-way run in football, sex as the main attraction and slinging octopus onto the rink. Statistics on 355 venues, 109 stories and 86 photographs makeup the book.

In 1917 it was still possible for the University of Oklahoma’s annual Catalogue to include a roster of every student’s name and hometown. A compact and close-knit community, those 2,500 students and their 130 professors studied and taught at a respectable (though small, relatively uncomplicated, and rather insular) regional university. During the following third of a century, the school underwent changes so profound that their cumulative effect amounted to a transformation. This second volume in David Levy’s projected three-part history chronicles these changes, charting the University’s course through one of the most dramatic periods in American history. Following Oklahoma’s flagship school through decades that saw six U.S. presidents, eleven state governors, and five university presidents, Volume 2 of The University of Oklahoma: A History documents the institution’s evolution into a complex, diverse, and multifaceted seat of learning. By 1950 enrollment had increased fivefold, and by every measure—the number of colleges and campus buildings, degrees awarded and programs offered, volumes in the library, faculty publications, out-of-state and foreign students in attendance—the University was on its way to becoming a world-class educational institution. Levy weaves together human and institutional history as he describes the school’s remarkable—sometimes remarkably difficult—development in response to unprecedented factors: two world wars, the cultural shifts of the 1920s, the Great Depression, the rise of the petroleum industry, the farm crisis and Dust Bowl, the emergence of new technologies, and new political and social forces such as those promoting and resisting racial justice. National and world events, state politics, campus leadership, the ever-changing student body: in triumph and defeat, in small successes and grand accomplishments, all come to varied and vibrant life in this second installment of the definitive history of Oklahoma’s storied center of learning.

With pep talks, records, and Sooners lore, this lively, detailed book explores the personalities, events, and facts every Oklahoma fan should know. It contains crucial information such as important dates, player nicknames, memorable moments, and outstanding achievements by singular players. This guide to all things Oklahoma covers each position's best players in Sooners history, the "game of the century," and Sooner Schooner's first appearance. Now updated through the 2013 season, this book includes additional chapters covering developments of the last few seasons, such as the 2010 draft which saw the most players taken from one school in the first four picks of the draft and Oklahoma's January 2014 win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

Written for every sports fan who follows the Sooners, this account goes behind the scenes to peek into the private world of the players, coaches, and decision makers—all while eavesdropping on their personal conversations. From the Oklahoma locker room to the sidelines and inside the huddle, the book includes comments from Bob Stoops, Barry Switzer, and Bud Wilkinson, among others, allowing readers to relive the highlights and the celebrations.

Love OU Football? Love trivia? Think you know every bit of trivia on Oklahoma Sooner Football? Think again. It’s time to find out how smart you really are about the Sooners. Test your knowledge of one of the greatest sports programs in America. Learn the fascinating facts that made the Oklahoma Sooners an elite college football power. Anybody can recite a few famous players and coaches, but is your Sooner Nation IQ able to withstand 200 questions on everything from leading rushers to tackle artists? Just how much do you know about the home of the Sooners and the program’s winning prowess? Will you earn a Ruf-Nek shotgun blast after getting a question right? We'll let you know. Test your skills. Wrack your brain. It's the ultimate Oklahoma Sooner IQ test. This book is for everyone: those who think they know everything about OU football, and those who don’t know much about OU football history but love their Sooners. Good luck and Boomer Sooner.

In the 150 years of college football history, the national championship has been decided by unanimous vote only 33 times. This book analyzes the various methods of selecting these champions and what made the teams special. Drawing on archives and early published works, a firsthand description of the 1869 inaugural game between Princeton and Rutgers is provided, along with details of how these earliest teams were managed. The contributions and innovations of Walter Camp, the "Father of Football," are explored, as is the evolution of the game itself. Each unanimous season since the turn of the 20th century--from Yale in 1900 to LSU in 2019--is covered in detail, with a brief history of each school's football program. The question "is there a best ever team" is explored.

Since 1895, the University of Oklahoma football program has amassed some impressive numbers: seven national championships, 47 consecutive wins, 44 conference championships, 28 bowl wins, five Heisman Trophy winners, and more than 150 All-America players. In Legends of Oklahoma Sooners Football, Ray Dozier profiles 36 players and coaches who provided the talent and inspiration that put Sooner football on the national sports landscape. Many of those legends played before the dawn of the television era, but standouts such as Forest “Spot”Geyer, Tommy McDonald, Prentice Gautt (the first black football player at the University of Oklahoma), Clendon Thomas, and Bob Kalsu remain alive and well in the hearts and minds of loyal Sooner fans. The legends of Sooner stars such as Steve Owens, Joe Washington, Jack Mildren, the Selmon brothers, Billy Sims, Greg Pruitt, Tony Casillas, Brian Bosworth, Adrian Peterson, and Sam Bradford continue to grow with time. Coaching legends include Bennie Owen, Bud Wilkinson, Barry Switzer, and the all-time leader in wins, Bob Stoops. Legends of Oklahoma Sooners Football chronicles the players, coaches, rivalries, and events that transformed a club team that played its first games on a dusty territorial prairie into a national powerhouse. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Gridiron football or American football or just plain football is the most popular sport in the United States in the 21st century. Although attempts have been made to develop the sport outside North America, it is still predominantly a North American sport with similar games (but significant rules differences) played in the United States and Canada. The Historical Dictionary of Football covers the history of American football through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 600 cross-referenced entries on both amateur (collegiate) and professional players, coaches, teams and executives from all eras. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the sport of football.