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. Steve Richardson is the executive director of the Football Writers Association of America and a freelance writer who has been covering college sports since the late 1970s. He is a former writer for the Dallas Morning News and Kansas City Star , is a correspondent for Sports Illustrated , and has written freelance articles for numerous publications, including USA Today . He is the author of A Century of Sports , Cotton Bowl History Vault , Then Osborne Said to Rozier , Then Pinkel Said to Smith , and University of Texas Football Vault . He lives in Dallas, Texas. 100 Things Oklahoma Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die By Steve Richardson Triumph Books Copyright © 2014 Steve Richardson All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-62937-007-1 Contents Acknowledgments, Introduction, 1. Bud Wilkinson, 2. Barry Switzer, 3. 47 Straight, 4. 1956 National Title Team, 5. Bob Stoops, 6. Billy Vessels, 7. The Selmons, 8. Billy Sims, 9. Game of the Century, 10. Joe Washington, 11. 1955 National Title Team, 12. Oklahoma-Georgia Lawsuit, 13. 1974 National Title Team, 14. 2000 National Title Team, 15. Bennie Owen, 16. Sam Bradford, 17. 1975 National Title Team, 18. 1985 National Title Team, 19. Prentice Gautt, 20. 1950 National Title Team, 21. Jason White, 22. Joe Castiglione, 23. Gaylord Family–Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, 24. Keith Jackson, 25. Tommy McDonald, 26. Bedlam, 27. Sooner Magic, 28. Greg Pruitt, 29. Stoops' Record, 30. Oklahoma-Nebraska Series, 31. Steve Owens, 32. Jim Weatherall, 33. Staying in the Big 12, 34. 1971 Sooners, 35. Cleaning Up After Barry, 36. Roy Williams, 37. "Oklahoma!", 38. J.D. Roberts, 39. OU's Orange Bowl Legacy, 40. Mascots, Colors, Names, and Trophies, 41. Jammal Brown, 42. Keeping the OU-Texas Game in Dallas, 43. "Spot" Geyer, 44. The Boz, 45. Chuck Fairbanks, 46. OU's Dark Side, 47. OU's First Bowl Team, 48. Claude Reeds, 49. OU's 1948 and 1949 Teams, 50. Landry's Shootouts, 51. The Kick, 52. Bummer Sooner (USC Belts OU in BCS Title Game), 53. Jerry Tubbs, 54. A Change at Quarterback, 55. Darrell Royal, 56. Tom Osborne, 57. Paul Young, 58. 2008 BCS Controversy, 59. Wilkinson vs. Royal in 1958, 60. The Bomb Game, 61. Headington Hall, 62. 2002 Rose Bowl Team, 63. 1963 Oklahoma-Texas Game, 64. Othello's Table of Truth, 65. Adrian Peterson, 66. Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, 67. Officiating Controversies, 68. Riverboat Gambler Bob, 69. Jim Owens, 70. Sooner Schooner, 71. RUF/NEKS, 72. Jack Jacobs, 73. Barry Switzer Center, 74. Bud's Strategies, 75. Pride of Oklahoma Band, 76. Spy Game, 77. Peter Gardere, 78. Troy Aikman, 79. OU-Texas at the State Fair, 80. Eddie Crowder, 81. Walter "Waddy" Young, 82. Harold Keith, 83. Bob's Steak & Chop House, 84. Quarterback Shuffle, 85. Transition Years, 86. Port Robertson, 87. Bob Kalsu, 88. OU's Cradle of Coaches, 89. Oklahoma's Lost Gator Bowl, 90. Developing Linemen, 91. OU's Great Two-Way Players, 92. Top OU Running Backs, 93. Top OU Quarterbacks, 94. Bedlam in 2013, 95. Top OU Linebackers, 96. Top OU Receivers, 97. Top OU Defensive Backs, 98. Top OU Defensive Linemen, 99. Top OU Offensive Linemen, 100. Sweet Sugar Bowl Redemption, Sources, CHAPTER 1 Bud Wilkinson The true Sooners tradition began with Bud Wilkinson in 1947. He laid the foundation for perhaps the greatest dynasty in college football history, from the late 1940s to the late 1950s, and created the Midland saying "Oklahoma and the Seven Dwarfs" in reference to OU's supremacy over its conference. Such had been OU's domination of first the Big 7, from 1948 to 1957, and then the Big 8 Conference that the Sooners went from 1947 — Wilkinson's first season as OU's head coach — until 1959 without losing a league game. One of the reasons Frank Broyles left Missouri for Arkansas after coaching in Columbia, Missouri, for just the 1957 season was the fact he saw little hope other teams in the league could compete with the juggernaut in Norman. While this ultimately proved not to be the case, when OU began to decline in the early 1960s under Wilkinson as Missouri and Nebraska flourished, Broyles' initial fears certainly were not unfounde