OU football – one hundred years ago
The Oklahoman’s Sports Department has offered several recent stories with predictions and preseason polls on how the Sooners and the Cowboys might fare this season.
August 1, 1909 Daily Oklahoman for Sunday made a prediction for the University of Oklahoma football team with the headline “GOOD CHANCE FOR SOONERS OF 1909 Oklahoma University Has a Strong Schedule — Many Players to Return.”
The story boasts, “Next season Oklahoma University will no doubt have the best football team in the history of the institution. All of last year’s men will be back except the two ends, Walling and Pickard.”
This was OU’s 14th season and the 4th year the legendary Bennie Owen was the coach.
The Sooners schedule included Central Normal School (now the University of Central Oklahoma), Kingfisher College, Kansas University, Alva Normal School (now Northwestern Oklahoma State University), Arkansas University, Washburn College, St. Louis University, Texas A&M University, Texas University and Epworth University (now Oklahoma City University).
A check of the game stories showed the University Oklahoma 1909 team won 6 games and lost 4 games.
A story published December 7, 1909 wrapped up the season saying: “The football season of 1909 came to a close with the Thanksgiving game. While the Sooners did not win the championship of the Southwest, while they failed to make as good a showing as the team of the previous year, they played a strong aggressive game at all times and finished the season with credit. The students feel that so many games away from home, the long trips toward the close of the season and a run of hard luck all helped to defeat one of the best teams Oklahoma has ever sent forth.”
The last sentence summed up the season. “The football has been a paying proposition this year and at the close of the season the council finds several hundred dollars in the treasury of the athletic association.”
Let’s wish this year’s team the best of luck and hope that they will make “a good showing” and finish the season “with credit” as they did 100 years ago.
We know they’ll make a profit!
Mary Phillips
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