OU author Jim Fletcher humbled by signing
“I’m too shy to have written a book. Book writers all have an ego to some degree, even ones who write Finding Modesty, or some such title. One cannot assume the masses (hopefully) want to read what one has scribbled, unless the ego is firmly in place.
“For me, I wrote a book about OU football for one reason. Even when Larry Lacewell pulled the football away just as I was about to kick it (“Aw, why do you want to write another book about OU football?”), I persevered. Fifteen years as a book editor, toiling anonymously behind a desk, taught me that actually writing a book is scarier than hang-gliding. Probably.
“So I just decided that I’d close my eyes and plunge ahead with my little ode to the Sooners. It had been done many times, yes, Larry, and very well done by many. Like all OU fans, I scoop up each new title without looking at the price. I would have bought Kenny Mossman’s The University of Oklahoma Football Vault if it had cost $500, and I’m not kidding.
“For my own book, a particular highlight was visiting with the father of the wishbone offense, Emory Bellard, at his Austin home. Past 80, Bellard still believes the triple-option is one of the great achievements in human history, sandwiched between sliced bread and the discovery of penicillin.
“I’m 46 years old and during tight games, I still lay face-down on the carpet and pray earnestly. I lose my voice. During the ‘04 Sugar Bowl, I attempted to tear my hat into little pieces and giving up, jumped up and down on it. My hosts have never asked me back to their house for any reason.
“This is the life of a fan. We all have real lives. My family does understand my fanaticism, and I appreciate that.
“I once interviewed Ariel Sharon. That old fox, whose miraculous crossing of the Suez Canal during the Yom Kippur War saved Israel, was intimidating. A nice man, but, you know, it’s Ariel Sharon.
“Still, perhaps my favorite interview of all time was at a café with Steve Davis. He’s so articulate, and his recollections so riveting, there was practically no editing of the transcript. I felt good about the book’s potential after visiting with the fellow from Sallisaw.
“After the book went to press, the publisher wanted promotion. I did my best. I felt that I was back on Norman Ave. in the City, selling rollie polies (Armadillidium vulgare, “the common pill bug”). Don’t ask, because I don’t have an answer. I just remember that I was scared to death, sitting there on my front porch at age 6, a failure as a salesman.
“This shortcoming will follow me all the days of my life. Just before the Texas Tech game/rapture last season – when I my son and I did the “Jump Around” with an elderly couple – I did a book signing with Uwe von Schamann at the stadium bookstore. Uwe makes any vacation-winning salesman look like a store mannequin. He makes me look like a mannequin’s stunt-double. The guy can flat schmooze. So a guy comes up to me, looks at the book, looks at me, then says: “Jim Fletcher? I never heard of you!” Uwe almost wet himself laughing.
“That was topped only by the guy who wandered over and plunked down his hat for me to sign. When I told him I had nothing to do with the OU program, he picked up his hat, slammed it on his head and stormed away. Like I had deceived him in some way.
“So I had to do something. I decided to try and put together a really special event. Fans love the players, the legends. I thought about that. I thought maybe, just maybe some of them would appear with me. And it wouldn’t be like my other book signings. After each one, my mother asks me why Barry Switzer didn’t appear with me. “Mom,” I say, “the King doesn’t know who I am.” Then she makes a face like she’s going to beat him up.
“Then I thought of Claude Arnold. OU’s first quarterback to win a national championship, Claude had appeared with me at Barnes & Noble last year. That event was a hit.
“So I sent him an email and asked if he’d consider it again. This man, this gentleman whom I have really grown fond of, said yes.
“If Claude said yes, I reasoned, why not go for broke and ask Jimmy Harris?
“He said he’d do it if Claude Arnold was going to be there.
“I contacted Steve Davis. Yes, he’d do it if Claude Arnold and Jimmy Harris were going to be there.
“And so it went until Jamelle Holieway and Josh Heupel also agreed to appear.
“On June 7, at the Sooner Schooner sports shop in Norman, all five appeared for a book and memorabilia signing. As God is my witness, I naively thought the thing would hold to the official 2-4 p.m. time slot.
“At 6 p.m., Josh Heupel signed the last piece for the last fan. They turned the lights off. The five quarterbacks who brought the program seven national championships had been magnificent, just as they had been all those years before against Nebraska and Texas, and in Miami. Harris should be on Mt. Rushmore; he was a gentleman and consummate storyteller. Claude started the Feeding of the Beast and the fans were well aware of that fact. Davis was too modest; he was quite a fine runner in his day, faster than people realized. He made fun of his own passing ability, but just ask Texas, Miami, and Michigan if the guy could throw the ball. Jamelle worked the crowd like a politician and hugged women who had watched Claude play. Heupel was kind enough, as a busy active coach, to come over after the conclusion of his football camp.
“I watched them and tried to think of one football program in the United States of America that could assemble this kind of royalty. Nobody but Oklahoma.
“It wasn’t perfect. I basically took advantage of the graciousness of five nice men who had better things to do, although I suspect they got some enjoyment out of trading stories and greeting adoring fans. As the day grew longer and the heat intensified, I thought that my book legacy, my last story, might be entitled How I Killed Claude Arnold At A Book Signing. But then I looked at him and realized he’s still tough as a boot, just as he was when he sucked sweat from his t-shirt during those pre-civilization practices – coaches didn’t give the players water in those days.
“Thank you, Claude.
“A shy person like me loathes inconveniencing people. It is painful in the extreme. Those five guys signed stuff for hundreds of fans.
“But as we pulled away, I thought back over the day that was special to OU fans. I got to drive Jimmy Harris to and from the airport and the only downer was, it wasn’t Will Rogers. He flew in from Shreveport to the Max Westheimer Airport in Norman. I was really wishing it had been LAX or Paris’s Charles De Gaulle International Airport. To get the extra time with the peerless Harris, I would have gladly driven him there. Underwater.
“I collapsed at the hotel afterwards and reflected on the day. I was happy. My dad would have been ecstatic. His best friend, O.V. Richardson was there for the signing and it was so great to see him.
“And that was why I wrote the book. I did it for my dad. He passed away many years ago, but when I was a kid, he told me about Claude’s A&M comeback, about seeing Harris return a punt that ignited a comeback against TCU in 1954. And he took me to see Steve Davis play. He would have absolutely loved Jamelle and would have really cheered on Heupel, even though the forward pass was basically foreign to him.
“I loved my dad, and we loved OU football. I’m not shy about that.
“Here’s to a memorable Father’s Day for OU fans everywhere. I hope a signed helmet or poster or book lands in your dad’s lap this year. Boomer Sooner!”
Good stuff from Fletcher. Let me say this about his book: I thought the same thing as Lacewell when I heard it was coming out. Oh brother, another generic OU football book. But you know what? I was pleasantly surprised.
Fletcher’s book had quite a bit of stuff I didn’t know, and his interviews — like the one he mentioned with Emory Bellard — are really interesting. He’s got Q&A interviews with Davis, Jimmy Harris, Claude Arnold, Frank Broyles and Barry Switzer. Awhile back, I ranked the 30something OU football books. This one was 13th, which doesn’t sound great but actually is high praise. I’m not fond of catch-all books. I like specific topics — a president’s viewpoint (George Lynn Cross’ Presidents Can’t Punt), the early history (Harold Keith’s Oklahoma Kickoff). But Jim Fletcher’s book is worth the money.
Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel.
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