This past Saturday, the UT Longhorns kicked off their true 2010 home schedule with a rousing victory over the mighty fighty Tumbleweed of Wyoming. That’s what they’re called, right?

Cowboys, you say? Oh. Okay, whatever. Wyoming Cowboys.

Now that it is Tuesday and you are surely recovered from your Saturday of keg stands and painting your chest burnt orange, let’s celebrate UT Football History. We’ll start off with a video of historic UT football images set to the world’s worst musical accompaniment:

Jesus, I know I’m pumped. Alright, let’s go. HOOK EM~!~!

The University of Texas compiled its very first football team in 1893. Their first official ‘match’ was against the “Dallas Football Club” in Dallas where they pulled off an 18-16 upset victory. According to Mack Brown, or maybe just his web-site, the fine people of Dallas were so distraught by the upset defeat at the hands of the UT football club that they claimed, “Our name is pants, and our glory has departed.”

HA!

The Longhorns name came about in 1903, when Daily Texan sports editor D.A. Frank was the first to refer to the team as “Longhorns” in the school paper. Previously, the team has simply been called Texas Varsity. For whatever reason, Frank and his chief-editor decided that all reports for the football team would refer to them as Longhorns. The name eventually caught on over campus, and in 1906 became official.

Fast forward a few decades until we come to the hiring of awesomely named head coach Dana X. Bible in 1936. After leading Texas to a successful decade, including their first #1 ranking, Bible retired from coaching after the 1946 season, but stayed involved in the program in the role of athletic director. The Longhorns suffered a slow decline over the next decade with a coaching carousel and program instability. However, in 1955, the now famous “Hook Em!” catchphrase became popularized by UT cheerleader Harley Clark during a a pep rally.

“A lot of my friends thought it would be too corny, but I thought it was perfect.”

- Harley Clark

In the late 1950s, Dana X. Bible hired Darrell Royal to take over the team, and he immediately began to return the University of Texas football program around. By 1969, thanks to Royal, the Longhorns were one of the most nationally prominent college football programs in the nation. As a result, they went into a game in ’69 against #2 ranked Arkansas as the #1 team in the country, and the two teams played a 15-14 game resulting in a Texas victory. Dubbed the “Game of the Century”, the Texas/Arkansas game is widely considered the single greatest college football game in history.

Highlight reel from ’69 Shootout: UT vs Arkansas

The UT Football stadium is now jointly named after Darrell K. Royal.

After Royal’s retirement, UT spent the late 70s and 80s under Fred Akers, who led the team to one of the most successful stretches in their history, including capturing their 4th National Championship, with the help of Heisman Trophy winner and future NFL Hall-of-Famer Earl Campbell.

Mack Brown became head-coach in 1998 and began to return the team to prominence after a long stretch of rebuilding. In 2005, the Longhorns entered the season with starting Quarterback Vince Young ranked #2 in the nation behind the USC Trojans. The two would meet in the National Championship game at the end of the season in another historically prominent contest.

Vince Young’s winning play

The UT Football program is, without argument, one of the most storied college football programs in the country. A truly national entity in scholastic athletics, and in Austin, Saturdays are a city-wide celebration of fellowship and sport, led by amateur (at least sorta amateur) athletes. This year, alongside Nebraska, Alabama, Oklahoma and maybe Ohio State, Texas is again in the elite class of college football. Enjoy the season, and here’s to hoping the 2010 edition of the program is history in the making.

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