Texas Longhorns Football History A to Z

The game may be the same in other states, but football seems to mean more in Texas. Beyond any doubt, one school in the Lone Star State has the richest football history and the most glorious tradition - the University of Texas. More than 800 victories, four national championships (1963, 1969, 1970, and 2005), and two Heisman Trophy winners (Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams) indicate just what a pigskin powerhouse the Longhorns are.
Richard Pennington conducted exhaustive research in writing Texas Longhorns Football History A to Z. This book, which is sure to delight orangebloods in Texas and beyond, traces the development of the school's football program from 1893 through 2006. With a deft hand, Pennington recounts the highs and lows the Horns have experienced in those years. He writes about the major figures in UT football history - Clyde Littlefield, Dana X. Bible, Bobby Layne, Darrell Royal, DeLoss Dodds, Vince Young, and others - but he also shines a light on obscure but interesting people. A prime example is Marion Ford, one of UT's first black undergraduate students. Ford volunteered to join a woeful (1-9) team in 1956 but was politely turned down. Fourteen years would pass before Texas integrated its football program.
As the title indicates, Texas Longhorns Football History A to Z is full of facts and figures, anecdotes and trivia, all-decade teams and archival information. Respectful of all but beholden to none, Pennington has written a book that engages hard-core fans as well as those wondering where football legitimately fits in any institution of higher learning. That issue certainly pertains at the University of Texas, which has 450,000 living alumni, an athletic budget topping $100 million, and a newly expanded stadium that seats 90,000-plus.

Richard Pennington is the author of eight books including Longhorn Hoops and "For Texas, I Will": The History of Memorial Stadium. His work has appeared in the Daily Texan, Dallas Morning News, Austin American-Statesman, Texas Business, and Runner's World. He resides in Austin, Texas.