Bleeding Orange: Trouble and Triumph Deep in the Heart of Texas Football

Examines the fall of the Texas Longhorns, describing the team's back-to-back losing seasons, its gambling scandal, and how coach David McWilliams and his team escaped complete ruin

A colorful history of the Univ. of Texas Longhorns football program by Austin sportswriters Maher and Bohls, who help explain the mentality behind the unofficial team slogan, ``Be number one, or be no one.'' The Longhorns won their last national championship in 1969, crowning the glory days of coach Darrell Royal, a legendary figure who led the team to ten Cotton Bowls and never had a losing season in 20 years. Opening the 1990 season under head coach David McWilliams, following a losing 1989 campaign and scandals involving steroids, gambling, and academic snafus, there was little reason for optimism. But a convincing win against Penn State and a close loss to tough Colorado showed promise of better things. Bookend tackles Stan Thomas, 6'6'', 300 lbs., and Chuck Johnson, 6'5'', 275 lbs., brought back memories of yesteryear, when grind-it-out trench warfare was the Longhorns' strong suit. Interspersed with descriptions of the 1990 season are glances back at the Royal years and after, with profiles of athletic director DeLoss Dodds, running back Earl Campbell, ``the perma-pressed [Coach Fred] Akers era,'' and powerful ``Czar'' Frank Erwin, who was chairman of the Board of Regents in the 60's and 70's. Maher and Bohls also examine--and only occasionally soft-pedal--the issues of racism (Royal ``didn't manage to recruit a black to his football team until'' 1969), NCAA recruiting violations, and drug use and other scandals that have plagued college football in recent years. As the Longhorns progress through the 10-1, 1990 season en route to an embarrassing loss to Miami in the Cotton Bowl, there are big wins against rival Oklahoma, Arkansas, TCU, and Houston, amply detailed and analyzed by the authors, who are both fans and critics of the ``whatever it takes'' football philosophy. As much fun as a Texas barbecue, but with its serious side. (Sixteen pages of b&w photographs--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Journalists Maher and Bohls trace the importance of football at the University of Texas, beginning with the glory days surrounding the National Championship in 1969. Readers familiar with H.G. Bissinger's Friday Night Lights ( LJ 8/90) will recognize their premise: that football in Texas takes precedence over nearly every aspect of life. The authors subsequently chronicle the dark days of the mid-1980s that led to the hiring of alumnus David McWilliams, through the rejuvenation of Texas football which culminated in a Cotton Bowl berth in 1991. A variety of former players and coaches are interviewed, and their contribution is one of the book's most interesting aspects. Interspersed with their comments is a game-by-game description of the 1990 season. The authors' message of the place of college football in the University of Texas community is clear. This should appeal to college football fans (except Texas boosters, however).
- William O. Scheeren, Hempfield Area High Sch. Lib., Greensburg, Pa.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.