Longhorn legend Steve Worster passes away

One of the nation's premier running backs who was among the most dominant figures in Darrell Royal's famed Texas wishbone offense from 1968-70, Steve Worster passed away on Saturday. He was 73. The legendary Longhorn and two-time All-American is a member of the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor as well as the Texas Sports, Texas High School Football and Cotton Bowl Halls of Fame.

Remembering Longhorn Legend Steve Worster: pic.twitter.com/8csz2mxuhB
— Longhorn Network (@LonghornNetwork) August 15, 2022

A powerful, hard-running fullback with breakaway speed, who also was a punishing blocker, Worster was the linchpin of perhaps the greatest and most innovative offense in Texas Longhorns history. He was a perfect fit for the fullback position in the Longhorns triple-option attack that took the nation by storm in the late 1960s.

Steve Worster "Steve was the toughest football player I have ever seen," said Longhorn teammate and College Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman Bob McKay. "He hit or was hit on every down and never backed down or slowed up."

The State of Texas legend who led Bridge City High School to the 1966 3A State Championship was one of the crown jewels in the Longhorns 1967 signing class that became known as "The Worster Bunch" and was the foundation of a record-setting football era on the Forty Acres. Freshmen weren't eligible to play on the varsity at that time, so Longhorn Nation anxiously awaited the future collegiate star's debut. Worster was everything they expected and more, making an immediate impact as the three-time All-Southwest Conference selection helped lead the Horns to the 1969 and 1970 National Championships and a 30-2-1 record that included a school-best 30-game win streak. Texas won all three SWC titles during his time on the varsity squad and Worster finished his career as the second most-productive rusher in Longhorn history.

"There's never been a more celebrated high school athlete that produced to the level of his high school hype," said teammate and fellow member of the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor Bill Zapalac, who was also in the 1967 class of signees.

Chants of "Woo-Woo" from Longhorn faithful filled stadiums far and wide when Worster ran the ball and he did that with rousing success, rushing for 2,353 yards and 36 touchdowns on 457 carries in his three seasons. In a backfield where three stars shared the ball in addition to the quarterback, the bruising and relentless runner averaged better than five yards per carry for his career. With 898 rushing yards and a then UT record and SWC-leading 14 TD runs on 160 carries (5.6 yards per carry) in just 10 games as a senior, Worster finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting while earning consensus first-team All-America and Team MVP honors in 1970. He ran for 155 yards on 20 carries in the Horns 21-17 victory over Notre Dame in the 1970 Cotton Bowl, a triumph that put an exclamation point on his junior season. Worster, who ran for 806 yards and an SWC-best 13 TDs as a sophomore in 1968, helped lead the Horns to three consecutive Cotton Bowl appearances with his truly sensational effort and constant pounding that took its toll on the Fighting Irish in 1970 garnering him Outstanding Offensive Player honors.

Hall of Fame and legendary Longhorn Sports Information Director Bill Little says "Long before the buzz phrase 'GOAT' became a moniker for the 'Greatest of All Time,' there was Steve Worster. He was arguably the best that ever was in his time. For those who saw him play in the late 1960s as an All-American fullback at Texas, if he wasn't the 'best' to play the game at Texas, no one was better."

With that and the passing of a G.O.A.T, we'll share a story from a chapter in Little's book "Stadium Stories — Texas Longhorns" on Worster and the Texas triple-option wishbone offense. It was an offense that paved the way for a pair of UT National Championships and had a historical impact on college football. Here is an account of that era in Austin and Worster's time at Texas.

Bill Little, excerpt from Stadium Stories — Texas Longhorns: The Wishbone and the Team of the Century

(NOTE: Forty years ago, the Texas Longhorns were preparing to open the 1968 football season against the University of Houston, which was then a power as an independent in college football, and a significant threat to football supremacy in a state which for more than half a century had been dominated by the Southwest Conference. Texas was coming off of three consecutive seasons in which the Longhorns had lost four games in each. Darrell Royal had given his backfield coach, Emory Bellard, an assignment to create an offense that would put a talented stable of runners to their best use. Here, reprinted from the book, "Stadium Stories -- Texas Longhorns" by Bill Little, is an excerpt from a chapter that tells the story of that pivotal change in Longhorn history, and in the history of college football.)

Emory Bellard sat in his office, down the narrow, eggshell-white corridor that was part of an annex linking old Gregory Gymnasium with a recreational facility for students. There were two exit doors, one at the glassed-in front of the two-story building, and the other at the end of the hall.

Summer in 1968 was a time for football coaches to relax, and to prepare for the upcoming season. Most of Bellard's cohorts on Darrell Royal's staff were either on vacation or had finished their work in the morning and were spending the afternoon at the golf course at old Austin Country Club.

Texas football had taken a sabbatical from the elite of the college ranks in the three years before. From the time Tommy Nobis and Royal's 1964 team had beaten Joe Namath and Alabama in the first night bowl game, the Orange Bowl on January 1 of 1965, Longhorn football had leveled to average. Three seasons of 6-4, 7-4 and 6-4 had followed the exceptional run in the early 1960s.

Despite an outstanding running back in future College Football Hall of Famer Chris Gilbert, the popular "I" formation with a single running back hadn't produced as Royal and his staff had hoped. So with the coming of the 1968 season, and the influx of a highly-touted freshman class who would be sophomores (this was before freshmen were eligible to play on the varsity), Royal had made a switch in coaching duties.

Bellard, who had joined the staff only a season before after a successful career in Texas high school coaching at San Angelo and Breckenridge, was the new offensive backfield coach.

Bellard had gone to Royal with the idea of switching to the Veer, an option offense that had been made popular in the southwest at the University of Houston. As the Longhorns had gone through spring training, they had returned to the Winged-T formation, which Royal had used so successfully during the early part of the decade.

So, as the summer began, the on-going question was, who was going to play fullback, the veteran Ted Koy, or the sensational sophomore newcomer Steve Worster? With Gilbert a fixture at running back, even in the two-back set of the Veer formation, only one of the other two could play.

And that is how, on that summer afternoon, the conversation began.

"So, who are you going to play, Koy or Worster?" the question was asked. Bellard took a draw on his ever-present pipe, cocked his chair a little behind the desk that faced the door, and said, "What if we play them both?" He took out a yellow pad and drew four circles in a shape resembling the letter "Y."

"Bradley," he said, referring to heralded quarterback Bill Bradley, as he pointed to the bottom of the picture. "Worster," he said, indicating a position at the juncture behind the quarterback. "Koy", he said as he dotted the right side, "and Gilbert," indicating the left halfback.

Royal had told Bellard he wanted a formation that would be balanced, and that, unlike the Veer which was a two back set, would employ a "triple" option with a lead blocker. On summer mornings, Bellard would set up the alignments inside the old gymnasium next to the offices, using volunteers from the athletics staff as players.

As fall drills began, the formation was kept under wraps. Ironically, Texas opened the season that year against Houston. It was only the second meeting of the two. The Longhorns had won easily in 1953, but the Cougars had established themselves as an independent power that was demanding respect from the old guard Southwest Conference.

A packed house of more than 66,000 overflowed Texas Memorial Stadium for the game, which ended in a 20-20 tie. The debut of the new formation didn't exactly shock the football world.

A week later, Texas headed to Texas Tech for its first conference game, and found itself trailing 21-0 in the first half. It was at that point that Royal made the first of a series of moves that would change the face of his offense and the face of college football, for that matter.

Bill Bradley was the most celebrated athlete in Texas in the mid-1960s. He was a football quarterback, a baseball player, could throw with either hand and could punt with either foot. He was a senior, and when Royal unveiled the new formation, he thought that Bradley's running ability would make him perfect as the quarterback who would pull the trigger.

But trailing in Lubbock, Royal made one of the hardest decisions of his coaching career. He pulled Bradley and inserted a little-known junior named James Street.

A signal caller from Longview, Street had been an all-Southwest Conference pitcher in baseball the spring before, but no one could have expected what was about to happen.

Street brought Texas back to within striking distance of the Raiders, closing the gap to 28-22 before Tech eventually won, 31-22.

Back home in Austin, the staff met to adjust where the players lined up in the new formation. In a debate that was won by offensive line coach Willie Zapalac, the fullback position alignment was adjusted. Worster, who had been lined up only a yard behind the quarterback in the original formation, was moved back two full steps so he could better see the holes the line had created as the play developed.

Against Oklahoma State the next week, Texas won, 31-3. Nobody realized it at the time, but that would be the start of something very big. With Street as the signal caller, that win was the first of 30 straight victories, the most in the NCAA since Oklahoma had set a national record in the 1950s, and a string that held as the nation's best for more than 30 years.

While the Oklahoma State game started the streak, the Oklahoma game the next week would become known as, "The Game That Made the Wishbone."

Texas was 1-1-1 as it headed to Dallas to play the Sooners, and with only 2:37 remaining in the game, Street and Royal's new offense was at their own 15-yard line, trailing 20-19. A legend was about to be born.

Street hooked up with tight end Deryl Comer for pass completions of 18, 21 and 13 yards, and then connected with Bradley, who had moved to split end after the Tech game, for 10 yards to the Oklahoma 21-yard line. Only 55 seconds remained as Worster crashed through a big hole to the seven.

On the sidelines, assistant coach R. M. Patterson corralled a wide-eyed Happy Feller, his sophomore field goal kicker, and told him that if the Longhorns didn't score a touchdown on the next play, he was going to have to hurry out and kick, because Texas was out of timeouts.

While Texas was struggling on the field in the mid-1960s, the recruiting season of 1967 had netted the most successful recruiting haul in Southwest Conference history. The linchpin of the group was Steve Worster, a powerful running back from Bridge City. The recruiting class would forever be known as "The Worster Bunch."

With time running out at the Oklahoma 7-yard line, James Street handed the ball to Steve Worster. Two Sooners tried to stop him, but the bruising fullback who was on his way to stardom dragged them with him as he dived into the end zone. Only 39 seconds remained. Texas won, 26-20. The next week the Longhorns pounded Arkansas.

In one of his post-game meetings with the sportswriters at the Villa Capri Motor Hotel (which stood where the UT indoor practice facility is located today) following the game, a writer asked Royal what he called the new offense.

"I don't know," he said. "What do you guys think?"

Mickey Herskowitz of the Houston Post followed several other suggestions by saying, "Well, it looks like a chicken pully-bone."

"Okay," said Royal. "The Wishbone."

The new-fangled offense would team with a solid Longhorn defense to dominate the era. Street would record the best won-loss record as a quarterback in Texas history, starting 20 games and winning all of them.

The 1968 team would finish third in the country, pounding No. 8 Tennessee, 36-13, in the Cotton Bowl. The offense had become unstoppable. Following the 20-20 tie with Houston in the season opener, Cougar coach Bill Yeoman had told the media, "I wish we had a chance to play them again." That prompted irreverent sportswriters to comment at half-time of the New Year's Day game in Dallas, "somebody call Yeoman and tell him to bring his team on up, this thing is over."

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