The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Great Games and Moments: Pre-1940s
GREAT GAME
Texas 18, Dallas 16
Thursday, November 30, 1893
Fairgrounds Park (Dallas, Texas)
Texas' very first football game was an astounding upset, as the varsity sent a band of 15 or 16 players (the exact number was not recorded) north to face the "Champions of Texas" Dallas Foot Ball Club. The Dallas team, which had been undefeated for several years and unscored on for quite some time as well, fell to the boys from Texas, 18-16. The Thanksgiving Day battle was witnessed by nearly 2,000 fans, the largest crowd to see a Dallas game up to that time.
GREAT GAME
Texas 7, Texas A&M 3
Thursday, November 25, 1920
Clark Field (Austin, Texas)
The legend of the Texas/Texas A&M rivalry took hold with this historical meeting. Texas was undefeated and had outscored opponents 275-10. A&M was unbeaten and had not been scored on in two years. The largest crowd in state history (est. 20,000) was on hand to see the Longhorns win 7-3. The winning score was set up by a tackle-eligible pass play in which Tom Dennis made an astounding one-handed catch. Francis Domingues rammed the ball over the goal line on the next play for the winning score. Said the Cactus yearbook: "Down on Clark Field, the largest crowd that had ever witnessed a football game in Texas had assembled to view the annual clash of the Longhorns and Farmer, a clash upon which the championship of the Southwest depended. And when Old Sol completed his journey across the sky, and the curtain had been rung down on the 1920 football season, that same crowd had seen the Red and White of A&M bow down before the Orange and White of Varsity in one of the greatest games ever staged in these parts. Thanksgiving Day, 1920, will forever be remembered in the annals of Texas football history, at Varsity at least, for the 7-3 drubbing that marked the close of an undefeated season for the Longhorns and that gave the Aggies the first taste of defeat they had in two long years."
GREAT MOMENT
Texas 16, Vanderbilt 0
October 20, 1923
The Fairgrounds (Dallas, Texas)
Facing powerful Vanderbilt at Dallas' State Fair, one of Texas' finest teams gave a great performance. The highlight was an incredible run, right along the sideline, by UT's great back, Oscar Ekhardt. Onlookers said, "he flattened tacklers like dominoes," until almost down at the 8-yard line. He regained his balance with one hand and plowed over for the score that led to a 16-0 victory. Said the Fort Worth Star-Telegram of Eckhardt's run, "Eckhardt, knocked to earth, rose like a phoenix and blazed down the line until he crossed the thin white marker. In all, he drove 20 yards through the gold and black to put his name in the Texas Varsity hall of fame."
GREAT GAME
Texas 7, Notre Dame 6
Saturday, October 6, 1934
Notre Dame Stadium (South Bend, Ind.)
Texas defeated the Irish, 7-6, in a game that brought UT to national prominence. The defeat was Notre Dame's first opening-game setback since 1896. Texas' future All-America basketballer Jack Gray recovered a Fighting Irish fumble on the opening kickoff, and four plays later, Bohn Hilliard went off tackle for an 8-yard touchdown. Hilliard added the extra point for all the scoring UT would need. Said Coach Chevigny addressing a basketball crowd at Gregory Gym nine months earlier, "I shall do my best to make the flag of Texas fly high among those of the schools of the nation."
GREAT MOMENT
Texas 7, Notre Dame 6
Saturday, October 6, 1934
Notre Dame Stadium (South Bend, Ind.)
Bohn Hilliard stepped through the Notre Dame defense for an eight-yard score that brought a 7-6 Longhorns victory in 1934. Hilliard's run followed Jack Gray's recovery of a Fighting Irish fumble on the game's opening kickoff.
GREAT MOMENT
#2 Minnesota 47, Texas 19
November 14, 1936
Memorial Stadium (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Hugh Wolfe's 95-yard kickoff return was the lone bright spot as Texas fell to the eventual National Champions. The return stood as a UT record for 42 years. Said Wolfe, "The kickoff return was a fluke. I picked out the biggest one and ran straight at him, faked left, cut right to see nothing but daylight and the man who held the ball for the kick. He was just getting to his feet when I said 'good-bye.' Shirley Temple could have made that TD."
GREAT GAME
Texas 14, Arkansas 13
October 21, 1939
Memorial Stadium (Austin, Texas)
With Texas trailing 13-7 and just 30 seconds remaining in the game, many of the crowd of 17,000 were heading for the exits when UT fullback R.B. Patrick flipped a short pass to Jack Crain. Sixty-seven dramatic yards later, those same fans were pouring from the stands after Crain crossed the goal line with the tying score. After several minutes, the field was cleared and Crain booted the extra point. It was UT's first SWC-opening win since 1933, and the win single-handedly revitalized the Texas program.
GREAT MOMENT
Texas 14, Arkansas 13
October 21, 1939
Memorial Stadium (Austin, Texas)
With 30 seconds on the clock, Jack Crain pulled in a short pass from R.B. Patrick and weaved his way to a 67-yard touchdown to defeat favored Arkansas 14-13 in 1939. The moment was the turning point in what became the "Renaissance game" of the Dana X. Bible coaching era at Texas.