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Any old Ags have some input on this clip from 1963 tu

7,372 Views | 62 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by thejavelina
LoudestWHOOP!
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I have heard about this call in the tu game, wonder if anyone else here has any more detail.
This was between my Dad's years (late 50s) and my years (Late 80s)
Emilio Fantastico
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Never again!
Hey Nav
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(I think) is was ESPN that did a show on this game. They interviewed several of the Aggie players.

Can't remember who it was, but the Ag who intercepted the pass said the referee ran up and waved his arms indicated no catch, and stated "No catch. Still our ball".
nu awlins ag
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Input? Yeah....it was a screw job.
wbt5845
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There used to be an old timer here who claimed he was standing along that end line just out of the field of the camera.
Emilio Fantastico
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A&M went into its battle with No. 1 Texas looking for a win to salvage the season and ruin the Horns' title hopes. The game took place just days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas. Keller threw for two touchdowns early, but UT had an 80-yard touchdown drive in the final five minutes. UT quarterback Tommy Wade threw an interception on the drive to A&M's John Brotherton, who subsequently fumbled the ball and gave possession back to Texas. Later in the drive, A&M's Jim Willenborg came close to making an interception but the referees ruled that he was juggling the ball when he went out of bounds. UT scored to halt the Aggies' upset bid and won 15-13. Foldberg said later, "[The controversial interception call] was the greatest injustice to a group of young fellows I've ever seen." Texas went on to win its first national championship. A&M finished the year 2-7-1.

Sip refs just could not let the lowly Aggies derail the sips title hopes. It was probably John Bible's dad that made the call.
ABATTBQ87
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from 1964 Aggieland



LoudestWHOOP!
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The story I heard in the late 1990s from an Aggie who was at the 1963 game, which until now I had never seen this video clip from. I had only heard descriptions of.
The Aggie said a few years later he met the Ref that called the interception out of bounds.
When the Aggie asked something like "So was he out of bounds?" and the ref replied, "He had to be or the Longhorns would not win the National Championship"
Hey Nav
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Some good insights about this from a discussion 12 years ago.

https://texags.com/forums/5/topics/1180043/1
LoudestWHOOP!
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Hey Nav said:

Some good insights about this from a discussion 12 years ago.

https://texags.com/forums/5/topics/1180043/1
Thanks for the extended story
Thirsty Third
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Player who intercepted in the end zone was Jim Willinborg (sp?). Edd Hargett's older brother, who played for A&M at the time, was also in the end zone on this play. The Houston Chronicle, which was Ag-friendly at the time ran a big spread on the play suggesting that the officials had muffed the call. I think they did, but I am biased. This was long before instant replay was a thing. There was a lot of yelling and discontent around my grandmother's dinner table over this play. The pecan pie was good anyway!
Highway 6 runs both ways...
OldArmy71
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I was at that game. I was almost 15, so I remember much of it vividly. My uncle worked for A&M in the ticket department and my father ('44) and I had excellent tickets on the west side in the first add-on section that was built to add to the original horseshoe.

Moreover, my emotions were heightened by the assassination of the president the week before and by the death a couple of weeks before that of my favorite aunt (who lived in Bryan and whose funeral we had just attended). I remember I selfishly was upset that the Corps decided not to burn the Bonfire as a way of paying respect to JFK.

I have watched that video a hundred times and it is not at all clear whether the Aggie has control before he goes out of bounds. I doubt that replay would have given a definitive answer even today, so the call would have stood.

We had our chance to win when (as mentioned above) another Aggie intercepted a pass and tried to lateral the ball as he was tackled, fumbling the ball back to Texas.

I left the game crushed because I felt (at the time) that the refs had robbed us, but I was also very proud of the way the boys had played.

All_In_Ags
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wbt5845
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wbt5845 said:

There used to be an old timer here who claimed he was standing along that end line just out of the field of the camera.
This man is who I was thinking of.

https://texags.com/account/profile/15293
AgPops
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The man in the overcoat is Bill Little the former SID for tu.
mullokmotx
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I didn't know we had a cannon back then.
rgleml
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That is not a cannon. It is a howitzer. It is even labeled that way.
DustysLineup
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Quote:

The game took place just days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas.
The no-burn Bonfire. Did yall have a regular Yell Practice instead, or it was it solemn for the president?
Bryanisbest
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I was 16 years old at the time seated at north 40 yd line in the lower part of the upper deck on the home side of the field. The Horns inserted Tommy Wade in at QB late in the game because he was a better passer than Duke Covert. Wade began to drive the football by throwing on every play. He had a pass intercepted by Aggie John Brotherton who tried to run it back. When Brotherton began to be tackled he tried to lateral the ball to another Aggie on about the 40 yard line in Aggie end of field. It was not a fumble. It was an errant attempted lateral. The ball fell to the ground somehow and was recovered by Longhorn full back Thomas Stockton recruited from Bryan High School. Texas now has the ball back. In the next play or two, Wade lofts a pass to a receiver in the end zone. It is overthrown. Willenborg reaches up for it and appears to catch it well before going to his knees and sliding across the back of the end zone line at the north end of Kyle Field. It appears to be the end of the greatest upset in Aggie history. The official runs into view from my right and signals that the catch was made out of the end zone. I had no doubt the official was totally wrong at that moment. Highway robbery.

I will admit by recently viewing the play repeatedly on the Longhorn Network has made me now uncertain whether he controlled it before crossing the end line. I cannot tell for sure either way on the video. When I was in the stadium that day actually observing there was no doubt in my mind he controlled it well before crossing the end line.

I swear I have told the truth the whole truth so help me God.
oldfart79
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aggs left the water hose on the field all night. pissed dkr off so much
oldfart79
Spyderman
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I vaguely remember some talk about this play. Just knew that A&M was east of Austin somewhere. I do recall me and dad going over to the orange tower with a "#1" lit up vertically on the sides of it after the Horns totally destroyed Roger Staubach and his very talkative Navy Midshipmen early in '64. Moment I'll always remember as dad had a Polaroid camera...the pics of the tower are somewhere in a family album.
Grab some popcorn...why the ongoing cover-up? The Phenomenon: FF to 1:22:35 https://tubitv.com/movies/632920/the-phenomenon

An est. 68 MILLION Americans, including 19 MILLION Black Children, have been killed in the WOMB since 1973-act, pray and vote accordingly.

TAMU purpose statement: To develop leaders of character dedicated to serving the greater good. Team entrance song at KYLE FIELD is laced with profanity including THE Nword..
The greater good?
austinag1997
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Yeah, my friend's dad played in that game... for the wrong team.
Hellbent
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This was my fish year. The fish were blocked into the area pretty much behind the north goal line, so we had a good view of Willenborg's catch. We definitely got screwed by the ref.

The cannon was a secret. It was covered and stashed under the stands then wheeled out of the opening in the horseshoe and fired just before the game started and after the sips had fired their little 10 gauge cannon. When the 105 fired, smoke obliterated the field and the refs walked around stamping out burning pieces of wadding on the field. Our outfit knew about the cannon and we could hardly wait to see it rolled out. One of our upperclassmen had been involved in getting it for the game - his father was a high ranking officer at Ft. Hood. At least that's where I heard that it came from.
Trench55
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I was a junior at A&M and was at that game.
Charlie 31
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Charlie 31
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OldArmy71
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Here's a recap of the highlights of the game, narrated by Kern Tips.
Charlie 31
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aglaes
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Bryanisbest said:

It was not a fumble. It was an errant attempted lateral. The ball fell to the ground somehow and was recovered by Longhorn full back Thomas Stockton recruited from Bryan High School.
A fumble is a fumble. If he tried to lateral and the ball didn't make it the player he was lateraling it to, it's a fumble.
Your Mom And Them
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That fat piece of crap Bill Little waving it off in the back of the end zone. Dude can suck it!!!!
Slamn Sharpe
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Hey Nav said:

(I think) is was ESPN that did a show on this game. They interviewed several of the Aggie players.

Can't remember who it was, but the Ag who intercepted the pass said the referee ran up and waved his arms indicated no catch, and stated "No catch. Still our ball".


So they had refs in their back pockets back then too huh?
Lol and some Ag's still wanna play those bast****
bert harbinson
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ABATTBQ87 said:

from 1964 Aggieland






This is pretty cool, I knew Mark Jackson, met him long after his days serving in Viet Nam. Sadly I heard he passed earlier this year.
Slamn Sharpe
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mullokmotx said:

I didn't know we had a cannon back then.


Child plz
LesterHaze
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ABATTBQ87 said:

from 1964 Aggieland





It was an easy interception but clearly not a perfectly clean catch. It left room for doubt. The choker who lateraled the ball away is the biggest goat in the history of the series. This thread only exists due to his brain meltdown.
DustysLineup
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Charlie 31 said:


Sheesh, looks like he's calling in a relief pitcher.
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