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)

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.

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

https://texags.com/forums/5/topics/1180043/1

Hey Nav said:

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

https://texags.com/forums/5/topics/1180043/1

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Thanks for the extended story

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!

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.

wbt5845 said:

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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.

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This man is who I was thinking of.

https://texags.com/account/profile/15293

The man in the overcoat is Bill Little the former SID for tu.

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

That is not a cannon. It is a howitzer. It is even labeled that way.

Quote:

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The game took place just days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas.

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The no-burn Bonfire. Did yall have a regular Yell Practice instead, or it was it solemn for the president?

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.

aggs left the water hose on the field all night. pissed dkr off so much

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.

Yeah, my friend's dad played in that game... for the wrong team.

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.

I was a junior at A&M and was at that game.

Here's a recap of the highlights of the game, narrated by Kern Tips.

Bryanisbest said:

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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.

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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.

That fat piece of crap Bill Little waving it off in the back of the end zone. Dude can suck it!!!!

Hey Nav said:

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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".

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

ABATTBQ87 said:

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from 1964 Aggieland

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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.

mullokmotx said:

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

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Child plz

ABATTBQ87 said:

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from 1964 Aggieland

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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.

Charlie 31 said:

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