news For more information contact: OU Club of Houston Honors One Of Its Own—Darrell Royal (April 22, 2013)—Before becoming a Texas sports legend, before calling himself a Longhorn, Husky or Eskimo, Darrell Royal was an All-American football player at the University of Oklahoma. Quarterbacking the Sooners to an undefeated season in 1949, Royal helped pave the way to the Oklahoma program’s remarkable successes in the decades to come. To commemorate Royal’s achievements as a Sooner, the OU Club of Houston has established the Darrell Royal Memorial Scholarship to be presented annually to a Houston-area high school student bound for the University of Oklahoma. The club officially announced the new scholarship at its annual golf tournament held Monday, April 22, at Longwood Golf Club. Royal died November 7, 2012, from cardiovascular complications related to Alzheimer’s disease. “Darrell Royal’s accomplishments as the long-time head football coach at the University of Texas have firmly established him as one of the greats of all time,” said Marilyn Turner, past president of the OU Club of Houston. “But he learned how to win at Oklahoma. In the finest sense of the expression, Darrell Royal was ‘Sooner born and Sooner bred’.” Royal played at Oklahoma under another legendary coach, Bud Wilkinson. With Royal as a standout two-way player, Wilkinson’s Sooners won conference championships in 1947, ‘48 and ‘49, going undefeated in league play each season. In fact, OU did not lose a conference game in Wilkinson’s first 12 years at the school. His Sooners won three national championships and posted overall win streaks of 31- and 47-straight games. Royal still holds OU records for longest punt return and career interceptions. He is a member of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame Former Houston business executive Jay Wilkinson is Bud Wilkinson’s son. He serves as the honorary chairman of the OU Club’s Darrell Royal Memorial Scholarship committee. “One of my father’s most important recruits at Oklahoma was Darrell Royal” Jay Wilkinson said. “They both arrived at the school in 1946 and together they built one of college football’s great dynasties. “Dad’s Sooner teams had beaten Texas five years in a row when he recommended Darrell to become the Longhorns head coach prior to the 1956 season. In a bit of irony, Coach Royal’s teams downed Oklahoma the last five years Bud was coach of the Sooners.” “Through it all, dad and Darrell always had a great relationship. Coach Royal gave one of the eulogies at my father’s funeral in 1995,” Jay Wilkinson added. Royal grew up in Hollis, Oklahoma, where he met his future wife of 68 years, Edith. When told of the OU Club’s plans to honor her husband, Edith Royal said simply, “That is wonderful.” After graduation from Oklahoma, Royal turned to coaching, serving as head coach of the Canadian Football League’s Edmonton Eskimos and at Mississippi State University and the University of Washington, before his 20-year stint at the University of Texas where, like his coaching mentor Wilkinson, he won three national championships. Celebrating its 50th anniversary, The OU Club of Houston keeps local Sooners—alumni, family and friends of the University of Oklahoma—connected. The club’s mission is to provide members opportunities for fellowship, accomplishment, enrichment and fun. The club is dedicated to continuing a legacy of Sooner Pride while helping Houston Sooners build new and lasting relationships. In addition to being honorary chairman of the Darrell Royal Memorial Scholarship, Jay Wilkinson is author of the book Dear Jay, Love Dad: Bud Wilkinson’s Letters to His Son, an intimate look at the philosophy and personal values of one of the greatest college football coaches at all time. For more information on Jay’s book visit www.winningthewilkinsonway.com |
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