DKR the Dream Maker https://texaslsn.org/larry-carlsons-interviews/ Edith and Coach Royal, Lise and Mac Davis, Jenna and Randy Royal’s high school coaches said he was too small to try out for the football team, but Royal continued to dream of greatness. No great activity starts without a vision, and as a young man, Royal dreamed of kicking…
Turk blocking for Peter Gardere Turk McDonald (UT football, 1988-1992) https://texaslsn.org/larry-carlsons-interviews/ Look up “center” in your dictionary, and you find something like “around which anything relates to or revolves.” But the center position in football is seldom the center of attention. That other guy who also touches the ball on every play gets oversized expectations,…
https://texaslsn.org/larry-carlsons-interviews/ At least for a quarter-century spanning the early 1960s through the mid-1980s, dominant defenses at the University of Texas were a constant on the college football landscape. By the ’70s and certainly into the ’80s, it was common even for good defenses to give up more yardage and points than previously due to more…
Professor Larry Carlson interviews Pat Culpepper by Larry Carlson ( lc13@txstate.edu ) https://texaslsn.org/larry-carlsons-interviews/ It had been my good fortune to enjoy one of the trademark mint juleps with the prettiest girl in the world out on the patio of The Columns Hotel on stately, oak-lined St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. It was just a…
By Larry Carlson 5/26/2021 https://texaslsn.org/larry-carlsons-interviews/ Unsung heroes in football are frequently members of the offensive line. Texas can boast of an enviable roll call of standout centers, and Alan Champagne is on that list. The native of Lafayette, LA. starred in high school at Houston’s Cypress Creek and signed with Fred Akers a month after…
Campbell, an Austin guy through and through, had worked as a teen at the iconic Dirty Martin’s Kum-bak Place on The Drag. He sliced tomatoes and peeled onions in exchange for burgers and fries. https://texaslsn.org/larry-carlsons-interviews/ It sounds straight out of Mayberry, RFD. A young Dean Campbell recalls playing some good ‘ol neighborhood football in his…
By Larry Carlson https://texaslsn.org/larry-carlsons-interviews/ Tom Campbell is in his element this summer afternoon, talking football. The man can tell a damn good story. The easy drawl, the timing, the breaks punctuated by chuckles. It’s all there. Terrific tales told by a dude who has had good reason to polish his stories. When you’re the Longhorn…
https://texaslsn.org/larry-carlsons-interviews/ Tom Campbell Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame Recipient Tom Campbell Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame Recipient It has been more than a half-century since Tom Campbell closed his career at Texas with a flourish unmatched in Longhorn lore. The former walk-on intercepted passes that extinguished the last hopes of Arkansas in 1969’s Big Shootout…
https://texaslsn.org/larry-carlsons-interviews/ https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/bill-bradley-by-larry-carlson bill bradley vs ou.jpg The Bill Bradley story is one of the most compelling ones in Longhorn sports history. It is the saga of vast talent and versatility, great expectations, challenges, and disappointments, then adjustments, redemption, and triumph. Bill Bradley helped build the Longhorn Brand by “Intercepting Tough Times and Triumphing” Talk to…
https://texaslsn.org/larry-carlsons-interviews/ The day Bill Bradley was called to DKR’s office after the 1968 Texas Tech game, he knew he was in trouble. Bill said, “Now, when you go to a coach’s office, three things can happen, and all of them are bad.” TLSN: Bill, let’s start with a baseball question. As a shortstop, you got…