1970 Cotton Bowl- Self Portrait # 2 Billy Dale
THE ONE-YARD RUN FOR THE WINNING TOUCHDOWN IN THE 100TH YEAR OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL WAS A TEAM EFFORT. THE PLAY COMPLETED A PERFECT SEASON AND A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THE TEXAS LONGHORNS.
Bobby Wuensch, Randy Peschell, Steve Worster, Jim Bertelsen, and Billy Dale all did their job, and as Tom Campbell said on Facebook once about my touchdown,
“Hell, my grandmother could have made that touchdown.”
Here is the Story of the play that won the National Championship for the Horns in 1969.
Bobby Wuensch #50 , Jim Bertelsen, and Randy Peschel had the key blocks on the touchdown.
Two days before the start of the 1969 national championship season, Coach Royal promoted Jim Bertelsen to the first team and moved me to the second team. It was a dark day in my life, but it was the right choice for the 1969 Texas Longhorns. Jim was a great running back who set several records at Texas and was a Pro Bowl participant for the L.A. Rams.
After the demotion, Coach Royal pulled me aside and said (I am paraphrasing his comment) Billy, do not get down on yourself. You are a valuable member of this team. We need your skills as a blocking back, so I will use you to carry in the offensive plays when appropriate. You will need to learn the plays at both the right and left halfback positions so we can maximize your blocking ability. The coach was true to his word. During the 1969 season, I was used as a blocking “lineman” positioned in the backfield. The opposition knew it was probably to block when I entered the game, so the defense planned accordingly.
Royal did not care if the opposing team knew our tendencies since the Wishbone was a read-option offense with three potential ball carriers on every play. Since neither the offense nor defense knew who would get the ball before the play, Royal was confident the Longhorns could execute the Wishbone and win the game regardless of tendencies. He was right!
The Game Plan for Notre Dame and the National Championship
The game plan was the same as the other games that year. Coach Royal told the press, “We are going to dance with who broke us,” and he did! As in the other games in 1969, I was used primarily as the blocking back.
The saying “Dance with who brung us” goes back to 1914.
The Third Quarter
In the 3rd quarter, the dynamics of the game changed. Ted Koy got knocked silly, and I replaced him. It was a tough day for me. I think I gained 12 yards on 10 carries. After Ted recovered from his groggy state, he returned to the huddle, and I returned to Coach Royal’s side.
On the 3rd and one from the one-yard line, with time running out, Coach Royal grabbed me by the mask and said: “I am calling your number.” He said, “Go in at right halfback and call Counter right 55”. (“55” is not an option play. It is a designed play with a handoff to the right halfback.) When I entered the huddle and called the play, all 10 of my teammates, who usually kept their heads down as I called the play, raised their heads in unison as to say, “really?”
Everyone in the huddle assumed Steve Worster would get the ball. Notre Dame thought the same thing- Dale comes into the game, so the ball is either going to Worster or Bertelsen.
History shows otherwise, and after analyzing the game film, it was clear that Notre Dame believed Worster would receive the ball. Worster effectively froze the defense on the touchdown play.
The Play
I Don’t Remember Tom Campbell’s Exact Quote On My Facebook Page, But He Told All My Friends That A 90-Year-Old Woman Could Have Made That Touchdown. Through the Years, Many of my teammates have jokingly made Similar Comments, And Factually, They Are Correct, So I Never Defend My Moment into Longhorn Sports History. I Just Smile And Enjoy The Moment.
It was just one yard, but the play still needed a strategy. The hitting was brutal, so I prioritized protecting the ball with both arms and hands (look at photo below). Then, I decided not to look for a hole in the defense. (Looking for a gap tends to slow down forward momentum.) Since I was not going to look for a breach, the logical decision was to use my helmet as a battering ram, lean forward as far as humanly possible, run to the hole as diagrammed, and hope my teammates studied the same diagram. They did!
Years later, Coach Royal told me that he and Coach Bellard studied Notre Dame’s defensive tendencies when I entered the game. So Coach knew that the Notre Dame defense would discount me as the ball carrier and make some defensive adjustments to prepare for Worster and Bertelsen.
While Tom Campbell’s comment is correct, on that fateful day -January 1, 1970—destiny was with me and not a 90-year-old woman. History records that Billy Dale, with the support of Worster as the decoy, followed great blocks from Jim Bertelsen, Randy Peschel, and Bobby Wuensch to make the winning touchdown against Notre Dame in the 100th year of college football and to cement the Texas Longhorns’ National Championship.
I will take it!!
Great story!
A hero for all time #22!
Congratulations all.
Great story, Billy. Another smart Royal decision and you delivered. Way to go.
A postscript, maybe? Did Royal ever say anything to you after you scored or after the game or anytime later?
Not a word about the play for years from the coaching staff. Probably 15 years after the touchdown at a national championship party, Royal and Bellard told me why they called my number instead of Worster. They had analyzed Notre Dames change in defensive alignment when I entered the game as the “blocker”.
Billy