Tulsa Football - A Rich Tradition

While OU has its national championships and OSU has its Running Back U. status, The University of Tulsa often slips through the crack in the football discussions around the state.This is an egregious error, because TU has as rich a football tradition as many of the schools in the larger conferences.Of the three D-I schools in Oklahoma, the Golden Hurricane feature the most Pro Football Hall of Fame Members.Bob St. Clair, Jim Finks and Steve Largent all graced the turf at Skelly Stadium and they have all been inducted into the Hall in Canton, Ohio.In comparison, OU only has Tommy McDonald and Lee Roy Selmon, while the Cowboys feature Barry Sanders and Thurman Thomas.It is a long history of football at Tulsa.
The first team was fielded in 1895 under coach Norman Leard, when TU, then known as Henry Kendall College, squared off with the Bacone School for Indians. Tulsa came out on top in that contest, and after struggling to take hold, football became a mainstay at the college.Tulsa football continued to improve, and in 1916, head coach Sam McBirney led the squad to its first undefeated season, going 10-0 and outscoring its opponents 566-40. The team won the Oklahoma Collegiate Conference championship that year. As that season ended, several Tulsa business men were clamoring for one more game, and TU nearly squared off with Notre Dame for the season finale.While that contest never happened, there was a definite excitement in the community for its football team.TU cruised into the 1920’s with two more OCC championships and two more undefeated seasons under coach Francis Schmidt.In 1922, Tulsa decided to change its nickname. Until then they had been known as the “Kendalites,” “Presbyterians,” “Tigers” and “Tulsans.”However, in 1922 the team started workouts under the nickname “Yellow Jackets.”Head coach Howard Archer, after a remark in practice about “roaring through opponents,” had seriously considered “Golden Tornadoes.”But a check showed that Georgia Tech had already taken the tag back in 1917.From the tornado, he evolved meteorologically to the hurricane. A few days before the team left to take on Texas A&M, Archer asked the team to vote on the name “Golden Hurricane,” the gold being added because of the color of their new jerseys.The team went 9-0 that season and won its fourth OCC championship.In 1925, TU pulled off a coup of major proportions.Elmer “Gloomy Gus” Henderson took over as head coach, leaving then-powerhouse Southern California to guide the Hurricane. In his 11 seasons, the team won four OCC championships, as well as the Missouri Valley Conference championship in its first season in the conference.When the 1940’s arrived, so did head coach Henry Frnka.Frnka helped TU write its name in the record books, becoming the first school to play in five-straight New Year’s Day bowl games.In 1941, TU played in the Sun Bowl, which was followed by back-to-back trips to the Sugar Bowl in 1942 and 1943.The 1944 team played in the Orange Bowl, while the 1945 team, Frnka’s last, competed in the Oil Bowl.