University of Oklahoma - Sooner Yearbook (Norman, OK)

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THE LAST STRETCH of a practice run finds sophomore Brad Swartout gasping for air as the squad prepares for the Arlington Invitational.

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. .and individuals Tony D1RleU20 l3J. kiflkef Ron Waters l35i, strong safety Jerry Arnold l74J, offensive tackle Barry Switzer, head Coach W -if ' n V' l Fr. '5 Season Record: ll wins, 0 losses l r .4 ,,.,.. - 'ff 3' I 3332- Associated Press National Champions 'I . ,. .s ,- ,. 1 .., ,. , ,, Billy Brooks 1821, tight end 1 974 FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD Sooners Baylor A V ' Sooners Utah State I I fy , X lSooners Wake Forest ' , Q, 5 -ix A Sooners Texas K -. ' V i. U Sooners Colorado 'tariff ff' F .. ,. v Sooners Kansas State fi V 1' Sgonerg Iowa State xi rl Sooners Missouri ' , 32- T -' 'amiga Sooners Kansas Vif Sooners Nebraska - . Sooners Oklahoma A ' 2' ' FT State sg? Following the 1974 Sooner football season, people were always asking the question, why? Why did we go un- beaten and why were we named the National Champions of college football? ls it because we had so many out- standing individual players or was it because we had a great football team? To answer l'd have to say we were an outstanding football team. Sure, we had our stars. A player like Joe Washington, Randy Hughes or Rod Shoate is gifted and his ability is readily recognizable. But it takes more than one man to make a team. This year's Oklahoma football team had the usuper stars but it also had players not recognizable unless you had a program. Of the 22 starters on our national championship team, ten were not highly recruited. ln fact, if the 'tthirty scholarship limit had been in effect three years ago they probably would not have been recruited at Oklahoma. Imagine the type of year we might have had without Rod Shoate, Ron Waters, Gary Gibbs, Wayne Hoffman, Tinker Owens, Terry Webb, Jerry Arnold, John Roush, Jim Littrell, and a quarterback named Davis. Without outstanding coaching, patience, and dreams which became realities these athletes might have played in another color than red and white. Our team success was not solely due to the action on Saturday afternoon. There were the men who were the scout-team throughout the week, collecting just as many aches and pains as the starters, contributing equally to our national championship. Over the last 26 years there is no other University in the country that has been as successful as Oklahoma in football. The 1974 National Champioins had great individual players that were committed winners. We had a pride not seen in any of our opponents. Under the tensest situations there was a cool confidence because we believed in each other as individuals. Oklahoma fans only saw eleven players on the field at one time. But to explore deep within the past of OU football many faces that make Satur- day's game an enjoyable one. Oklahoma will win another National Championship someday! We'll win it for the same reason: great coaches and players who do their job so unselfishly as a team. Steve Davis, OU Quarterback

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as ig' ing 2 ,fic Cross country squad nabs Federation crown Returning five lettermen under the teammate leadership of Ron Fick and Don Franklin, the OU cross country team charged into the 1974 season. Finishing eighth in the Big Eight Conference the previous year, Coach J.D. Martin knew he and his squad had nowhere to go but up. The key to success in cross country is having several team members running in about the same time, said Coach Martin. lf you can have four of five guys running as a group, you can beat a lot of people. The end result of countless practices was the Conference Championships where the Sooners climbed three notches to claim fifth place. One of the high points of the season was the first place victory captured by the OU harriers at the US Track and Field Federation Championships. Under the able direction of Martin, OU's most experienced head athletic mentor who has coached for over a decade in Norman, the Sooner cross country squad was determined to climb even higher on the Big Eight totem pole. 1974 CROSS COUNTRY SCOREBOARD Arlington Invitational 2nd USTFF Championships lst Big Eight Championships 5th SOONERS 32 Arkansas 23 SOONERS 18 S. Methodist 23 SOONERS 21 N. Texas St. 42 LEFT: IN THE STRETCH are tracksters in the final dual. BELOW: NORTH TEXAS STATE finds the going rough as Oklahoma blasts ahead. nv' va-A ,Q-f . at 'S-6.31411 . -D whf-1, ,gy K ,- All ts ' - .. gf ie -642mg-.as ,. 'E-5 -T4-T' I .,,-.k-m.. .-.3-.,:,y,L,'V. .-,M A I ,, ., - .. -' f - ' 0- A ',, , - -..w,-. , - ' . V ng-' -4---9 ' ' - ,i. .1 L--A 'c 4 4.55