Rescuing the Rocket
From OKC to Miami, Cecil Samara and his Big Red Rocket blazed with Sooner glory en route to Orange Bowls
He was known for the big red cowboy hat, the red-and-white suit with Sooner crimson cowboy boots and — for better or worse — the bullhorn that blared his raspy voice in the stadium stands.
When he grinned, his upper front dentures glared with gold letters that read, “Big Red.” He had another set of dentures with an “O” and a “U” on them.
Cecil Samara, a Sooner fan and lifelong Oklahoma City resident, also drove the Big Red Rocket, a 1927 Model T Ford with a wreath of oranges tied to the front grill, to every home Sooner game from the 1950s through the 1980s.
Samara also drove the antique car to Orange Bowl games in Miami, Fla., from the 1950s through the 1970s,
towing a small trailer with spare parts in case of a breakdown.
At top speed of 35 mph, Samara, a Rotarian, stopped at cities along the way to speak at Rotary Clubs. He would take two to three weeks to get to the games each year the Sooners played at the Orange Bowl.
Samara died in 1994, and the Big Red Rocket was donated by his family to the OU RUF/NEKS spirit club. At least one former RUF/ NEK would like to see the car up and rolling again to games.
Eddie Hartwick, 55, of Edmond, was an OU student and RUF/NEK in 1984-1989. He now is the RUF/NEKS Alumni Association vice president.
Hartwick recalls Samara and his bullhorn were an honorary part of the RUF/ NEKS squad, and Samara sat near the RUF/NEKS as they fired their shotguns and cheered on Owen Field.
“I think I definitely suffered hearing loss from his bullhorn,” Hartwick said. “He had that bullhorn going all the time.”
Samara owned the Big Red Flag Co. in Oklahoma City, and he fashioned a persona as the biggest, most flamboyant OU fan over four decades.
In the late 1940s, Samara, who grew up in poverty and never attended OU, was given a 1927 Model T by someone who owed him money, Hartwick said. He fixed it up and started taking it to home games. Samara also drove it to the Cotton Bowl each year for the Texas game. By the 1980s, he would leave games in Norman after the third quarter to get back to his home in Oklahoma City so he could beat the heavy traffic as he drove up Sooner Road.
The Big Red Rocket was the first vehicle to receive a state-issued, personalized license plate in 1968. The plate read, “Big Red.” Ironically, the plate that year was black with orange letters.
Orange Bowl Committee officials allowed Samara to park the Big Red Rocket on the sidewalk outside the Orange Bowl before the games through the 1970s.
A couple of times in the early 1970s Samara took the car to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans with the Sooners.
Samara’s burial clothes included an OU tie, an OU belt buckle and a red jacket with an OU pin. His red felt cowboy hat was placed beside him in the casket.
RUF/NEKS members drove to car to home games and parked it on the North Oval outside the stadium until about 2010. In recent years, the car has been stored in an equipment barn used by the football field maintenance crew, and is not getting out for games these days.
Hartwick said he would like to see the car running again.
“We want to get that car rebuilt and to start taking it to the games again,” Hartwick said. “It was part of OU tradition for 50-something years.”
Bobby Nash, OU Athletics spokesman, said the Rocket is not forgotten, and it will be back, though it will stay in Norman for this week’s Orange Bowl game against Alabama.
“We have a great appreciation of the historical significance of the Big Red Rocket and the love and support that Cecil Samara gave to OU Athletics,” Nash said.
The car is in storage with other historical memorabilia, Nash said.
“We have high hopes of getting it refurbished in the near future and are looking forward to integrating it back into the game day experience,” Nash said.