My First Razorback Football Game

“Arkansas quarterback Joe Ferguson completed 31 of 51 passes for 345 yards, but the Razorback runners were stopped cold—50 yards in 32 carries.” Sports Illustrated, Nov. 8, 1971.

Halloween came on a Sunday night in 1971, and as a result, it was agreed that all trick or treating activities would take place on Saturday evening in the small town of Corning, where I grew up.

Both my younger brother and I would miss it, but we didn’t mind.

I was 9 years old, and he was eight, and our parents were taking us to Little Rock to attend our very first Razorback football game.

Who needed extra candy? The Hogs were 6-1, ranked 8th in the country, and were hosting the 2-5 Texas A&M Aggies.

I remember preferring to see Arkansas play Texas, but when you are nine years old and haven’t attended a Razorback game at all, you take the Texas A&M opportunity and run with it.

It was probably best that we didn’t go to the Texas game that year anyway. It was a great game—a huge 31-7 Hog win on Oct. 16—but it took place in a rain-soaked affair in Little Rock.

It was televised by ABC and we watched it at home, without getting drenched.

Arkansas was man-handling opponents that year, defeating California 51-10, Oklahoma State 31-10, TCU 49-15, and Baylor 35-7; and there was also that big Texas win.

The Hogs only loss—a 21-20 upset at the hands of Tulsa on Sept. 25—probably kept them from being a top five team in October of that year.

After the win over the Longhorns, Arkansas buried North Texas 60-21 and they were in the driver’s seat to claim the Southwest Conference title and a trip to the Cotton Bowl.

Texas A&M was up next, and almost any way you looked at it, the Aggies didn’t stand much of a chance.

When we walked in to the stadium on game night, I looked up at the main entrance where it said War Memorial Stadium and was awestruck. This was big stuff.

The game got underway with both teams throwing hard punches, but neither one doing much damage, at least not in the early-going.

But on that night Texas A&M, under seventh-year coach Gene Stallings, played what was probably their best game of the season.

They used a hard-nosed defense and a ground-control game on offense, and had a solid 17-3 lead in the second half.

In my own youthful starstruck mind, I hoped beyond hope that Arkansas could fight their way back.

Razorback quarterback Joe Ferguson was one of the best passers in the nation and had a record-setting performance that night. The Aggies allowed him to complete short passes throughout the game, but never gave up a big play, and they hardly ever allowed Arkansas to sustain any kind of offensive drive.

At least not until late in the second half, when a Razorback touchdown and a failed two-point play made it 17-9.

But that was it.

In the Arkansas Gazette the following day, sports editor Orville Henry wrote, “Those Aggies played football the way it’s supposed to be played and they thrashed the Arkansas Razorbacks, 17-9, silencing a capacity crowd of more than 54,000.”

Arkansas finished 1971 with an 8-2-1 record and then suffered a disappointing 14-13 loss to Tennessee in the Liberty Bowl.

I remember Dad talking about Arkansas’ rivalry with Texas A&M later in the 1970s.

“Arkansas always has trouble with Texas A&M,” he said. “Even when Arkansas had some of their best teams, they’ve had trouble with A&M.”

And he was right. While Arkansas was reeling off winning season after winning season in the 1960s, they were regularly beating Texas A&M, but in close games.

Arkansas defeated A&M 12-7 in 1959; 7-3 in 1960; 15-8 in 1961; 17-7 in 1962; and 25-22 in 1968.

Even in 1964, when the Razorbacks were undefeated and claimed a national championship, the Aggies were far from humiliated by Arkansas, playing as tough as they could in a 17-0 loss.

But the 17-9 game in Little Rock in 1971 will forever remain in my memory. The Razorbacks slugged it out but they just didn’t play their best game. Texas A&M did.

For my part, however, I’m glad I was there. I never even missed the Halloween candy. DAVID WILSON, EDD, OF SPRINGDALE, IS A FORMER HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL AND IS THE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR THE TRANSIT AND PARKING DEPARTMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS. HIS BOOK, LEARNING EVERY DAY, IS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON. YOU MAY E-MAIL HIM AT DWNOTES@ HOTMAIL.COM. THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR.