H.S. Football - Leopard Legends of the Fall, the 50's and 60's

   Last December, I ran a blog/column about Lindsay Leopard high school football of the 1970's and how tradition rich high school football programs such as Lindsay has helped shape America. That column is as follows: 

   Out of the mist on a cold evening in November of 1973 at exactly 7:55 PM, a group of young men walk slowly towards a football gridiron. Dressed in battle regalia – helmets, shoulder pads, and shivers, the only sound heard is the clatter of steel-tipped cleats as they cross the street headed into the east end-zone, finally gathering to rush the field of play. Elementary and Jr. Hi kids strain against the sideline fence as they try to get a glimpse of their heroes as the players take the field. The team will defend the school’s honor as well as the whole town as it does on each Friday night from September through November each year.

   Scenes such as this, burned into the collective memory of small towns and high school football supporters statewide, is Oklahoma’s version of “Friday Night Lights”. Tradition rich, high school football towns such as Ada, Clinton, and Thomas were consumed with their own Friday night heroes back in the fifties, sixties, and seventies. The coaches and players were considered celebrities by the town citizens, and community success was most often judged by the team’s success. One such traditional high school football program, coached by the legendary Joe Tunnell, exemplified “Friday Night Lights” and “Legends of the Fall” – the Lindsay Leopards of the 1970’s. The Leopards won a higher percentage of games than any other class-2A team in the state during the decade of the seventies, and were coached by the same staff – Head Coach Joe Tunnell and assistants S.J. Foster, H.O. Estes, Charlie Heatly, and R.V. Hayden. This coaching consistency was one of the contributing factors to the success of the program. Another contributing factor for the Leopard’s ‘70’s success was that it stayed with the same offense – the wing-T and slot-I, and the same defense – wide tackle- six and split-six which guaranteed consistency during their seventies reign. The Leopard All-Stars of the entire decade follow:

   The quarterbacks, led by #16 Rick Dorman 1975, also included #11 Tony Cruse 1971, #12 Cliff Krcha 1972, #10 Danny Heatly 1973, #12 Dean Edzards 1977, and #10 Kevin Foster 1980.

   The marquee tailbacks, usually the best all-around athlete on the team, were led by #16 Mike Terry 1970, and followed by #35 Scott Rose 1971, #45 Bobby Simonton 1973, and #47 Gary Dew 1979.

   Fullbacks are listed as #43 David Orr 1972, #47 Johnny Branch 1970, #40 Randy Underwood 1974, #32 Curtis Taylor 1976, #35 Tony Burnside 1981, #20 Billy Welch 1971, and #30 Ray Krcha 1975.

   Centers of the seventies were characterized by extraordinary strength and included #74 Gary Cooper 1970, #56 Stanley Everett 1973, #57 Craig Blankenship 1972, #60 Bobby Bruton 1974, and #50 Randy Haslam 1977.

   The offensive guards were unusually small by line standards but tough, and include #70 Danny Cunningham 1970, #62 Stan McCabe 1970, #74 David Shahan 1973, #79 Carl Franklin 1975, #77 Kelly Hart 1976, #60 Jeff Davis 1977, and #67 Scooter Sturdivant 1980.

   The massive offensive tackles are led by #78 Mike Flesher 1970, and followed by #78 Damon Clagg 1973, #62 Mark Newey 1970, #61 Danny Simonton 1970, #72 Wesley Wilson 1975, #73 Scott Gentry 1977, #67 Jeff Bates 1973, and #57 Chris Tate 1978.

   Tight ends listed include #87 Bruce Jones 1976, #85 Royce Freeman 1980, #88 Rick Billingsley 1972, and #85 Dewey Webb 1973.

   The wide receivers include #82 Billy Gibson 1970, #84 Steve Ford 1971, #33 Ron Jones 1976, and #86 Jeff Ardrey 1973.

   Wingbacks, with speed to burn, are led by #30 Bud McGuire 1970, #24 Johnny Beckham 1977, and #82 Scott Dickerson 1975.

    The Leopards of the seventies were noted for their ferocious defenses and shape up like this: The guards are led by #94 Rick Lawson 1974, perhaps the biggest player ever to suit up at 6’5”, 315 lbs. and followed by #64 Tony Wilson 1972, #74 Ricky Blankenship 1977, #67 Bill Bates 1976, #61 Blake Mashburn 1979, #66 Jerry Howton 1979, and #90 Mark Young 1976.

   Tackles include #78 Marlin Clagg 1979, #51 Toby Boydston 1979, #78 Corky Robertson 1977, #77 Burt Hall 1978, #75 Chris Ramsey 1977, and #40 Rodney Bryant 1979.

    Defensive ends were usually excellent athletes and are led by #85 Mark Loman 1970, #32 Doug Baker 1970, #77 Bruce Condit 1971, #35 Terry Winn 1977, and #30 Bill Hall 1978.   

    The linebackers, characterized by an unmatched toughness, are listed as one, #66 Kyle Lackey 1971, followed by #85 Joe Keith Foster 1977, #64 Greg Hinkle 1980, #37 David Taylor 1975, and #61 Steve Simonton 1976.

   The safeties include #15 Stoney Robbins 1976, #35 John Sharp 1974, #15 Benny Chambers 1972, and #10 Mark Terrell 1977.

   Cornerbacks are #33 Larry Johnson 1980, #20 Rocky Robbins 1974, #84 Kevin Newby 1976, #37 Ronny Clements 1972, #16 Barry Foster 1978, #23 Chris Gentry 1979, #22 Todd Carr 1980, #22 Joe Brent Stephens 1977, and #25 Robert Carlton 1978.

   The kickers of the seventies are #41 Damon Padgett and #20 Bobby Bruner 1972 – and punter #12 Roger Dodd 1974.

   The trainers are led by the NFL’s Don Moseley and followed by Kent Baker, Charley Bryant, Charles McGuire, Dennis Thomas, John Cunningham, and Dewayne Atwell.

    Although the Lindsay Leopards won no state titles during this phenomenal run in the seventies, the accomplishment of being class 2A’s “winningest” program was nonetheless exceptional. One unique characteristic of these Lindsay squads was they were old-style, 3 yards and a “cloud of dust”. They relied on being the toughest team, not the quickest on the field, for success. Most Lindsay ”legends of the fall” went on to lead successful lives after football as they became doctors, lawyers, oil company executives, and yes, even football coaches. I can also tell you, knowing most of these Leopards, “you’ve got to be a football hero” was true in the seventies just as it is today, and "I Need a Hero" echoed through the minds of many Leopardettes as they watched Friday Night Lights.

Update: The "conservative tradition" that is Lindsay Leopard football didn't start in the 1970's, however, as Lindsay won state titles in 1955, 1958, 1962, and 1963. The coaches and players from the 50's and 60's were truly the Legends of the Fall in Lindsay, and like all high school football participants in Oklahoma - are America's heroes. I know many of these Leopard legends, but many I'm not familiar with, since I grew up during the 1970's. For this reason, I'd like anyone with any information on any '50's or '60's  Leopard player or coach - please send me that story or name to my facebook page, text, or email, and I'll post a column which will be highly entertaining and informative...