The 1966 version of Lindsay Leopard football started the same as all other Leopard seasons, as they shut-out Purcell 27-0 in the first game of the year. This was followed by a close loss to perennial Class 2A champion Ada, 7-0. It is unknown to the author what happened to the Leopards following the Ada loss - a key injury? but Lindsay then lost to Crooked Oak 34-0. Following the Ruf-Nex loss, the Leopards handled arch-rival Marlow 21-6, but then lost to Anadarko 18-7 and Yukon 21-0. Lindsay then tied Sulphur, lost to Carl Albert 8-7, lost to rival Pauls Valley 18-17 and lost to Wynnewood 20-14, before ending the season with a rare two wins and eight losses. It was Coach Dave Clark's second and final season as the Leopard's head coach, and the era of Joe Tunnel was about to begin.
Coach Joe Tunnel's inaugural 1967 season started with a 42-6 thrashing of Purcell. Ada beat Lindsay 12-3, but the attitude of the Leopards had seemed to evolve back to the fifties and early sixties - an attitude of expected dominance and unwavering tenacity. It is the first Leopard season I can remember attending several games.
Lindsay then beat Crooked Oak 19-7, Marlow 25-6, Anadarko 45-8, Yukon 28-14, Sulphur 42-6 and Carl Albert 14-0. An article from The Oklahoman on October 28,1967 read:
Lindsay Clips Carl Albert, 14-0
Fourth-ranked Lindsay dumped Carl Albert, 14-0, Friday night in a district 3-A high school football game before a sparse turnout at Rose Field. The Leopards, although far from overpowering, were never in danger as they chalked up win number 7 in eight outings. Lindsay, 2-0 in conference play, has lost only to Ada, a Class AA power.
If there was a single man who made the difference in this one it was Lindsay fullback Lindell Shoemake, a hard-running 200-pounder who ground out 127 yards in 15 carries and scored the first touchdown. Lindsay tallied in each of the first two quarters and the two teams spent the second half keeping each other bottled up, the only real threats coming on fumble recoveries and pass interceptions.
The Leopards broke the scoring ice with 2:58 left in the opening quarter when Shoemake barreled over right tackle for 84 yards and the touchdown...
Halfback Bo Boydston set up the second touchdown midway through the second quarter with a 41 yard punt return, then scored it himself on a one-yard plunge. Halfback Gene Wilton kicked the conversion in each case.
I have memories of the PV game in particular: I was a fifth grader at Lindsay Elementary and had just finished the pee-wee football season. My parents took me to the game at Pauls Valley - the ninth game. One of my football heroes, Bo Boydston, played for the Leopards and had helped coach our pee-wee team in 1967. The Panthers were very good, ranked number two in the state, behind only Clinton, and our Leopards' last district opponent. Our Leopards were ranked third and The Oklahoman had the game listed as the state's top high school football game that week. The winner would go on to the Class A playoffs, and the loser would stay home. Not many thought the Leopards could upset the highly regarded Pauls Valley Panthers, but when Bo Boydston broke a long run in the first quarter to score - Leopard fans knew the tradition was back. A short article in The Oklahoman by Lynn Garnand on November 6, 1967 summarized the victory:
With Clinton still pacing Class A, Lindsay wrested second-place from Pauls Valley by handing the Panthers their first loss of the year, 20-6. Broken Bow and Spiro moved up behind the Leopards, with the Valley dropping to fifth.
Lindsay went on to beat Wynnewood 29-0, and then faced Yukon in the state Class A quarterfinals, who they dispatched 31-20. The stage was now set for Number 1 Clinton vs. Number 2 Lindsay in the state Class A semifinals... at Clinton.
I was a fifth grader at Lindsay Elementary in the Fall of 1967, and was fortunate enough to see what I considered Oklahoma's high school "Game of the Century" in person. My uncle, Odos Henson, lived in Clinton so my parents took us (Dana, Johnny and me) to the Game.
One should remember at this point that Clinton was home to the Bell brothers - Melvin, Carlos and Roy, who all went on and played at the collegiate level and even in the NFL. Halfback Roy Bell, the states leading rusher, was described as trying to tackle a "runaway locomotive" by opposing defenders. The Clinton Red Tornadoes were even ranked No. 1 in the nation by some accounts. I very rarely link readers to newspaper articles, but I think it is warranted for the Clinton Red Tornadoes.
The Game began with Clinton kicking off to Lindsay. Steve Dodd, only a junior, returned the opening kick-off 34 yards to the Clinton 48, and Lindsay promptly marched to the first touchdown - and led, 7-0. I turned to my uncle and said: "This game may be really easy for Lindsay". His reply was: "Just wait, the Red Tornadoes haven't even begun to fight." How 'right' my uncle turned out to be!
An article in The Oklahoman on December 2, 1967, following the Game read:
Lindsay Dealt 35-7 Thumping By Tornadoes
CLINTON -- Muscular Clinton shrugged off an early Lindsay touchdown and stampeded to a 35-7 victory Friday night before a crowd of 4,500 to earn its third straight trip to the state Class A finals.
Lindsay marched to a touchdown from the opening kickoff, which almost broke all the way. Steve Dodd was dragged down from behind on the Clinton 48 after a 34 yard return. The Leopards scored in 10 plays with Lindell Shoemake going the final yard.
Gene Wilton kicked the seventh point, but the Clinton crowd wasn't worried yet because their Red Tornadoes, who have averaged 39.8 points a game, had not touched the football.
Sure enough, when the Red Tornadoes got the ball they knew what to do with it. Clinton scored on three of its first four possessions, and by intermission was breezing along with a 23-7 advantage...
The battle matched the state's top two ranked Class A clubs, and Clinton clearly showed it was actually No. 1 by rolling up 375 yards compared to 147 by the No. 2 Leopards.
Roy Bell, the state's scoring leader... accumulated 167 yards in 20 carries...
Lindsay closes out its first year under Joe Tunnel with a 10-2 record. Tunnel took Rush Springs to the state Class C title last year.
In 2000, Joe Tunnel retired from coaching - and a banquet was held in his honor at the Simmons Center in Duncan, Oklahoma. Many former Lindsay players, Rush Springs players, coach colleagues, opposing coach friends, media friends and others attended the banquet in honor of Joe Tunnel. Rene Huckaba, a long-time friend of Coach Tunnel and head football coach at Yukon for thirty years, told the following story about the Clinton game in 1967: Paraphrased -
In 1967, the Veitnam War was at its height with the U.S. being extensively involved. Many young Americans were concerned about being drafted to fight overseas after turning 18. At that time, there was also a fear that Russia would get involved on the North Vietnam side, and attack the U.S.A. or at least our young men would have to fight the Russians in Vietnam.
Immediately following the loss to Clinton, Joe Tunnel entered the Lindsay locker room - where all the Leopards were sitting despondent and dejected. They were waiting for Coach Tunnel to give his "shoulda played better" speech, or "just got outplayed" speech. Instead, Joe Tunnel just made one statement to the team - Just remember, if we ever go to war with Russia.. those guys are on our side.
The 1967 Clinton Red Tornadoes was proclaimed by one national publication as the best high school football team in the country. Roy Bell, who went on to play at the University of Oklahoma and in the Canadian Football League, rushed for more than 6,000 yards in his career at Clinton and twice led the state in scoring and rushing. Thirteen players on that '67 team played college football somewhere. As a matter of fact four members of that 1967 Clinton team - Terry Shaffer, James Williams, Larry Colbert and Eugene Jefferson, teamed up with Danny Thornton and Jay Cruse from Lindsay, to play on the O.S.U. freshmen squad in 1969.
The 1967 Lindsay Leopards were very good, and probably would have won the state title - if it weren't for having to play the best high school football team in America at the time.
Next article: The 1968 Lindsay Leopards
Saturday, March 28, 2020
Saturday, March 14, 2020
Leopard Legends of the Fall 1965
Social scientists say that we, as humans, don't have memories of events before about two years of age. While some people can remember events at about the age of one year and younger, others can only recall events and things beginning at about the age of six or seven. I think I fall into this latter category, as I begin to have memories of Leopard football teams and players beginning in about 1965. For this reason, the next few articles will contain some personal observations, along with the newspaper articles and observations related to media accounts.
I first became interested in football while I was in the second or third grade because of my dad - Johnny Beckham. Most Lindsay folk knew him by his middle name, 'Dale', because he started going by his middle name while on the rodeo circuit. Johnny Beckham was a high school football star at Marlow from 1946 to 1948 and received a scholarship to what is now Oklahoma State University (OSU) to play ball for the Oklahoma A&M Aggies. He shared a story with me about Billy Dale Vessels (Heisman Trophy winner at OU in 1952):
It seems that Billy Vessels was intending to play for the Oklahoma A&M Aggies in 1949 instead of OU. When my dad enrolled at A&M in the summer of '49 he was originally assigned a roommate by the name of Billy Vessels from Cleveland, Oklahoma. Johnny and Billy were getting to know each other and visiting in the room when someone knocked on the door. It was a couple of OU coaches who asked Johnny if he would leave the room for a half hour, so they could visit privately with Billy. When Johnny returned later - Billy was packing his bags and headed to Norman. The next time my dad saw Billy on the OU campus, he was driving a big yellow Buick - and the rest is history.
Johnny went on after his Aggie days and played for the Marines - based in San Diego, California. In 1952, my dad was a Lieutenant and member of the military police as a defensive back on the football team. My aunt (Johnny's older sister) told me that Johnny never went to Korea... because "he could play football".
My interest in football came about by about the second grade, because of the stories my dad told me - and I started attending Leopard games during the mid to late 1960's.
The '64 Leopards had lost the Class A championship game to Holdenville 14-0, but could have won, were it not for losing Ken Fleming to a broken leg in the first quarter. An interesting side note to the '64 Leopards is that they beat their arch rival Marlow Outlaws, 29-7, in the fourth game of the regular season. Marlow went on to run the slate and win the Class B championship over Bixby, 25-12. You may read more about the '64 Leopards in the last article/post...
The 1965 Lindsay Leopards started the season in usual fashion by knocking off Purcell 34-0, Ardmore Douglass 13-0 and Crooked Oak 13-7, before finally losing to Marlow 13-7. They finished the '65 regular season by beating Anadarko 14-6, Yukon 14-7, Sulphur 26-6, Carl Albert 14-0 and Pauls Valley 3-0, before losing the last regular season game to Wynnewood 14-0.
One note of interest is that Wynnewood finished the '65 season 14-0 and Class B State Champions. The Leopards played the Savages closer than any other team that season losing 14-0, so the Leopards had played back to back state champions in '64 and '65 - winning one and losing one.
The Leopards finished the regular season with 8 wins and 2 losses, but made the playoffs since they had won all district games. They then lost to Choctaw 26-14 in the state quarterfinals. Head coach Dave Clark, having taken over for Bill Froman, fared pretty well in his first year with the Leopards. His 8-3 record was only judged average, however, by Leopard standards.
An article in The Oklahoman on September 23,1965, read:
'Bare-Thold' Kicker Is Pride of Lindsay
Lindsay - Down in Lindsay, where a full house for a Friday night football game is nothing uncommon, a problem of where to seat larger crowds than ever is beginning to cause concern for school officials. Crowds usually follow a winner, and Lindsay's Leopards can certainly qualify in this department, having lost only three of their last 53 games. Winning, however, is not the big reason for increased Friday night gatherings in this case.
Shouldering - or perhaps footing - the blame for the current crowd problem is a barefooted youngster from Germany named John Berthold (pronounced Bare-thold). Berthold, a tousled headed kid who's as ornery as any tow-head who ever baited a safety pin, is the barefooted, soccer-type place kicker responsible for conversions and field goals in Leopardland.
The only football player in the state who can promote an ovation simply by unlacing his shoes... John came to Lindsay last year as a sophomore transfer from Tulsa. He saw his first football game after moving here, and scored three points in it...
As an elementary school student in 1965, I had seen John Berthold kick in games - but my friends and I referred to him as 'Bare - Toe'. An 'AP' report in The Oklahoman, July 26, 1972:
Berthold Dealt To New Orleans
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) -- Soccer-style placekicker John Berthold Monday became the sixth Dallas Cowboy player to be traded to the New Orleans Saints since last football season. The German native who played football in Oklahoma at Lindsay High School and East Central joins ex-cowboys Jim Ford, Margene Atkins, Doug Moers, Joe Williams and Tom Stencic with the Saints. Dallas will receive a future draft pick for the 5-7, 155-pound Berthold...
John Berthold was only one of several Leopards who wore an NFL uniform during the '50's, '60's and '70's. It's no wonder many young Lindsay boys wanted to grow up to be a 'Leopard'. Another 'Oklahoman' article on October 9, 1965 - Lindsay Darts Past Anadarko:
ANADARKO -- Lindsay marched 62 yards to score with the opening kickoff and eventually defeated Anadarko, 14-6, Friday night. The touchdown came on a 27-yard pass from Gary Goodwin to Bill Cowan. Lindsay also scored on a sustained drive in the second period, 62 yards in eight plays. Ken Fleming got it on a two-yard dash.
It was the sturdy work of Fleming, who gained 147 yards, that set up both Lindsay scores. He carried for 27 yards in the first drive and was called on in six of the eight plays in the latter, one of them a 46-yard scamper...
From The Oklahoman, November 11, 1965:
Prep Parade by Ray Soldan
Lindsay credits the versatility of four-year letterman Gary Goodwin with pulling it through in the district 3-A showdown game with Pauls Valley last weekend. The 185-pound Goodwin played eight downs at quarterback in Lindsay's first eight games, spending most of his time at halfback and safety. With the Leopards' No. 1 signal caller Sammy Howard ailing, Goodwin quarterbacked every play in a 3-0 victory over Pauls Valley. Goodwin personally carried 22 times and picked up 70 yards. Seven of Lindsay's 15 first downs were achieved on crucial keeper plays by Goodwin.
In setting up the winning field goal by John Berthold, Goodwin guided the Leopards 62 yards following the second half kickoff to the Pauls Valley seven. Goodwin gained 47 of the yards and the drive consumed almost 10 minutes. With only 2:13 left in the third period Berthold toed through his third field goal of the year from 25 yards out...
The 1965 Leopards had ended with a respectable eight wins and only three losses and had an enviable 19-2 record for all playoff games since 1955. The 1966 Leopards were soon to come.
I first became interested in football while I was in the second or third grade because of my dad - Johnny Beckham. Most Lindsay folk knew him by his middle name, 'Dale', because he started going by his middle name while on the rodeo circuit. Johnny Beckham was a high school football star at Marlow from 1946 to 1948 and received a scholarship to what is now Oklahoma State University (OSU) to play ball for the Oklahoma A&M Aggies. He shared a story with me about Billy Dale Vessels (Heisman Trophy winner at OU in 1952):
It seems that Billy Vessels was intending to play for the Oklahoma A&M Aggies in 1949 instead of OU. When my dad enrolled at A&M in the summer of '49 he was originally assigned a roommate by the name of Billy Vessels from Cleveland, Oklahoma. Johnny and Billy were getting to know each other and visiting in the room when someone knocked on the door. It was a couple of OU coaches who asked Johnny if he would leave the room for a half hour, so they could visit privately with Billy. When Johnny returned later - Billy was packing his bags and headed to Norman. The next time my dad saw Billy on the OU campus, he was driving a big yellow Buick - and the rest is history.
Johnny went on after his Aggie days and played for the Marines - based in San Diego, California. In 1952, my dad was a Lieutenant and member of the military police as a defensive back on the football team. My aunt (Johnny's older sister) told me that Johnny never went to Korea... because "he could play football".
My interest in football came about by about the second grade, because of the stories my dad told me - and I started attending Leopard games during the mid to late 1960's.
The '64 Leopards had lost the Class A championship game to Holdenville 14-0, but could have won, were it not for losing Ken Fleming to a broken leg in the first quarter. An interesting side note to the '64 Leopards is that they beat their arch rival Marlow Outlaws, 29-7, in the fourth game of the regular season. Marlow went on to run the slate and win the Class B championship over Bixby, 25-12. You may read more about the '64 Leopards in the last article/post...
The 1965 Lindsay Leopards started the season in usual fashion by knocking off Purcell 34-0, Ardmore Douglass 13-0 and Crooked Oak 13-7, before finally losing to Marlow 13-7. They finished the '65 regular season by beating Anadarko 14-6, Yukon 14-7, Sulphur 26-6, Carl Albert 14-0 and Pauls Valley 3-0, before losing the last regular season game to Wynnewood 14-0.
One note of interest is that Wynnewood finished the '65 season 14-0 and Class B State Champions. The Leopards played the Savages closer than any other team that season losing 14-0, so the Leopards had played back to back state champions in '64 and '65 - winning one and losing one.
The Leopards finished the regular season with 8 wins and 2 losses, but made the playoffs since they had won all district games. They then lost to Choctaw 26-14 in the state quarterfinals. Head coach Dave Clark, having taken over for Bill Froman, fared pretty well in his first year with the Leopards. His 8-3 record was only judged average, however, by Leopard standards.
An article in The Oklahoman on September 23,1965, read:
'Bare-Thold' Kicker Is Pride of Lindsay
Lindsay - Down in Lindsay, where a full house for a Friday night football game is nothing uncommon, a problem of where to seat larger crowds than ever is beginning to cause concern for school officials. Crowds usually follow a winner, and Lindsay's Leopards can certainly qualify in this department, having lost only three of their last 53 games. Winning, however, is not the big reason for increased Friday night gatherings in this case.
Shouldering - or perhaps footing - the blame for the current crowd problem is a barefooted youngster from Germany named John Berthold (pronounced Bare-thold). Berthold, a tousled headed kid who's as ornery as any tow-head who ever baited a safety pin, is the barefooted, soccer-type place kicker responsible for conversions and field goals in Leopardland.
The only football player in the state who can promote an ovation simply by unlacing his shoes... John came to Lindsay last year as a sophomore transfer from Tulsa. He saw his first football game after moving here, and scored three points in it...
As an elementary school student in 1965, I had seen John Berthold kick in games - but my friends and I referred to him as 'Bare - Toe'. An 'AP' report in The Oklahoman, July 26, 1972:
Berthold Dealt To New Orleans
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) -- Soccer-style placekicker John Berthold Monday became the sixth Dallas Cowboy player to be traded to the New Orleans Saints since last football season. The German native who played football in Oklahoma at Lindsay High School and East Central joins ex-cowboys Jim Ford, Margene Atkins, Doug Moers, Joe Williams and Tom Stencic with the Saints. Dallas will receive a future draft pick for the 5-7, 155-pound Berthold...
John Berthold was only one of several Leopards who wore an NFL uniform during the '50's, '60's and '70's. It's no wonder many young Lindsay boys wanted to grow up to be a 'Leopard'. Another 'Oklahoman' article on October 9, 1965 - Lindsay Darts Past Anadarko:
ANADARKO -- Lindsay marched 62 yards to score with the opening kickoff and eventually defeated Anadarko, 14-6, Friday night. The touchdown came on a 27-yard pass from Gary Goodwin to Bill Cowan. Lindsay also scored on a sustained drive in the second period, 62 yards in eight plays. Ken Fleming got it on a two-yard dash.
It was the sturdy work of Fleming, who gained 147 yards, that set up both Lindsay scores. He carried for 27 yards in the first drive and was called on in six of the eight plays in the latter, one of them a 46-yard scamper...
From The Oklahoman, November 11, 1965:
Prep Parade by Ray Soldan
Lindsay credits the versatility of four-year letterman Gary Goodwin with pulling it through in the district 3-A showdown game with Pauls Valley last weekend. The 185-pound Goodwin played eight downs at quarterback in Lindsay's first eight games, spending most of his time at halfback and safety. With the Leopards' No. 1 signal caller Sammy Howard ailing, Goodwin quarterbacked every play in a 3-0 victory over Pauls Valley. Goodwin personally carried 22 times and picked up 70 yards. Seven of Lindsay's 15 first downs were achieved on crucial keeper plays by Goodwin.
In setting up the winning field goal by John Berthold, Goodwin guided the Leopards 62 yards following the second half kickoff to the Pauls Valley seven. Goodwin gained 47 of the yards and the drive consumed almost 10 minutes. With only 2:13 left in the third period Berthold toed through his third field goal of the year from 25 yards out...
The 1965 Leopards had ended with a respectable eight wins and only three losses and had an enviable 19-2 record for all playoff games since 1955. The 1966 Leopards were soon to come.
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Leopard Legends of the Fall 1964
The Lindsay Leopards of 1964 started the season the usual way by blanking Purcell 27-0, Ardmore Douglass 40-0 and beating Crooked Oak 21-7, Marlow 29-7, Anadarko 28-13 and Yukon 21-0. The Leopards had now gone 34 games without losing, but all streaks must end at some point. The next game with Sulphur proved to be the streak-ender, as the Leopards lost to the Bulldogs 16-14. The 'injury bug' had affected the Leopards during the 1964 season, and was soon to play an even more prominent role before the season ended.
The eighth game saw the Leopards beat Carl Albert 21-0, Pauls Valley 10-6 and Wynnewood 7-6, for a 9-1 regular season record. Our Leopards then beat Perry 13 -12 in the state Quarterfinals, and were to face the Clinton Red Tornadoes in the state Semi-Finals.
The Lindsay Leopards had moved from Class B in 1963 to Class A for the 1964 season, so faced some teams they had not played before. Clinton was definitely a force to be reckoned with, as the Leopards would soon find out. Ray Soldan, staff writer for the Oklahoman, recounted on December 5, 1964:
Lindsay -- Two key pass interceptions helped Lindsay salvage a 12-12 tie with Clinton Friday night and the Leopards advanced to the state Class A football finals with a 4-2 edge in penetrations. (Remember the Leopard 1955 state champions which tied Newkirk 20-20 in the state Class B Semi-Finals, but won the penetration battle 3-2.)
The first interception came midway in the third quarter with the score deadlocked 6-6 and Clinton driving relentlessly. On a second and one play from the Lindsay 29, a pass by ju8nior quarterback John McMillan was picked off by rival signal caller Gary Goodwin on the Lindsay 15. Goodwin gave it a 46-yard return to the Clinton 39.
From that spot, the Leopards drove to the go-ahead touchdown in seven plays. Fullback Mike King rambled 30 yards to the one, but a motion penalty on the next down made the Lindsay task a little tough. On fourth down, King, needing a yard, appeared to be stopped with tacklers hitting him both high and low. King gave a final lurch and fell into the end zone for the 12-6 lead.
Lindsay tried to gain more of a cushion with nine minutes remaining when bare-footed kicking specialist John Berthold attempted a field goal from the Clinton 19. It was blocked by Bobby Price and Clinton took over on the 17.
The Red Tornadoes marched the 83 yards in 10 plays with McMillan hitting 6-7 end Melvin Bell with passes of 49 and 11 yards, the final one for the touchdown.
The scoring play occurred on fourth down and Bell was knocked to the ground at the line of scrimmage, but he recovered and hustled into the end zone to take a floater type pitch well above the outstretched arms of defenders.
Clinton elected to pass for the conversion which would have snapped the tie with 5:40 left. Bell, who caught five passes for 112 yards, was wide open in the corner of the end zone but the pass sailed well over his head.
Clinton promptly held Lindsay on downs and got the ball back with 3:33 remaining. After an incomplete pass, Lindsay's Danny Noles came up with the second crucial interception and the Leopards needed only to run out the clock to keep alive their record of having never lost a state playoff game.
The Oklahoman reported on December 9,1964, after the Clinton game - The Class A showdown between Lindsay and Holdenville will be played in Ada at 7:30 p.m.
Lindsay has skinned past Perry, 13-12, and Clinton on penetrations after a 12-12 tie to keep alive its record of having never lost a playoff game. The Leopards have won 16 and tied two while winning state Class B championships in 1955, 1958, 1962 and 1963 and reaching the present Class A finals...
As noted in the above article, Melvin Bell was a stand-out at Clinton during the '64 season. He had two younger brothers - Carlos and Roy, who would also star on the grid-iron for Clinton in later years. The trio of Bell brothers were among the greatest families ever to play high school football in Oklahoma during the 1960's. They were rivaled only by the Selman brothers - Lucious, Lee Roy and Dewey from Eufala, and the Estes brothers from Lindsay - Gene, Hodie, and Wayne of the 1950's.
So, the Lindsay Leopards played the Holdenville Wolverines for the Class A state title on December 11, 1964, in Ada. Wally Wallis, staff writer for The Oklahoman, recalled the game on Sunday, December 13:
ADA -- Holdenville defeated Lindsay, 14-0, before a crowd of 4,000 Friday night to win the state Class A high school football championship for the first time. Lindsay, winner of state championships in four previous appearances suffered its first loss in 19 playoff games.
Holdenville used a magnificent defense to throttle Lindsay's famed running attack. The Leopards never got closer than 33 yards to pay dirt and that came on their first possession...
Lindsay halfback Ken Fleming injured a leg so badly he was hospitalized. He was hurt on Lindsay's first possession, eight plays deep into the contest. Only a pair of pass interceptions by the Leopards during the first 13 minutes of the game and some magnificent punting by 138-pound Sammy Howard kept the Leopards in contention. Howard punted the Wolverines back to their own eight, three, 11, 15 and 14-yard lines on his first five kicks and wound up the game averaging 38 yards for a half-dozen boots.
Lindsay halfback Joe Sharp picked off a Stripling pass on the third play of the game to give the Leopards the ball on the Holdenville 49. In four plays the Leopards drove to a first down on the 33, but a 15-yard holding penalty stopped the drive and Howard opened his punting spectaculars with a kick which pinned the Wolverines back on the eight...
Holdenville's best advance of the first period was its own 36 and things got no better at the outset of the second period when tackle Danny Noles intercepted a deflected Stripling pass and got back to the Lindsay 46...
The Leopards had no excuses for losing the state title game, but long-time assistant coach Charlie Heatly said later that losing Ken Fleming to injury prevented Lindsay from winning their fifth state championship. Fleming was named to the south All-State squad in 1965, and went on to have a stellar college football career at Southern Methodist University.
An article in The Oklahoman dated December 26, 1968 - SMU Glad Fleming Strayed:
Oklahoma's only contribution to the SMU starting unit -- sophomore tight end Ken Fleming of Lindsay -- is a substantial one. The 6-1 198-pound Fleming, who red-shirted a year ago, is second only to All-American Jerry Levias in catching passes. And SMU lives, or dies, by the pass...
The Leopards' 10 seasons starting in 1955 and ending in 1964 ended with 98 wins and 17 losses, five state title appearances and four state championships. Leopard head coaches and their records for the first part of legends of the fall were Bill Vandiver (1946-1947) 4 wins-14 losses, Carl Dunaway (1948-1949) 11 wins-7 losses, Cleotis Beavers (1950) 4 wins-5 losses, Tom Turvey (1951-1956) 45 wins-15 losses, Lawton Carey (1957) 8 wins-2 losses, Vern Robertson (1958) 14 wins-0 losses and Bill Froman (1959-1964) 54 wins-14 losses.
This was dominance by any definition of the word, but many fans and high school sports experts believed the reign of the Leopard was beginning to end. It was only half-time for the legends of the fall though, and the second half was about to begin.
The eighth game saw the Leopards beat Carl Albert 21-0, Pauls Valley 10-6 and Wynnewood 7-6, for a 9-1 regular season record. Our Leopards then beat Perry 13 -12 in the state Quarterfinals, and were to face the Clinton Red Tornadoes in the state Semi-Finals.
The Lindsay Leopards had moved from Class B in 1963 to Class A for the 1964 season, so faced some teams they had not played before. Clinton was definitely a force to be reckoned with, as the Leopards would soon find out. Ray Soldan, staff writer for the Oklahoman, recounted on December 5, 1964:
Lindsay -- Two key pass interceptions helped Lindsay salvage a 12-12 tie with Clinton Friday night and the Leopards advanced to the state Class A football finals with a 4-2 edge in penetrations. (Remember the Leopard 1955 state champions which tied Newkirk 20-20 in the state Class B Semi-Finals, but won the penetration battle 3-2.)
The first interception came midway in the third quarter with the score deadlocked 6-6 and Clinton driving relentlessly. On a second and one play from the Lindsay 29, a pass by ju8nior quarterback John McMillan was picked off by rival signal caller Gary Goodwin on the Lindsay 15. Goodwin gave it a 46-yard return to the Clinton 39.
From that spot, the Leopards drove to the go-ahead touchdown in seven plays. Fullback Mike King rambled 30 yards to the one, but a motion penalty on the next down made the Lindsay task a little tough. On fourth down, King, needing a yard, appeared to be stopped with tacklers hitting him both high and low. King gave a final lurch and fell into the end zone for the 12-6 lead.
Lindsay tried to gain more of a cushion with nine minutes remaining when bare-footed kicking specialist John Berthold attempted a field goal from the Clinton 19. It was blocked by Bobby Price and Clinton took over on the 17.
The Red Tornadoes marched the 83 yards in 10 plays with McMillan hitting 6-7 end Melvin Bell with passes of 49 and 11 yards, the final one for the touchdown.
The scoring play occurred on fourth down and Bell was knocked to the ground at the line of scrimmage, but he recovered and hustled into the end zone to take a floater type pitch well above the outstretched arms of defenders.
Clinton elected to pass for the conversion which would have snapped the tie with 5:40 left. Bell, who caught five passes for 112 yards, was wide open in the corner of the end zone but the pass sailed well over his head.
Clinton promptly held Lindsay on downs and got the ball back with 3:33 remaining. After an incomplete pass, Lindsay's Danny Noles came up with the second crucial interception and the Leopards needed only to run out the clock to keep alive their record of having never lost a state playoff game.
The Oklahoman reported on December 9,1964, after the Clinton game - The Class A showdown between Lindsay and Holdenville will be played in Ada at 7:30 p.m.
Lindsay has skinned past Perry, 13-12, and Clinton on penetrations after a 12-12 tie to keep alive its record of having never lost a playoff game. The Leopards have won 16 and tied two while winning state Class B championships in 1955, 1958, 1962 and 1963 and reaching the present Class A finals...
As noted in the above article, Melvin Bell was a stand-out at Clinton during the '64 season. He had two younger brothers - Carlos and Roy, who would also star on the grid-iron for Clinton in later years. The trio of Bell brothers were among the greatest families ever to play high school football in Oklahoma during the 1960's. They were rivaled only by the Selman brothers - Lucious, Lee Roy and Dewey from Eufala, and the Estes brothers from Lindsay - Gene, Hodie, and Wayne of the 1950's.
So, the Lindsay Leopards played the Holdenville Wolverines for the Class A state title on December 11, 1964, in Ada. Wally Wallis, staff writer for The Oklahoman, recalled the game on Sunday, December 13:
ADA -- Holdenville defeated Lindsay, 14-0, before a crowd of 4,000 Friday night to win the state Class A high school football championship for the first time. Lindsay, winner of state championships in four previous appearances suffered its first loss in 19 playoff games.
Holdenville used a magnificent defense to throttle Lindsay's famed running attack. The Leopards never got closer than 33 yards to pay dirt and that came on their first possession...
Lindsay halfback Ken Fleming injured a leg so badly he was hospitalized. He was hurt on Lindsay's first possession, eight plays deep into the contest. Only a pair of pass interceptions by the Leopards during the first 13 minutes of the game and some magnificent punting by 138-pound Sammy Howard kept the Leopards in contention. Howard punted the Wolverines back to their own eight, three, 11, 15 and 14-yard lines on his first five kicks and wound up the game averaging 38 yards for a half-dozen boots.
Lindsay halfback Joe Sharp picked off a Stripling pass on the third play of the game to give the Leopards the ball on the Holdenville 49. In four plays the Leopards drove to a first down on the 33, but a 15-yard holding penalty stopped the drive and Howard opened his punting spectaculars with a kick which pinned the Wolverines back on the eight...
Holdenville's best advance of the first period was its own 36 and things got no better at the outset of the second period when tackle Danny Noles intercepted a deflected Stripling pass and got back to the Lindsay 46...
The Leopards had no excuses for losing the state title game, but long-time assistant coach Charlie Heatly said later that losing Ken Fleming to injury prevented Lindsay from winning their fifth state championship. Fleming was named to the south All-State squad in 1965, and went on to have a stellar college football career at Southern Methodist University.
An article in The Oklahoman dated December 26, 1968 - SMU Glad Fleming Strayed:
Oklahoma's only contribution to the SMU starting unit -- sophomore tight end Ken Fleming of Lindsay -- is a substantial one. The 6-1 198-pound Fleming, who red-shirted a year ago, is second only to All-American Jerry Levias in catching passes. And SMU lives, or dies, by the pass...
The Leopards' 10 seasons starting in 1955 and ending in 1964 ended with 98 wins and 17 losses, five state title appearances and four state championships. Leopard head coaches and their records for the first part of legends of the fall were Bill Vandiver (1946-1947) 4 wins-14 losses, Carl Dunaway (1948-1949) 11 wins-7 losses, Cleotis Beavers (1950) 4 wins-5 losses, Tom Turvey (1951-1956) 45 wins-15 losses, Lawton Carey (1957) 8 wins-2 losses, Vern Robertson (1958) 14 wins-0 losses and Bill Froman (1959-1964) 54 wins-14 losses.
This was dominance by any definition of the word, but many fans and high school sports experts believed the reign of the Leopard was beginning to end. It was only half-time for the legends of the fall though, and the second half was about to begin.
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