Volume 11 , Issue 47

1949 Sugar Bowl Tour Ticket

Let us go back to 1949 and the Sugarbowl in New Orleans! Who was playing! Who won! Who took the Sugarbowl Tour from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma! It was January 1, 1949 that the Sugar Bowl Tour ticket shown on the left was used by an OU fan, Robert McGill, took the Round trip via American Airlines, plane no. 2, chartered Flagship from Oklahoma City to New Orleans.

On arriving at the airport in New Orleans, Bob made the trek to Downtown New Orleans to the Roosevelt Hotel and on to the Tulane Stadium. All through the Rainbow Travel Service, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1 January 1949.

According to Wikipedia this is a portion of what they say about the 1949 Sugar Bowl ? "The 1949 edition to the Sugar Bowl featured the 3rd ranked North Carolina Tar Heels and the 5th ranked Oklahoma Sooners. In the first quarter, Oklahoma scored on a 1 yard Mitchell touchdown run as the Sooners jumped out to a 7-0 lead. North Carolina answered with a 2 yard touchdown run from Rodgers as the score became 7-6.

In the third quarter, Oklahoma scored on an 8 yard touchdown run from Pearson. Oklahoma won the game 14-6. Oklahoma's Jake Mitchell was named Sugar Bowl MVP."

The allstatessugarbowl.org says, "15th Annual Sugar Bowl Classic ~ January 1, 1949 -- Methodical and safe was the way to describe Oklahoma's 14-6 victory over North Carolina and renowned halfback Charley "Choo Choo" Justice.

Steady quarterback Jack Mitchell engineered a conservative Oklahoma offensive attack, rushing for a score on the way to being named the game's outstanding player, while coach Bud Wilkinson's defense kept Justice under wraps all day."

Bud Wilkinson was coach of OU Sooners back in 1949. Following World War II, new Oklahoma head coach Jim Tatum persuaded Wilkinson to join his staff in 1946.

In fact, the OU Board of Regents stipulated that Tatum make Wilkinson his top assistant, or else their offer was null and void. After one season in Norman, Tatum left the Sooners before the 1947 season for Maryland. The 31-year-old Wilkinson was named head coach of the Sooners (also athletic director) and would soon make history.

In his first season of 1947, Wilkinson led Oklahoma to a 7-2-1 record and a share of the conference championship, the first of 13 consecutive Big Six/Seven/Eight conference titles. Ultimately, Wilkinson would become one of the most celebrated college coaches of all time.

Wilkinson's teams captured national championships in 1950, 1955, and 1956, and amassed a 145-29-4 (82.6%) overall record. An ultra-organized innovator, Wilkinson would post practice schedules that were broken down to the minute.

The centerpiece of Wilkinson's time in Norman was a 47-game winning streak from 1953 to 1957, an NCAA Division I record that still stands today and has only been seriously threatened thrice: by Toledo (35 wins, 1969-71), Miami (Fl.) (34 wins, 2000-03) and USC (34 wins, 2003-05).

Earlier, the Sooners ran off 31 consecutive wins from 1948 to 1950. Except for two losses in 1951, the Wilkinson-coached Sooners did not lose more than one game per season for 11 years from 1948 to 1958, going 107-8-2 over that period. His teams also went 12 consecutive seasons totaling 74 games (1947-58) without a loss in conference play ? a streak which has never been seriously threatened. Wilkinson did not suffer his first conference loss until Halloween 1959 against Nebraska ? his 79th conference game at Oklahoma.

Wilkinson's 1955 Oklahoma team is widely considered to be one of the greatest teams in college football history, regardless of era. He was also the first collegiate football coach to host a television show, aptly named "The Bud Wilkinson Show."

Wilkinson was also remarkable for compiling this record while showing a genuine interest and concern for the performance of his players in the classroom. Following the 1963 season, his 17th at Oklahoma, Wilkinson retired from coaching at the young age of 47. His overall record was 145-29-4. Along with Bennie Owen, Barry Switzer and Bob Stoops, he is one of four coaches to win over 100 games at the University of Oklahoma. No other college football program has more than 3 coaches to accomplish such a feat.

While still at Oklahoma, Wilkinson served on the President's Council on Physical Fitness from 1961 to 1964, by which time he'd left the Sooners.
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