After losing to McNeese State in early October, the 1960 Arlington State Rebels started themselves a nice little win streak. In fact, it would set a record for the longest win streak in program history, tied on three other occasions.
The first win came against Southwest Louisiana, or just Louisiana today, at their place. Quarterback Doug Wilson threw a 35-yard pass to Freddie Arnold in the second quarter for the game's first touchdown. In the third, Wilson's 1-yard quarterback sneak brought ASC up 13-0. The Cajuns made it interesting late. With under five minutes remaining, an 80-yard drive culminated in their first TD. The Cajuns got the ball back pretty quickly and started another drive. After getting all the way down to the eight, Mr. UTA Charlie Key intercepted a pass for the third turnover converted to seal the win. ASC jumped to 4-2 on the year.
Abilene Christian visited Arlington the following week. This was the first meeting of the two. The eventual Southland Conference schools would meet every year until the Wildcats left the SLC after the 1972 season. Memorial Stadium was near its capacity for this game. Wilson scored three touchdowns, with two coming in the air. Wayne Crowley caught both of them en route to a convincing 29-6 win.
The second of four straight at home also came against a future conference opponent in Trinity University. In another near-capacity crowd, the Tigers were able to move the ball and hold down the Rebel attack. However, they turned the ball over six times, allowing ASC to capitalize for their third win in a row, 22-13. The Rebs had zero turnovers and played a controlled game. Key scored twice from the ground while Wilson added a third of his own. A two-point conversion was in the mix, as Wilson threw to Crowley on a fake PAT attempt.
With a three-game winning streak on the line, UTA would host McMurray University on November 5. It wasn't a storied rivalry, but an opponent of convenience. The Abilene, Texas private school was within a three-hour drive. This would be the first meeting of the series. They met every year for the next five years after. ASC was clearly the better opponent, as the Arlingtonians hold a 4-2 series lead, with two of the wins coming in the couple of down years of the early 1960's, versus one loss during a winning season.
The Indians, as they were known then, were led by Head Coach Grant Teaff, who would later coach Baylor to Southwest Conference championships and head the American Football Coaches Association. He didn't have a record of success at the small school, going 23-35-2 in six years. But it was enough to move on to a bigger school, with a higher budget and name recognition.
To this point in the 1960 season, McMurray's overall record wasn't much different than Teaff's overall coaching record. McMurray was 2-5 headed into this game. They earned two wins over Texas Lutheran and Southwest Texas State, the lone bright spots of a dull year. They'd finish 3-7 overall.
Speaking of Indians, like the Rebels, their mascot eventually became controversial, though not similar to UTA's story. Rebels became controversial more due to internal actions at the time. At McMurray, the NCAA mandated 18 schools with an Indian mascot to change their name in the mid-2000's. Despite the nickname honoring the school's first president and the school receiving three different tribe representatives expressing their approval, the NCAA denied McMurray's request to keep their team name. The school went mascotless for half a decade until they elected to go to the Warhawks in 2011.
Add in the additional momentum ASC would feel from this being their homecoming game and the task started to seem monumental for the visitors from West Texas. The Rebels were nearing capacity crowds at every game, and this one would add an extra factor.
On this date in UTA football history, the Arlington State Rebels face off against the McMurray Indians in the 1960 homecoming game.
Taken from the Dallas Morning News, November 6, 1960.
Corpus Christi University, the bankrupt predecessor to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, would be the final home foe for ASC the following week. In a balanced offensive attack four Rebels scored five touchdowns and the defense shut out the Tarpons 34-0. Bobby Lawson scored the final two TD's.
In the season finale, ASC would cross state lines and play Southwestern Oklahoma. Rumors were swirling of a potential Tangerine Bowl berth if the Rebels won. In a defensive battle, both teams were scoreless headed into the fourth quarter. Wilson and Lawson scored consecutive touchdowns, with Lawson running a long 46-yarder to cap the scoring. The defense recorded another shut out in the 13-0 win.
The Rebels finished 9-2 on the year. They recorded three shutouts and held four opponents to a touchdown or less. Delta State's eight points meant eight of eleven teams did not score in double digits. They did not make the Tangerine Bowl, as Tennessee Tech, at 8-2, received an auto-bid as the champion of the Ohio Valley Conference and The Citadel, at 7-2-1, made the game as an at-large. The Citadel won by a score of 27-0. Maybe it would have been a more competitive game if Arlington State had received the at-large. Maybe not. One thing is certain, the 9-2 1960 Arlington State team is tied for the second-best season in school history with the 1979 UT Arlington squad.
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