MAKING A LIST, CHECKING IT TWICE

The Century in the Making Action Team identifies 250 top North Texas football moments

By Steve Pate

Thursday, July 29, 2010 - 11:19am

Other than ironing out a possible wrinkle or two, the Host Committee’s Century in the Making Action Team has come up with its list of the 250 Greatest Football Moments in North Texas History.

And once a ballot is constructed, it’ll all be up to the fans to vote that mighty list down to the Top 100, in order.

As of now, balloting will begin in the Fort Worth Stockyards next Jan. 18, Martin Luther King Day, and will end around Labor Day weekend, with a final announcement due at the State Fair of Texas.

Ballots will include great moments on and off the field that have occurred at the high school, college and professional levels in a four-county region of North Texas (Collin, Dallas, Denton, Tarrant).

“This is going to be so very cool,” Action Team Chair Brad Sham, voice of the Dallas Cowboys, said Tuesday at an Action Team meeting at Hully & Mo’s restaurant in Dallas. “This is going to be around forever.”

A mere sampling:

* Nov. 30, 1935. “The Game of the Century”: Undefeated SMU (10-0) beats Slingin’ Sammy Baugh and undefeated TCU (11-0) on a 45-yard TD pass from Bob Finley to Bobby Wilson, as 37,000 cram into a 25,000-seat stadium. The play becomes known as “the $85,000 pass” when SMU advances to the Rose Bowl to receive its $85,000 payout.

* Nov. 1, 1947. With Bobby Layne quarterbacking Texas and Doak Walker leading SMU, intense fan interest shifts the game from Ownby Stadium on the SMU campus to the Cotton Bowl at Fair Park. The Mustangs win, 14-13, as 50,000 over flow the Cotton Bowl Stadium. Ticket demands lead to the Cotton Bowl being expanded to 75,000 seats and the stadium being nicknamed “The House That Doak Built”.

* Jan. 1, 1954. In the most bizarre play in Cotton Bowl history, Alabama’s Tommy Lewis comes off the sidelines to tackle Rice’s Dicky Meagle en route to a touchdown. Officials award Meagle a 95-yard TD as the Owls prevail, 28-6.

* June 8, 1966. Dallas Cowboys general manager Tex Schramm of the NFL and Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt of the AFL hammer out the NFL/AFL merger in a secret meeting at Dallas’ Love Field.

* Jan. 16, 1972, Super Bowl VI. The Cowboys win their first NFL championship, 24-3, over Miami in New Orleans. Roger Staubach, who took over fulltime duties as quarterback midway through the season, is the game’s MVP.

* Nov. 26, 1994. High School Division II Region 2 semifinal playoff game. Down 41-17, Plano East rallies to a 44-41 lead in the final seconds – only to have John Tyler’s kickoff returner cover the field on a final return. Final: John Tyler 48, Plano East 41.

And on it goes, all the way up to current times, a list of massive proportions considering the great football history that North Texas has enjoyed.

“I really appreciate the Action Team members,” Sham said of the media participants. “There’s so much talent, so much experience and wisdom making all this possible for people to have so much fun.

“It takes a little bit of time to go through this stuff and figure it out. When you just say what we’re doing, it sounds like a great idea. Like with most things, getting them to ‘sound like a great idea’ to something you can put your hands on, that’s a little bit of work.”

The list of 250 will not be top-heavy in any category. Football at every level is included.

“The easiest thing to do would be the Top 100 Cowboys moments,” Sham said. “But all eras, all aspects of the sport will absolutely be represented on this ballot of 250 — and hopefully on the final list of the Top 100.”

And that final list will be in the hands of fans beginning early next year.