to beat OU but never did, although he came close.”

— MAX SPEEGLE —

After the war, Speegle played one season of professional football and severely injured a knee while playing for the CHICAGO CARDINALS . He then resumed his coaching career with assistant coaching jobs at Bacone Junior College, Oklahoma A&M, Colgate University and in Canada.

At the age of 38, he returned to Stillwater, succeeding J.B. Whitworth as Oklahoma A&M’s new head football coach in 1955. Whitworth left Stillwater for his alma mater, the University of Alabama.

*

In those days, A&M played in the old Missouri Valley Conference against league opponents that included Tulsa, Wichita State, Houston and Detroit Mercy. Speegle’s first two Aggie teams struggled to 2-8 and 3-5-1 records.

“In my eyes, Dad was the greatest coach there ever was,” Max said. “He was a perfect role model who enjoyed coaching. His desire was to make a positive impact on whatever he did. He put his heart and soul in it, but it was a shoestring budget. In Stillwater we didn’t have a full deck in either facilities or money. He wanted very badly to beat OU but never did, although he came close. But it wasn’t a level playing field.”

Legend has it that one year the Athletic Council was reviewing the budget for the upcoming football season. One of the members questioned the allocation of funds to buy jerseys, questioning the need for jerseys two straight seasons.

“Back then, BUD WILKINSON had his weekly TV program sponsored by a local milk company,” recalled Soergel. “During the show, Bud, who was charismatic, and a great salesman, would sip milk from a glass and nibble on chocolate-chip cookies while looking very wholesome. All the moms who saw those programs wanted their sons to play for Bud. HE WAS TOUGH TO RECRUIT AGAINST.”

It was a di erent era for college football. In 1953, platoon football was the order of the day. Players were allowed to enter a game just once a quarter.

“College football rule makers decided that huge sums of money could be saved if there was no free substitution,” Soergel said, who along with being a great athlete spent several years as the business manager for OSU Athletics. “PLAYERS HAD TO PLAY OFFENSE AND DEFENSE SO THE NUMBER OF SCHOLARSHIPS WAS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED, COSTING LESS MONEY. OUR TRAVELING SQUAD CONSISTED OF ONLY 33 PLAYERS.”

Coaching sta s were challenged to teach all players both o ensive and defensive schemes, plus instruct the same group on special teams.

Neill Armstrong, a former Oklahoma A&M All-America receiver who played on the UNDEFEATED 1945 AGGIES SUGAR BOWL TEAM, was part of Speegle’s Stillwater sta . Armstrong, selected eighth in the 1947 NFL Draft, went on to play on two NFL championship teams with the Philadelphia Eagles. He would eventually become the head coach of the CHICAGO BEARS.

“Cli gave me my first coaching job, and I owe him for that,” Armstrong said. “He was the nicest guy in the world. He was very capable and a good coach. I learned a lot about football from him and the rest of that sta .”

Former quarterback Mike Miller was also a Speegle fan.

“Coach was a great guy, high ethics, a true gentleman,” he said. “I do recall one game when several of my linemen talked me into changing a play from one that coach Speegle had sent in for us to run. It resulted in our scoring a touchdown. I was excited.

“As I jogged o the field with a grin on my face, Coach caught up with me and was furious. He royally chewed me out and didn’t want me to deviate from the game plan.” Miller laughed, “I never changed any more plays!”

“We were all in excellent shape … had to be,” recalled Larry Rundle, who played fullback during coach Speegle’s era.

“ANY LINEMAN OVER 200 POUNDS WAS BIG, AND THERE WEREN’T TOO MANY OF THEM. BUT I THINK MOST OF OUR GUYS WERE TOUGH AS OLD SHOE LEATHER.”

Speegle recruited OSU’s first African-American player, a pintsized halfback named Chester Pittman, from Wewoka, Oklahoma.

Jim Elliott, who also quarterbacked under Speegle, had one very specific memory.

“One time we were on the road at Kansas,” he said. “The night before the game we stayed in Topeka. Coach was organized and had our schedule down to 15-minute increments. After supper, we’d always go to a movie. The schedule read something like ‘7-to-9, relax, go to movie, take mind o the game.’

“We got to the theatre a little late and had to sit on the front two rows. Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho was playing.” Elliott laughed. “When that guy took a butcher knife to that gal in the shower, we all came unglued … so much for relaxing!”

IN 1957, A&M BECAME OSU, THE AGGIES BECAME THE COWBOYS AND THE LEAGUE OF MEMBERSHIP BECAME THE BIG EIGHT CONFERENCE.

Showing marked improvement, the Cowboys went 6-3-1 in 1957, including wins over Texas Tech and Tulsa. Attendance that season averaged 22,000.

The following year proved to Speegle’s best, as OSU went 8-3, which would be the best record for the program over 29 years, spanning from 1946 through 1975. Unfortunately, there was no conference title to play for as OSU competed as an independent its final three seasons before beginning Big Eight play. The 1958 season finale was a sweet 15-6 BLUEGRASS BOWL win over Florida State. It was the third bowl win in school history.

That same season, the Cowboys played the Sooners down to the wire before losing 7-0. OSU also lost a nail biter to the Air Force Academy, which scored with seven seconds remaining to eke out the win. All in all it was a successful Cowboy season.

Jim Wood, now deceased, was an OSU All-America end in 1958. He went on to become a teacher, coach and finally a school administrator.

“JIM HAD SO MUCH RESPECT FOR COACH SPEEGLE,” SAID JIM’S WIDOW, HELEN. “HE DID NOT WANT TO DISAPPOINT HIM WHEN HE PLAYED OR IN LIFE. He called him regularly over the years and asked his advice about a job or for a recommendation. COACH SPEEGLE WAS A TRUE MENTOR IN JIM’S LIFE. Jim had strong feelings for him. COACH SPEEGLE WAS JUST SO SOLID.”

“His teams were always well prepared and had a good game plan,” Soergel said. “He wasn’t the type of coach to rant and rave like some, nor was he a terrific motivational speaker. But we played a hard-nosed, smash-mouth brand of football. I wouldn’t have wanted to play for anybody else.”

Speegle’s next three teams went 6-4, 3-7 and 4-6. He had no wins over Oklahoma, a fact that apparently rankled some members of OSU’s Athletic Cabinet and eventually led to his dismissal.

Max Speegle was a high school senior and clearly recalls that event.

“I took it a lot harder than Dad,” he said. “He was ready to go on to the next thing in life, whatever that might be. He took it in stride. Within a few months the family moved to Canada, where Dad took a coaching job. By then I was pretty much a Cowboy and stayed in Stillwater.”

Max received an athletic work scholarship, helping Mr. Henry Iba and the basketball program. “I did laundry (Max actually washed the practice gear of the author). I got basketballs out for practice and games, handed out towels, whatever needed to be done. Plus I got a front row seat next to the players at all home games. It was a great situation and I enjoyed it.”

In 1967, after coaching stops in Toronto, Canada, and El Paso, Texas, Speegle took a job as an assistant to the executive secretary of the SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE He would become the commissioner of the SWC in 1973, a position he held until his 1984 retirement. Just over 10 years later, four Southwest Conference schools would join with the Big Eight schools to form the Big 12 Conference.

“I think that job better suited Dad,” said Max. “HE WAS GOOD AT BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER AND HELPING THEM RESOLVE THEIR DIFFERENCES.”

Soergel was asked to speak at Speegle’s retirement party. At that gathering he had a chance to inspect some of the mementos that the former coach had acquired over the years. Among them was a letter that, several years earlier, Soergel had written.

Dear Cliff:

Congratulations on your many accomplishments. Your achievement as an athlete, coach and administrator are certainly significant, but to me, your most important achievements are the personal relationships you developed with your family, teammates, players, coaches, administrators and numerous other friends. You are a very important influence on my life and I look forward to your continuing friendship.”

Sincerely, Dick

Soergel

“One afternoon coach Speegle was in town, just a few months before he passed away,” Elliott said. “He unexpectedly dropped by my o ce. It was a pleasant surprise. We must have visited for at least two hours about the old players, games, practices, road trips … a little bit of everything. We laughed a lot. I enjoyed it, and I believe he did too.”

Cli Speegle passed away in 1994 at the age of 77. He is survived by two daughters, JEAN STOUT of Tulsa and SANDY NOBLES of Dallas, and sons STAN of Denver and MAX of Edmond, Okla. He is also survived by seven grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.

It’s true that not much has been written about “the forgotten coach” since he left Stillwater. But IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT SPEEGLE’S WON-LOSS RECORD PROVED TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER THAN HIS SUCCESSORS, who were provided additional resources, including three more assistant coaches. Could another coach with the same meager resources have done better than coach Speegle during this period? We’ll never know.

One thing is for certain. The forgotten coach left an indelible positive mark on his family, friends, players and, yes, on OSU. Maybe today’s Cowboy fans can appreciate the job of Cli Speegle did with the OSU football program nearly 60 years ago.

The author welcomes your comments at OSU52johnson@yahoo.com

STORY BY CLAY BILLMAN

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRUCE WATERFIELD