By Greg Russell - University of Memphis
By Greg Russell - University of Memphis
By Greg Russell - University of Memphis
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events in U <strong>of</strong> M sports history. The list certainly is not definitive<br />
— we look at all Tiger sports — and if you feel we have left<br />
one out, email editor <strong>Greg</strong> <strong>Russell</strong> at grussll@memphis.edu or<br />
call him at 678-3811 and we’ll include your “top moment” in an<br />
upcoming issue.<br />
50. Schuh goes missing. <strong>Memphis</strong> tackle Harry Schuh was<br />
chosen as the overall No. 2 pick in the 1965 American Football<br />
League draft by Oakland, but not before a national headlinemaking<br />
game <strong>of</strong> hide-and-seek. In the competition for the top college<br />
players, the Raiders <strong>of</strong> the AFL “hid” Schuh from the rival<br />
Los Angeles Rams <strong>of</strong> the NFL by sneaking him out <strong>of</strong> a hotel in<br />
Las Vegas (with Raiders’ owner Al Davis as a decoy) and flying<br />
him to Hawaii. “I was known as the player who disappeared from<br />
school,” Schuh recalls. The Los Angeles Times <strong>of</strong>fered up a “Boo<br />
Hoo, I Lost My Schuh” headline the day after he signed with the<br />
Raiders. Only Joe Namath went higher in the draft.<br />
49. First female to compete on a men’s team, ever.<br />
With few schools <strong>of</strong>fering women’s tennis, Bonnie Dondeville<br />
Farley garnered national publicity in the early 1960s when she<br />
tried out for and made the Tiger men’s tennis team. She went<br />
undefeated with doubles partner Ken Lewis two straight years<br />
as the No. 1 doubles team at <strong>Memphis</strong>. She won the singles title<br />
in the No. 5 spot at the Men’s Tennessee Intercollegiate Athletic<br />
Conference Championships in 1963.<br />
48. Tigers race a true legend. Tiger distance runners<br />
John Mohundro and Calvin Johnson competed against distance<br />
running icon Steve Prefontaine at the 1971 NCAA Cross Country<br />
Championships in Knoxville. “He was so far ahead <strong>of</strong> me, I didn’t<br />
see him again until I got back to the hotel lobby, and he had<br />
already changed into his street clothes,” says Mohundro.<br />
47. O’Brien nets a first for Tiger soccer. Former<br />
Evangelical Christian School star Dayton O’Brien became the<br />
first All-America selection in U <strong>of</strong> M soccer history after leading<br />
the Tigers to a 16-4-1 record and second-ever NCAA berth after<br />
the 2004 season.<br />
24<br />
46. Gostkowski boots his way to record. Tiger kicker<br />
Stephen Gostkowski nailed a school-record 53-yard field goal<br />
against Marshall and finished his senior season in 2005 with three<br />
50-yarders to help him to the top <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Memphis</strong> career chart in<br />
field goals (70 <strong>of</strong> 92) and total points (369). He is now the most<br />
accurate field goal kicker in New England Patriots’ history.<br />
45. Tigers top the “other” Tigers. The 1975 football<br />
team with Richard Williamson at the helm pulled <strong>of</strong>f one <strong>of</strong> the<br />
decade’s biggest shockers by upsetting No. 7 Auburn 31-20 at<br />
Auburn. <strong>Memphis</strong> made it two straight wins the following season<br />
as Auburn alumni lobbied to take <strong>Memphis</strong> <strong>of</strong>f the schedule.<br />
44. <strong>Memphis</strong> in a basketball shutout? The Tigers<br />
opened a February 1989 contest with No. 8 Louisville at Freedom<br />
Hall on an unprecedented 24-0 run with Elliot Perry knocking in<br />
13 <strong>of</strong> the 24. <strong>Memphis</strong> had to hold on late for a 72-67 win.<br />
43. National magazine calls Tiger quarterback “best<br />
back in the South.” With James Earl Wright leading the<br />
nation in total <strong>of</strong>fensive yards through the first five games <strong>of</strong> the<br />
1961 season, Time magazine spotlighted the Tiger quarterback<br />
in an Oct. 27, 1961, article that featured Alabama’s Paul (Bear)<br />
Bryant saying, “Wright is too good to be coached by anyone<br />
but me.” Time went on to say, “With Wright running the attack<br />
<strong>Memphis</strong> State might be a match on any given Saturday for any<br />
team in the U.S.”<br />
42. Tigers travel to California for 1991 shocker.<br />
<strong>Memphis</strong> garnered a piece in The New York Times by pulling<br />
<strong>of</strong>f one <strong>of</strong> the biggest upsets <strong>of</strong> the 1991 season, a 21-10 victory<br />
over No. 16 Southern Cal. “I don’t think USC was ready to play<br />
us,” said wide receiver <strong>Russell</strong> Jones, whose 40-yard touchdown<br />
catch from Keith Benton in the third quarter tied the score.<br />
“What they know is that we only play basketball.”<br />
41. 1912, a gridiron first. Less than a month after the inaugural<br />
day <strong>of</strong> classes at the school, <strong>Memphis</strong> players suited up for<br />
their first-ever football game on Oct. 5, 1912, at Red Elm Park<br />
(later Russwood Park). The Normals or Blue and Gray Warriors,<br />
as the team was called, played to a 0-0 draw against <strong>Memphis</strong><br />
<strong>University</strong> School.<br />
THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS
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