Smith
administrators, many never before published, Smith takes us behind the scenes during this exciting comeback period to reveal not just what happened but why and how it happened. Placing the Sooner story within the wider context of the culturally turbulent 1960s and 1970s, Smith brings to life the personalities who played pivotal roles in the team’s renewed
Barry Switzer “Carefully researched and thoroughly documented, Wishbone is an insider’s look at the events that made Oklahoma football the institution it has become. As a dedicated Sooner fan, I highly recommend this book.”
Steve Owens
success, including Jack Mildren, Greg Pruitt, Joe Washington, Billy Sims, and many, many others. Sooner fans, indeed all fans of college football, will relish this account of the remaking of a football powerhouse and its return to glory. Wann Smith, a freelance journalist and writer, has been a monthly contributor to Sooners Illustrated magazine since 2005. Jay Wilkinson, the son of Bud Wilkinson, is the author of Bud Wilkinson: An Intimate Portrait of an American Legend. On the front: Photograph courtesy Spencer Tillman. © Richard T. Clifton, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
“Wann Smith has done a marvelous job in procuring such candid and accurate comments from so many former athletes and coaches.”
Merv Johnson “Comprehensive, accurate, and full of fascinating stories, Wishbone offers new information that will be a revelation even to former players.”
Dean Blevins “A story of determination, foresight, triumph, and more than a little serendipity, reported by a fine writer who captures the accomplishments, pitfalls, and personalities that contributed to one of football’s, and all of sport’s, best all-time records of achievement on the playing field.”
Jay Wilkinson from the Foreword
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accounts from coaches, players, and university
“I’ve read and enjoyed every word of this book. It’s a must read for all Sooner fans.”
“A captivating, behind-the-scenes look at the winningest college football program in modern times.” Joe Castiglione
The Oklahoma Sooners dominated the world of college football during the 1950s. Under the leadership of Coach Bud Wilkinson, the team won three national titles and established an astounding record of forty-seven straight victories that still stands today. Yet by 1959, Wilkinson’s Sooners were showing signs of vulnerability, marking the start of a new and challenging era in Oklahoma football. Then along came a new offensive strategy, and OU began to dominate college football once again. In Wishbone, veteran journalist Wann Smith provides an in-depth account of Sooner football from the team’s final years under Wilkinson through its remarkable turnaround under Coach Barry Switzer. At the heart of this story is the phenomenal success of the Wishbone offense—a hybrid offshoot of the Split-t formation that Wilkinson employed so successfully in the 1950s. Though not without its risks, the Wishbone offense changed the face of college football and was a key factor in Oklahoma’s return to glory in the 1970s with Switzer at the helm. Drawing on firsthand
(continued on back flap)