Yes, it’s a big deal for me. I graduated from UH in 1976. The night before the game Yeoman had the players out in the hotel parking lot walking through the plays and it paid off. The final score was 23-5 Houston.
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In 1976 I marched in the band at the Baylor game. It was quite hot that day, especially in those heavy wool uniforms.
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True, but most of their parents were alive by 1995 and witnessed the breakup of the SWC. Now those parents may have talked to their kids.
It was like 35-0 at halftime and I left I have never left a game that early before or since then, but it was so bad I couldn’t take anymore of the rout.
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I never, ever leave a game early. I stayed to the bitter end against Louisville in the freezing rain when there may have been a dozen or so fans left in the Rob. I leave after the band plays the alma mater. At an away game I leave when the team leaves the field.
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The only time in my coogfan career that I ever left a game early was the year that we got trounced 38-3 by Cal in the Dome. I couldn’t stand to watch after a certain point.
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Yeah, but was your wife with you complaining the whole time??? I had that vs TSU in the blistering cold. She was mad. We lived in Central Texas at the time so I had to watch the game to the bitter end with a 3 hr drive to do going back home!!!
Also we watched the Southern Miss 6 -3 rain monsoon fest to the bitter game winning field goal as time expired.
In 1976 I was a student at UH and a friend was a member of a fraternity at UH. The night before the Baylor game we went to a frat gathering in Waco. We didn’t have a place to crash that night and one of the Baylor frat guys said David had room.
When we get there, David’s place is filled with pictures of Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio. I said, “You must be a Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio fan?”
He said, “I ought to be. Mickey Mantle is my dad.”
We stayed up all night talking about Mickey Mantle, who remains my all-time favorite athlete.
What a weekend. Talking Mickey Mantle and the next afternoon Houston destroy Baylor in the Coogs’ first SWC football game.
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I was 29 as well…
Richard, I now live in Plano, and Mickey’s son lives in the Dallas area. Have run into him several times. Glad you have good memories all around!
Cool story. The Mick was my first sports hero.
Wow, that is a great story. You have won Coog Fans!
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I was one of those dozen or so, Mike, and - yes - it was darn cold! 
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My all time baseball hero was, and is, Warren Spahn. Y.A. Tittle was my first sports hero.
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I graduated in May 1973, married in July that summer and finished my Masters in 1976 At the time of our first SWC games I was teaching with a group of hard core SWC teachers-several from Baylor, SMU, one from ut, two Hogs and a lot of anti-Cougar High peers. Having lived through 1975 as a Coog and I was constantly harassed about how poorly we’d fare when we had to play in 1976. Amazing how quiet those Baylor Bears were on Monday morning following the game. We were too poor to make out of town games since I was making $7,200 a year teaching and working nights and weekends. My boss was a great OK State alum and he told me I needed to take one away game off so we went to the Fathers Day festival at Austin. The most beer I’ve ever had at a game! All tossed on us and the UH fans around us. Post game we found the wife’s car keyed the entire driver’s side by someone who took offense to my UH stickers. That 1976 campaign was the year of dreams. As I often told my teaching peers “There is no high like a Cougar High!” after we won those first years in the conference.
After 1976, we made all the home games and the first 3 Cotton Bowls over the next 5-6 years before kids and life interfered. Started making more home games after the kids were grown, the Liberty Bowl and recently Navy and Temple away games Only the thrill of the Navy atmosphere and Annapolis came close to those SWC games. From an “almost old timer”, nothing feels better than beating the horns anywhere, the Ags in CS or the bears and hogs.
Now we proudly hang those UH banners in the end zone and my brother and I reminisce about the old SWC days.
Go Coogs! Beat the Bears!!!
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Went to Cooperstown to see Mickey and Whitey get inducted into the HOF. So many legends there including Satchel Paige. Have the photo in my office along with an autographed rookie photo.
The Braves played the White Sox as they used to play a game at the induction event. First time I ever saw a ballplayer smoking a heater. I didn’t believe athletes smoked. Shock to the system
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