"Earl Campbell is the greatest player who ever suited up. He's the greatest football player I've ever seen."— Barry Switzer

Part 2 of a two-part series

Part 1 of a two-part series

Few people will remember the name Dwight Garner today, but he was an integral part of two historic kickoff returns. The first has become a legend, a play so memorable it is known today as simply, “The Play.”

Randy McEachern collapsed onto Austin High School’s football practice field Aug. 3, 2003. He was unconscious. He was dying.

Reggie McNeal knew he would play a little in Texas A&M’s biggest game of 2002, but he was still the backup quarterback to Dustin Long and he didn’t expect his role to be significant.

The comeback started when the Cubs trailed 38-6 in the third quarter.

On New Year’s Day 1964, a one-time starting quarterback at Texas out-dueled a Heisman Trophy winner from Navy who would go on to win two Super Bowls and earn inductions into the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

There is a story associated with Capt. Joe Routt that is one of the most “Texan” stories you’ll ever hear.

“The news of his death will be heard with a sense of personal loss by every alumnus and former student of the University of Texas,” wrote the Houston Post about the passing of Henry Reeves.

“They think they’re coming up here for a track meet, but we’re going to introduce the run-and-shoot to the blitz-and-destroy!” Aggie head coach R.C. Slocum bellowed into the microphone.

According to one eye witness, there were very few SMU fans left in the Cotton Bowl with 37 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter Nov. 4, 1973. There wasn’t much to cheer for by that point. A Texas fullback who had pillaged them all day had just frosted the cake with a thick layer of icing.…

This week’s Throwback Thursday feature will be a little different. We’re going to relive the season that started it all for one of Brenham’s greatest players, Roosevelt Leaks.

John Kimbrough had never seen 70,000 in one place in his life. In fact, there were only six cities in Texas that could boast larger populations and the only one in West Texas, where Kimbrough grew up, was El Paso.

With 30 seconds left to play, many of the 17,000 fans in Texas Memorial Stadium headed for the exits. The dark days of the Longhorns football program seemed destined to continue. It was 1939 and the paltry crowd who attended the annual Texas-Arkansas rivalry game had seen enough.

The public address announcer of the TWA Dome in St. Louis opened his microphone during a timeout in the second quarter of the 1998 Big 12 championship game.

Longhorns quarterback James Brown surveyed the huddle. He gave his teammates the play, as ordered by coach John Mackovic: “Steelers Roll Left.”

Almost 600 loyal fans from Brenham crammed onto a train bound for Elgin at 5:45 p.m. Friday, Nov. 24, 1939. They knew the score, so to speak. They had been reminded of the possible paranormal powers of the train by Banner-Press sportswriter Red Buehrer.