Former Texas Longhorn Coach Darrell Royal Passes Away

The University of Texas lost a gem of a man this week. Darrell Royal passed away from complications of Alzheimers Disease at the age of 88.Royal was the one of the best coaches, if not the best college football coach in the 1960's to mid 70's before retiring. He had the best record of any coach during that time frame and won or shared three national titles in 1963, 1969, and 1970.

1969 included the infamous Game of The Century between the Longhorns and the Arkansas Razorbacks in which #1 Texas came from behind to beat #2 Arkansas 15-14 in Fayetteville with President Richard Nixon on hand to proclaim the Horns "National Champions". The team went on to beat Notre Dame in the January 1st 1970 Cotton Bowl to secure the title.

His team won an unbelievable 30 games in a row not too long after he came up with the wishbone offensive formation. The wishbone would confound defenses for over a decade.

Besides winning Royal was also just a good genuine person who wanted to see his athletes succeed not only on the football field but in the classroom as well. He was one of the first coaches in the America to hire an academic counselor to help his student athletes do well with their studies and graduate.