Bud Wilkinson played quarterback for Minnesota, in which he led them to three national championships in the 1930s. Following WWII, Bud Wilkinson teamed up with Jim Tatum at a Naval Academy in Iowa. When Tatum decided to go to OU, he brought Wilkinson long with him.
Bud Wilkinson made an immediate impact when becoming the head coach of Oklahoma. He would go 7-2-1 his first season, sharing the conference crown with Kansas.
In 1949, Oklahoma gained just its fourth undefeated season while playing more than an 8 game schedule. The disappointment was, the national championship was awarded to Notre Dame over Oklahoma, even with both teams being the only undefeated teams that season.
Bud Wilkinson would lead a team in 1950, to a 10-1 season and winning the schools first ever championship. Wilkinson would engineer two more seasons being crowned national champions, 1955 and 1956.
His success at Oklahoma was amazing. In his first 12 seasons as the Oklahoma coach, Bud Wilkinson won 12 conference championships and three national championships. He also had a 31 game winning streak and a 47 game winning streak in that time frame. The 47 game winning streak still stands as the record in the NCAA FBS division.
Bud Wilkinson may not have laid the initial foundation for the University of Oklahoma football program, but he did embed it into the culture of the State of Oklahoma. He would go on to win 145 games for the Sooner program.
However, his accomplishments are not just measured in wins and losses either.
While the head coach at Oklahoma, Wilkinson would change the face of OU forever. He refused to listen to boosters when it came to running his team. In 1956 he would grant a scholarship and start the first African-American in Sooner history, Prentice Gautt. However, before then, he would allow African-Americans to try out for his teams.
When all was said and done, Bud Wilkinson would retire from Oklahoma with a 145-29-4 record, 14 conference titles and three national championships. He would also leave OU, with the team not being shutout in 123 straight games.
Who could Oklahoma possibly hire that could even begin to match the expectations that the University and their fans would come to take for granted?
After Wilkinson decided to move on from Oklahoma football, he himself appointed Gomer Jones as his successor.
Gomer Jones was a very likable coach. However, he had no luck on his side whatsoever. He would go on to coach OU to a 6-4-1 record his first season. They would start the 1964 season 1-3 losing three straight games to USC, Texas, and Kansas. However, perhaps one of the worst losses in OU history came against Florida State in the Gator Bowl.
The Sooners lost that game 35-19. The score is not what made the loss so sickening. Prior to the game, it was found that four of the better players on the Sooner Roster decided they wanted to sign professional contracts before their college eligibility expired. This would lead to the players being ineligible for the Gator Bowl.
In his second season, the Sooners would go 3-7, the worst record, percentage wise, since the inaugural season of 1895, when OU went 0-1. Gomer's second season would also be his last.
Following the collapse of the Jones very brief era. Oklahoma went out a hired a coach from Arkansas named Jim Mackenzie.
Mackenzie was known as a disciplinarian. He set a curfew on the team and required them to enroll in physical education.
In 1966, the team showed some improvement from the previous season, going 6-4. However, it was still below expectations set by the legendary Bud Wilkinson. They did beat Texas for the first time since 1957 and also beat the No. 4 team in the land, Nebraska 10-9.
With the 1966 season showing promise for the young coach, Jim Mackenzie was set to return and have an even better season in his second year. However, in April of 1967, Jim Mackenzie died of a heart attack at the age of 37.
In 1967, with the death of the young Jim Mackenzie, Chuck Fairbanks, who stayed at OU even after Missouri offered him a job, gained the head coaching job at Oklahoma. He immediately turned the team around. He would lead the team to a 10-1 record.
However, the 1967 season for Fairbanks was very ironic for him. Before coming to Oklahoma, he was offered a job at Tennessee in 1964, he declined to take the job since it was offered in the middle of the summer. The Sooners ended up beating Tennessee in the Orange Bowl that season, 26-24.
Fairbanks would go on to coach OU until 1972. In his tenure, he would coach the first Sooner to ever earn All-American Honors in two different sports, Granville Liggins, as well as the second Heisman Trophy Winner, Steve Owens.
However, when he decided to end his career at OU to fill a position with the New England Patriots of the NFL, he left a mess for his successor, Barry Switzer.