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College football fans need no introduction to Bud Wilkinson, but
few of them know the great University of Oklahoma football coach as
a devoted father. In "Dear Jay, Love Bud," Jay Wilkinson, Bud's
younger son, shares forty-seven letters his father wrote to him
while he was in college and graduate school. Spanning the early to
mid-1960s, these letters reveal Bud's deep love for his son, as
well as the philosophy and values that led to his remarkable
success in sports and in life.
Beginning with the first letter Bud wrote when Jay left home,
this collection shows a father guiding his son toward his own path
while stressing the importance of service to others. The embodiment
of the scholar-athlete, Bud mixes encouragement with intellectual
discussions. When Jay reads American philosopher William James for
a class at Duke University, his father, a serious student of
literature, reads the book, too, and uses its insights to help Jay
deal with the challenges of his freshman year. Bud writes about his
own challenges, as well, including his debate over whether to
accept the Kennedy administration's invitation to head the
President's Council on Physical Fitness. Jay's comments about each
of these letters provide context and further insight.
By the time Jay becomes a graduate student at the Episcopal
Theological School, the correspondence turns toward religion and
politics, as Bud reflects on the philosophical issues of the day
and on his unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate in 1964. His belief
that the greatest leaders are not always the most popular made him
an unlikely politician even then, but a wonderful role model and
interlocutor for his son. Bud's thoughts on ethics in business and
politics are as inspiring today as when he wrote them a
half-century ago.
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 resurgence in the 1970s with Switzer at the
helm. Drawing on firsthand accounts from coaches, players, and
university 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. And he brings
to life the personalities who played pivotal roles in the team's
renewed success, including Jack Mildren, Greg Pruitt, Joe
Washington, Billy Sims, and any, 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.
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