| 1934Texas Longhorns football | |
|---|---|
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| Conference | Southwest Conference |
| Record | 7–2–1 (4–1–1 SWC) |
| Head coach |
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| Captains |
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| Home stadium | War Memorial Stadium |
Seasons | |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 5Rice $ | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas | 4 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SMU | 3 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TCU | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas | 2 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 4 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas A&M | 1 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Baylor | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The1934 Texas Longhorns football team was anAmerican football team that represented the University of Texas (now known as theUniversity of Texas at Austin) as a member of theSouthwest Conference (SWC) during the1934 college football season. In their first year under head coachJack Chevigny, the Longhorns compiled an overall record of 7–2–1, with a mark of 4–1–1 in conference play, and finished second in the SWC.[1]
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 22 | atTexas Tech* | W 12–6 | 9,000 | [2] | |
| October 6 | atNotre Dame* | W 7–6 | 33,000 | [3] | |
| October 13 | vs.Oklahoma* | W 19–0 | 21,000 | [4] | |
| October 20 | Centenary* | L 6–9 | 10,000 | [5] | |
| October 27 | atRice | L 9–20 | 18,000 | [6] | |
| November 3 | SMU |
| T 7–7 | [7] | |
| November 10 | Baylor |
| W 25–6 | [8] | |
| November 17 | atTCU | W 20–19 | [9] | ||
| November 23 | atArkansas |
| W 19–12 | 4,000 | [10] |
| November 28 | Texas A&M |
| W 13–0 | 20,000 | [11] |
| |||||
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| •Texas | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Notre Dame | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Q1 | TX | Bohn Hilliard 8-yard run (Hilliard Kick) | TEX 7–0 | |
| Q2 | ND | George Melinkovich 1-yard run (Kick failed) | TEX 7–6 | |
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On October 6, 1934, the Texas Longhorns and Notre Dame Fighting Irish played their third match up between the two programs, and the first since 1915. Notre Dame had offered the Horns $5,000 dollars for the showdown in South Bend which the Athletic department accepted. Texas' new head coachJack Chevigny was a Notre Dame alum and claimed that legendary coachKnute Rockne had wanted him to be the next coach of the Irish before hisfatal plane crash but Chevigny never got the call.[12] Prior to the game Chevigny rallied his players and delivered a fiery speech that invoked Rockne, Chevingy's ill father, deceased mother (who was buried not too far from South Bend), and that he "was the heir to the throne...that a great man's wish didn't come true...that [the team] could make up for it by defeating Notre Dame that day." J. Neils Thompson, a multi-sport athlete who was present during the 1934 game recalled "[We had] never heard anything like it. But the speech had its impact, and we all went out."[13]
Prior to, the Horns had devised a plan to shock the Irish at the opening of the game. In the summer of 1934 Notre Dame's regular Right Halfback died and Coach Chevigny reasoned that his inexperienced replacement might be nervous during the season opener. In preparation Texas practiced kickoffs to the deep return man hoping that in the real game he might make a mistake under the pressure.[14]
In front of a massive crowd of 33,000 fans, Texas won the toss and elected to kickoff. At the last second the Irish's starBack;George Melinkovich, switched positions with the newcomer but in his haste fumbled the return. Texas' Jack Gray captured the fumble at the Notre Dame 18. While Chevigny's gambit hadn't worked out the way it was planned the result was still the same and four plays later Bohn Hilliard followedguard Joe Smartt into the endzone for the touchdown and followed it up by kicking the extra point himself.[15] The remainder of the game was a defensive struggle whose only interruption came midway through the second quarter when Notre Dame was punting the ball from their 32. The ball stuck the ground at Buster Baebel's, the TexasQuarterback, feet and while he picked it up he was rocked by a tackle from John Michuta, NDTackle, and the ball flew out of his hands and was recoved by Notre Dame on the Texas 9 yard line. On fourth & one from the goal line Melinkovich crashed over the line for what would've been the game tying touchdown, howeverWayne Millner missed the ensuing extra point leaving Texas ahead 7-6. Halftime saw a dedication to the memory of Johnny Young, the ND halfback who had died that summer inHouston, Texas. Following halftime neither team found the end zone again but not due to lack of cohesion, the game was characterized by hard-hitting and fast running throughout.[3]
The Loss was Notre Dame's first season opening loss since 1896 to theChicago Physicians and Texas' first ever victory over the Irish. This game andRice's upset overPurdue the same day signaled the rise ofSouthwest football's golden age had arrived. The Texas starting lineup for the game against Notre Dame was Jack Gray (left end), Tolbert (left tackle), Woodrow Wier (left guard), Charles Coates (center), Joe Smartt (right guard), Louis Oliver (right tackle), Phil Sanger (right end), Jimmy Hadlock (quarterback), Bohn Hilliard (left halfback), Bill Pitzer Narick (right halfback) and Irwin Gilbreath (fullback). Substitutes appearing in the game for Texas were Buster Baebel, Gillem Ingerton, Hugh Wolfe, and Fred Beasley.[3]