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Royal Beloved on Boths Side of Red River
Published: 11/8/2012 10:56 AM
Last Modified: 11/8/2012 10:56 AM

Darrell Royal was much beloved on both sides of the Red River.
That should tell you much about the life of Royal, who died this week at age 88.
He may be best known as the most successful football coach in University of Texas history. He coached the Longhorns to three national championships - 1963, 1969 and 1970.
However, he was also a native Oklahoman who went on to star for the Sooners in 1946-49. He had a record 18 interceptions in his OU playing career.
He retired as coach in 1976 after winning 11 Southwest Conference titles.
In retirement, he was known for his large gatherings of friends who would come to Austin to play golf and hang out.
He was popular in Austin not just for his success as a football coach but as a friendly and generous person.
Royal was beloved by several generations of sports writers and broadcaster who would attend parties given by the former coach before and after Texas football games.
His personality, as a laid-back and folksy coach, fit perfectly in the Southwest Conference. Despite his success, Royal was well-liked and respected in all areas of the state and by alums from just about all of the schools.
He adopted the “wishbone offense” at Texas in the late 1960s and the offense not only changed the fortunes of Texas but also at Oklahoma, as the Sooners soared to two national championships in the wishbone.
He’ll be missed by all that love college football.



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Klein's Korner

Tulsa World senior sports columnist John Klein is in his fourth decade of covering sports. He started his newspaper career at The Daily Ardmoreite in 1977 and moved to the Tulsa World in 1978. He served 10 years as sports editor for the Tulsa World before being named to his current position in 2005. He also spent five years as the Southwest Conference beat writer for the Houston Post. He has won many writing awards and is a former Oklahoma Sports Writer of the Year.

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