The Switzer file: 75 facts about Barry Switzer

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The Switzer file: 75 facts about Barry Switzer

BY Associated Press
Sunday, September 30, 2012
9/30/12 at 3:45 AM

Barry Switzer at 75: A look at Barry Switzer’s 16-season tenure as OU football coach.

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Switzer at 75: Former Sooner coach reflects on a colorful life and career

Next for Switzer: Movie of 'The Bootlegger's Boy'

Barry Layne Switzer was born on Oct. 5, 1937, in Crossett, Ark. Crossett is 135 miles south of Little Rock and only a few miles north of the Louisiana border.

When Switzer was a newborn, his family's home was a houseboat.

As a child, Switzer resided with his father (Frank Mays Switzer), mother (Mary Louise) and younger brother (Donnie) in a shack without electricity or plumbing.

Frank Switzer served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. During the '40s and '50s, he was known as a proponent of the fair treatment of black residents of south Arkansas.

As an OU assistant, Barry Switzer aggressively recruited black athletes years before other power programs like Texas.

After failing in several attempts to start his own business, Frank Switzer became a bootlegger - selling untaxed liquor in a dry Arkansas county. He served a two-year prison sentence before his conviction was overturned.

While in prison, Frank Switzer missed all of Barry's Crossett High School football games during his junior and senior seasons.

Donnie Switzer, five years younger than Barry, attended Dartmouth College and graduated with honors. Donnie went on to graduate from Vanderbilt Law School.

In 1959, Mary Louise Switzer committed suicide. Barry Switzer says she shot herself in the head on the back porch of their residence.

At the age of 64, Frank Switzer died in a 1972 car accident. He was being rushed to a hospital after having been shot in the chest by a 28-year-old girlfriend. They had been quarreling over another woman.

Barry Switzer describes his father as having been "a devout atheist."

In 1956-60, Barry Switzer was a center and linebacker at the University of Arkansas. After a brief stint in the Army, he was a Razorbacks assistant coach in 1961-65.

Switzer was an Oklahoma assistant in 1966-72 and the Sooners' head coach in 1973-88.

During an open week prior to the 1970 Texas game, Switzer - then OU's offensive coordinator - installed the wishbone attack. The 1971 Sooners became the greatest ground-game team in college football history, and Switzer's teams were defined by their mastery of the wishbone option game.

During the historic 1971 season at Oklahoma, Switzer was the Sooners' offensive coordinator, while Jimmy Johnson coached the defensive linemen.

When Switzer succeeded Chuck Fairbanks as the Sooner head man, he was 35 and made $24,000.

Switzer-coached OU teams captured three national championships (1974, 1975, 1985) and 12 Big Eight titles.

Switzer's record against Texas was 9-5-2.

Switzer's record against Nebraska was 12-5.

In eight of Switzer's 12 victories over Nebraska, the Sooners rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit.

Switzer first used the words "Sooner Magic" following the 1976 OU-Nebraska game in Lincoln. After trailing 17-7 in the fourth period, the Sooners scrambled for a 20-17 win. Elvis Peacock scored with 38 seconds left.

Switzer's record against Oklahoma State was 15-1.

In Bedlam games played in Stillwater, Switzer was 8-0.

Switzer's 1975 recruiting class rates as one of the better classes in college football history. OU signed 13 of the Dallas Times-Herald's 19 highest-rated prospects.

Halfback Billy Sims, destined to win the 1978 Heisman Trophy, was among the recruits who signed with Oklahoma in 1975.

Through his first 100 games as the OU head coach, Switzer's record was 86-11-3. Bud Wilkinson's record was 89-8-3. Bob Stoops' record was 82-18.

In 1983, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civilly prosecuted Switzer for illegal insider trading. He was found not guilty.

In December 1988, the NCAA placed Switzer's OU program on three years probation for 20 violations committed over an eight-year period. The Sooners were dealt a two-year bowl ban.

At different times during the winter of 1988-89, the Tulsa World and Tulsa Tribune called for Switzer's resignation.

Less than a month after Sooner QB Charles Thompson was busted by the FBI for selling cocaine, and after Sports Illustrated's Rick Telander referred to the OU program as "an ethical wasteland," Switzer sustained a serious knee injury while skiing in Colorado.

When Switzer resigned as the Sooners' coach on June 19, 1989, he had the best winning percentage (.837) among active coaches.

When Switzer resigned, his age was 51. "It's no fun anymore," he said. "I'm drained. I don't have the energy level to compete in this arena today."

During the fall of 1989, Switzer was encouraged to run for U.S. Congress in Oklahoma's 3rd District. He declined.

Switzer's 1990 book, "Bootlegger's Boy," is referred to by former OU athletic director Donnie Duncan as "a chronicle of sadness." Duncan says he has never been able to finish the book.

Switzer recently revealed to the Tulsa World that a production company is about to begin the process of making a "Bootlegger's Boy" movie. The same production company was responsible for the making of the popular film "The Blind Side."

Switzer doesn't want a "Bootlegger's Boy" movie to be a football-heavy film. "If you saw 'The Blind Side,' you know that wasn't a football movie but a human-interest story," he told the Tulsa World. "That's the way that we see 'Bootlegger's Boy.' "

"Bootlegger's Boy" was released in 1990, yet its popularity and Switzer's popularity apparently haven't waned. After he spoke during a recent meeting of the Northwest Arkansas Touchdown Club, people stood in line to have Switzer autograph copies of the book.

After leaving OU and before accepting the Dallas Cowboys job in 1994, Switzer says he was offered two college head-coaching jobs. "I won't mention (the schools). I don't want to embarrass them because I turned them down," he said.

After winning two Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys, Jimmy Johnson shocked the football world by resigning on March 29, 1994. While at Oklahoma State, Johnson was Switzer's rival. While at Miami (Fla.), he was Switzer's nemesis.

On March 30, 1994 - one day after Johnson departed - Switzer was hired to coach the Dallas Cowboys.

In four seasons as the Dallas coach, Switzer's regular-season record was 64-40. His winning percentage of .625 is the best in team history. Tom Landry and Wade Phillips each had a percentage of .607. Jimmy Johnson's was .550.

Johnson has Dallas' best playoff winning percentage - .875 (7-1 record). The Switzer-coached Cowboys were 5-2 in the playoffs (.714).

In August 1997, Switzer was arrested when a loaded .38-caliber revolver was found in his luggage at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. Saying he forgot to remove the gun before heading to the airport, Switzer pleaded guilty and was fined $3,500.

Following the gun incident, Switzer was fined an additional $75,000 by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

After a 6-10 finish in 1997, Switzer resigned from the Dallas Cowboys.

Switzer and Johnson remain the only coaches to have captured both of the ultimate prizes in football - a college national championship and a Super Bowl championship.

In Switzer's Norman home, OU memorabilia items outnumber Dallas items by a significant margin.

During the '90s, then-OU athletic department staff member Larry McAlister and Oklahoma City sports-talk radio host Al Eschbach coined "The King" nickname for Switzer. Today, Eschbach routinely refers to Switzer as "The King."

Switzer's children - Greg, Kathy and Doug - now range in age from 43 to 39.

Barry Switzer's favorite song is "Last Date" - a classic 1960 piano instrumental performed by Floyd Cramer.

Decades after the release of "Last Date," Switzer was thrilled to learn that Cramer was included in his group at a charity golf tournament.

During a mid-'70s charity golf event at Tulsa's Southern Hills Country Club, Switzer was in a group that included Bob Hope and Oral Roberts.

Switzer's son Greg played football at Arkansas in 1988-91.

Now based in Nashville, Greg Switzer is an accomplished pianist and songwriter.

Following Dallas' Super Bowl XXX victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, an estimated 60 of Barry Switzer's friends and family members partied in his hotel suite.

Among Switzer's party guests were his girlfriend, Becky Buwick, and his ex-wife Kay.

The Super Bowl party entertainment was provided by Greg Switzer, who played Ray Charles songs on a grand piano.

Doug Switzer was a quarterback at Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He was the only white player in the program.

In 2009, George Strait and Reba McEntire performed during the first event at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones invited Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer to be his special guests. Johnson attended. Switzer declined because he already had committed to appear at an American Red Cross fundraiser in Oklahoma City.

Nearing his 75th birthday, Switzer is in excellent health but does have chronic back problems. He has undergone three back surgeries.

In an oversized guest bedroom in Switzer's home, there are four queen-sized beds. Those are the beds used by his former players when they visit Norman, so that they don't have to spend money on hotel rooms.

Switzer was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

In 2004, Switzer received the Jim Thorpe Lifetime Achievement Award.

During Oklahoma's 2002 gubernatorial campaign, Switzer supported Democratic candidate Brad Henry. Switzer made several appearances on behalf of Henry, who defeated Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Steve Largent in a close election.

Switzer has done college football studio analysis for the Fox network.

In 2008, Switzer guest-starred in an episode of the TNT series "Saving Grace."

For 40 years, Switzer has served as the honorary head coach of the Oklahoma Special Olympics.

And in those 40 years, Switzer has never failed to attend the opening ceremony of the Oklahoma Special Olympics.

Each year, Switzer presents the Special Olympics Oklahoma Athlete of the Year award and leads the athletes in the Special Olympics Oath: "Let me win. But, if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt."

The Oklahoma Special Olympics are officially under way when Switzer takes the microphone and says, "I now pronounce the Summer Games open. Let the Games begin!"

The Barry Switzer Center - the structure at the south end of OU's Memorial Stadium - was dedicated on April 24, 1999. The Switzer Center houses coaches' offices, the locker room, a museum and the strength-and-conditioning facility.

Switzer and former Tulsa World Sports Editor Bill Connors were close friends. When Connors died in 2000, Switzer was notified during the middle of the night. He immediately drove to Connors' Tulsa home, where he and longtime Sooner assistant Merv Johnson handled most of the funeral arrangements.

Becky Buwick, who was Switzer's longtime girlfriend, coached the OU women's gymnastics team to five Big Eight championships.

Buwick and Switzer have been married since 2000.

Switzer's home is on the southwest edge of the OU campus.

Original Print Headline: The Switzer file

VOICES FROM OU’S SWITZER ERA

J.C. WATTS

Before becoming prominent in Oklahoma and national politics, Watts was a quarterback for Switzer-coached OU teams in 1976- 80.

“If you spend 15 minutes with Barry Switzer, you like him. The biggest difference I’ve seen in Coach Switzer during the last seven or eight years is that he uses the words ‘I love you’ a lot more. The older we get, we do probably value our relationships more. That’s why players performed well for Coach Switzer — he was the kind of guy who would make a good best friend.”

JOHN BROOKS

Brooks did radio play-by-play during Switzer’s final 11 seasons (1978-88) as the Sooner football coach:

“The thing that always impresses me about Switzer is his heart. It is bigger than almost any of them out there. What he did in recruiting black players to Oklahoma left not only those he recruited — but those who were recruited elsewhere in the Big Eight and other conferences — indebted to him forever. He changed a landscape. It would have eventually happened, but Barry accelerated the change. His passion and ability to inspire have always intrigued me and his charisma is a masterful thing to view. ‘Icon’ is not enough, but I will use it until I find the other word in the dictionary that describes him even better.”

STEVE DAVIS

Then-OU coach Barry Switzer (center) poses with quarterback Steve Davis (left) and running back Joe Washington in Miami Beach on Jan. 2, 1976, after the Associated Press named the Sooners as the national champions for the second year in a row. AP file

Davis quarterbacked Switzer-coached OU teams to national championships in 1974 and 1975. As the starter, his record was 32-1-1.

“Sooner Magic was inspired by the heart and passion of Coach Switzer. His genius was in his ability to inspire his players to play their best in the biggest games. The dreams he created in all of us always ended in a half-a-hundred victory and a postgame party.”

JOE WASHINGTON

Washington was a two-time All-American halfback and one of the more popular players of OU’s Switzer era.

“One of the greatest benefits of being back here in Norman (as a special assistant to the OU athletic director) is that I get to see and talk with Coach Switzer as much as I want to. I got to be with him as a kid, and I get to be with him now. That’s pretty doggone good. He always has time for his players. Coach Switzer is a phenomenal man.”

Associated Images:

OU coach Barry Switzer gets a ride from jubilant players Tony Casillas (left) and others following their win over Penn State in the Orange Bowl in Miami on Jan. 2, 1986. When Switzer resigned as the Sooners' coach on June 19, 1989, he had the best winning percentage (.837) among active coaches. MARK FOLEY / Associated Press File

A young Barry Switzer holds up a fish in 1940 in El Dorado, Ark. Courtesy / Barry Switzer

Barry Switzer spent his playing days in Fayetteville, Ark., playing for the University of Arkansas. Courtesy / Barry Switzer

Then-OU head coach Barry Switzer holds a banner and indicates his Sooners are No. 1 after the Sooners beat Michigan in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2, 1976. Associated Press file

Then-Cowboys head coach, Barry Switzer celebrates after winning the 1996 Super Bowl. Tulsa World file

Barry Switzer talks to Billy Vessels at the opening of the Barry Switzer Center in 1999. Tulsa World file

Barry Switzer gets a call from a former player after posing in front of the Norman home he built when he became the coach at OU. JOHN CLANTON / Tulsa World