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Assigned to cover the Ar- kansas dressing room on that cold Saturday in December, a decision to exit the press box after three quarters produced unexpected results. The original idea was to gather some nuggets on the UA sideline, but with Ar- kansas leading 14-0, there was an audible — secure a position on the Texas side to take notes about celebrants bound for the Razorbacks' small dressing room near the south end zone. Even af - ter Texas quarterback James Street broke loose for 42 yards, benefiting from what some fans will forever cite as a clip, on the first play of the fourth quarter, Arkansas was ahead and on the move. Texas 15, Arkansas 14 sab- otaged the grand plan, but that low-level vantage point is responsible for memories of the game's biggest plays and a portrait of parenting at its best that have lasted far longer than any on-field happening witnessed during decades seated high above the field. Chronologically, a snap- shot of those moments: • Fueled by three Bill Mont- gomery completions, Ar- kansas responded to Street's touchdown and the Long- horns' two-point conversion with a 73-yard drive to the UT 7. Monitoring the ac- tion, I watched from a few yards inside the Texas 30 as Montgomery, under pressure, threw to the end zone on third down. Screened by on- field humanity, a Texas cele - bration signaled interception. Montgomery recently told the Little Rock Touchdown Club that he believed Frank Broyles never watched the game film because of the coach's decision to throw instead of run to set up a field goal. Broyles' backers contend Montgomery under - threw Chuck Dicus. • Between the 30s was off limits to the media, so some of us flipped ends of the field when the Longhorns passed their 30 around the f ive-minute mark. From there, seeing the football in the air was the first sign that Street had thrown deep on fourth-and-3. Near the UT sideline, the pass was some- how complete, and "18 came close" was scribbled in the stenographer's notebook. Later, the names of tight end Randy Peschel and defensive back Jerry Moore filled in the blanks along with the note that the play netted 44 yards to the Arkansas 13. • Moments after losing one of the most ballyhooed col- lege football games in histo- ry, Broyles embraced a post- game tradition and walked across the f ield with his 11-year-old twin girls, speak- ing eloquently about being a father without uttering a word. To appreciate his ac- tion, review the heartbreak- ing circumstances that pro- duced 15-14 — a two-touch- down lead after 45 minutes, interception in the end zone, fourth-down completion. But, the girls anticipated the cross-field hike, and he was in place — a rock between Betsy and Linda. Compelling. "As I recall, dad could not look at me because I was crying," Betsy Arnold said recently in response to an email. "I don't believe he could speak. He was just keeping it together." Rarely did their dad have much to say to them after a game, she said, but "we loved walking off the field with him." "We would run out on the field and he would talk to the opposing coach, then off to the dressing room," she said. In the Razorback dressing room that day, nothing mem- orable was uttered within earshot. No matter the final score, Texas coach Darrell Royal was much more likely than his golfing buddy Broyles to coin a memorable phrase, and that proved true on this day. Hopefully, the story pro- duced for The Associated Press story accurately por- trayed Broyles' post-game words as emotional and heartfelt and included some of the quotes in the Arkansas Gazette story on Dec. 7. "We have nothing to be embarrassed at," Broyles said. "We lost on the scoreboard, but we're proud. It was the greatest effort … the greatest effort I've ever seen." Regarding the end zone interception, Broyles said there was a decision to be made and "we made it." "You can't replace them," he said. "You have to live with them." Meanwhile, when asked about sending the tight end deep and throwing on fourth down, Royal said: "In a case like that, you just it up and pick a number. There's no logic to it. Just a hunch." The non-football memo- ries from Dec. 6, 1969, begin with unsolicited help from an unknown somebody and include a most gracious wel- come at 1525 Hope St., good advice from the wife of a for- mer boss/friend and a quest for two motel rooms. Ashamed to admit it, but not until after filing copy did I notice my spouse sitting in a corner of the press box, thanks to a gentleman who realized she remained in the stadium for a reason and in- vited her to the work area. Hours after the game she was still sporting a red cow- boy hat with a white 'A' and for good reason — snow had soaked through the fan-favor- ite chapeau to the point that her bouffant hair included an indention, both pronounced and embarrassing. Departing the press box with two media friends, the four of us followed directions for the first and only visit to Broyles' home. Inside, com- plete with tablecloths, long folding tables were back to back in a couple of rows. Memory of the crowd size is vague, but a minimum of 40 or is a safe estimate. Same as with the small- er and regular post-game gatherings — easy to sched- ule before there were lights at Razorback Stadium — Broyles' wife Barbara fixed steaks, twice-baked potatoes and dessert. Homemade fudge was her favorite, but all I remember was the yummy meat. Arnold says she learned much about football through the years, listening to the technical talk after the crowd dwindled. Eventually, Broyles turned the dining room in- to a film room and Arnold sat with him while he broke down film of an opponent. Football was all the talk the night of Dec. 6, and Broyles moved from table to table, doing the mingling thing with incomprehensible class and fielding questions that were uncomfortable at times. In the same situation, a lesser man would have ex- cused himself after a brief obligatory appearance. Preparing to leave, Car- olyn Henry — wife of long- time Arkansas Gazette sports editor Orville Henry — ap- proached, told us goodbye and added, "I don't want you kids to go down the hill." Responding to the U.S. 71 reference, we changed plans and headed north to spend the night, sans a change of clothes, deodorant or tooth- brush. Considering that some media members spent much of game week as far away as Bella Vista, finding rooms in Springdale was surprising and welcome. Finally headed back to Lit- tle Rock on Sunday, Razor- back rehash was only a small part of the conversation during the three-hour-plus drive. By then, everybody had had enough of "The Big Shootout." Veteran reporter recalls covering Big Shootout File photo/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Arkansas football coach Frank Broyles (left) brings his twin daughters, Linda (foreground) and Betsy, to the field to greet Texas coach Darrell Royal on Dec. 6, 1969, in Fayetteville. No. 1 Texas defeated No. 2 Arkansas 15-14. Tyson, J.B. Hunt and other top companies. She's going to love it, and it's going to give her a great start to her career as a head coach." The fun part is that it's going to lead to many more trips to Fayetteville for Bob- by and Valorie. "It's exciting," Field said. "I really hadn't been there much through the years. It was a great place for me, and it is for Jordyn, too." How Fi e l d go t to A r - kansas was a bit of a long shot. He grew up in Farwell, Texas, about 90 miles from Lubbock. As a record-setting quarterback, it was clear he'd play in the SWC. "Texas Tech was the clos- est and that was probably where I was going," he said. "I'd had interest from Texas A&M and most of the others in the league." Late in the process, his high school coach asked Field if he might have any interest in Arkansas. No one from Arkansas — or Texas — had called. "I had no connection with Arkansas," he said. "The only thing I knew was from my ju- nior year when I watched on TV the 1965 Arkansas-Tex- as game (a 27-24 Arkansas victory). I remembered that there was an incredible at- mosphere for the game, the fans and everything about the town. So I had an impres- sion from one game on TV, nothing more. I remembered all the good Arkansas players like Loyd Phillips, Jon Britte- num and Tommy Trantham. "My coach said he'd send a film on me to their coaches. He did, they made contact, I visited and they offered." The decision wasn't easy. Tech was so much closer and a common destination for Farwell products. "I will say that Fayette- ville was an incredible place, so different than west Tex- as," Field said. "It's flat as a pancake and with no trees. It was 600 miles away, and it seemed like 6,000. "My dad said it was my decision alone and would not give any advice. And, it just made me sick to my stomach when I tried to de- cide. It was the day before signing, and I was ready to throw up." Finally, there was some help from his dad, a share- cropper who farmed cotton and raised cows. "He came into my room, a n d I a s ke d h i m wh at I should do," Field said. "He had one question: If Arkan- sas and Texas Tech were both 90 miles away, where would you go? I said I'd go to Arkansas. He said that's where I should go. "It was great advice, and I had a wonderful time there." Field started for most of three seasons. Of course, there were two trips to the Sugar Bowl and lots of expo- sure in big games. The big- gest was the '69 Texas game. "To talk about the '69 Tex- as game, you have to go back to our '68 season," he said. "We'd had only one loss, a great game at Texas. Then we beat the undefeated SEC champ, Georgia, in the Sugar Bowl, 16-2. "We were good then, too. So with both Texas and us returning a good nucleus, ABC wanted us to play at the end in '69. That was great vi- sion by them. "We went into '69 with a great team and had momen- tum from the Georgia win. We were clicking right out of the gate. We were consistent all year long." Nothing could match the buildup to that game, then the massive focus of the na- tion when game week hit. "It was so crazy on cam- pus we went to the hotel in Rogers in midweek, a day or two early," Field said. "It was so chaotic on campus. The parties were 24 hours a day. The students and the fans were going crazy. "We had Secret Service agents all over campus, sweeping every building with the president coming. I guess it would still be a big deal if that happened, but in that day it was quite unusu- al." The game was intense. Neither played without mis- takes. The Arkansas defense forced six turnovers and was poised to win, until Texas quarterback James Street caught fire. "You would have to say that Texas played their best in the last six minutes," Field said. "They won the game in those six minutes. It was a great game, and both teams were tremendous. We had a tremendous team in all areas, with great players on offense, defense and the kicking game. And, we had great people." That was the interesting part of the 50-year reunion this fall. Field said none of his thoughts on any of his teammates had changed. "I recalled them all as great people, and they were exactly how I remembered them," he said. "Remember, I have not been around hardly any of them for 50 years, and it was like we'd been apart for only a summer. "Almost everyone was there, too. It was a great weekend, and we enjoyed each other so much." Clay Henry can be reached at chenry@nwadg.com. v Continued from preceding page File photo/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette President Richard Nixon (center) arrives to watch the University of Arkansas vs. University of Texas football game on Dec. 6, 1969. Walking to the left of the president in the picture is Arkansas Gov. Win Rockefeller. On the far left of the picture is George H.W. Bush, who was a congressman from Texas at the time. Harry King CommeNtARy the Big Shootout ∂ ∂ FRiDAy, DeCemBeR 6, 2019 v 7S