Bill Text: TX HR1070 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of Darrell K Royal, former head football coach at The University of Texas at Austin.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-04-04 - Reported enrolled [HR1070 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HR1070-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 1070 |
|
||
WHEREAS, The life of a Lone Star legend drew to a close with | ||
the passing of former University of Texas football coach Darrell K | ||
Royal on November 7, 2012, at the age of 88; and | ||
WHEREAS, A phenomenal leader who never had a losing season | ||
during more than 20 years in college football, Coach Royal became a | ||
beloved figure to generations of UT fans, not only for his superb | ||
gridiron accomplishments but also for his work in behalf of the | ||
university and the wider community; and | ||
WHEREAS, Born in Hollis, Oklahoma, Darrell Royal excelled at | ||
football, baseball, and basketball during his youth and received | ||
scholarship offers in all three sports; after serving in the Army | ||
Air Corps during World War II, he enrolled at the University of | ||
Oklahoma, where he earned All-American honors as a quarterback and | ||
punter and established school records for longest punt return and | ||
for career interceptions that have yet to be broken; and | ||
WHEREAS, His rise through the coaching ranks in the early | ||
1950s was meteoric; he held seven jobs in seven years, four of which | ||
were head coaching assignments--El Reno High School, the Edmonton | ||
Eskimos of the Canadian Football League, Mississippi State | ||
University, and the University of Washington--before being hired by | ||
UT in December 1956; he inherited a Longhorns team that had posted a | ||
dismal 1-9 record the previous season, but he managed to | ||
immediately turn the program around, guiding his players to a berth | ||
in the Sugar Bowl during his debut year; and | ||
WHEREAS, So began two unforgettable decades during which the | ||
Longhorns became a national powerhouse; under the direction of | ||
Coach Royal, Texas won 3 national championships, claimed 11 | ||
Southwest Conference titles, and made 16 bowl appearances, 10 of | ||
which were victories in the Cotton Bowl; he also fostered | ||
excellence off the field by becoming the first college coach to hire | ||
a full-time academic counselor to assist players, and he personally | ||
awarded special "T" rings to those who graduated; and | ||
WHEREAS, Coach Royal was renowned for developing innovative | ||
approaches to the game, such as the famous "wishbone" formation | ||
that helped the team to rack up 30 straight victories after being | ||
introduced in 1968; his homespun wit was just as sharp as his | ||
strategy, and many of his humorous observations have become | ||
oft-repeated sayings among football enthusiasts; and | ||
WHEREAS, In addition to his work overseeing the football | ||
team, Coach Royal served as the university's athletics director | ||
from 1962 to 1979 and was later appointed as a special assistant to | ||
the president on athletic matters; in recognition of his | ||
contributions, the UT football stadium was renamed in 1996 as the | ||
Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, and in 2006 he became just | ||
the fifth person to earn the Distinguished Service Award from the | ||
Texas Exes; and | ||
WHEREAS, Numerous other accolades were bestowed on this | ||
highly respected coach as well; he won two Coach of the Year awards | ||
from the American Football Coaches Association and three from the | ||
Football Writers Association of America; he was inducted into the | ||
National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame, the | ||
Texas and Oklahoma Sports Halls of Fame, the Longhorn Hall of Honor, | ||
and the Cotton Bowl Classic Hall of Fame; in 1996 he received the | ||
coveted Horatio Alger Award, in 2000 he became the inaugural | ||
recipient of the Paul "Bear" Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award, and | ||
in 2010 he received the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award for "the | ||
individual . . . whose services have been outstanding in the | ||
advancement of the best interests of football"; and | ||
WHEREAS, Coach Royal's dedication to helping others was | ||
reflected in his sponsorship of a charity golf tournament in | ||
conjunction with Willie Nelson and Ben Crenshaw that raised several | ||
million dollars to benefit youth in East Austin; moreover, he and | ||
his wife, Edith, established the Darrell K Royal Fund for | ||
Alzheimer's Research to expand study and treatment of the disease; | ||
and | ||
WHEREAS, The most successful football coach in the history of | ||
The University of Texas at Austin and one of the greatest of his | ||
era, Darrell Royal played a major role in furthering the tradition | ||
of excellence that defines Longhorn athletics, and his legacy will | ||
be celebrated by the UT faithful for as long as the sport of | ||
football is played on the 40 Acres; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas | ||
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Coach Darrell K | ||
Royal and extend sincere sympathy to the members of his family: to | ||
his wife of 68 years, Edith Royal; to his son, Sammy Royal, and his | ||
wife, April; to his son-in-law, Chic Kazen; to his grandsons, | ||
Christian Kazen, David Kazen, and Sammy Royal; to his | ||
granddaughter, Elena Trombetta; to his great-granddaughters, | ||
Isabella and Alexandra Kazen; and to his other relatives and many | ||
friends; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of | ||
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Darrell | ||
Royal. | ||
Darby | ||
Branch | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 1070 was unanimously adopted by a | ||
rising vote of the House on April 3, 2013. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||