Were I ranking all these East Texas players on pro careers, things could be, would be greatly different. Some guys were "only" great college players. College careers are what I based my picks on. Otherwise, for one example, Bradley would be the first team in the defensive backfield. But at Texas, he only played there for a handful of games in the latter half of his senior year. Professor Larry Carlson
East Texas Longhorn football heritage
Ode to EAST TEXAS Longhorns
Like big-picture Texas itself, East Texas is a bountiful land of many contrasts. You've got the eastern end of the great Southern Pine Forests of North America, the mysterious, brooding Big Thicket and moss-draped oaks and cypress standing sentinel over dark and lazy bayous. The tree that might even overshadow all those stately pines is the dogwood, source of beauty, festivals and a wonderful sense of spiritual renewal each spring as "The Story of the Dogwood" is re-told to the next generation of proud East Texans.
Much of northeast Texas is steeped in the Old South and the southeast is often closer in feel to "Cajun Country" of South Louisiana.
Texas flags are everywhere, as are drive-thru donut shops. That's one common thread. Come suppertime, though, residents in Tyler might more often opt for fried chicken, okra, greens, cornbread and yams from Gilmer or peaches from Pittsburg, while folks down in the Golden Triangle area will bust out a shrimp boil or a mess of some barbecued crabs. Rice comes with everything, and gumbo and boudin proliferate. But across the East Texas region, fried catfish is the go-to plate, especially as a Friday special, and good ol' grits are a breakfast staple.
The air can be sweetly pungent throughout East Texas, with roses, magnolia blossoms and the ubiquitous pine forests. Elsewhere, the acrid scent of petrochemicals might often prevail on drowsy, humid nights.
This is the land of Spindletop and of the massive East Texas Oil Field near Kilgore that sprawls far beyond. Pumpjacks and derricks have sometimes seemed as plentiful as all the towering hardwood trees in this beautiful part of the greatest state. The oil and gas and lumber industries continue to provide money, jobs and a way of life.
Away from the awe-inspiring "skylines" of chemical plants at night -- From Texas City to Mont Belvieu to Port Arthur -- East Texas still conjures old-time sights, sounds and smells such as smokeshacks and stills, baying hounds and cawing crows, woodsmoke and summer rain. Slow-moving trains chug through one-stoplight towns, and a slew of logging trucks rumble down two-lane highways and sandy backroads.
A land of so many facets, so many sources of pride and history, East Texas serves up lazy, languid waterways such as Caddo Lake, the Trinity and Neches rivers and Toledo Bend. And Gulf beaches abound from Galveston to Crystal Beach, courtesy of the Bolivar Ferry.
The entire, diverse region, whether specializing in roses or rice, palm trees or pines, is tightly stitched together by the biggest pastime in the Lone Star State, the one signaled by Friday Night lights.
Yep, East Texas has long produced top-notch high school football, from Big Sandy to Beaumont, and many of those players have vaulted to collegiate and professional greatness. A great number of the best of them have starred for the Texas Longhorns.
So saddle up the pickup truck and take a drive from Texarkana and Jefferson, then zigzag down to the Tomato Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, the famed "Rock Solid" structure that's been home for The Fightin' Indians since 1940. Skip back east to Nacogdoches, then south through Newton and Deweyville and over to Winnie and Anahuac. Roll down the windows. Crank up the music from a dance card full of East Texas artists such as George Jones, Don Henley, Janis Joplin, Johnny Winter and Lightnin' Hopkins. Pile on some more pure-dee Texas music from Gentleman Jim Reeves, Barbara Lynn, Lee Ann Womack and the Big Bopper, Mr. "Chantilly Lace" himself.
Lots of time and opportunity for selfies along this road trip. And plenty of culinary delights. Savor it all as y'all discuss the merits of TLSN's All-Time East Texas Longhorns Football Team.
Shake some salty peanuts into that ice cold bottle of Dr Pepper and get started. Drive friendly now, and enjoy the scenery.
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THE LONGHORNS' ALL-EAST TEXAS TEAM
OFFENSE
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LINE
Don Talbert ('61), Texas City Stingarees
David Snow ('11), Gilmer Buckeyes
Jim Yarbrough ('78), Galveston (Ball Tornadoes)
Scott Gooch ('91), Bridge City Cardinals
Michael Huey ('10), Kilgore Bulldogs
TIGHT END: Pete Lammons ('65), Jacksonville Indians
WIDE RECEIVER: Cotton Speyrer ('70), Port Arthur (Jefferson Yellow Jackets)
QUARTERBACK: James Street ('69), Longview Lobos
RB; Earl Campbell ('77), Tyler (John Tyler Lions)
James Saxton ('61), Palestine Wildcats
FB: Steve Worster ('70), Bridge City Cardinals
DEFENSE
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LINE Casey Hampton ('00), Galveston (Ball High Tornadoes)
Shane Dronett ('91), Bridge City Cardinals
Diron Talbert ('66), Texas City Stingarees
Loyd Wainscott ('68), LaMarque Tigers
LB: Glen Gaspard ('73), Winnie (East Chambers Buccaneers)
Doug Shankle ('81), Silsbee Tigers
Steve Edmond ('14), Daingerfield Tigers
DB Aaron Ross ('06), Tyler (John Tyler Lions)
Stanley Richard ('90) Hawkins Hawks
Earl Thomas ('09), West Orange (West Orange-Stark Mustangs)
Nathan Vasher ('03) Texarkana (Texas High Tigers)
ATHLETES
Jay Arnold ('73), Liberty Panthers
Bill Bradley ('68), Palestine Wildcats
Duke Carlisle ('63), Athens Hornets
KICKER Tony Crosby ('63), Kountze Lions
PUNTER Bill Bradley ('68), Palestine Wildcats
RETURNS Nathan Vasher ('03), Texarkana (Texas High Tigers)
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Offensive Depth
OL: Josh Cochran ('13), Hallsville Bobcats
TE: Jermichael Finley ('07), Diboll Lumberjacks
WR: Nate Jones ('07) Texarkana (Texas High Tigers)
Brent Duhon ('85), Port Arthur (Jefferson Yellow Jackets)
QB: Duke Carlisle ('63), Athens Hornets
James Brown ('97), Beaumont (West Brook Bruins)
RB: Jamaal Charles ('07), Port Arthur (Memorial Titans)
D'Onta Foreman ('16), Texas City Stingarees
Defensive Depth
DL Don Talbert ('61), Texas City Stingarees
Joseph Ossai ('20), Conroe (Oak Ridge War Eagles)
John Elliott ('66), Warren Warriors
Tim Campbell ('78), Tyler (John Tyler Lions)
Tim Crowder ('05), Tyler (John Tyler Lions)
Brian Robison ('06), Splendora Wildcats
Chris Akins ('97), Paris Wildcats
Stonie Clark ('95), Gladewater Bears
Charles Talbert ('63), Texas City Stingarees
DB Chris Carter ('96), Tyler (John Tyler Lions)
William Graham ('81), Silsbee Tigers
Brandon Jones ('19), Nacogdoches Dragons
Vance Bedford ('80), Beaumont (Hebert Panthers)
Bill Bradley ('68), Palestine Wildcats
TLSN TLSN TLSN TLSN TLSN
NOTES ON THE EAST TEXAS ALL-STAR SELECTIONS
by Larry Carlson (lc13@txstate.edu)
IT'S GETTING TOUGHER and tougher for Americans to agree on just about anything, so I don't expect Longhorn fans to be unified in which players should be listed here. So these picks are just mine, for better or worse.
Enjoy 'em or cuss 'em but I hope TLSN readers will discuss 'em with friends, family and even football foes. One note, early on: I did not use the fine cities of Brenham (Roosevelt Leaks, Malcolm Brown) and Fairfield (Tony Brackens, Winfred Tubbs) as being part of East Texas. Close. To be used for another regional UT All-Star team in the future.
As was the case with the All-West Texas Longhorn team featured on the TLSN site last year, most of the players here were All-Conference players and many were All-Americans. Not surprisingly, more than half of them went on to play professional football.
The Backfield
James Street
JAMES STREET NEVER MADE any football All-America squads, nor did he play pro ball, though he was a major league baseball draft pick. But the pride of Longview is simply unmatched as a pure winner on the diamond and the gridiron. On the mound he was a two-time second team All-America choice and three-time All-SWC pick. Street hurled two no-hitters and posted a miserly ERA of 1.86 while striking out more than ten batters per nine innings pitched. Over at Memorial Stadium -- and everywhere he went as number 16 in UT football attire -- "Slick" was perfect. He guided the Longhorns to two Southwest Conference titles and the '69 national championship while going 20-0 as a starter.
Duke’s interception that saved a National Championship
Another national champion QB, Duke Carlisle of Athens, was also unbeaten (12-0) as a starter, and played a mean, smart brand of defense at Texas. His late endzone interception of a Baylor pass in November '63 preserved a 7-0 win en route to UT's first national title and is easily one of the five most famous defensive plays in Longhorn lore.
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Fans should note that busts of Street and Carlisle, along with bronze likenesses of 1970 national championship QB Eddie Phillips and legendary 2005 quarterback Vince Young, are scheduled to be unveiled at Darrell K Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium in September for the game against Alabama.
Street heads up the All-East Texas Longhorn backfield that could be close to the all-time Texas backfield, period. With the incomparable Tyler Rose, Earl Campbell, at one halfback, you've got the most storied ballcarrier in Lone Star State history ready to run over and away from imperiled would-be tacklers.
Those defenders would never catch the elusive Jimmy Saxton of Palestine. His 1961 UT mark of 7.9 yards per carry stood of sixty years until it was broken by Bijan Robinson. The wispy 165-pound Saxton, perhaps the most electrifying open-field runner ever at Texas, had six runs of more than 45 yards his senior year.
Bridge City's Steve Worster is simply the best wishbone fullback there ever was. Anywhere. Worster was the bellcow of the burnt orange squads that won two national titles, three SWC crowns and rolled to 30 straight victories. The rugged Worster was never tackled head on. Defenders held on for dear life until more help arrived to help bring him down after chunk after chunk of five bruising yards. Had Worster not essentially sat out many third and fourth quarters during UT routs in the '68-'70 era, he might own records that would still stand.
Campbell, of course, won the '77 Heisman. Saxton finished fhird in '61 and Worster was fourth in '70.
Receivers
Given the rushing prowess of these East Texas All-Stars, the need for passing might be scant. But speedy Cotton Speyrer, he of two of the most important catches (against UCLA and Notre Dame) in UT history and All-America status, will be ready to link up with his old battery mate, James Street.
And Pete Lammons, also a stellar defensive player at UT, is still arguably the best Texas tight end ever. https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/larry-carlson-and-the-4-jets
Lammons went from Jacksonville's Tomato Bowl Stadium to a national championship at Memorial Stadium as a sophomore and advanced to glory days at New York's Shea Stadium as a member of Joe Namath's Jets who stunned the Baltimore Colts in what remains the biggest Super Bowl upset in history.
Offensive Line
The offensive line, as usual, will be made up of unsung heroes. But Texas City's Don Talbert, a two-way star for DKR, played ten years in the NFL after All-America status in '61. Michael Huey (Kilgore) and David Snow (Gilmer) also earned pro football paychecks and Jim Yarbrough (Galveston) no photo and Scott Gooch (Bridge City) were road-graders for conference champions in 1977 and 1990, respectively. Yarbrough later returned to his hometown where he was elected as County Judge. After 16 years in that post, Yarbrough was voted in as Mayor of Galveston.
Defensive Line and linebackers
SPEAKING OF GALVESTON, another guy who was BOI (Born on the Island) and first starred for the Ball High Golden Tornadoes, Casey Hampton, heads the formidable defensive line of the East Texas Longhorn all-timers. Hampton, an All-American for Mack Brown's 2000 unit, became UT's first defensive lineman to lead the team in tackles in back-to-back years. Drafted by Pittsburgh in the first round, Hampton became a five-time Pro Bowl selection as one of the Steelers' best players ever, no mean feat.
Joining him on the UT line are two headliners from just down the causeway -- Loyd Wainscott of LaMarque and Diron Talbert of Texas City -- plus another defensive terror from over by the Rainbow Bridge spanning the Neches, Shane Dronett of Bridge City.
Wainscott was the SWC's Defensive MVP for the '68 team that finished the year with nine straight victories to finish third in national rankings, then played two years for the Oilers before a long, successful business career.
Talbert, of course, was the last of the three Talbert boys (Don, Charlie and Diron all have spots on this TLSN squad), and maybe even the meanest of the legendary clan. He decorated the cover of Dave Campbell's 1966 Texas Football magazine and ripped up opposing offenses for a third straight season, then earned even greater glories in the NFL. He first played a key role in the second edition of the LA Rams' famed Fearsome Foursome, then tormented the Cowboys and their fans for many years as a Redskin. Diron said Roger Staubach wore skirts, and called him a "sissy." During his playing days at Washington, Talbert's teams tagged Dallas with seven stinging defeats.
A member of the hands-down best UT defensive line ever ('91), Dronett had a breakout year as an All-SWC pick as a soph on the '90 SWC champs' "Shock The Nation" tour. He left Texas a year early for a decade-long NFL career that saw him as an Atlanta Falcon face-off against his original team, the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII.
One of the all-time stat leaders among Texas defenders, Doug Shankle of Silsbee has more solo tackles (325) than anyone since those statistics have been kept. He ranks second to only Britt Hager in total tackles as a Longhorn.
Glen Gaspard of Winnie's East Chambers High could've been a beast as a fullback (and was as a freshman in 1970 when frosh were not varsity-eligible). But Darrell Royal and MIke Campbell had their way and employed his as a standout linebacker on DKR's last three SWC Cotton Bowl teams. Gaspard was a two-time All-SWC LB and graced the cover of the '73 Texas Football magazine.
Unlike Gaspard and Shankle, Steve Edmond (no photo) did not have the good fortune to play on any title teams at Texas. But the Daingerfield High grad delivered plenty of hurt in 49 games during Mack Brown's final campaigns and Charlie Strong's only bowl season. One of the biggest linebackers in UT annals, the 6-2, 260-pound Edmond ranked just outside the all-time top ten list of Longhorn tacklers when he finished in '14.
Defensive Secondary
Perhaps the most talent-laden area of this mythical all-star team is the secondary. Aaron Ross helped lead UT to the '05 national championship when another 'Horn DB, a Central Texan, Michael Huff, became the first man in burnt orange to win the Thorpe Award as the nation's premier defensive back. Ross, of Tyler, then followed suit and brought the trophy back to the Forty Acres again in '06, As a New York Giant, he won two Super Bowls over New England.
Stanley Richard of Hawkins took on the nickname of "The Sheriff" in 1990 and backed it up as an All-America safety for the surprise SWC champs, then enjoyed a solid eight-year pro career.
Earl Thomas was a young consensus All-America pick who played just two college seasons, 2008-09, but he was sensational, as were those two editions of the Longhorns. He left early for the pro ranks and became a charter member of the Seattle Seahawks' "Legion of Boom" defense.
The fourth member of the starting secondary is co-holder of the UT career interceptions record (17, with Noble Doss, 1939-41). Nathan Vasher of Texarkana stole Big XII passers blind in the early seasons of the 21st century, while also lighting it up as a dangerous return man. The explosive Vasher delivered similar expertise as a pro. He swiped twenty passes in a distinguished career with the Bears and set an NFL record for longest return of any kind when he took a missed field goal 108 yards to the house.
First team “Athletes”
VERSATILITY, CAPABILITY AND ADAPTIBILITY are the calling cards for three men honored as first-team "athletes" for the East Texas Longhorn Stars. Duke Carlisle's winning ways as a QB and safety were noted above and his credentials for teams that went 30-2-1 from 1961-63 are beyond reproach.
"Super Bill" Bradley came to Texas as the state's most-hyped QB of the 1960s but was benched in September of his senior year for a guy named Street. But Bradley, a captain out of Palestine, was still the Horns' excellent punter and jumped in eagerly at wide receiver before Texas coaches moved him to safety. https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/bill-bradley-by-larry-carlson
https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/billbradleys-interview-by-larry-carlson-new-page-2
There he excelled, intercepting four passes in a 35-14 pasting of the Aggies. He parlayed his booming left leg and a penchant for thievery into a terrific career in Philadelphia, earning All-Pro honors multiple times and becoming the first NFL player to lead the league in picks in back-to-back seasons. Bradley's storybook tale of build-up, fall from grace, redemption and exceptionalism made him a legend.
Liberty's Jay Arnold knew nothing but defensive success at Texas after playing quarterback as a schoolboy. At 190 pounds, Arnold was big enough to work at linebacker as a soph before finding a new home at defensive end midway through 1971, his first year of eligibility. With Arnold and others patching up the defense, UT rebounded from back-to-back losses and won five straight games and a record fourth straight Southwest Conference trophy. Arnold and the stop-'em troops were even better in '72, for a 10-1, third-ranked outfit. That UT defense held six teams to ten points or fewer.
https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/jay-arnold-shares-a-memory
As a senior, the defensive end made the switch to defensive back, something unimaginable now. But Arnold possessed the savvy and crucially, the speed, to flip the switch and become an All-SWC first teamer at a totally different vocation while Texas again went unbeaten in SWC play, winning its sixth straight crown.
THOSE GUYS NAMED BRADLEY AND VASHER are back as honorees on our special teams.
Super Bill is the punter and Vasher will handle returns for these All-Stars. The kicker is shoeless Tony Crosby. He came out of Kountze, the "Gateway to the Big Thicket," where he remembered first using crawfish mounds to tee it up for kicking practice. Bending his toes upward and striking the pigskin with the ball of his right foot, Crosby wasn't a novelty act. His kicks were responsible for the winning margin in four narrow SWC victories when UT won the national title in '63. Crosby's fascinating life continued as an adult. He earned several advanced degrees and traveled to Egypt, Italy, France and South America as a professional in the world of architectural preservation.
Read Tony’s story at the link below written by Gaylon Grizak.
https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/new-page-85
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NOTES ON ALL-STAR DEPTH
You know you've got bench strength when multi-year Pro-Bowler Jamaal Charles and D'Onta Foreman, winner of the Doak Walker Award, are on the pine. Judgment calls by one writer.
There's that "deep depth" as the expression goes, at other position groups, too. Plenty of great players along the D-Line. Don Talbert and Joseph Ossai were All-America picks at Texas. Tim Campbell is one of the best pass rushers in UT log books and Stonie Clark will forever be remembered for his heroic fourth down, goal line stop against Oklahoma to preserve the '94 win.
John Elliott was a fine player at Texas from 1964-66 but really blossomed as a New York Jet. The Super Bowl champion ('68) made All-Pro in his work days in Gotham City before returning to his home state.
John Elliott
https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/larry-carlson-and-the-4-jets
Elliott, who came from tiny, tiny Warren, deep in the East Texas woods, retired to the land where the Hill Country begins to bleed into West Texas. The rugged ex-Longhorn came out of retirement quickly, and in a colorful manner, serving as Real County Sheriff in Leakey. That's just one of the good stories surrounding these former Longhorns.
The defensive backfield also boasts of superlative college-turned-pro talent coming in for all kinds of passing situations.
Studs Chris Carter, Brandon Jones, William Graham, Vance Bedford and Super Bill Bradley supply an embarrassment of DB riches. Well, they're good at embarrassing quarterbacks and receivers.
Not everywhere is there great depth. It's lacking at linebacker and thin in the offensive line. But this squad looks pretty damn good. Day-um good. Jam up, jelly tight, I'd say.
