Seventy-one Years Ago--A Red Letter Day

Sunday, November 29, 1953 will go down in Northeastern A&M college's records as one of the most significant dates in the local institution's history. NEO received the Eastern bid to participate in the Junior Rose Bowl football game at Pasadena on December 12. NEO, which came into being as the "School of Mines" back in 1919, has never before basked in the national spotlight. 

NEO Coaches: Dewey Lynch, Head Coach Red Robertson, Bill Smith

The Norsemen, a rugged gridiron squad has overwhelmed nine rivals this season. They are expected to give Bakersfield, California Jr. College a rousing battle. It is hoped that the game will be another smashing triumph for Red Robertson's aggregation.

 November 30, 1953 Three hitchhikers in an automobile near Vinita heard the radio bulletin: "Northeastern A&M will play in the Jr. Rose Bowl!"

The husky trio let out a whoop and asked the driver, a young lady, to please stop at the nearest public telephone. Jim Wilmoth, Darrell Brooks and Jerry Price couldn't wait to reach Miami before calling home--collect, of course--who could blame them. 

The three hitchhikers will be traveling first-class to Pasadena next weekend. All three are members of the powerful Northeastern football team. Wilmoth and Brooks play guard, and Price is a flashy halfback. "We will win. I'm sure of it." Carter declared after receiving the bid.

No one worked harder promoting the team than Homa Thomas, business instructor and sports publicist. 

December 6, 1953

The Miami News Record reports that the entire NEO football team will be going to Pasadena and so are the Norse Stars...the Airforce ROTC band...and others who can pay for the trip.

Dr. Bruce G. Carter, college president stated: We all get to go. We may eat hamburgers instead of "high off the hog," but the important thing is that we won't leave anybody behind." 

$5000 dollars-plus was raised in a whirlwind three-day rally, and still remains short of the $8,00 goal. Countless individuals have contributed to the fund. 

Lahoma Sue Thomas Weese (7th grader) , daughter of Homa Thomas, attended the game along with Barbara Sue Robertson (9th grader), daughter of Coach Red Robertson, Gladys Robertson, Pat Smith, and Lois Thomas. 

This is her memory of that trip Seventy-one years ago.

We began our excursion on Route 66 heading west through Oklahoma, where our eyes saw nothing but roadside gravel.

We spent our first night in Gallup, New Mexico. I only recall the hills were all reddish colored rocks. 

Now up and ready to go, we drove to the Grand Canyon. Here we explored the sights and grandeur of the canyon. We stayed at the oldest hotel, the El Tovar at the Grand Canyon. Here Barbara Sue and I found out that rubbing your feet on the carpet and touching someone or something like a doorknob would produce a spark of electricity. Can you imagine the fun the two of us had with our mothers that morning.

El Tovar Historic Hotel opened in 1905

After breakfast, we were on our way west. We noticed a young man walking down the road carrying a gas can. We stopped and asked if he needed help. He accepted our help, and we drove him to his car down the road. After the young man stepped out of the car and we were back on the road our mothers gave a great sigh of relief. It seems as though we were all a little nervous with a strange man in the car.

We enjoyed the sights along the way, not knowing what an interesting part of history we had seen going through all of the towns and seeing all of the sight along Route 66.

When we arrived in Pasadena each of us went to the places where we would stay.

One night we attended a filming of a TV show “What’s My Line?” It was Mel Blanc that night and after they recognized him, he performed many of the voices we recognized from the cartoons. After that we all walked across the street to the Formosa Café where a lot of the TV personalities would hang out. Barbara Sue and I saw Frank Sinatra, but we were to bashful to ask for his autograph.

The parade kicked off the game day in California. We all attended the parade ….

The game is another story for the record book.

Yes, we really won the game or would have won the game if the referee hadn’t moved the ball back to the one-yard line on our last touchdown. I know everyone says that, but in this case it’s true! They have admitted it.

The Miami News Record reported that Coach Robertson had nothing but praise for his boys. "The breaks went against us, but we were beaten by a really good ball club. I thought we had a victory until that fumble came along late in the third." Robertson was keenly disappointed with his team's failure to score when they had the ball on Bakersfield's three in the final stanza. Robertson said he thought Graham had scored on the dramatic foot-to-go plunge on the fourth down. Players, too, questioned the decision. But two of the five West Coast officials on duty said Graham's head, but not the ball penetrated the end zone. 

For the return trip the boys were sent home on the train. A train car was rented and Dad was the sponsor. It was a noisy trip with only one hitch. There was a 15-minute stop in Las Vegas, Nevada. As you would suspect, all of the boys got off the train car and ran into the station. When the 15 minutes were up, most of them got back on the train. A few were seen running down the tracks trying to catch the train. Dad pulled the emergency chord that stopped the train. I’m sure there were a few words exchanged with the Conductor, but Dad got his boys back on the train and didn’t care.

Kayleen Thomas, Norse Star writes: 

The Norse stars drove in private cars all the way out to Pasadena to be in the Junior Rose Bowl parade and perform at halftime. We wore two different uniforms our Indian one and our white Fringed one with hoops to do a New York rocket type routine.

The city dance teacher Virginia Lee Wilson was the choreographer for the North stars.

Betty Fields, NEO Band member writes: 

All the band marched in the parade--it was a long march, but the weather was warmer than for most football-marches! We also did a band routine at half-time. I think most band members made the long trip, but some people had already made other plans for the holidays. 

Thoughts by Literally Letty: 

Even though I was young, I heard this story of the Norsemen and Norse Stars going to the Junior Rose Bowl. numerous times.  I joined the Norse Star drill team in 1965 in hopes that we, too, would go to the Rose Bowl. NEO played in the Jr. College Rose Bowl in 1953, 1958 both times they were beaten, but never forgotten by their fans in Northeast Oklahoma. 

As lady luck would have it, my husband and I took the opportunity to go to the Rose Bowl, 2003 in which the University of Oklahoma beat Washington State 34-14. For the one and only time in my life we spent the morning in Pasadena watching the Rose Bowl Parade live, sitting immediately under Al Roker in the CBS tower.  It was one of the sports highlights of my life. 

NEO recently honored Homa Thomas for his dedication to the school and the athletes. Homa Thomas Field