The Port Arthur Package

Introduction • Chapter 1 • Chapter 1-Page 2 • Chapter 1-Page 3 • Chapter 2 • Chapter 2-Page 2 • Chapter 2- Page 3 • Junior Year • Junior Year-Page 2 • Junior Year-Page 3 • Junior Year-Page 4 • Head Hunters • Black Friday • We Beat Beaumont • Sweethearts • Wrapper Page 1 • Wrapper Page 2

"The Headhunters"

1965 - 1966

One thing was clear immediately. We had a terrific defense. We ran Coach Underwood's 4-3-4 Pro set defense like second nature. He always said, "If they don't score on you, they can't beat you". Our offense was really only so-so at first. We didn't have blinding speed, or blinding anything. All we could do was keep coming at them. Our plan was to keep the scores low and win on defense. After a while, a junior tailback named Charles "Cotton" Speyrer changed things for us a bit on offense. The famous "48 Sweep" became our bread and butter. The press referred to it as "Student Body Left". Cotton was skinny as a rail, but incredibly tough, and amazingly agile. Uncle G.P. said he thought Frank Eidom had been reborn. All of a sudden we were good-really good!

The first game was with Texas City and we beat them without much trouble 22-6. The following Monday, The Port Arthur Yellow Jackets were ranked no. 2 in the state! Our second game was with The Baytown Ganders, the no. 1 ranked team in the state. "What was God up to?" In all the state there was no older, more bitter rivalry, than between these two towns, these two teams. Anytime one of these teams was headed for glory, the other one came along and spoiled it for them. In 1934, PA beat Goose Creek 100-0. In 1950, when PA was undefeated and headed for the state playoffs, Baytown came from nowhere and beat PA on the last game of the season, and we didn't even win district.

I do believe that that was probably the worst I've ever been beaten up by another team, ever. I was hit hard and quick on every play. Even when I managed to make my block, or to make a tackle, it was because I fought off some irate Gander, who was obviously more focused on his job that night than we were. As a team we played very well. We never gave up and actually had a chance to win the game, after we recovered a fumble in Baytown territory. The final score was 6-0 Baytown. On the following Monday, the Ganders were still no. 1 in the state. We had dropped out of the top 20 altogether. After the game we played, I thought we deserved more respect than that.

After that we came from behind two weeks in a row to win when it appeared we had lost. In Pasadena we were behind 14-0 at half time. Coach Underwood didn't yell or anything. He sat us down and told us we were afraid to lose. Pasadena had beaten us by 1 point the last 3 time we played on last second miracles and we were too nervous. Then, he stood in front of us all and did a vaudeville routine of tap and soft-shoe that cracked us all up and we went back to the game laughing and our fears forgotten. We scored 18 unanswered points to win. The final score came on a diving catch in the end zone by David Meeker, with only a few seconds left in the game.

The same thing happened the next week in Houston's Jepson Stadium, against Jessie Jones. I had been there in 1959 when we played Corpus Christie in the State semi-finals. I stood in the victory line that day as the Jackets ran passed and I looked up at them as if they were giant gods full of confidence. I was devastated at the loss we suffered that day. As luck would have it, Coach chose me to be captain of the team for this game and I would lead the team onto the field. I flashed back to 1959. There was a victory line for us too, but as I started for the field, a young boy from Houston reached up and grabbed my chinstrap as I went by. It stuck and I crashed to the ground, with 2 or 3 team mates with me. I was humiliated. So much for fond memories! But we won anyway 14-6.