I Remember Bud Wilkinson: Personal Memories and Anecdotes about an Oklahoma Soonerslegend as Told by the People and Players Who Knew Him [Paperback]

Mike Towle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2002 | Series: I Remember

It would be impossible to talk about the great college football teams and not include the mind-boggling exploits of Bud Wilkinson and his great Oklahoma Sooners teams. In his seventeen years as the Sooners’ head coach, Wilkinson amassed a 145-29-4 record. Included in that span were separate winning streaks of 31 and 47 games, three national titles, four undefeated seasons, and thirteen consecutive conference championships. His career .826 winning percentage surpassed that of other coaching legends whose careers overlapped his, such as Woody Hayes and Paul "Bear" Bryant. It wasn’t just the steady stream of victories and titles, however, that distinguished Wilkinson in a profession dominated by Type-A personalities and Xs-and-Os savants. Tall, blond, handsome, charming, and soft-spoken, Wilkinson was well-liked and would have fit well into today’s media-driven model of the "successful coach." A star quarterback at the University of Minnesota, Wilkinson emerged as a sports star who wasn’t just an athlete. He earned a master’s degree in English from Syracuse University and later pioneered the role of football-coach-turned-expert-television-analyst, beginning in the early fifties with his own coach’s show at Oklahoma. He later achieved a different kind of notoriety in the sixties and seventies as a network-television commentator. Along the way, he also took a foray into politics and a brief return to coaching in the late seventies with the NFL’s St. Louis Cardinals. I Remember Bud Wilkinson is the newest in the popular I Remember series, offering hundreds of anecdotes and memories of Wilkinson by dozens of people who knew him. Sources include former players, fellow coaches, television personalities, friends, and others. This comprehensive work goes into the locker room, between the white lines, and behind the scenes to explore and explain what made the multitalented, innovative Wilkinson a legend in his own time and beyond.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

MIKE TOWLE is a former sportswriter with The National and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. His books include I Remember Ben Hogan, I Remember Vince Lombardi, and I Remember Walter Payton. Towle is the president of TowleHouse Publishing and lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, Holley, and son, Andrew.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Cumberland House Publishing (August 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581823010
• ISBN-13: 978-1581823011
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,923,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Get real, December 18, 2004

By 

Patricia Carter "king" (Portland, Maine) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: I Remember Bud Wilkinson: Personal Memories and Anecdotes about an Oklahoma Soonerslegend as Told by the People and Players Who Knew Him (Paperback)

I have always had great respect for Bud Wilkinson as a football coach and as a leader of men, I did not need to read a book where everyone who speaks of him lauds him needlessly and dumps sugar all over his legacy. I read "The Undefeated" by Jim Dent. It was all about Coach Wilkinson and his fabled OU football program. THAT, was a brutally honest account of the REAL Bud Wilkinson. I DO want to read about the real man that Coach Wilkinson was, not some perfect "god". I have total respect for Coach Wilkinson, no matter what human imperfections he may have had. I did enjoy "I Remember Bud Wilkinson", but it was WAY too candy-coated. If you're looking for an HONEST portrait of Coach Wilkinson, you won't find it in this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Remember Bud Wilkinson, May 1, 2003

By 

Richard A. Seeger (Westland, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Remember Bud Wilkinson: Personal Memories and Anecdotes about an Oklahoma Soonerslegend as Told by the People and Players Who Knew Him (Paperback)

It is a fun book to read because it tells the reader how Bud Wilkinson was a football coach for young men that only players on so many other teams could only dream about. Bud Wilkinson was a coach who enjoyed the game and enjoyed practice aand he let his players do the same!

5.0 out of 5 stars Before Bob and Barry, there was Bud!, November 5, 2008

By 

Sports Fan Sam "Sam" (Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Remember Bud Wilkinson: Personal Memories and Anecdotes about an Oklahoma Soonerslegend as Told by the People and Players Who Knew Him (Paperback)

Before Bob and Barry, there was Bud and every fan should know about OU's past to know why there is such a rich tradition. Get this book if you love Oklahoma Football. A great companion or gift would be : UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA FOOTBALL: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports (Sports By the Numbers)