September 17, 1955 -- Houston 54, Montana 12 -- Houston’s Ken Stegall returns a punt for a 71-yard touchdown in the season opener against the University of Montana.
October 26, 1957 -- Houston 7, Auburn 48 -- Paul Sweeten returns an interception for an 89-yard touchdown, the longest pass interception return in Cougar history at the time.
November 10, 1951 -- Houston 28, Louisville 35 -- Newton Shows passes to Vic Hampel for a 69-yard touchdown during an away game against Louisville University.
October 9, 1953 -- Houston 25, Detroit Mercy 19 -- Halfback Donn Hargrove makes an 80-yard touchdown run during an away game against the University of Detroit Mercy.
Hargrove runs for another 60 yards on his way to a one-game record of 199 yards.
October 7, 1961 -- Houston 21, Boston College 0 -- Halfback Ken Bolin runs for an 80-yard touchdown.
October 21, 1961 -- Houston 13, Cincinnati 7 -- Bolin scores the winning touchdown during an away game against the University of Cincinnati.
September 24, 1960 -- Houston 14, Mississippi State 10 -- Bolin scores Houston’s first touchdown against home team Mississippi State with a 56-yard run.
October 22, 1949 -- Houston 27, Hardin-Simmons 27 -- Halfback Gene Shannon accumulates 41 yards in a series. He carried the ball 10 times for 128 yards during the game.
October 7, 1950 -- Houston 16, Trinity 20 -- Shannon makes a 58-yard touchdown run during an away game against Trinity University.
September 28, 1951 -- Houston 33, Detroit Mercy 7 -- Shannon carries for 37 yards during an away game against Detroit Mercy.
November 24, 1951 -- Houston 31, Oklahoma A&M 7 -- Shannon makes a series of runs in a home game against Oklahoma A&M (now known as Oklahoma State University), including a 47-yard touchdown run.
November 10, 1951 -- Houston 28, Louisville 35 -- Shannon makes two runs for a touchdown during an away game against Louisville.
Pass from Country Clark to Max Clark for 40 yards.
Louisville quarterback Johnny Unitas passes for a touchdown. Unitas went onto play professionally with the Baltimore Colts. He set numerous NFL records, including the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass, which he held for 52 years. Unitas’ talent earned him the nickname “the Golden Arm.”
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This edited footage compiles highlights from various University of Houston football games between 1949 and 1961. A majority of the clips capture touchdown runs and passes, many of which set school records for their length. Most of the games are played at home in Houston. Games played before 1951 take place at the Houston Public School Stadium, later known as Robertson Stadium. Games played in 1951 or later occur at Houston Stadium (now known as Rice Stadium). In a 1951 loss to the Louisville Cardinals, the Cougars face off against quarterback Johnny Unitas, who went on to develop a reputation as “the Golden Arm” with the Baltimore Colts.
The digital preservation of this collection was made possible by a grant to the Texas Archive of the Moving Image and the Houston Public Library from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission and the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services.
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