Legends of the Fall
NOV. 24, 1938T
he Texas Longhorns had lost 10 straight games when they welcomed the Texas A&M Aggies
to Memorial Stadium in Austin for the 1938 edition of the annual Thanksgiving rivalry.
Longhorn fans didn’t harbor much optimism for a win, considering the varsity team had
lost a scrimmage to its own freshman team a week earlier. But with halfback Nelson Pruett’s diving
touchdown (pictured), Texas took the lead and held on for a 7-6 win, blocking an Aggie extra-point
attempt with 20 seconds to play. Texas coach Dana Bible later called it “the happiest day in all my
years of coaching,” writer Bobby Hawthorne recounted in Longhorn Football: An Illustrated History.
Texas A&M didn’t suffer for long, though, because the following year, the Aggies beat Texas as part of
an undefeated season that culminated in a Sugar Bowl victory over Tulane and a No. 1 ranking in The
Associated Press writers poll.Know of any fascinating vintage Texas photographs? Send copies or ideas to [email protected].VINTAGE
Photo: Prints and Photographs Collection, di_02788, The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, UT-Austin