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Post by ybp80 on Apr 30, 2023 12:35:33 GMT -6
I was in Abilene Friday night to attend both events honoring Bob Hunter. My wife told me that she and her sister watched the movie Champions with Woody Harrelson. Evidently his character is a coach and at some point it was mentioned that his previous coaching experience included “Abilene Christian.” That’s a first for me - ACU being mentioned in a movie.
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Post by rc on Apr 30, 2023 15:03:22 GMT -6
Very nice! Abilene (not just ACU) has been in movies. There was a company based here that was a very large gas station chain called E-Z Serve, with people who supported ACU. Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters stared in the movie, The Jerk. Both them would stay at the old Fairway Oaks. Martin actually had a house on the left side of number 10. Check out the logo in this snippet: Look at Martin's shirt pocket and the name on the oil cans.
I cannot find trailer for Champions where ACU is mentioned. If you find one, share it.
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Post by ybp80 on Apr 30, 2023 20:24:01 GMT -6
I’ve never picked up on the Abilene connection in that science before.
Champions is a 2023 movie, so anything other than the official preview might be hard to find. My wife may still have it available through pay per view. I’ll find out.
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Post by Outsider on May 1, 2023 13:27:26 GMT -6
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Post by Outsider on May 1, 2023 13:32:18 GMT -6
Of course ACU also had connections to Friday Night Lights with Coach Gaines, but not really mentioned in the movie directly, or book.
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Post by rc on May 1, 2023 20:28:50 GMT -6
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Post by bogeyman on May 1, 2023 21:15:37 GMT -6
Interesting that today on my twitter feed a 1983 Johnny Carson interview with Randall "Tex" Cobb came up. Randall had just fought (and lost) a heavyweight boxing match vs World Champ Larry Holmes. I was in a college math class with Randall before he was asked to leave ACU. Qualifies as Abilene in the movies, doesn't it. Randall had bit parts in several movies.
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Post by rc on May 2, 2023 9:55:32 GMT -6
Was it Tex Cobb that lined up in front of Wilbert when we were right down on the goal line? I remember a big strong guy would pound the middle and Wilbert would follow. 37 touchdown in one year as a freshman. Really refreshing to read Wilbert's wiki page. He and later Cleo would play basketball with us in the NBA (noon basketball association). Both could soar well above the rim.
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Post by ybp80 on May 2, 2023 10:47:42 GMT -6
Interesting that today on my twitter feed a 1983 Johnny Carson interview with Randall "Tex" Cobb came up. Randall had just fought (and lost) a heavyweight boxing match vs World Champ Larry Holmes. I was in a college math class with Randall before he was asked to leave ACU. Qualifies as Abilene in the movies, doesn't it. Randall had bit parts in several movies. Tex Cobb (for some reason) was a favorite of Johnny Carson. |
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Post by acutrackfan on May 2, 2023 12:11:56 GMT -6
Was it Tex Cobb that lined up in front of Wilbert when we were right down on the goal line? I remember a big strong guy would pound the middle and Wilbert would follow. 37 touchdown in one year as a freshman. Really refreshing to read Wilbert's wiki page. He and later Cleo would play basketball with us in the NBA (noon basketball association). Both could soar well above the rim. The fullbacks were Hubert Pickett (who at 220 was big for that era at fullback) and David Haynes. Coach Sitton also came up with the idea of putting Chip Martin, ACU's nose tackle in the 5-2 defense, in at fullback on the goal line -- three yards out or closer. Chip was 290 and he would absolutely obliterate the opponent interior line and Wil could just waltz into the end zone. One time, Coach Sitton changed it up and had Jim Reese hand it off to Chip and he barged in from the 1. In the early 80's, the Chicago Bears heard about that goal line formation and they sent an assistant coach to Abilene to meet with Coach Sitton and the Bears started using that formation with Refrigerator Perry. Not the first time Coach Sitton's brain was picked by the NFL, both the Cowboys and the almost forgotten Oilers used to chat with Sitton. I played an intramural game against Perky's Turkeys -- the team named for Johnny Perkins, that had Wil and Cle, plus Chuck Sitton and other ACU athletes. In warmup, they would lineup and slam dunk one after another. Needless to say, they obliterated us in the game. Johnny's daughter, Jia, was an All-American for UT and had a long WNBA career. |
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Post by rc on May 2, 2023 12:50:31 GMT -6
Ah, yes. The person I remember now was Chip Martin. And thank you for pointing out the Bears using the Sitton formation. I remember it now. I actually remember the touchdown by Chip. You and I must have played pickup basketball at the same time. Wilbert and Cleo could jump up with one on each side of the basket and almost any shot could be stuffed in. My fondess memory of Wilbert was a challenge. I won district in the high jump and could stuff, so he challenged me to a jump up onto a high lab table, one much higher than a normal table, it was more of a lecturn. No running start, just feet together and jump. Wilbert got one foot on and the second landed and slowly slipped off. He did not make it and landed back on the floor. I will never forget, I made the jump with both feet and stood up thinking boy did I just luck out. Those were long ago days. Cleo could have made the jump I think. I also think one or both were something like all-stars in basketball in high school.
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