1940 Football Team - 65th year Anniversary
October 17, 2005 | Football
Oct. 17, 2005
By Kelsey Yantis, Texas Tech Athletic Media Relations
Under the leadership of head coach Pete Cawthon, the 1940 football squad at Texas Tech overcame many obstacles and inched its way into Tech history and the memories of many fans.
The squad started the year with a tie on the road to Oklahoma A&M. After that first game, the team went on an eight-game winning streak, and with its only loss to New Mexico, they finished the season 9-1-1. The five home games that were captured still stand in the history books as part of the longest home winning streak for Texas Tech football. The streak was continuous from 1939 to 1942 in which 13 victories were claimed in front of Red Raider fans.
Today, athletic teams travel by airplane or charter buses, but the 1940 squad traveled to their games by railroad. Just that season, the team traveled over 12,800 miles to meet its opponents. The wear and tear of travel did not hold the Red Raiders down as they won their next eight games after the season-opening tie to Oklahoma A&M. The only loss for the squad was on the road at New Mexico.
Against Oklahoma A&M, quarterback C.L. Storrs flung a 50-yard touchdown pass to Clarence Tillery in the closing moments of the game, saving the team from a defeat. In previous seasons, the Red Raiders lost to Loyola of Coast three times, but this time was different as the Red Raiders went on to win 19-0. Another tense game for the squad was its third outing of a savage ground and aerial attack of 403 yards and 19 first downs for the 32-19 win against Montana University. The Red Raiders showed their versatility in the next game against Brigham Young, as they used their running game as their biggest threat, using only two pass plays during the contest. Another heart-stopper for the team was against Marquette as the "Cawthon men" used an interception in the fourth quarter to spark a win.
This season was also the last season for Cawthon to hold the head coaching position. He was at Tech for 10 years, and previous to his reign of Tech football, the team had won only one game. Under Cawthon, the wins continued to greatly increase every season and the squad began playing more powerful and better schools.
Cawthon was known for his colorful coaching tendencies. Bus Ham from the Daily Oklahoman noted his character after the Tech and Oklahoma A&M game. "My biggest laugh, my real wallop out of the Tech-Aggie game occurred when I asked Coach Cawthon for a statement after the game," Ham wrote. "Knowing Cawthon as I do, I got exactly the answer I hoped he would give... it was `It was the rottenest game I ever saw. It was rotten any way you look at it. If either the Aggies or Raiders ever win another game it will have to be from a normal school'... then Cawthon kind of smiled like a sly fox... He knew I didn't believe him, but it makes helluva good copy."
In the 1940 La Ventana, it was said that "Cawthon lives the game and puts his whole heart in striving for victory."
Bill Stockwell of the Times wrote, "Cawthon didn't have a purple robe, colored lights or soft music. His only prop was a brown, felt hat with a wilted feather poking from the chimney."
The team was led by Lonnie "Primo" McCurry who was known for being rugged, aggressive, fast and driving hard on the football field. McCurry was a high school standout from Lubbock High and then came to Tech in 1938 to become a Red Raider star where he garnered the honor of "little" All-America team. The Tech line coach Duchy Smity said McCurry was the greatest lineman he ever coached.
As a group, the line's average weight was 188 pounds, the backfield was 172 and the team's total average weight was 182, which is the lightest team in school history.
A few players went on to be drafted; among them were Rex Williams in the seventh round by the New York Giants and Bill Davis in the 11th round by Chicago. McCurry was drafted in 1941 in the 16th round by Brooklyn. The 1940 squad did not let the obstacles that came its way hold them back. The team is still part of the record books and an important time in Texas Tech football history as we celebrate the 65th year anniversary and their steady success.