1965 Football Team - 40th Anniversary
September 24, 2005 | Football
Sept. 24, 2005
By Kelsey Yantis, Texas Tech Media Relations
The Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series and the Green Bay Packers won the NFL Championship. The Sound of Music was the top grossing film while tunes of The Beatles and the Rolling Stones were making huge hits. In Lubbock, Texas, the Red Raider football team was making a name for Texas Tech as well. The year was 1965 and this season marks the 40th year anniversary.
Not only was coach JT King and the 1965 Red Raiders known for their execution of the tandem I formation, they were also known as the "Triple C" team - Cardiac, Comeback and Champions. This team ended the season 8-3, finishing second in the Southwest Conference.
The Red Raiders earned their label of "cardiac" as they punched past four opponents by a margin of four or fewer points with three of them being claimed in the last two minutes. The Kansas game was halted in the 54th second into the fourth quarter due to a tornado alert and the "comeback" squad came from behind in six games to win.
Quarterback Tom Wilson said after the loss to Texas in the second game of the season, "We've been knocked down, but champions bounce back." After winning seven-straight games midway through the season, the Red Raiders advanced to the Gator Bowl but fell to Georgia Tech 31-21. During the 1965 season, Tech out scored their opponents, 278 to 262.
The team was led by All-American Donny Anderson whose jersey is now one of the three jerseys retired at Tech. During the '65 season, Anderson ran himself into the record books as he was first in the Southwest Conference. Anderson also claimed fourth in the conference in passing yards and fourth in the punting category. Anderson dominated for most of his time at Tech as he was a three-year varsity starter.
As a halfback for Tech, Anderson was All-America his junior year and was considered a Heisman Trophy Candidate. At the time, Anderson was one of the few players ever chosen in the first round of the NFL draft with a season's eligibility remaining. He signed with the Green Bay Packers. He played six years for the Packers before playing another three for the St. Louis Cardinals and was a one-time pro bowler in 1968.
Anderson served as a captain for the 1965 squad along with tackle John Porter, guard Chester Howard and quarterback Tom Wilson. The team was returning 25 of 41 players including six offensive players and six defensive players. They played in the Clifford B. and Audrey Jones Stadium with a 41,500 capacity.
After 40 years, many things have changed around Texas Tech and Lubbock. Currently, Tech's student body is 29,000 students and Lubbock's population is 209,200, while in 1965 Tech's enrollment was around 13,830 students and Lubbock's population was 155,200. Today's Jones SBC Stadium seats 52,702 and has become a state-of-the-art stadium. So through several renovation stages, the stadium is very different from the Jones Stadium of the 1965 era.
While these assets have changed, the one thing that remains the same is the steady success and improvement of the Red Raider squad on the field and the beat of tradition through every Red Raider.