OU Football Exhibit To Highlight National Championship Years

May 2, 2001

NORMAN, Okla. - This fall, the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History will feature the highlights of Oklahoma football in a special exhibit titled "Sooner Football: The Championship Years." The exhibit is scheduled to run throughout the 2001 football season. The exhibit is being planned in partnership with the OU Athletic Department.

"Sooner football is a sport that is intrinsic to the cultural fabric, heritage and pride of Oklahoma," said museum Director Michael A. Mares. "There was a football team at OU in 1896, before Oklahoma became a state in 1907. The sport has made a major contribution to the pride, economic growth and national status of the state and the university. For those reasons, and to celebrate the Sooners' 2000 National Championship win, we think Oklahoma's natural history museum is the perfect place to mount this type of retrospective exhibit."

The show will focus primarily on OU's Championship years: 1950, 1955 and 1956, 1974 and 1975, 1985 and 2000. Some star players from other years also will be featured as part of the overall theme of Championship. The exhibit will feature photos and video footage of famous games, and items from the museum's collection such as the silver shoes of "Little Joe" Washington, outstanding All-American halfback in 1974-75, as well as team trophies, helmets and other memorabilia from the Athletic Department's permanent collections. The museum will also be asking former players and Sooners enthusiasts to loan items from their personal collections to round out the exhibit.

"We are actively seeking the participation of former players, band members, cheerleaders, OU fans and memorabilia collectors across the country," said Peter Tirrell, associate director of the museum. "Items from the personal collections of individuals will play a crucial role in the success of this exhibit. We are asking anyone who has uniforms, trophies, or other rare and unique memorabilia in good condition and suitable for display, particularly from the championship years, to contact the museum and talk with our staff about arranging a loan of these objects."

For more information, or to inquire about loaning objects for display, visit the museum's Web site at www.snomnh.ou.edu, or call the museum's Sooner Exhibit Hot Line at (405) 325-8980.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU Football Exhibit To Highlight National Championship Years

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