69 Years Ago – “Orange and Black Forever!”

The Cotton Bowl in 1945

   My father, Edmund Gates, Jr., spent his first New Year’s Day back in the United States at the historic Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Texas. Dad had returned from serving eighteen months in England earning the Distinguished Flying Cross after flying 25 combat missions as the flight engineer and upper turret gunner with his B-17 Flying Fortress crew over German occupied territory. He departed the United States in Oct. 1942 and arrived back in April 1944.
   His oldest sister, Ella lived in Oklahoma City with her husband and their little son, Ronnie. Ella’s husband, Harry used Oklahoma A & M’s first appearance in the Cotton Bowl as an opportunity to show his appreciation to Edmund for his sacrificial service in Europe. Oklahoma A & M had been named Missouri Valley Conference Champions in 1944, suffering only one defeat that season.
   With Ella’s blessing, Harry treated Dad to a memorable New Year’s Day. According to Dad, Harry was an avid Oklahoma A & M fan, a true Aggie.  He treated Edmund to this bowl game since Oklahoma A & M was playing Texas Christian University in the Cotton Bowl at Dallas.  Harry drove from his home in Oklahoma City stopping to pick up Edmund at Ardmore, Oklahoma, on the way to Dallas.  Dad was stationed at Ardmore upon returning from his tour of duty. Harry thoroughly enjoyed the trouncing of TCU by the Oklahoma A & M Aggies, whooping and hollaring, jumping up and down, and cheering the entire game.  Dad and Harry saw Bob Fenimore who would later in his collegiate career at Oklahoma A & M be named an All-American. Mack Creager who became a legendary television sportscaster in Tulsa at KOTV also played on that team. The final score was 34 to 0 obviously in favor of Oklahoma A & M.
   One can't help but draw the stark contrast between 1945 and 2014. Perhaps, if Uncle Harry and Dad were going to Jerry's World (as my cousin Ron refers to the site of the 2014 Cotton Bowl), they would be tweeting, posting selfies, purchasing a program, and commemorative t-shirt. I wonder if they would have been distracted by all those things, which sometimes can take away from visiting, people watching, and enjoying the moment. However, not one photo was taken or program saved or any other shred of evidence that they attended the 1945 Cotton Bowl - only the vivid memory that they both treasured and enjoyed recalling together until Uncle Harry's death. Memories remembered and shared are priceless! 

Below are links to vintage footage in two parts of the 1945 Cotton Bowl:

http://youtu.be/DqV6M0IpzhY

http://youtu.be/bxy_kGPrpSE



Uncle Harry and Aunt Ella Gates Bledsoe with
Ron, an Ole Miss grad and avid Sooner fan, and
Mary Beth, born in 1947, an OSU grad and
Orange and Black Forever. We miss Beth greatly 
since her death in 2007.



Go Pokes! My sister and I both earned
our degrees from Oklahoma State University. Dad was
always ready to take in a home football game like this
one with Angie, my sister, on November 9, 1991.