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JAMES STREET, COTTON BOWL LEGEND DIES
The AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic lost one of its greatest legends today when former Texas Wishbone quarterback James Street passed away at the age of 65.
Street led the Longhorns to back-to-back Cotton Bowl Classics, defeating Tennessee 36-13 in 1969, and a year later knocked off Notre Dame 21-17 to help Texas claim the national championship in college football’s 100th anniversary season.
To reach the 1970 Classic, Street guided the Longhorns to an amazing 15-14 come-from-behind victory over Arkansas in a game best known as “The Big Shootout.”
In the Cotton Bowl, Street was virtually unstoppable. Against Tennessee he threw a pair of touchdown passes that covered 78 and 79 yards to lift Texas to a 36-13 victory over the Vols. Then, against Notre Dame, with the national title on the line and less than seven minutes to play, Street marched the top-ranked Longhorns 76 yards in 17 plays for the winning score.
“There have been many great players and coaches in our game’s 77-year history, but James Street was one-of-a-kind,” said Rick Baker, President of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association. “His Cotton Bowl achievements speak for themselves. He was an unbelievable quarterback, but to all of us he was a really special friend. He was there for us every single time we called. We are deeply saddened.”
Street, who never lost a game as Texas’ starting quarterback with a perfect 20-0 mark, was inducted into the AT&T Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame in 1999.
