By Kirk Bohls
American-Statesman Staff
James Street, the fiery, undersized quarterback who led Texas to an unbeaten season and football national championship in 1969, died Monday morning. He was 65.
Street, who arrived at Texas as a seventh-string quarterback from Longview, finished his college career with a perfect 20-0 record.
He was best known for his 42-yard touchdown run on a scramble against Arkansas and his pass to Randy Peschel on a crucial fourth-and-3 to set up the winning touchdown in the Game of the Century to nail down the regular-season national title.
“We lost a great man, a great friend of mine, who has done so much for the University of Texas, the state and, really, America,” Longhorns coach Mack Brown said. “His memory and his accomplishments, really, his influence … He will be missed.”
Serena Fitchard with The James Street Group told KVUE Newsthat Street died of a heart attack.
The Longhorns will wear stickers on their helmets honoring Street, Brown said. The Longhorn coach said that when he first arrived in Austin for the 1998 season, he asked Street to speak with his seniors. And the quarterback also spoke to the entire team before they played in the Cotton Bowl, the site of Street’s final game, to close the season.
Street was also a baseball standout, posting a 29-8 record pitching for Texas that included a perfect game (1970 vs. Texas Tech) and no-hitter (1969 vs. SMU). He was on three Texas teams that advanced to the College World Series, and his son, San Diego Padres relief pitcher Huston Street, helped Texas win the CWS in 2002.
“The coaches, staff members and players on the Longhorn baseball team are shocked and deeply saddened by the news of James Street’s passing,” Texas baseball coach Augie Garrido said in a statement. “He is in the minds of Texans an immortal Longhorn, the ultimate father, courageous leader, and eternal champion, not only in football but also as an All-American pitcher. He made everyone he met and many that he never met better people. His contributions to our society are immeasurable.
But it was football where James Street made his biggest mark in Texas lore.
An undersized but gritty quarterback, he was undefeated as the starting quarterback in a wishbone offense that changed the college football landscape.
Texas coach Darrell Royal and assistant Emory Bellard introduced the wishbone, which features a fullback line up behind the quarterback and a step in front of two other backs, to major college football in 1968. The innovation nearly flopped. After a tie and a loss in the first two games that season, a frustrated Royal inserted backup Street to take over.
“Coach Royal grabbed me and he looked for a minute as if he were having second thoughts about putting me in. Then he looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘Hell, you can’t do any worse. Get in there,’” Street said in 2012 when Royal died.
The 1969 Texas-Arkansas games ranks among the greatest ever played.
Arkansas led 7-0 at halftime, then stretched it to 14-0 in the third quarter. Street made it 14-8 with a 42-yard touchdown run and a 2-point conversion. On a fourth-and-3, Royal stunned even Street by calling for “53 veer pass,” a play that had rarely worked all season.
Street told tight end Randy Peschel to get enough yards for a first down. “But if you can get behind him, run like hell,” Street said, and the pass connected for 44 yards to set up Jim Bertelsen’s winning touchdown.
Although Nixon declared Texas national champion after that game, Texas still had to play and win the Cotton Bowl, a game that whipped up a frenzy of its own. Notre Dame ended its self-imposed 44-year ban on bowl games to play the Longhorns.
Street, who said he was raised Catholic, called his mother to tell her who Texas was going to play.
“When I said Notre Dame, there was complete silence,” Street said told The Associated Press in 2005. “I said, ‘Mom, this is your son. You’re pulling for us.’”
Texas trailed by three points late in the fourth quarter when Street led the winning drive that converted two fourth downs before Billy Dale’s final touchdown won it 21-17. He got a handshake from former President Lyndon B. Johnson after the game in Dallas.
Texas didn’t win another national championship until Vince Young led the Longhorns to the title in the 2005 season.
Street later went on to a career in finance and structured settlements, founding a firm in Austin that focuses on working with plaintiffs in legal disputes.
Additional material from the Associated Press