This year marks a major milestone in the history of the Baylor Bears football team: the 40th anniversary of the “Miracle on the Brazos,” a stunning victory over the University of Texas on November 9, 1974. In celebration of that fact, legendary head coach Grant Teaff is hosting a reunion of the 1974 team on Friday night that coincides with Homecoming 2014 celebrations, and we’ve been working around the clock to add tons of additional resources related to that 34-24 victory, the first time in 17 meetings that the Bears had bested the Longhorns.
The story of the game – how it seemed like Baylor was doomed to a 17th loss to the Longhorns, only to have a blocked punt and a final go-ahead touchdown that sealed the victory – is well-known and can be read in detail at places like this Bleacher Report story on the top 10 Moments in Baylor Football History. Or, if you’d prefer a homegrown trip down memory lane, you can watch a video presentation released by Baylor Athletics in 1984 that takes a look back at the season with help from Coach Teaff and Frank Fallon, the legendary “voice of the Bears.”
There are also plenty of photos documenting that game – the anticipation, the gameplay action, the celebration – including gems like the ones below.
Finally, you can read the official gameday program from cover …
… to rosters and ads for long-gone steakhouses …
… to the back cover.
We’re looking forward to meeting some of these gridiron heroes at Coach Teaff’s event tonight, and to give them a chance to search the Baylor University Libraries Athletics Archive for more memories preserved in digital format.
Oh, and it goes without saying that we’re pulling for the current incarnation of our Baylor Bears to beat the University of Kansas at McLane Stadium on Saturday. Sic ’em, Bears!
Additional Content
> See all 105 items related to the “Miracle on the Brazos” in the Baylor University Libraries Athletics Archive
> Check out a fun set of images from The Texas Collection’s Flickr page featuring shots of the Golden Wave Band and Homecoming Parades from the 1960s and 1970s