The 1981 Austin College football team will be honored at Homecoming in two weeks; 2021 marks the 40th anniversary of AC’s national championship. A big thanks to Athletics Director David Norman and his AC staff for the hard work.
On the 35th anniversary in 2016, I told the story of the 1981 Kangaroos online. I got help from AD David Norman and the members of the 1981 team; we compiled a lot of photos and video from that incredible year. See the comments for links to that effort.
But despite that effort, 1981 team member Clayton Oliphint and I figured that SURELY there was more to be found, right? More photos, more video, more stuff! So, we headed to the AC archives to see what we could find. With the help of archivist Justin Banks, we found a lot. Like kids in a candy store, we’ve begun the work of digitizing video, imaging negatives, and making lost treasures from 40 years ago come to life.
Because of the quantity of material, much of that effort will occur after Homecoming 2021. But we do have some newly digitized 1981 images to share in the leadup to the Homecoming celebration. Many of these images have been locked away as negatives and have not see the light of days for 40 years. Clayton plans to share all of the images digitized to date in Sherman.
What to do until then? Clayton & I have an idea: pick 15 favorite images from this group and share one photo a day for 15 days until we get to Homecoming 2021. Hope you enjoy.
The 1981 team will be recognized on the field of Jerry Apple Stadium in 15 days by the AC staff of AD David Norman. I thought we’d kick off the 15 days of photos with a shot of the 1981 team on the field of Jerry Apple Stadium after winning that national championship.
Among many others, the photo includes Coach Vance Morris, Clayton Oliphint, Larry Shillings, Jeff Robbins, and AD David Norman.
One 1981 pic a day for 15 days. Day #2.
“Enough tribute can never be paid to Larry Kramer. He was a force of pure will. He put a lasting imprint on those of us fortunate enough to play for him. The man was an All-American, on the offensive line, in the Big 8, and he had blocked against BUTKUS! And here we were at AC, NAIA Div II, Sherman flippin Texas. But dang if we weren’t his life. And dang if he and Slats and Sig and Vance (pictured) and Jim didn’t put their entire beings into setting us up to win. And win we did.”
– Gene Branum
One 1981 pic a day for 15 days. Day #3.
A Trinity lineman barrels down on All-American QB Larry Shillings in Sherman.
Austin College’s historic Presbyterian rival fared poorly against the Roos in 1981. AC defeated Trinity 24-13 in San Antonio, and then easily beat the Tigers at home. Shillings went 20-for-29 in game #2, ending the day with 4 TD passes and 374 passing yards. The Dallas Morning News went with an appropriate headline the next day: “Shillings shines as Austin bombards Trinity, 42-20.”
Clayton and I made an effort to choose 15 pics that included as many 1981 team members as possible. We couldn’t get everyone of course. But if you are a 1981 Roo with an online presence, you are probably on deck.
One 1981 pic a day for 15 days. Day #4.
Clayton Oliphint (#88) scores the game winning touchdown against Sul Ross as his AC teammates and Roo fans erupt in Homecoming celebration.
Sul Ross handed the 1981 Roos their only loss in Alpine and had come to Sherman looking to put a lock on the TIAA championship. But 1981 was AC’s fairy tale year. From the Sherman Democrat:
“Realizing that homecoming fairy tales must have a happy ending, Austin College spun its most Walt Disney-ish of all endings this season to whip Sul Ross 17-14 in the final minute of play Saturday. On fourth down and six at the Lobos’ 22-yard line, ‘Roo QB Larry Shillings found Clayton Oliphint crossing over the middle and promptly hit him with a perfect strike inside the 10. The Dallas junior dove through two Sul Ross defenders for the winning touchdown with 1:08 left in the final period.”
Clayton and I made an effort to choose 15 pics that included as many 1981 team members as possible. We couldn’t get everyone of course. But if you are a 1981 Roo with an online presence, you are probably on deck.
One 1981 pic a day for 15 days. Day #5.
The national championship game against Concordia on December 12, 1981. Offensive linemen Don Parnell (#65), Greg Cason (#57), and Eddie Shuttlesworth (#53) protect QB Larry Shillings on the right while lineman Greg Larson (#73) and fullback David Simmons (#44) guard the flank on the left. The game ended in a dramatic field goal by kicker Gene Branum.
“The crowd went wild. I went wild. The game ended in a blur. I was given the Offensive MVP trophy – what a joke. I swung my leg. Now, the offensive line never gets the trophy, but as far as I can recall nobody ever moved the ball without them and I certainly couldn’t have kicked or punted without their protection.” – Gene Branum
Parnell, Cason, & Larson were All-American offensive linemen at NAIA Austin College. Their head coach Larry Kramer was a consensus NCAA All-American lineman at the University of Nebraska. Championships are won on the offensive line, and the 1981 team was no exception.
“Defensive and offensive lineman control the game and true sports fans know that.” – former NFL great Dante Hall.
One 1981 pic a day for 15 days. Day #6.
The Texas Sports Writers Association vote annually on a Texas College coach of the year. AC Coach Larry Kramer finished third in the voting in 1981. In this photo, Coach Kramer talks to linebacker Randy Sims (#66) and defensive tackle Larry Hickman (#72).
Think this photo is good? So did the Dallas Morning News. After the 1981 national title, the DMN ran this photo along with a headline: “At Austin College, they play football their way.”
“It’s not college football as they know it at Texas, Oklahoma, SMU, or other major schools, and that’s fine with everyone here. ‘We’re really not trying,’ athletic director Bob Mason said, ‘to be like anyone else.’ So the Austin College Kangaroos find themselves ranked #1 in NAIA D2 simply by doing things their way. The players are bright, personable, and realistic. So are the coaches. Everyone around AC is proud of the team’s success, but no one ever will accuse the school of buying its way to the top.”
The Texas College coach of the year in 1981 was Jim Wacker, who led Southwest Texas to an NCAA D2 crown on the same December 12, 1981 day as Austin College’s NAIA D2 title. Second place in the voting went to Coach Ron Meyer and his “Pony Excess” Mustangs of SMU, a school diligently working at the time to buy its way to the top.
Clayton and I made an effort to choose 15 pics that included as many 1981 team members as possible. We couldn’t get everyone of course. But if you are a 1981 Roo with an online presence, you are probably on deck.
One 1981 pic a day for 15 days. Day #7.
Van Hargis (#25) rushes in the national championship game against Concordia on December 12, 1981, as offensive lineman Greg Cason (#57) looks up from the ground. Hargis averaged over 6 yards per carry against Concordia and scored the game’s first touchdown.
AC Athletic Director David Norman helped me tell the 1981 story on the 35th anniversary in 2016; he gave me a copy of the championship game on CD to digitize. He also told me what he thought was the coolest part of the effort.
“Do you know Van Hargis?”
“No”
“He transferred to East Texas State University (ETSU) in Commerce, but all of this online stuff has really brought him back.”
Now that’s just the kind of thing I like to hear and makes story telling worthwhile. It of course makes sense to transfer to an exceptional D2 (soon to be D1) program like ETSU (now A&M-Commerce) when the opportunity presents itself. I got to enjoy A&M-Commerce winning a D2 national championship just a few years ago.
But once a Roo always a Roo. Especially when that Roo helps to brings a national title back to Sherman.
Clayton and I made an effort to choose 15 pics that included as many 1981 team members as possible. We couldn’t get everyone of course. But if you are a 1981 Roo with an online presence, you are probably on deck.
One 1981 pic a day for 15 days. Day #8.
Defensive lineman Edward Holt (#75) pursues a Cardinal rusher in the NAIA semifinal game against William Jewel in Sherman. Holt finished his AC career as an NAIA All-American. The Roos defeated William Jewel 33-28.
Wanna hear something astounding? The 1981 Kangaroos took on three opponents in the NAIA playoffs:
Panhandle State (OK): Unbeaten when facing the Roos in the NAIA quarterfinals, the 1981 Aggies team was later inducted into the Panhandle State Hall of Honor.
William Jewel (MO): Unbeaten when facing the Roos in the NAIA semifinals, the 1981 Cardinals team was later inducted into the William Jewel Hall of Honor.
Concordia (MN): Unbeaten when facing the Roos in the NAIA finals, the 1981 Cobbers team was later inducted into the Concordia Hall of Honor.
And yes. Of course. The 1981 Kangaroo national championship team was also inducted into the Austin College Hall of Honor. I’ll take no-brainers for $200 Alex.
Clayton and I made an effort to choose 15 pics that included as many 1981 team members as possible. We couldn’t get everyone of course. But if you are a 1981 Roo with an online presence, you are probably on deck.
One 1981 pic a day for 15 days. Day #9.
Fullback/Special Teams terror Stuart Oliphint (#43) and receiver Rory Dukes (#4) lead the charge against Tarleton State in Sherman.
The 1981 Roos crushed the Texans at home, aided significantly by the Austin College defense. The red shirt defense limited Tarleton to 116 total yards, forced 11 punts and caused 7 fumbles. The Texan ground game went nowhere, as the Roo defense held Tarleton to just 32 yards on 30 carries. AC running backs Van Hargis and Greg Garrison both outrushed the entire Tarleton team.
From the Sherman Democrat:
“The Tarleton State Texans, still savoring the sweetness of a 22-12 upset win over [defending TIAA champion] McMurry College last week, died a slow and painful death this Saturday in the lingering 90-degree heat of Calder Stadium. Simply put, the Texans were “bushwacked” by a score of 50-7.”
The Austin College – Tarleton State TIAA rivalry which began in the 1970s lasted well into the early 1990s. But in 1981, there was hardly any sign of the rivalry at all. Members of that Roo defense show up in tomorrow’s 1981 pic of the day.
Clayton and I made an effort to choose 15 pics that included as many 1981 team members as possible. We couldn’t get everyone of course. But if you are a 1981 Roo with an online presence, you are probably on deck.
One 1981 pic a day for 15 days. Day #10.
Forrest Wylie (#55), Rex Baker (#71), Mark Sartain (#61), and David Bowen (#68) anchor a red shirt defense against Sul Ross on Homecoming weekend in Sherman.
The 1981 Roo defense allowed only 12 points per game in TIAA conference play. Only 2 games that season were within a margin of a field goal. One of those is pictured here, the Homecoming game against Sul Ross. The other was, of course, the national championship game.
Austin College’s final national championship game drive resulted in the Gene Branum field goal with which we are all familiar. But that drive was only possible because of the defense. The AC offense needed the ball back and asked their defense to shut down Concordia one last time and GET. A. STOP.
They got it.
Clayton and I made an effort to choose 15 pics that included as many 1981 team members as possible. We couldn’t get everyone of course. But if you are a 1981 Roo with an online presence, you are probably on deck.
One 1981 pic a day for 15 days. Day #11.
Linebacker Don Tafelski (#21) blocks a punt against Panhandle State in the NAIA quarterfinals. AC defeated an undefeated Panhandle State team 27-16.
Clayton Oliphint deserves credit for picking these great photos shared to date. But we’re gonna call an audible today and instead go with a pic sent to me from Sam Hockaday. Sam was at the game in Goodwell, OK and just had a feeling that Don, his Beta fraternity brother, might get a piece of this Panhandle punt. His intuition proved correct, and the photo he snapped is just incredible.
Sam blew up this photo for a frame and gave it to Don & Theresa Tafelski as a Christmas gift. It still hangs on a wall in the Tafelski household. According to Sam, very few Roos outside the Tafelski family have ever laid eyes on this photo. Well, very few until today. Thank you Sam for sending!
I got to meet Don Tafelski four years ago at a party hosted by (Beta) Kevin Spencer. That night, we talked about 1981 football. Sadly, Don is no longer with us; he passed in 2019.
The TIAA champion had bowed out in the first round of the NAIA playoffs three years in a row from 1978 to 1980, but McMurry Coach Spud Aldridge thought 1981 might be different. Aldridge took the unusual step of addressing the Roos after his team had fallen to AC in the final regular season game, imploring them to “go all the way” for the Conference. But going all the way would first require notching playoff win #1 for the conference.
Thanks to effort from Roos like Don Tafelski, they got that victory. According to Coach Kramer, the win over Panhandle State “was big, all things considered, maybe as big as the championship game.”
Clayton and I made an effort to choose 15 pics that included as many 1981 team members as possible. We couldn’t get everyone of course. But if you are a 1981 Roo with an online presence, you are probably on deck.
One 1981 pic a day for 15 days. Day #12.
Greg Garrison (#22) takes off against Sul Ross during a Homecoming game in Sherman. AC defeated the Lobos to secure first place in the TIAA.
The VW Van parked near the field in no way dates the 40-year-old picture. 
The 1981 defense was solid, the OL was exceptional, and the passing offense of “Air Shillings” and his receivers is well known. The reliability of the running game of Garrison, Van Hargis, David Simmons, and others is right up there as well. AC rushing would routinely “ride” & “roll” for over 100 yards per game. Including the Homecoming game against Sul Ross.
“Who wants to ride? Who wants to roll?
Westbound, southbound, where the wind blows
Who needs a plan? Bring the whole fam
Load ’em all up in my VW Van”
– Jake Owen
Clayton and I made an effort to choose 15 pics that included as many 1981 team members as possible. We couldn’t get everyone of course. But if you are a 1981 Roo with an online presence, you are probably on deck.
One 1981 pic a day for 15 days. Day #13.
Russell Roden (#26) hauls in a catch during a cold NAIA national championship game against Concordia, as John Sniffen photographs the game with camera in hand from the sidelines. While this photo is obviously not one of John’s, many of the ones shared earlier likely are.
John was a contributor to a ACKnowledge “Sports Special” dedicated to the 1981 Kangaroos. The ACKnowledge documented the entire 1981 season, and included some great writing about the Gene Branum field goal that afternoon to secure the national championship for Austin College:
“The sound was deafening in the cold, gray afternoon. Seven thousand eyes looked southward as the ball was kicked. Three thousand voices gasped and five hundred rejoiced as the ball seemed certain to descend inches short of its objective. But in the midst of all the electricity of the moment, God seemed to take matters into His own hands and nudge the ball farther…inches farther…so that it bounced on the cross bar of the goal post and over…amid true Hopper Hysteria.”
“Somehow, the joint celebration of the two teams and their coaches at the middle of the field and seeing the eyes of [the Kangaroo team] glisten with emotion put an indelible climax to a football season that will be talked about for years.”
40 years and counting.
One 1981 pic a day for 15 days. Day #14.
Clayton Oliphint (#88) hauls in a pass during the NAIA national championship game against Concordia in Sherman.
Rory Dukes (#4) trails Oliphint. David Bowen (#68), Les Garcia (#24), Darrell Belcher (#9), Assistant Coach Vance Morris, Edward Holt (#75), Finlay Woodruff (#82), Head Coach Larry Kramer, and Russell Roden (#26) look on from the Roo sideline.
It’s frustrating, but I’m not going to be able to make it to Homecoming this year to honor the 1981 team and meet many of the fellas. Don’t cry for me though. I’m currently at 30,000 feet, flying into LAX where my brother will pick me up to head to Dodgers Stadium. We’ll attend a Dodgers playoff game tonight and celebrate our cousin’s wedding in Tinseltown tomorrow. Our weekend will be fun too. Still though, a shame I couldn’t do both.
But I did get to spend a day with 1981 team member Clayton Oliphint in the AC archives, where we got giddy about the quantity of photos and videos from the 1981 season. The 15 photos shared the past two weeks were picked by Clayton. They barely scratch the surface of what is available, and we’re looking forward to bringing the rest of the good stuff to life in the future. Thanks for the trip Clayton; let’s plan another.
John Cotton, an AC cheerleader in 1981, has been a UT boss/colleague of mine since 2001. We’ve had more than a few conversations about 1981 over the past 20 years, usually at the end of a long workday. I’ve told John to tell all of the 1981 guys in Sherman that I wish I could have made it, and to count me in for a future celebration. Y’all have fun, and thanks for writing such a great story forty years ago.
One final “15 day” pic tomorrow.
One 1981 pic a day for 15 days. Day #15.
A smiling Coach Larry Kramer walks the field shaking hands on December 12, 1981 after his Kangaroos secure an NAIA D2 national championship in Sherman. On an earlier 15-day pic, Sandra Kramer wrote the following: “These pictures and comments are such fun to see and read! Great memories. Larry was so proud of all of you and what you achieved. Go ‘Roos!”
Tomorrow, the 1981 team will be honored at Homecoming on the same field where they won that national title 40 years ago. NAIA national champions may not get the exposure of their NCAA D1 counterparts, but the blood, sweat and tears are exactly the same. The 1981 guys sacrificed a lot to write a story we all still get to enjoy 40 years later.
If you plan to attend Homecoming and enjoyed these 15 days of pics, be sure to track down members of the team and tell them how much they make you proud to be a Roo.
Have a great Homecoming y’all.
