From the Sports Chest: Arkansas Razorbacks 1994 Corliss Williamson Autographed Sports Illustrated Magazine

April 11, 1994 – The Arkansas Razorbacks won the national championship in college basketball in 1994. I first met Corliss Williamson the summer before his freshman year at the U of A. He and Scotty Thurman were roommates at the same apartment complex my wife & I lived in near campus. I knew who they were and being a big Hog fan, had hopes that they would help the team win. Never did I imagine how many games these 2 players would help Arkansas win during their 3 seasons together (1992-1993, 1993-1994, 1994-1995).

I was living overseas the day that Arkansas became national champs. I had to celebrate from afar and missed out on sharing this experience with my fellow Hog fans. My wife gave me this framed SI magazine signed by NCAA Final Four MOP (Most Outstanding Player) Corliss Williamson for my birthday last year. I’m extremely proud to be a fan of the Razorbacks basketball team and will be forever grateful to a power forward from Russellville High School who took Arkansas on his back and to the Promised Land – 1994 national champs!

From the Sports Chest: The Razorbacks: A Story of Arkansas football book by Orville Henry & Jim Bailey

Growing up in Little Rock, Orville Henry was one of my larger windows to the Arkansas Razorbacks. I would read his column in the Arkansas Gazette every Sunday morning following a big win or crushing defeat. I picked up this book, Razorbacks: A Story of Arkansas football, somewhere along the way but only actually began reading it in August of 2011. August is the toughest month of the year because the long summer nightmare is nearly over and the boys of fall are just about ready to take the field. I was craving anything college football and this vintage book (published in 1973) was a delightful diversion. I really enjoyed the historical perspective of the Razorback football program, especially in light of how much life has changed in the past 20 years since Arkansas joined the Southeastern Conference. There was one prophetic story in the book that talked about how Arkansas was a better fit for the schools in the Southeastern Conference than the all-Texas school Southwestern Conference.

I highly recommend this book (you can pick it up on Amazon) for any Razorback fan interested in the history of the program. Orville Henry & Jim Bailey do an excellent job telling these stories, providing us a window to look back on many of the past greats to wear the cardinal & white.

From the Sports Chest: Arkansas Upsets #1 Texas Button (1981)

“Whatever the Hogs do in the future, whatever may change their careers, May ’81 go down in history as the year they clobbered the steers.” – Chase

October 17, 1981 - I don’t know who “Chase” is but I love his quote and that this button captures the scoreboard with the goalposts already coming down (with 14 seconds still on the clock!) and the fact that this upset was so monumental that a button was made to celebrate it! My favorite story which I’ve retold several times (don’t tell me if it’s not true, I don’t want to know) is how Coach Lou Holtz handled the pregame locker room pep talk. Coach Holtz gathered the team together and said, looking out over his team of fighting Razorbacks, “Gentlemen, it’s not even going to be close. Let’s go!” Texas fumbled deep in their own territory on their very first play, the Hogs scored and the rout was on. Big victories over the hated Longhorns were rare. Victories over #1 Texas when the Hogs were unranked? Almost never. But this was Arkansas’ day. I’ve often remembered this game in recent years when the Hogs were facing a tough SEC opponent, hoping for another ’81 Texas game like outcome. Maybe on September 15, 2012 when Alabama comes calling?

From the Sports Chest: Matt Jones Graded Topps Rookie Football Card, 2005

2005 – Matt Jones will always be a larger-than-life Razorback athlete to me. I like to refer to him as the “Golden Child”. He must be the first person in NCAA history who threw a touchdown on his first football pass and threw down a dunk on this first basketball shot. No one else could pull that off and at times it seemed like Matt could do whatever he wanted. Somehow, when I think of Matt Jones I can only recall the amazing “did that really just happen?” type plays he was famous for. I still wonder what would have happened if Matt had played wide receiver and Tarvaris Jackson had been given the quarterback job. Houston Nutt knew he had a special playmaker in Jones and wanted to keep the ball in his hands as much as possible. Nevertheless, Jones’ NFL career might have been a different story had he played 3 or 4 years at wideout prior to being drafted 21^st overall in 2005 by the Jacksonville Jaguars. I found this card on eBay a few years back and picked it up at a bargain basement price. Jones has since retired from the NFL after a short and relatively pedestrian career (by Matt Jones standards). But for me, he’ll be remembered for being one of the most amazing & exciting athletes to ever take the gridiron for the Arkansas Razorbacks.

From the Sports Chest: Arkansas Razorbacks Autographs, 1976

1976 – As a seven-year-old Razorbacks fan on this day, I do not even recall how I got these autographs. It seems like there was a parade in Little Rock near War Memorial Stadium for some reason. My mom took me and offered her red, white & blue 1976 Pocket Secretary booklet to use as an autograph book. I can’t make out every signature (any help would be appreciated) but believe this was a red-letter day for Razorback autographs as I secured the following players: Leotis Harris, Jerry Eckwood, Ron Calcagni & Jimmy Walker (Razorback Football), Sidney Moncrief (Razorback Basketball) and David Mitchell (Arkansas State Football). This autographed page is proof that Razorbacks & Indians (now the more politically correct Red Wolves) players once mixed in the past and came together to make a little boy’s day with a simple swipe of the pen.

From the Sports Chest: Arkansas vs Texas 1989 Baseball Game Ticket

April 29, 1989 – Arkansas vs. Texas is an event in any sport. I didn’t attend many Arkansas Razorbacks baseball games during my days as a student at the University of Arkansas, but when my interest level changed when the Burnt Orange came to town. As Ernie Banks would say, “Let’s play two!” The Hogs won 2 games on this day at George Cole Field, 8-4 and 14-7, and won the series against their hated Southwest Conference rival. My ticket is for the first game (Saturday at 2:00) and I don’t recall if I saw both games that day. I do remember having a great time, giving the downward Hook ‘em Horns sign a lot and enjoying a day at the ballpark. Coach Norm DeBriyn and the Diamond Hogs were co-champions of the Southwest Conference, finished 51-16 on the season and made it to the College World Series.

New Daily Feature - From the Sports Chest

"From the Sports Chest" is a new daily feature on the Hog Wild Sports blog highlighting Razorback memorabilia (autographs, game tickets/programs, media, promotional items, toys, trading cards & much more) with stories and photos! Check back each day for a new item and story. We'd welcome your comments and feedback about this new feature and the blog. Go Hogs!