Was Frank Broyles an "Arkansas Man"?

[bphi11ips]

I seem to have a knack for ending threads with "TLDR" posts.  I posted another one on page four of a thread in response to this statement:

"Allow me to point out, Broyles wasn't an "Arkansas man" that got what being a Razorback was about when he got here."

Those who don't like "War and Peace" posts will want to leave now.  Those who are interested in Frank Broyles and the evolution of the Razorbacks as Arkansas's overwhelmingly dominant college football team may enjoy it, so I will repost here:



For those of you who suggest Broyles wasn't an "Arkansas man", here are the first two paragraphs of his autobiography, Hogwild:

       "Quite inadvertently, Bobby Dodd whetted my interest in the University of Arkansas  years ago when I was an assistant coach at Georgia Tech.  We'd be sitting around in a  staff meeting, griping about some recruiting tug-of-war we were having with the University of Georgia Bulldogs.  Dodd would say, 'Boys, just think what we could do if there were no Georgia - only Georgia Tech.'  The one-state, one-team concept is, I suppose, an ancient dream of coaching.  I already knew of such a place.  I'd seen it while working for Bob Woodruff at Baylor University. 

     Arkansas!"

In 1949, John Barnhill was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and retired as Arkansas head coach but remained as athletic director.  He offered Woodruff the job while Broyles was still at Baylor.  Broyles remembers this:

      "'Bob, take it, take it, take it.  And take me with you.'  I'd seen Arkansas athletes like Clyde Scott, Muscles Campbell, Billy Hix, Fred Williams and Dave Hanner.  I'd sensed the statewide commitment."

Broyles go on to describe the way that Barnhill, a Tennessee native who coached the Vols to a 32-5-2 record during Bob Neyland's WWII absence, developed a strategy to keep the great Arkansas athletes he had seen around the SEC like Don Hutson and Bear Bryant, at home.  Barnhill moved to Arkansas in 1946 after Neyland returned to reclaim his job at Tennessee. Broyles writes that Barnhill "built a statewide organization of Razorback Clubs, chased off outside recruiters, upgraded and expanded the facilities, and set in motion the modern Razorback football program."

Broyles' first encounter with Barnhill was at a party for the coaching staffs before the  1955 Cotton Bowl between Georgia Tech and Arkansas.  Broyles writes:

     "I lingered a while after shaking hands with Arkansas athletic director John Barnhill.  'Barnie, I've heard all the rumors [that Arkansas head coach Bowden Wyatt would soon depart for his alma mater, Tennessee].  I hope you can keep Bowden, but if you don't, I really want you to consider me for the job.'"

After Broyles' first year at Missouri, Jack Mitchell resigned as Arkansas's head coach and took the Kansas job.  Broyles wrote this:

     "I was dismayed to read that Murray Warmath of Minnesota was [Mitchell's] probable replacement at Arkansas.  'You think Barnie will even call me?' I asked Barbara every day.  I suffered for nearly two weeks reading about Murray Warmath and wondering.  Then on Saturday night I was home, and the telephone rang. 

     'Frank, this is Barnie.'

     'Barnie, what in the world took you so long?'"

I meant the past two weeks, but in a way, I was talking about the past eight years."

So, while it is certainly accurate to say Frank Broyles was from Georgia, it is misleading to say he was "not an Arkansas boy" as if he had the same view of Arkansas when he took the job as did Long or Petrino.  Broyles coveted the Arkansas job.  He claims the only offer he ever had for another head coaching job came later from Georgia Tech, his alma mater.  Broyles declined. 

Was Bret Bielema angling for the Arkansas job when he sent Jeff Long a note complimenting him on his handling of the Petrino debacle?  Did he covet the Arkansas job?  Maybe he will become an adopted son and tell us one day as Broyles did.  We should certainly hope so.

In the meantime, Bielema would do well to take a page from Broyles' book and reach out to Broyles for his advice the way Broyles reached out to Barnhill.  Maybe he already has.  Or he can just read "Hogwild".  I'll be happy to loan him my copy.   

[Dwight_K_Shrute]

Frank was from Georgia, The South.  We all kin.  He may not have been from Arkansas but he talked liked us, understood us and what football, God, and mama meant to people in the South and specifically Arkansas.  Hell Bielema probably never had a decent glass of sweet tea til he came down to Fayetteville.  Probably never had a gd hushpuppy or at least an honest one til he went to the Catfish Hole.  Carpetbagger AD gets you Carpetbagger coaches.  You think Bobby Petrino got it?  Hell no he was laughing at us, chasing tail and riding his motorcycle when he should have had his a$$ in church and I'm not just talking Sunday morning but Sunday night, Wednesday night, and visitation on Thursdays during the off season.

[bphi11ips]

Frank was from Georgia, The South.  We all kin.  He may not have been from Arkansas but he talked liked us, understood us and what football, God, and mama meant to people in the South and specifically Arkansas.  Hell Bielema probably never had a decent glass of sweet tea til he came down to Fayetteville.  Probably never had a gd hushpuppy or at least an honest one til he went to the Catfish Hole.  Carpetbagger AD gets you Carpetbagger coaches.  You think Bobby Petrino got it?  Hell no he was laughing at us, chasing tail and riding his motorcycle when he should have had his a$$ in church and I'm not just talking Sunday morning but Sunday night, Wednesday night, and visitation on Thursdays during the off season.

Lol.  I started to add something to this effect, but you did a much better and more colorful job than I could have done. 

[CareBear]

Frank is most definitely an Arkansas guy. Listen to him speak about this program and the Passion is undeniable! The whole thing with Bielema writing a letter to Jeff Long is ridiculous. I hope it works out but I just don't think these guys are emotionally invested in this program's success. Not that they don't want to succeed but I  just don't see, hear,  or feel any real passion.  We are a friendly yet fiercely proud state. Look up all of the great talent in sports, politics,  business, & music that have roots in our fertile Arkansas soil. Per capita its pretty amazing. Go Hogs

[Karma]

TLDR

[bphi11ips]

Frank is most definitely an Arkansas guy. Listen to him speak about this program and the Passion is undeniable! The whole thing with Bielema writing a letter to Jeff Long is ridiculous. I hope it works out but I just don't think these guys are emotionally invested in this program's success. Not that they don't want to succeed but I  just don't see, hear,  or feel any real passion.  We are a friendly yet fiercely proud state. Look up all of the great talent in sports, politics,  business, & music that have roots in our fertile Arkansas soil. Per capita its pretty amazing. Go Hogs

+1  Arkansans have a lot to be proud of. 

[hawgXi]

you sure.

if frank wasn't an arkansas man, then surely paul eels was.

how great were those paul calls!!!!

too bad keith jackson is calling the hog games now.

where did he come from anyway?

[pignparadise]

Frank was from Georgia, The South.  We all kin.  He may not have been from Arkansas but he talked liked us, understood us and what football, God, and mama meant to people in the South and specifically Arkansas.

Interesting point. We got more out of losing that war than we ever would out of winning. Its funny when you travel to a convention and meet a guy from South Carolina or Georgia. You have  built in things in common that two people from Michigan and Maine will never imagine or experience. I'm proud to be Southern.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Frank is most definitely an Arkansas guy. Listen to him speak about this program and the Passion is undeniable! The whole thing with Bielema writing a letter to Jeff Long is ridiculous. I hope it works out but I just don't think these guys are emotionally invested in this program's success. Not that they don't want to succeed but I  just don't see, hear,  or feel any real passion.  We are a friendly yet fiercely proud state. Look up all of the great talent in sports, politics,  business, & music that have roots in our fertile Arkansas soil. Per capita its pretty amazing. Go Hogs

Frank may have been from the south, but he was never an "Arkansas Guy" until he arrived here and established himself as a part of the football culture over the years. Heck, the argument could be made that Bear Bryant was more of an "Arkansas Guy", hailing from Fordyce, AR, though we missed on him due to the start of WWII where he became the asst coach of the "Georgia Pre-Flight Skycrackers".

[Hawgon]

Frank may have been from the south, but he was never an "Arkansas Guy" until he arrived here and established himself as a part of the football culture over the years. Heck, the argument could be made that Bear Bryant was more of an "Arkansas Guy", hailing from Fordyce, AR, though we missed on him due to the start of WWII where he became the asst coach of the "Georgia Pre-Flight Skycrackers".

There was no "football culture" to speak of at Arkansas before Frank Broyles got here.

[Mike Irwin]

There was no "football culture" to speak of at Arkansas before Frank Broyles got here.

Absolutely true. He's lived 55 years of his life here. I think he qualifies as an Arkansas man.

[Ramtough]

First time I met Frank was in the stands about 2 hours before kickoff at WMS in LR. He was walking around in the stands shaking our hand and talking to us like he was just some regular old joe off the street. Wearing all red and just walking thru the stands all by himself greeting the fans. He always seemed like an Arkansas guy to us.

[bphi11ips]

Absolutely true. He's lived 55 years of his life here. I think he qualifies as an Arkansas man.

The original question, Mike, was whether Frank Broyles was an "Arkansas Man" when he got here, moreso than Lou Holtz, Bobby Petrino or others.  MHF says he was not, I believe for the sole reason that Frank Broyles spent no significant time, if he had spent any at all, in Arkansas, prior to 1958.

My point was this - Frank Broyles identified Arkansas as his ideal job long before he got here.  He wrote about it, and he told us why.  His reason was that he saw a program that could dominate the landscape in an entire state.  When he finally got here after pursuing the job for several years, he followed up on and improved John Barnhill's plan to capture the hearts and minds of all Arkansans.  In that respect Frank Broyles was unique, and he knew what he wanted to accomplish with Arkansas before he arrived here. 

[Tusks]

amen brotha

The original question, Mike, was whether Frank Broyles was an "Arkansas Man" when he got here, moreso than Lou Holtz, Bobby Petrino or others.  MHF says he was not, I believe for the sole reason that Frank Broyles spent no significant time, if he had spent any at all, in Arkansas, prior to 1958.

My point was this - Frank Broyles identified Arkansas as his ideal job long before he got here.  He wrote about it, and he told us why.  His reason was that he saw a program that could dominate the landscape in an entire state.  When he finally got here after pursuing the job for several years, he followed up on and improved John Barnhill's plan to capture the hearts and minds of all Arkansans.  In that respect Frank Broyles was unique, and he knew what he wanted to accomplish with Arkansas before he arrived here. 

[Hogsmo Kramer]

Southern by heritage, southern by the grace of God.

Was born in Little Rock and my whole family's from Arkansas.

I love my hogs and always will and I'm happy that coach Broyles chose to make Arkansas his home.

There's something about living in and being from the south that outsiders will never understand. It's a pride that's in your soul, its in your blood and every true southerner has it.

I now live around and amongst Midwesterners for the first time in my life and while it's ok it never just feels right.

It's not the south it's not my home.

[Steef]

I don't care where Frank was born. He adopted the Hogs and that's as much or more real Iove as native born.

I know. I wasn't born in Arkansas either. But I love it. And it's home.

I measure Frank and his contribution to our Hogs, by his actions, not his heritage.

His legacy...is mixed.

[BorderPatrol]

It is obvious a lot of folks in this thread missed the OPs point, but carry on.

Good post, sir.

bp

[DeltaBoy]

Frank may have been from the south, but he was never an "Arkansas Guy" until he arrived here and established himself as a part of the football culture over the years. Heck, the argument could be made that Bear Bryant was more of an "Arkansas Guy", hailing from Fordyce, AR, though we missed on him due to the start of WWII where he became the asst coach of the "Georgia Pre-Flight Skycrackers".

Yep FATE had delt the Hogs several bad hands.  Missing on Bryant is the worse of all to me.

[The Marmot]

Absolutely true. He's lived 55 years of his life here. I think he qualifies as an Arkansas man.

Now he does.

He wasn't an Arkansas man when he got here.

Someone will have to be given many, many years to become as established as Broyles. That will never happen again in our current "ME NOW" culture.

[Dwight_K_Shrute]

First time I met Frank was in the stands about 2 hours before kickoff at WMS in LR. He was walking around in the stands shaking our hand and talking to us like he was just some regular old joe off the street. Wearing all red and just walking thru the stands all by himself greeting the fans. He always seemed like an Arkansas guy to us.

If you take a nifty pic of yourself and/or tweet something pithy Jeff Long may tweet you back.  That's basically the same thing, right?

[AcornHunter]

Frank was from Georgia, The South.  We all kin.  He may not have been from Arkansas but he talked liked us, understood us and what football, God, and mama meant to people in the South and specifically Arkansas.  Hell Bielema probably never had a decent glass of sweet tea til he came down to Fayetteville.  Probably never had a gd hushpuppy or at least an honest one til he went to the Catfish Hole.  Carpetbagger AD gets you Carpetbagger coaches.  You think Bobby Petrino got it?  Hell no he was laughing at us, chasing tail and riding his motorcycle when he should have had his a$$ in church and I'm not just talking Sunday morning but Sunday night, Wednesday night, and visitation on Thursdays during the off season.

He's not a fit; he's headed down a road which will lead him and the team to wreckage is what I thought early on in his contract when I read about Coach Petrino having Arkansas practice on Sunday mornings.

If your priorities are scrambled, you can't find your way to a successful ending. 

[TOM "tbw1"]

The fact that this was posted at all shows that I am too old.  Everyone my age knows all these facts about Coach Broyles.  He adopted Arkansas and his own and the state adopted him as their own as well. 

All that being said, Arkansans have not always been good to Coach Broyles.  The team was booed during his first season because we had no offense.  People were all over him because he could not "beat Texas".  One of my professors in 1975 had a huge "DUMP BROYLES" sign in his office.  He was the meddling AD.

I think that if the people of Arkansas give Coach BB a fighting chance, we will discover that he shares a lot of the feelings Coach Broyles does for the state.  Look at his coaching pedigree that began with Coach Broyles.

Coach Broyles was not perfect and his model of being "fan" friendly first when it came to spending put us in a hole against our SEC rivals.  I also do not agree with his thoughts that HDN was the best we could do.  BUT, his heart is Arkansas. 

[Dwight_K_Shrute]

The fact that this was posted at all shows that I am too old.  Everyone my age knows all these facts about Coach Broyles.  He adopted Arkansas and his own and the state adopted him as their own as well. 

All that being said, Arkansans have not always been good to Coach Broyles.  The team was booed during his first season because we had no offense.  People were all over him because he could not "beat Texas".  One of my professors in 1975 had a huge "DUMP BROYLES" sign in his office.  He was the meddling AD.

I think that if the people of Arkansas give Coach BB a fighting chance, we will discover that he shares a lot of the feelings Coach Broyles does for the state.  Look at his coaching pedigree that began with Coach Broyles.

Coach Broyles was not perfect and his model of being "fan" friendly first when it came to spending put us in a hole against our SEC rivals.  I also do not agree with his thoughts that HDN was the best we could do.  BUT, his heart is Arkansas. 

I agree with your thoughts.  Not perfect but a great AD and coach when you look at his entire body of work.  He most likely hung around a bit too long, and made some mistakes such as handling the BBall program, but we can't blame him for running off Eddie and the way things ended with Nolan without praising him for bringing the two coaches here in the first place.  Could evaluate coaching talent, had great vision, was good with people and the fans and could fund raise with the best of them. 

[TOM "tbw1"]

I agree with your thoughts.  Not perfect but a great AD and coach when you look at his entire body of work.  He most likely hung around a bit too long, and made some mistakes such as handling the BBall program, but we can't blame him for running off Eddie and the way things ended with Nolan without praising him for bringing the two coaches here in the first place.  Could evaluate coaching talent, had great vision, was good with people and the fans and could fund raise with the best of them. 

As for Coach BB, I have a very close friend who was born in Essex County, New York.  (He denies this but is true.)  However, since he has lived in Arkansas for thirty years  he claims to have been born here and lived here all of his life.  It is amazing what a diet of catfish, venison, squirrel, sweet potatoes, cornbread and buttermilk along with real iced tea will do for a person.

[Großer Kriegschwein]

As for Coach BB, I have a very close friend who was born in Essex County, New York.  (He denies this but is true.)  However, since he has lived in Arkansas for thirty years  he claims to have been born here and lived here all of his life.  It is amazing what a diet of catfish, venison, squirrel, sweet potatoes, cornbread and buttermilk along with real iced tea will do for a person.

In addition to making you smarter, you're w@ng gets bigger....Hogville Fact

[bphi11ips]

In addition to making you smarter, you're w@ng gets bigger....Hogville Fact

I think that's the Southern women.