Kentucky time machine: Cats took down a juggernaut in 1951 Sugar Bowl

Editor’s Note: The Herald-Leader continues its series re-publishing the game stories from Kentucky’s 10 football bowl victories in chronological order. These stories appear, with some light editing, as they were written at the time in the Herald, the Leader or the Herald-Leader. We hope you’re enjoying them.

Jan. 1, 1951

KENTUCKY 13, OKLAHOMA 7

Sugar Bowl at Tulane Stadium

Lexington Herald headline:

Kentucky Wins Sugar Bowl, 13-7, Ends Oklahoma’s 31-Game Win Streak; 83,000 See Wildcats Rise To Heights In Halting Sooners’ Invincibility Myth

Kentucky’s Wildcats rose to their greatest heights on the sod of Sugar Bowl Stadium here today to bring a stunning end to Oklahoma’s 31-game winning streak, the longest in modern football history. By a score of 13-7 the courageous gladiators of Coach Paul Bryant shattered the myth of Oklahoma invincibility by romping to two first-half touchdowns on the magical aerial artistry of Vito (Babe) Parilli and then staving off several second-half threats by Coach Bud Wilkinson’s never-say-die Sooners.

The 83,000 roaring fans who witnessed today’s game in cool weather under cloudy skies got plenty of thrills before the final gun sounded, shortly after Kentucky defensive halfback Dick Martin had intercepted a desperation Oklahoma pass at midfield to hammer the final nail in the Sooners’ coffin.

It was a splendid performance by the boys in blue, and every one of them had a hand in the triumph. Parilli wasn’t the only All-America the Cats had on the field today.

Co-captains Wilbur (Shorty) Jamerson and big Bob Gain, two of 17 seniors who wore the blue and white today for the last time, covered themselves with glory. But the pleasant surprise, from a Kentucky standpoint, was the sensational all-around play of Walt Yowarsky. Big Walt, who has been used mainly on offense this season, played both offense and defense today and came through with several key plays.

Walt’s recovery of Billy Vessels’ fumble of one of Dominic Fucci’s fine punts with three and one-half minutes remaining gave the Cats a chance to protect their narrow six-point margin.

Kentucky scored quickly to send the 13,000 rooters who followed the Southeastern Conference champions to the Crescent City into a frenzy less than three minutes after the kickoff. An Oklahoma fumble, the first of five lost by the Sooners during the long afternoon, gave Parilli a chance to loosen up his tossing arm for the first time, and the Babe made good. His heave into the end zone was taken by Jamerson, who made a leaping catch to snatch the ball out of the outstretched arms of Oklahoma defender Jack Lockett.

The play was good for 22 yards and served notice on the Sooners that they were in for a rough afternoon. Gain booted the extra point.

Again in the first quarter an Oklahoma fumble put the Sooners in another hole, but big Ben Zaranka, another Wildcat who played a great game, both offensively and defensively, let a Parilli pass bounce out of his hands when he apparently had caught it in the end zone.

Another Parilli beauty — this one a 48-yarder to end Al Bruno — made it easy for Jamerson to slip over for his second touchdown, thus tying eight other Sugar Bowl performers who had counted 12 points each in earlier games — the greatest number of points scored by an individual.

Bruno made one of his finest catches of the season in spearing Parilli’s long heave. Big Al had to put on a great spurt to grab the ball, but he pulled it in on the 12 and rambled to the one-foot line where he was halted by Lockett.

Jamerson bulled over on the next play, but Gain’s try for the extra point was wide and the Cats 13-0, with 8:45 gone in the second quarter.

Oklahoma, although breaking Vessels, Leon (Mule Train) Heath and some of its other speedy backs loose for good yardage near midfield, could get no closer than the Kentucky 32-yard line in the first half, but with the opening of the second frame the Sooners appeared on the march.

The Cats staged a stirring third-quarter goal-line stand after Oklahoma had put on a 67-yard drive following the kickoff, which Tommy Gray had returned 12 yards to the Sooners’ 30.

With the ball on the Kentucky 3-yard line, first down and goal to go, the Wildcat forward wall came through with a defensive stand reminiscent of the one against Tennessee in the fourth quarter of the game at Knoxville a few weeks ago. In four plays, the Sooners were shoved back four and one-half yards and Kentucky was out of danger temporarily.

After Oklahoma had stymied another Kentucky threat which ended when Gain missed an attempted field goal from the Sooners’ 20 early in the last quarter, Wilkinson’s boys, faced with the threat of being blanked for the first time in several seasons, took to the air to score their lone touchdown after 7:57 of the final quarter.

Vessels’ pass from the Kentucky 17 was taken in the end zone by Merrill Green. And when tackle Jim Weatherall booted the extra point, Oklahoma fans envisioned another great rally by the Sooners, who pulled at least three games out of the fire this season by sensational fourth-quarter drives.

Holding a slim six-point lead with 7:03 to play, Kentucky couldn’t afford to take a chance on passes but had to rely on ground plays to kill out the remaining time. The Wildcats, who fumbled nine times in losing their only decision of the season to Tennessee, were sticky-fingered today.

Only once did they drop the ball, but it was recovered by Kentucky, so it didn’t hurt, That, in the final analysis, was the deciding factor.

After Oklahoma scored, the Sooners had possession for only one offensive play — the long, desperation pass which was taken on a leaping catch by Martin to wind up the game.

The statistics favored the Sooners, but not by much. Oklahoma made 18 first downs to Kentucky’s seven, but the Sooners’ combined rushing and passing total was only 38 yards more than Kentucky’s 227 to 189.

Parilli completed nine out of 12 passes attempted for a gain of 105 yards, while the Sooners hit on only three out of nine for 38 yards. Martin’s game-closing interception was the only one of the day.

On the ground, the Sooner attack ground out 189 yards to 84 for the Cats, but when the chips were down, the Cat forwards smeared the Sooner backs on or behind the line of scrimmage.

Fucci gave a great kicking exhibition, especially in the first half. One of his boots hit the chalk line only a foot from the Sooner goal line in the closing seconds of the first half. Another rolled dead on the eight.

This story was originally published May 24, 2020 at 7:45 AM.