Sport: The Owls & the Crow

It hardly seemed a happy Homecoming Day for the Rice Institute Owls. Texas A. & M. was in town, and the awesome Aggies were flaunting a 14-game winning streak, ranking No. 1 in the nation and riding roughshod toward the Cotton Bowl on the broad shoulders of John David Crow, everybody’s Ail-American and the hardest running halfback in college football. Short of calling on some friendly farmer to shoot down Crow, the Owls figured to be pecked to pieces.

But those wise birds were tougher than they looked. They ruffled up their feathers and flattened the visitor before he could get started. And with Crow’s wings clipped, the vaunted Aggie attack never got off the ground. Rice Quarterbacks Hill and Ryan alternated at the head of a relentless running game that ground out a first-half touchdown to put the Owls in front 7-0, while vicious Rice tacklers stopped every Aggie effort that came close to scoring. Finally the desperate Aggies were forced to use Crow as a decoy, and eventually, in the final quarter their own quarterback, Roddy Osborne, managed to sneak over for a touchdown.

It was too late. The extra-point place kick that might have earned a tie, wobbled wide. With only four minutes left, Rice Hero Hill kicked out of bounds on the Aggie 1-yd. line. Now the Owls were too far out of range to be caught, even as the Crow flew. The game ended in a great upset victory for the Owls, to wit: Rice 7, Texas A. & M. 6.