University of Texas
Star Linebacker, 1960-62
Pat Culpepper

Publisher's Note: The following text is a book review by the publisher of a book about Pat Culpepper, former star linebacker at the University of Texas, and father of an up and coming player at Texas Tech, Will Culpepper, Class of 2000.

Goal Line

By Pat Culpepper and Robert Heard

From the Foreword by Darrell Royal

" . . . I couldn't be more delighted that Pat has written a book about his senior year at Texas, and I'm frank to admit I learned from it. A player's perspective is different than a coach's . . . Longhorn fans over 35 will relive the tension leading up to and feel the collisions in the Texas-Arkansas game so closely contested that Smokey the Cannon boomed for first downs on the final, 20-play drive. Unlike most books about football, this one shows a star player's entire environment -- classes, dating, dorm life and the camaraderie and humor away from the stadium as well as in it. As seen through the eyes of one of our team leaders, the reader is treated to the teaching techniques of the outstanding assistant coaches at Texas and watches my own growth before and after the tragic death of Reggie Grob. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to Orangebloods of any era."

A Great Gift for Longhorn Fans

Pat Culpepper stood only 5 8-1/2 and weighed 189 pounds, but he was one of the most intense and hard-hitting linebackers in Longhorn history. He won the hearts of fans and sports writers alike and earned a spot as a "Wild Card" on the 1961 All-SWC team. In his junior and senior years, 1961-62, Culpepper's Longhorns posted a record of 19-2-1. No ordinary "jock," Culpepper majored in history, made All-America and All-SWC academic teams, collected an Earl Blaik academic scholarship and was named winner of the Swede Nelson Sportsmanship Award by the Greater Boston Gridiron Club. In this book, Co-Captain Culpepper recaptures the flavor of a bygone era on the Forty Acres and shows from the inside what it was like to play for Darrell Royal in his early years at UT. One feels the sweat under the shoulder pads at halftime as coaches rivet attention to a blackboard. But Culpepper, who has coached several top Texas high school teams, also remembers the special magic of falling in love in college days. Above all, this book celebrates pride and paying the price for excellence.

Many fans remember the remarkable photograph taken by a Fort Worth Star-Telegram photographer from behind the Texas end zone in the fourth quarter of Culpepper, All-American LB Johnny Treadwell and DL Marvin Kubin blasting Arkansas FB Danny Brabham, 6-4, 220, just outside the goal line, Culpepper's helmet knocking the ball loose. Arkansas led 3-0 at the time, and a 10-0 score would have doomed Longhorn chances. Texas recovered in the end zone and later finished the game with the 20-play, 90-yard drive.

$16.95 by mail. Special, leather-bound, boxed edition, $50.

Honey Hill Publishing Co.
1022 Bonham Terrace
Austin, Texas 78704-2605

Ancestry. According to Mrs. John C. (Mary Anne) Culpepper, Jr., "Pat Culpepper is the son of John Pettis Culpepper (died in Cleburne, TX in 1984) and the grandson of Samuel Bluett Culpepper, Jr. (1876-1950), a Baptist minister who served churches in both Stephenville and Cleburne, TX." (Samuel Bluett Culpepper, Sr. was the son of Simeon Culpepper, son of Joseph Culpepper, son of Joseph Culpepper, son of Joseph Culpepper, son of Robert Culpepper born 1664 in Norfolk, VA.)

Pat is also a second cousin of John Culpepper, a Texas attorney and Mall Owner.  Pat, John and John's wife, Mary Ann, were all at the University of Texas at about the same time.