Rice University Athletics
All-Points Bulletin
9/11/2014 4:44:59 PM | General, Blog
On a cold and blustery November day in 1959, Rice and Texas A&M faced off for little more than bragging rights, but the less than ideal conditions set the stage for one Owl to post a truly unique milestone as Rice senior Gordon Speer personally accounted for all the points on both sides of the ball in a 7-2 Rice win.
The two schools were two years removed from an epic showdown at Rice Stadium that feature the top-ranked Aggies and 20th ranked Owls, but on this day, Rice was still in search of its first win of the year in a season that had tied with then #17 Florida (17-17) and then #15 SMU (13-13) as the high water marks. It's worth noting that although they came into the game 0-5-2, all but one of the Owls first seven opponents came into the game ranked, including an opener against defending national champion LSU. A&M had seen the promise of a 3-1 non-conference start, including a win over at then #19 Michigan State, dissolve in four consecutive losses in Southwest Conference play.
The game was also the third consecutive to be played at Rice Stadium, as the series had been moved as the annual site of the series in 1957 and would remain as such through 1967 to take advantage of the much larger capacity of the Owls home field. However the bone-chilling damp and windy day kept most of the paying patrons away, but those who braved the elements came away with a story to tell.
After the Owls were backed up to their goal line in the first quarter, Speer's punt attempted was seized by the northerly winds and sent rolling back towards the goal line. Only an alert play by quarterback Billy Bucek prevented an Aggie touchdown as he raced to cover the ball for a safety.
With neither team showing much offensive threat, those lone points appeared to be the deciding tally until A&M chose to punt as time ran out at the end of the third quarter to take advantage the the wind. Speer was standing at his own 40 and proceeded towards the Rice sideline before bouncing off several shivering would-be tacklers and the setting sail for the north end zone for a touchdown. He then settled himself to convert the point after to give the Owls their margin of victory.
Rice would go on to face yet another ranked team (10th ranked TCU) the following week, falling 35-6 before ending the year with a close 23-21 defeat to Baylor to end the year 1-7-2. The Aggies would end the year winless in the conference after a 20-17 loss to Texas, meaning Speer's unique afternoon had place the Owls one spot ahead of the Aggies in the final SWC standings.
Wednesday, March 09
Saturday, December 04
Thursday, December 02