Razorbacks' Former Defensive Back Trantham Passes Away at 79

Made one of biggest plays in Hogs' history against Texas, boosting them to only No. 1 ranking

Arkansas Razorbacks defensive back Tommy Trantham on the cover of Dave Campbell's Arkansas Football magazine after a third straight win over the Texas Longhorns in 1966. | Dave Campbell's Arkansas Football

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Since we didn't have all of this digital archives for photos and videos, we are left to using our memories for recollections. That became apparent with the news former Arkansas defensive back Tommy Trantham passed away Sunday at the age of 79.

Trantham made one of those plays that gets burned into an 8-year-old's memory bank and remains to this day — and it just so happened to be one of the biggest plays in school history.

On a bright, sunny day in Razorback Stadium, it was the redshirt sophomore from Little Rock Central that made one of the most memorable in a game full of big plays in 1965. The Razorbacks downed Texas, 27-24, but Trantham's run with a fumble is the one I remember the most.

Back in those days, there was no North End Zone facility. Kids sat on a grassy hill and it was a laid-back atmosphere to watch a game. The No. 1 Longhorns were driving towards the south end zone and all of a sudden the ball popped out and here came Trantham running towards us for a score.

Texas quarterback Marv Kristynik had pitch to Phil Harris and he never really had any control. Jim Williams, who was a hard-hitter in his college days before being the guy in charge of the Cotton Bowl down in Dallas about 20 years later nailed him and the ball popped out.

It was a completely dominating first half by the Hogs. Arkansas fans were making as much noise as they could make in a stadium that only held just over 43,000 back in those days.

"Harris cut for an opening without a real grip on the ball, and our tackle, Jim Williams, hit him awfully hard, and anybody in Terrapin Neck will tell you that Trantham is a fine football player,” Broyles said in Sports Illustrated the next week.

In case you're wondering, Terrapin Neck is one of those cross-road places in Nevada County not far from Prescott, Ark., in southwest Arkansas. Exactly how that popped into Broyles' mind is left to others. Somehow, though, Broyles knew it.

Arkansas found itself ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press football poll the following week for the only time in program history. It only lasted a week, but not because the Razorbacks lost a game as the more blueblood names in the midwest got more votes the next week.

After Trantham's big play and Jon Brittenum's heroics passing to wide receiver Bobby Crockett late in the game, the Hogs managed to down the Longhorns after blowing a 20-0 lead.

It wasn't surprising seeing Trantham make one of those big plays. He had intercepted a Terry Southall pass against Baylor the previous week and gone 69 yards for a score. Trantham picked off opposing quarterbacks at a clip nobody had seen before after getting coached by Johnny Majors, the former Tennessee All-American, a Hall of Famer as a player and coac.

With his 12 career interceptions from 1965-67, Trantham was the record-holder, but that wasn't the biggest part. He had 300 yards in returns, which has stood for over 60 years. He made the biggest plays and turned them into memorable ones.

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