Thursday, August 26, 2010

1962 Post Cereal #169 Jack Pardee

While Jack Pardee didn't play football at the University of Houston, he was the head coach from 1987 to 1989. He took over a 1-10 run based Veer team and implemented the pass based Run and Shoot offense that eventually stunned college football.

The transition was difficult as the Cougars went 4-6-1 in Pardee's first year. The biggest win was a 60-40 victory over the University of Texas. While the 60 points might lead you to think that the Run & Shoot was finally clicking, the defense was responsible for many of the points. UH ran 4 interceptions back for touchdowns which ties for the NCAA record. Johnny Jackson ran back 3 which is still an NCAA record.

In 1988, UH under Pardee improved to 9-3 and played in a bowl game. The team ranked as high as #14, finishing the season #18.

Then came 1989 and the Cougars had possibly the greatest offense in NCAA history. They set many records that still stand including most yards in a game (1021 vs SMU on 10/21/89), most yards gained per game (624.9), most passing yards per game (511.3), and most TD passes per game (5.0). The team averaged 53.5 points per game which is a little below the 1944 Army record of 56 points per game. And Andre Ware won the Heisman Trophy. The team was ranked as high as #8 and finished the season at #14 with a 9-2 record.

Today's card is the 1962 Post Cereal #169. These cards were found on the back panel of different Post Cereal boxes so you had to cut them out yourself. It also means the backs just display plain cardboard, the inside of the cereal box.

The front features a photo, a description, the Post logo, and the card number. I love the picture on this one. Another classic vintage card pose. I could do without the Texas A&M reference in the description, but overall a nice looking card, especially for the back of a cereal box.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I remember the '87 game like it was yesterday. My brother and I were in the Junior Cougar Club and we always sat in the endzone right above the Cougar entrance. The team was really fired up that night. UT received the opening kick and fumbled. We scored a TD two plays later. UT answered on the next possession but Johnny Jackson scored 3 TD's on picks. Randy Thorton scored on another pick. Many stunned and angry UT fans after the game. After the game at home HSE kept showing the replay and we stayed up all night watching over and over. What a night.