LITTLE ROCK — When the 11-0 Arkansas Razorbacks of 1964 picked up some national championship citations after a Cotton Bowl victory over Nebraska, the state spent a joyous month or so, and most people would assume the longest lasting celebration took place in St. Francis County in eastern Arkansas.
It happened that four former Forrest City High School athletes were Razorbacks regulars, important contributors, through that season: offensive end Richard Trail, wingback Jim Lindsey, defensive tackle Jim Williams and defensive end Jim Finch.
From 1954-1964, Forrest City’s Class AA football teams went 77-36-7, with five conference championships, two undefeated seasons, and at one point, a 21-game winning streak. The 1957 and 1959 squads raged through undefeated.
Coach Jim DeVazier, now 82 and retired in Jonesboro, spent only 11 senior high seasons with the Mustangs.
“I enjoyed coaching, but I wanted to prepare for a college position and not necessarily coaching,” he said during a recent phone interview.
He had always been in a hurry, and his background vividly reflected it.
Born in Trumann in 1928 and raised in Forrest City, DeVazier graduated as a Mustangs football and basketball star in 1946. After squeezing in two years of U.S. Navy duty, DeVaizer enrolled at Arkansas State Teachers (now Central Arkansas) in September 1948. He graduated in three years after leading the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference in rushing during the fall of 1950.
“I played tailback [at UCA] in a Single-Wing formation, punted, was the safety on defense and punt returner. I led the conference in rushing, scored 68 points, and punted 34 times for a 37.3 average, and intercepted six passes. I had to return punts at a time when they didn’t permit you to fair catch,” DeVazier said. “That’s pretty much what college football was about more than 60 years ago.”
DeVazier spent 1951-1953 coaching junior high school at Forrest City, and was advanced to athletic director and senior high football coach in 1954.
“I had to negotiate a little since I wanted to get Sonny Holmes in senior football as a ninth-grader because he was such an outstanding quarterback prospect,” he said. “That’s how it worked out.”
From 1955-1959, the Mustangs had two perfect seasons and only five losses. The most explosive team, in 1957, with Holmes at quarterback and Elmer “B” Lindsey as the main running back, scored 351 points.
When Frank Broyles was hired as Arkansas coach in December 1957, B Lindsey became the first coveted prospect to pledge the Razorbacks. Six months later, he signed a bonus baseball contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. Jim Lindsey, his younger brother, replaced him at Arkansas four years later and was a key factor as the Hogs enjoyed a 22-game winning streak in 1964-65.
DeVazier earned a master’s degree at the University of Memphis in 1961 and a doctorate at Arkansas in 1967. He joined the Arkansas State University department of physical education, rising to full professor and serving seven years as chair of the department. He retired Jan. 1, 1991, after more than 40 years of teaching, 14 years of coaching and 15 years as an Arkansas Officials Association basketball official. Although he is 20 years into retirement, his recall is remarkable for a man approaching 83 this fall.
“Honestly, I don’t think he ever forgets anything,” said one of his former Forrest City players recently.
Cliff Garrison, more or less the Mustangs historian, lists these nine players from Forrest City who became Razorbacks: Robert Barnett (guard), John Childress (tackle), Sonny Holmes (quarterback), Ray Trail (guard), Richard Trail (end), Jim Williams (tackle), Jim Finch (end), Jim Lindsey (wingback) Dewitt Smith (tackle).
B Lindsey played six seasons in the Cardinals system before staying home to manage the Lindsey farm interests.
“When I left Forrest City, I regretted that the team wasn’t winning at its previous rate,” DeVazier said last week.”This was just before desegregation, and Lincoln High [Forrest City’s black school] seemed to be going undefeated almost every season.”
In addition to athletic duties, DeVazier taught six classes a day at Forrest City, including physical education, psychology, world history, U. S. history, business math, and U.S. government. When I was in high school many years ago, our basketball coach “taught” civics. He dozed while students took turns reading pages aloud until the bell rang.
Sports, Pages 16 on 07/19/2011