Booker T. Washington is finally getting the right trophy.
More than five decades after the Hornets won the 1971 state football championship, the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association is set to hand over a corrected gold ball trophy to the team on Thursday night. The presentation will take place at halftime when Booker T.
Washington hosts Putnam West for a 7 p.m. kickoff in S.E. Williams Stadium.
The mistake has been sitting in the school’s trophy case for years. When Booker T.
Washington beat Midwest City 15-12 in the 1971 Class 4A final, the trophy it received was labeled for Class 3A. It was the actual Class 4A champion, but the trophy had the wrong classification on it.
That 1971 title was Booker T. Washington’s fourth in five years under coach Ed Lacy, a run that would eventually stretch to five in seven years. Across Oklahoma football history, BT Washington has nine OSSAA football state titles overall.
Members of the 1971 championship team are expected to reunite during halftime Thursday to receive the corrected trophy. The group includes Larry Lyles, Luther Dedmon, Rudyard Lewis and Ronnie Watkins.
Booker T. Washington’s starting center Ronnie Watkins had contacted the OSSAA earlier this year to point out the error.
The team’s championship path in 1971 included a 27-0 win over Bartlesville in the Class 4A semifinals at former Skelly Stadium, now the University of Tulsa’s H.A. Chapman Stadium, followed by a 36-22 victory over Midwest City in the same venue 10 days later.
Kickoff Thursday is at 7 p.m., with the halftime ceremony expected around 8 p.m., depending on weather conditions.
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