Truman Spain
Encyclopedia
Truman "Big Dog" Spain was an American football
player who was selected as an All-American at the tackles
position for the 1935 National Champion Southern Methodist University
Mustangs. At the end of the 1935 season, Spain was selected as a first-team All-American by Grantland Rice
for Collier's Weekly
and by a board of coaches for Pathé News
. He was also selected as a second-team All-American by the Associated Press and in a consensus All-American team. The 1935 SMU team had 12–0 record, scoring 288 points while only giving up 39. The team was invited to play in the 1936 Rose Bowl
, and Spain became the center of attention in the newspapers' coverage of the game. Much of the coverage focused on Spain's good looks and indications that Spain would be signed by Hollywood as a movie star. One syndicated feature article compared Spain to Clark Gable
under the headline: "IF MOVIE COLONY GRABS OFF ONE OF MUSTANGS, IT LIKELY WILL BE CLARK GABLE SPAIN." The article noted that Spain was "all man" and reported on the reaction of co-eds to his "rumba king" good looks:
An article in a Texas newspaper reported on the attention being focused on Spain: "Spain, towering well over six feet and going past the two hundred pound mark, was the center of attention. He played high school football in the Oil Belt, and many of his old friends met the train to wish him well. He came in for a lot of kidding about trying to crash the movies." In late January 1936, the publicity drew an offer for Spain to enter the boxing game, which he turned down. Spain said he was due a movie tryout, and "a bunged-up face wouldn't be any help in Hollywood, unless Truman wanted a gangster role."
After retiring from football, Spain worked as an oil drilling contractor in Ardmore, Oklahoma
. He died in 1968 of an apparent heart attack at age 55.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who was selected as an All-American at the tackles
Tackle (American football)
Tackle is a playing position in American and Canadian football. Historically, in the one-platoon system a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, offensive tackle and defensive tackle are separate positions....
position for the 1935 National Champion Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
Mustangs. At the end of the 1935 season, Spain was selected as a first-team All-American by Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice was an early 20th century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio.-Biography:...
for Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
and by a board of coaches for Pathé News
Pathe News
Pathé Newsreels were produced from 1910 until the 1970s, when production of newsreels was in general stopped. Pathé News today is known as British Pathé and its archive of over 90,000 reels is fully digitised and online.-History:...
. He was also selected as a second-team All-American by the Associated Press and in a consensus All-American team. The 1935 SMU team had 12–0 record, scoring 288 points while only giving up 39. The team was invited to play in the 1936 Rose Bowl
1936 Rose Bowl
The 1936 Rose Bowl was the 22nd Rose Bowl game, an American post-season college football game that was played on New Year's Day 1936 in Pasadena, California. It featured the undefeated against the , which had one loss...
, and Spain became the center of attention in the newspapers' coverage of the game. Much of the coverage focused on Spain's good looks and indications that Spain would be signed by Hollywood as a movie star. One syndicated feature article compared Spain to Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
under the headline: "IF MOVIE COLONY GRABS OFF ONE OF MUSTANGS, IT LIKELY WILL BE CLARK GABLE SPAIN." The article noted that Spain was "all man" and reported on the reaction of co-eds to his "rumba king" good looks:
"If it's a new movie idol California desires out of the Rose Bowl classic New Year's between the Southern Methodist Mustangs and the Redmen of Stanford, the No. 1 nominee of the galloping Ponies Is Truman Spain giant all-American tackle. This Spain fellow, young ladies, is definitely of the Latin type except that instead of being sleek he is as hard as ship's steel and as torrid as a foundry furnace. He is tall, very bronzed and handsome enough. His smile dashes from white and very even teeth and according to campus co-eds, he is a 'honey.' He has straight black hair, which like Clark Gables, klnda' likes to fall down over his forehead. ... No mere man could use the correct expression, but a co-ed said: 'His large, black eyes burn into you and make you feel that something is going to happen.'"
An article in a Texas newspaper reported on the attention being focused on Spain: "Spain, towering well over six feet and going past the two hundred pound mark, was the center of attention. He played high school football in the Oil Belt, and many of his old friends met the train to wish him well. He came in for a lot of kidding about trying to crash the movies." In late January 1936, the publicity drew an offer for Spain to enter the boxing game, which he turned down. Spain said he was due a movie tryout, and "a bunged-up face wouldn't be any help in Hollywood, unless Truman wanted a gangster role."
After retiring from football, Spain worked as an oil drilling contractor in Ardmore, Oklahoma
Ardmore, Oklahoma
Ardmore is a business, cultural and tourism city in and the county seat of Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 24,283, while a 2007 estimate has the Ardmore micropolitan statistical area totaling 56,694 residents...
. He died in 1968 of an apparent heart attack at age 55.