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Published on: 2/7/2008
Last Visited: 2/8/2008
Arkansas All-America defensive end Bruce James painfully made his peace with the situation almost immediately."I knew we went out there and competed as long and hard and well as we could," James said in a recent interview."I'd rather lose a national championship game than never have a chance to play in one.That's how I felt walking off the field that day, and I still feel that way."Now a State Farm insurance agent in Little Rock, James has enjoyed two distinctive football careers in Arkansas, 27 years apart.The first one was probably enough to ensure his induction into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame later this month.
His playing eligibility ended with the 1970 season.After he surfaced as a no-frills commentator on KATV, Channel 7, in 1998, it wasn't long until it seemed some Razorbacks partisans swore by him while others swore about him.However, whether they agreed or disagreed, apparently they all tuned in. Asked how he landed the TV gig, James smiled and said, "By default."
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"I never failed to be impressed by his knowledge, insight and intensity.,The show lasted nine seasons," James said."When it started, I guessed it might last one season.,Bruce just told the listeners what he thought, like he might have told somebody visiting with him in his office," Bazzel said.
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And he could usually soften his criticisms with a little humor, like saying something was 'as tough as a two-dollar steak.',I tried to be straight down the middle," James said."I thought what we were doing was basically journalism.I never heard complaints from any of the guys who were my teammates at Arkansas, although I'm sure some of them sometimes disagreed with me." (Sports Week wasn't renewed in 2007.The explanation is that auto racing on ABC-TV required the time slot previously occupied by the Houston Nutt Show.The Arkansas coach's show was moved to Sport Week's old spot at 10: 30 p. m., which seemed a rather ironic coincidence. ) James became a keen student of SEC football long before Arkansas bailed out of the malaise-stricken (and doomed ) Southwest Conference to join the burgeoning SEC in 1990.In fact, he grew up immersed in the SEC football mystique.
His family lived at Moss Point, Miss., on the Gulf Coast near Mobile, Ala.
"You might say Moss Point had about the same [geographical ] relation to Mobile that Conway does to Little Rock.We watched the Bear Bryant Show, the Shug Jordan Show every Sunday during football season," James said, referring to the longtime coaches at Alabama and Auburn, respectively.
As an offensive tackle and linebacker in the 10 th grade, James started attracting college scouts.Their attention intensified during his junior and senior seasons as a fullback and linebacker.
"At 6-3 and 225, I was pretty fast and quick for a guy my size in those days," he said.
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"They used to say football teams would lose one game for each sophomore they started," James said, laughing."If that had been true, we might have lost every game that year.ars included quarterback Bill Montgomery, wide receiver Chuck Dicus, tailback Bill Burnett, defensive linemen James, Rick Kersey and Dick Bumpas, linebacker Mike Boschetti, defensive backs Bobby Field and Jerry Moore.
They became the nucleus of a three-season run amounting to 28-5, with the losses including three consecutive heartbreakers on national TV from December 1969 to September 1970: Texas 15-14, Ole Miss 27-22, Stanford 34-28.
#8220,After we lost [the 1969 game ] to Texas, we were really a shellshocked bunch," James said.
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"Later on, I got acquainted with [Texas quarterback ] James Street and some of their other players and naturally we talked about the 1969 game," James said."Street said, 'Hey, we had seven turnovers - we played terrible.You guys played the game of your lives and we still won.So what's the big deal ?' Maybe he had a point."If James has a pet peeve, it would be with fans resigned to ordinary status in a football league that bristles with perennial powerhouses: LSU, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Auburn."We've got the facilities and resources now, and we've certainly got the fan support," he said.
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