Rooster Andrews
| Rooster Andrews | |
|---|---|
| College | Texas |
| Conference | Southwest Conference |
| Sport | Football, baseball |
| Position | K |
| Jersey # | 99 |
| Class | 1946 |
| Major | Business |
| Nickname | Rooster |
| Career | 1943–1945 |
| Height | 4 ft 11 in (1.50 m) |
| Weight | 130 lb (59 kg) |
| Born | 1 March 1923 Dallas, TX |
| Died | 21 January 2008 (aged 84) Austin, TX |
| High school | Dallas (Wilson) |
| Career highlights | |
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William Edward "Rooster" Andrews, Jr. (March 1, 1923 - January 21, 2008) was a former University of Texas team manager who gained fame as a drop-kicking player, whom the media called the "All-American Waterboy." He later opened a sporting goods store and in that capacity developed the university's iconic Longhorn logo and changed the uniform color to burnt orange. He was also the older brother of Texas starting quarterback John "Bunny" Andrews.
William Rooster, Jr. was born in Dallas, TX where his father worked in the pursing office of Texas Pacific Railways.
As a 17-year-old at Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, Andrews participated in the 1936 Texas state championship track meet as the school's manager. There he met legendary Texas track coach Clyde Littlefield who put Andrews to work setting up for the Texas Relays. Andrews ended up staying three extra days to work even after the track team left on the bus for Dallas. For this he was paid $9.Malcolm Kutner, a classmate of Andrews, asked Texas football coach Dana X. Bible to bring Andrews on as a team manager, but said that Andrews would need a job. Texas A&M coach Homer Norton also wanted Andrews as a manager and even sent him a dorm room key. But the night before Andrews was to leave for Texas A&M, Andrews' classmate called to tell him that Bible had found him a job through the National Youth Administration so Andrews headed to Austin instead.
At Texas, Andrews was the team manager from 1941-1945 and roommate with future NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Bobby Layne. In 1943, During World War II when many schools suspended their football programs due to lack of men, Texas had trouble finding a kicker. Andrews showed off his drop kick style in practice, an unusual style at the time, and earned a chance to play by winning a kicking contest in practice. His first chance came against TCU when he kicked two extra points and had a third attempt blocked, enraging TCU coach Dutch Meyer who saw the use of the team's water boy as an insult. Meyer dared coach Dana X. Bible to use Andrews the following week against Texas A&M and Bible did, with Andrews kicking two more extra points and having a field goal blocked. Andrews continued to play in the 1944 and 1945 seasons. On a few occasions he faked the kick and instead threw passes to Layne, a play that succeeded once against Oklahoma in 1945 and once in his final game, the 1946 Cotton Bowl. Twice he connected with Layne for touchdowns. But during those later years, Andrews primary job was to keep his roommate, hard-partying, hard-drinking quarterback Bobby Layne, out of trouble.
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