Recently I saw an article about “Rooster” Andrews and decided to share my Rooster story.
“Rooster”
William Edward Andrews, Jr., was born in Dallas, Texas, on March 1, 1923. The most popular boy in his high school, he would have attended Texas A&M University, if not for a high school friend’s intervention. This friend, and University of Texas football player, convinced UT’s football coach, D.X. Bible, to bring “Billy” to UT.
Standing only 4’11”, Billy didn’t go to UT to play football. No, his job was to manage the team and try to keep some of the better players out of trouble. The manager part worked out great—Coach Bible claimed him “the best manager I ever saw”—but when it came to keeping those mischief-making players out of trouble, Billy didn’t fare as well. His freshman year, three older players woke him up and dragged him—in his pajamas—out to a huge tree where several chickens roosted. They told him to climb up and retrieve a specific rooster they wanted to take to a cock fight. As requested, he made the climb and retrieved the unhappy rooster. The deed earned him a scratched-up face, a busted arm when he fell out of the tree, and, because he hit the ground with the rooster still in hand, a nickname.
Football
In his duty as the football team’s manager, Rooster carried a five-gallon bucket of water out to the players during breaks. In the postseason East-West Shrine game in 1941, this job earned him another nickname, “All-American Waterboy.” The nickname stuck as he also served as manager and “All-American Waterboy” in the College All-Star games every year from 1942-1946.
In 1943, many colleges couldn’t field a football team as would-be players entered the military to fight in World War II. With a naval station trainee program on campus, UT didn’t have that problem. But while they had a team, they couldn’t find a kicker. Then, toward the end of the season, Rooster won a kicking contest with his unconventional drop-kick. This earned him the chance to play against TCU. He kicked three times in the 42-6 win, making two extra points while a third one was blocked.
Of course, TCU saw the use of the “waterboy” as an insult, and the TCU coach dared Coach Bible to use Rooster in the next week’s game against Texas A&M. Bible did and UT won again. This time Rooster kicked two more extra points but had a field goal blocked. He continued kicking through the 1944 and 1945 seasons. Twice he even faked kicks and threw touchdown passes to his roommate, the great All-American, Bobby Layne. (The first time was in a 20-0 win against the University of Oklahoma.)
Did You Know…
- Rooster earned letters in both football and baseball at UT.
- In 1944-1945, Rooster played seven different positions as a part-time player on the UT baseball team. In a game against Texas A&M, he hit a game-winning homerun rather than get walked, as his coach had directed.
- In 1946, Rooster managed the UT baseball team.
1910 Whitis
With the naval trainees in residence in the UT athletic dorm, many of the school’s athletes called 1910 Whitis home. Dad, who’d also been recruited by Coach Bible to play football for UT, lived there with various other UT athletes, including the great (and future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback) Bobby Layne, and the tiny, but even greater, Rooster Andrews.
The antics and escapades Dad, Bobby, and Rooster got into peppered Dad’s college stories. By the time I headed to UT, I couldn’t wait to meet the man.
Did You Know…
- Rooster’s main job was to keep his roommate, hard-partying and hard-drinking quarterback, Bobby Layne, out of trouble. But the two soon became best friends and their shared mischievous nature often got them into trouble.
The Meeting
Rooster Andrews graduated from UT in 1946 with a business degree. He went to work as a salesman for C&S Sporting Goods, and from 1961-1969 served as the company’s president. In 1971, he opened his own sporting goods store in Austin. Soon he had four retail locations.
It was to the main store, Rooster’s headquarters, we went the day I met him. The lady at the front counter told us Rooster was in his office in the back, and Dad made a beeline straight for it. Though he’d talked to Rooster on the phone a few times, he hadn’t seen his friend since their UT days, and he was like a kid who couldn’t wait for Christmas morning to arrive.
Dad strode into the office ahead of me. Before the woman at the desk on our left could speak, Dad stopped and yelled, “Roooooss.” With barely a second’s delay, a return bellow of “Unnnnnkk,” came from the inner office. Then the little man came flying through the door and leapt into Dad’s arms.
As the two embraced and slapped each other on the back, I glanced over at the secretary. I don’t doubt her stunned expression mirrored my own.
Did You Know…
- Rooster Andrews turned down an offer in 1946 to be the manager of the Miami Seahawks, an All-American Football Conference team.
- At the height of its success, Rooster’s stores employed more than 70 people and had a $5 million annual sales volume.
The Man
When the embrace ended and the two “boys” reverted to grown men, Dad introduced me to his friend and former housemate. He had that now-do-you-believe-I-know-him look on his face. All I could do was nod. Yep, Dad knew the famous All-American Waterboy. I also realized the stories Dad had shared were not only true, but probably only the tip of the iceberg of trouble these guys had gotten into when they lived at 1910 Whitis. After all, what sane adult man would tell his daughters everything—even most of the things—he’d done as a college kid.
Anyone who knew Rooster knew his heart was as big as the state of Texas. If someone needed help, no matter what kind, he was there. The day I met him and he learned I was starting at UT, he immediately ordered me to contact him if I ever needed anything. He wasn’t just being nice. He meant it. That was just the way he was.
In his lifetime, Rooster racked up a variety of sports awards and honors. But it was his life’s work helping people and his community that made him a true Texas hero. He may have only stood 4’11”, but when he passed away on January 21, 2008, Texas lost one giant of a man.
Did You Know…
- Though he never played a down in high school, Rooster was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame—the only non-player included.
- In 1961 Rooster created the iconic “steerhead” logo for the University of Texas Longhorns.
- In 2013, Athlon Sports named the Rooster-designed steerhead logo as the nation’s best college football logo.