[Husker] Mildren

[William E. Laughlin]

My Father in Law died in 1978 at the age of 58 and I am 58 right now.  I was 21 years old and a junior in college in 1971.  It just seems like yesterday that Mildren played.  He was a great QB 
for that team at that time.  Even though we had many knock em down drag em out battles with OU I never got to a place where I disliked them.  I wanted to beat them, absolutely, but never disliked them.  There is one foe none of us can beat and that is age and ultimately death.  It,unfortunately happens younger to some than others.  May God rest his soul. --Bob Beach 
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I never played collegiate sports but have been a Husker fan since age 10, Bobfather's first year. My dad died at 48; I have outlived him by 7 years (55 now). It seemed eerie when I passed him by.

As a kid, I always feared a loss when we had an upcoming game against OU. They always seemed to be able to steal it out from under us when it appeared we had the game won...with a few exceptions. As I got older, (and NU was able to win a few) I developed respect for their program. Reading "Bootlegger's Boy" (Switzer's autobiography) really helped.

Mildren was a true gentleman. In Johnny Rodgers' book, "An Era of Greatness" (2006) he made numerous complimentary observations on the '71 NU team, such as "...the entire NU defense was great -- John Dutton did not even start, and he was a first round draft pick a couple of years later. How great could a defense be ?" 

Also: 'I appreciate Nebraska fans because of the way they treat opponents with respect. At other places, like the Cotton Bowl, you don't get that treatment...They are very knowledgeable as far as football is concerned, and they are very respectful towards the opponents." 

And: "We had a rivalry with NU that was born out of respect. Coach Devaney and Coach Switzer used to kid each other a lot. Even Coach Osborne loosened up as time went by."

I hope future OU players will come to see Jack Mildren as the kind of role model to emulate, not only on the field, but off the field as well.

Bill Laughlin
Wichita, KS