LARAMIE – It’s officially “series season.”
This summer, with the help of some long-time Wyoming football fans, we’ll be counting down the 25 best local products in program history.
As always, it doesn’t matter what these guys have done in professional football. This is production in Laramie. Some of the kids on this final list may not have been born here, but they grew up in Wyoming and graduated from an in-state high school.
Once we bow to these picks, we’ll move on to other states like Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, etc. You get the idea:
Jim House played for the Cowboys in all three of his seasons in Laramie and was named All-Western Athletic Conference after his junior and senior seasons./Photo courtesy of UW
Jim House played for the Cowboys in all three of his seasons in Laramie and was named All-Western Athletic Conference after his junior and senior seasons./Photo courtesy of UW
No. 2 – Jim House
Linebacker, 1966-68, Laramie, Wyoming.
Laramie Resume
Jim House was a two-time All-Western Athletic Conference selection and earned honorable mention All-American during his senior campaign. As a junior, this fierce linebacker from Laramie helped lead the Cowboys to a 10-0 regular season record and a berth in the Sugar Bowl. In that close loss to the LSU Tigers, House tallied a team-high 11 tackles in muddy New Orleans. House and the Pokes’ defense limited LSU to just 33 rushing yards and a single first down in the first half. That included zero points on the scoreboard and five passing yards from LSU quarterback Nelson Stokley. House capped his UW career with a 27-5 overall record, including a 28-20 victory over Florida State in the 1966 Sun Bowl. He was a member of three WAC championship teams. In 1968, House and the Cowboys also defeated Border War rival Colorado State, winning the Bronze Boot for the first time in the series. House became a college coach and spent 12 years at the University of Washington before working at Montana State, San Jose State, San Diego State, Sacramento State and the University of Nevada. In 2013, House was inducted into the University of Washington Athletics Hall of Fame.
About Laramie
Laramie, home to the University of Wyoming, is home to more than 31,000 residents, making it the fourth largest city in the state. Gem City is located between the Snowy and Laramie Range and its elevation exceeds 7,200 feet above sea level. Laramie is approximately 50 miles west of Cheyenne on Interstate-80 and 25 miles north of the Colorado state line.
Pokes Football: Best of Wyoming Series
* No. 25
* No. 24
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* No. 16
* No. 15
* No. 14
* No. 13
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* No. 11
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* Number 5
* No. 4
* Number 3
(Cody Tucker and Jared Newland work for Townsquare Media, owner of 7220sports.com. Kevin McKinney has been a color commentator for Cowboy football for five decades. Ryan Thorburn now works for the University of Wyoming in a sports reporting position after spending decades in the newspaper industry, most recently at the Casper Star-Tribune. Sally Ann Shurmur, daughter of former University of Washington football coach Fritz Shurmur, is also a veteran of the newspaper industry and worked as a journalist. and CST columnist for 43 years. He currently writes for Cowboy State Daily.)
The 50 Greatest University of Wyoming Football Players
The rules are simple: What was the player’s impact while in Laramie? That means NFL stats, draft status or any other accolades earned outside of the University of Washington are irrelevant when it comes to this list.
This is not a one-man job. This task required a panel of experts. Joining Cody Tucker from 7220 are Robert Gagliardi, Jared Newland, Ryan Thorburn and Kevin McKinney.
We all compiled our own list of 50 and let the computer averages do the work. Think BCS, only we hope this catalog is fairer.
Do you disagree with a selection? Feel free to chat on our Twitter: @7220sports – #Top50UWFB
Gallery Credit: 7220Sports.com
– Top 50 University of Wyoming Football Players
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