Texas A&M hired Homer Norton as football coach in 1934 when Matty Bell moved to SMU. Norton coached at Centenary College in Shreveport LA from 1919 to 1933, compiling an impressive 61-12-9 record.

Norton told Aggie alumni groups that it would take several years to make A&M competitive. "Perhaps by 1936 we can offer more scholarships and get some of the better high school boys. However, it will be 1937 before they will be eligible to play. So in 1937 ..."

At that point, an alumnus shouted, "Never mind telling us about 1937, Homer. If you haven't started to win by then, you won't be around to worry about it."

Since the Texas legislature did not appropriate money for intercollegiate athletics, Aggie sports had to subsist on the sale of tickets and the contributions of alumni. Norton persuaded some well-to-do alumni to influence the legislature to pass an act permitting the college to lend the athletic association $30,000.

As he predicted, Norton started slowly, going 5-14-2 his first two years. He did succeed in convincing a bank to lend $25,000 to the athletic association for athletic scholarships.

Norton and his staff did one of most remarkable recruiting jobs in Southwest Con­ference history. The best 40 high school players played in the annual Texas State High School Coaches Association All-Star game. 37 of those players became members of the 1937 Aggies' freshman squad.

As recruiting improved, the A&M varsity went from 3-7 in 1935 to 8-3-1 in '36, 5-2-2 in '37, and 4-4-1 in '38.

By 1939, the good recruiting class of '36 were seniors and the great class of '37 were juniors. The stage was set for Texas A&M to win its first conference champion­ship since 1927.

The Aggies' started with four non-conference wins over Oklahoma A&M (32-0), Centenary (14-0), Santa Clara (7-3), and Villanova (33-7). Then they won their first three conference games against TCU (20-6), Baylor (20-0), and Arkansas (27-0). The result was a #2 ranking in the Associated Press national poll.

With no free substitutions, fifteen Aggies saw the bulk of the action each game. They wore leather helmets without a face mask. It was a source of pride to each Aggie to play hurt.

Next up was Matty Bell's fifth SMU team, ranked 13th with a 3-1-1 record. The tie came at Oklahoma 7-7 in week one and the loss at Notre Dame 20-19 in week three. So the Mustangs were two points from being undefeated.

All 28,000 tickets had been sold by Saturday morning as the early birds gathered under the stands to stay out of the chilling drizzle. Many others stayed on their trains or in their cars until shortly before kickoff. When workmen finally rolled back the tar­paulin covering the field, the sidelines were ankle deep in water. A breeze out of the east blew the light drizzle into the press box, making work miserable for the late arriving scribes in the front rows.

In the overblown prose of Jinx Tucker of the Houston Tribune-Herald, the fans "sat in rapt amazement at times and with maniacal enthusiasm at other times as they saw two of the finest teams in the country tear into each other with all the fury that their youtful, sinewy muscles could muster ..."

Neither team scored in the first quarter, primarily because each side played conser­vatively on offense to avoid a costly turnover, often punting on second or third down or even first down. Early on, SMU's "brilliant sophomore," RB Preston Johnston, punt­ed from his own 20, and the ball sailed into the Aggie end zone. The period ended with Texas A&M in possession on their 46 thanks to a 15y run by A&M RB Jim Thom­ason.

Did the "Farmers" (as some writers called the Aggies) build on their momentum to drive into SMU territory? Nope. This was 1939.They punted on the first play of the second quarter, the ball going into the end zone.

A few minutes later, Thomason missed a first down by the foot. Finally given per­mission to go for it on fourth down, Bill Conatser fumbled and recovered to turn the ball over on downs to the Mustangs on the Aggie 46. SMU threw the first pass of the game and completed it for a loss of 3y

In the last minutes of the half, A&M got the first big break of the game. Conatser punted 40y out of bounds on the Mustang nine. Johnston fumbled on the first play, and Aggie C Tommie Vaughn recovered on the 10 with a minute and a half left in the period.

Everyone knew what would happen next. The Aggies would keep giving the ball to Kimbrough until he got into the end zone. On first down, he crashed through tackle for 7y, then gained one more to the two. On third down, he swept wide with no inter­ference. He fooled all the Mustangs except DB Bob Belville, who had a clear shot at him on the five but missed him, causing him to stumble a bit. But Big John stayed on his feet into the end zone with 40 seconds left, creating one of the wildest scenes in Aggie history. Bill "Rock" Audish missed the extra point. Halftime score: Texas A&M 6 SMU 0

Despite being behind, SMU continued its cautious play in the third quarter. With the wind at their backs, the Aggies finally tried their first pass, but it was batted down. Conatser punted 23y to the SMU 35. After two runs went nowhere, the A&M rush hurried Wally Bearden's punt, which went out of bounds just 5y downfield at the SMU 40.

With a chance to clinch the game with a field goal, the Aggies started strong. Mari­on Pugh knifed through for 7y before Kimbrough plowed to a first down on the 30. But four rams at the line missed a first down by inches to turn the ball over to the Ponies on their 20.

Another shanked punt gave the Aggies great field position on the first play of the fourth quarter. Johnnie Clement's kick traveled only 16y to the Mustang 29.

With another chance to put the game away, Pugh swept end for 4y, and Conatser raced around the other end for 14 before being knocked out of bounds on the SMU 11. After Pugh hit the line for one, Conatser swept for 7y, but the play was nullified by a backfield in motion penalty. Another two short runs, Bill Dawson came in to try a field goal, but his kick was short, and SMU took over on their 20.

Johnston returned to the field after recovering from an injury. But all he did was punt after two Clement runs went nowhere.

After several more exchanges, SMU took over on their 42 and immediately took to the air. Clement rifled a pass to Will Mullenweg for 16y to the A&M 42. Then a long pass was batted into the air. After it bounced back and forth, Derrace Moser inter­cepted and lateraled to Vaughn. But it was a forward lateral, and the Aggies were penalized back to their six.

On a day like this, you preferred the other team to have the ball deep in its territory than your side have the ball at midfield. Conatser dropped into the end zone to punt on first down. Mustang E Roland Goss blocked it. Conatser got hold of the ball but was dropped in the end zone for a safety. Texas A&M 6 SMU 2.

Gerald Geise took the kickoff and raced all the way back to the A&M 45 with five minutes to play. Kimbrough intercepted Clement's pass but fumbled, and SMU recovered on the A&M 40.

After a 3y pass completion, Kimbrough intercepted Clement's long pass on the Aggie 16.

Thomason and Kimbrough rammed the line for a first down on the 26. With the clock running down, Conatser punted on fourth down to Clement who returned to the Aggie 46. That set the stage for an exciting and controversial ending.

Clement rifled a 25y pass to Goss, who was tackled on the 14 with seven seconds to go. Time for one more play. Clement lofted a pass into the end zone that Kim­brough and Marland Jeffrey batted down to seal the victory.

FINAL SCORE: TEXAS A&M 6 SMU 2

Coach Bell praised the Aggies. "Today we played one of the great teams in football. We have played great teams this year—Notre Dame and Oklahoma. They (SMU) are better. They are extremely hard to block. They are more powerful.

"They have two of the finest big backs in Jim Thomason and John Kimbrough I have ever seen. The Aggies would undershift their line and let Thomason, a vicious tackler, do the rest. Kimbrough was just as bad."

Texas A&M would defeat Rice and Texas to finish the regular season 10-0 and ranked #1 in the Associated Press poll. They would complete their national champion­ship season by eking out a 14-13 victory over #5 Tulane in the Sugar Bowl.