Legend of Sixkiller: A Magazine Cover, Followed by a Bad Read
Before leaving for Illinois, Sonny Sixkiller walked off the practice field and was introduced to a waiting stranger. Sports Illustrated writer Roy Blount Jr.
Sixkiller received a heads-up several days in advance of this moment that an eastern magazine wanted to do a story on him, but he wasn't aware it was SI. Or that he would be speaking with someone who would become one of the nation's leading humorists.
The University of Washington quarterback half-heartedly pushed back when learning he was the subject of a cover story. Always the team player, Sonny thought this would unfairly draw attention away from his Husky teammates.
UW sports information director Mark Lookabaugh interceded and countered that this sort of publicity would only benefit the school and the football program. There was no turning back.
With that, Sixkiller and the famous writer sat down and spoke at length about Sonny's path to stardom, his Cherokee ancestry and his roots.
The next day, Blount made the long drive to Ashland, Oregon, to get a look at Sonny's hometown and meet with the Sixkiller clan.
Only one other UW football player, Rose Bowl quarterback Bob Schloredt, had appeared on an SI cover, in 1960. This was exciting stuff, a media breakthrough.
More national exposure was on the way for Sixkiller. So was speculation in the Seattle newspapers about the supposed cover jinx that accompanies this publication.
The magazine, promoting "Washington Wonder Sonny Sixkiller," came out before the Huskies faced the then-Stanford Indians with a Rose Bowl berth on the line for the second consecutive year. The story was highly complimentary, something to make everyone proud.
On Saturday, it was time to write the next chapter. The weather was perfect. A record crowd of 60,777 squeezed into Husky Stadium. Seattle could hardly contain itself over this monumental sporting showdown between the 11th-ranked and unbeaten Huskies hosting No. 19 and once-beaten Stanford.
It was a huge party. When the Husky busses pulled up, delivering the players from their overnight stay at a local hotel, these guys watched wide-eyed as security guards removed a keg from the stadium.
"The students snuck it in the night before, pressing on the gates to get inside," Sixkiller said. "We'd never seen anything like it. Holy crap."
Yet amid all of the excitement, no one took into account the role "the Thunder Chickens" would play in this epic match-up. The catchy name described the Indians' fearsome defense, especially the imposing front four of Roger Cowan, Pete Lazetich, Larry Butler and Greg Sampson. They all should have been named Sampson.
These guys were under orders to focus all of their attention on Sixkiller, the SI cover golden boy, and ignore everyone else in a purple shirt.
It worked.
In what might have been the most bitterly disappointing Husky football game ever -- though some would readily point to a Rose Bowl-denying 14-7 loss to Cal suffered by a Hugh McElhenny and Don Heinrich team in 1950 -- the Huskies fell behind early and went down easy, losing 17-6.
Sixkiller never had a chance. Clearly outcoached, the Huskies ran for their football lives from the opening kickoff. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer the next day sized up the afternoon misery with the following politically incorrect headline: "11 Injuns Better Than One."
Stanford blitzed on every play, sending the safeties off the edges. They forced Sonny into his worst outing at the UW, permitting him to complete just 12 of 46 passing attempts for 182 yards -- and no touchdowns. He served up four interceptions, three to Indians safety Benny Barnes. They sacked him four times.
"I never had time to throw," Sixkiller said. "We didn't have an audible other than a timeout. They were a physical team. It was stuff we hadn't seen before."
Stanford spotted weaknesses in the UW that were exploited to repeatedly get to the high-profile quarterback wearing No. 6.
"Last year the Huskies had a veteran offensive line and gave us terrific trouble," said Lazetich, referring to a 29-22 Stanford victory in Palo Alto, California. "I mean two of their players (Bruce Jarvis and Ernie Janet) went into pro ball. Their line this time wasn't as experienced."
The Huskies didn't pick up a first down until the 11:52 mark of the second quarter. They had just one rushing first down all game.
Gene Willis punted 11 times, shanking the first one and initially setting up Stanford on the Husky 32. The Indians scored in three plays, finding the end zone on a 20-yard pass to John Winesberry from Don Bunce.
On the next series, Sixkiller was intercepted by the opportunistic Barnes, who returned the ball 15 yards to the Husky 34. The Indians made it 14-0 when Reggie Sanderson bolted over the left side and scored from 20 yards out. Stanford added a field goal and led 17-0 at halftime.
"We knew we better play like hell against Washington or get run out of the country," Lazetich said.
Stanford coach John Ralston said this team of his was as mentally prepared as any he had coached. He said the pass rush was the key to everything. He even complimented Sixkiller in spite of his off day.
"I thought Sixkiller was tremendous when faced with adversity," Ralston said. "He never lost his poise."
The Huskies couldn't get anything going offensively against Stanford until the fourth quarter, but they still needed plenty of help to get in the end zone.
A Sixkiller pass deflected off the hands of tight end John Brady and into the grasp of wide receiver Scott Loomis for a 37-yard gain to the Stanford 9.
On fourth down on this series, Sixkiller was spilled for an 11-yard loss, but the Indians were flagged for defensive holding. Given a reprieve, UW running back Luther Sligh scored on a 9-yard run. A two-point conversion failed.
Nine of these 11 Thunder Chickens later would play in the NFL. The defense was named for a motorcycle gang in Billings, Montana, Lazetich's hometown.
Stanford players had read the Sixkiller story in Sports Illustrated, too. In fact, they taped up the magazine photos of him throughout their locker room at home for motivation. It worked. All of it.
"Heck, that Sports Illustrated is a jinx," Lazetich said.