Walter "Waddy" Young

A Ponca City native, football success came early for Young. He played on a junior high school team that was undefeated, unscored on and untied and then earned additional recognition at Ponca High, including All-State honors as a senior.

At 6-0, 203 pounds, his college football career was impressive and he was considered a good receiver, but he is remembered more for his exploits on defense. He was one of the top coverage men in the country, a three-year letterman and first team All-Conference in 1937 and 1938. In 1938, OU was Big Six Champion and Young was one of four Sooners that made All-Big Six.

He became the University of Oklahoma’s first consensus All-American in 1938, being selected by Associated Press, Colliers and International News Service. His senior year, his athletic ability and leadership were keys to the defense giving up only 12 points the entire year. It was "Waddy" Young who led an underdog Sooner team to a 1938 upset victory over Rice and on to an undefeated season and a berth in the 1939 Orange Bowl. His efforts at the University of Oklahoma helped earn him a spot among the Top 100 Greatest Sooners of all time.

Friends and teammates remember Young fondly. "When you met Waddy you could tell right away he was a leader," said Barth Walker, a University of Oklahoma lineman from 1935-37. "His teammates looked up to him and he had great respect. He always carried himself well and that showed on the football field and in life."

During Young’s days in Norman, the Sooners ran the single-wing and the double-wing. Young’s blocking prowess was exceeded only by his cover and tackling skills. He was a top secondary man for Tom Stidham, who was 27-8-3 in four seasons at OU.

Young also was known on campus as the heavyweight boxing champ and also a salty wrestler for the Sooners.

He was drafted in the third round by the Brooklyn Dodgers professional football team and played for two seasons before joining the Army in 1940. Young played for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1939 and 1940, catching 15 passes over two years for 185 yards.

Young was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986.

"Waddy" Young is the first person ever to receive two Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame honors. Along with being inducted into the Hall of Fame, Young will also receive the Bob Kalsu Freedom Award named for James Robert “Bob” Kalsu, who was an All-American at OU. Kalsu was the only professional athlete to be killed in Vietnam. The first award went to Kalsu in 2001, the second in 2004 to actor Dale Robertson.