In 1954, the young head coach at Mississippi State decided to take a detour while returning from a coaching school in San Antonio. He pulled over in Austin.

His mind drifted as he cruised around the University of Texas, stopping at Memorial Stadium.

"It's spooky, really," he would recall. "I had a hunch or whatever you want to call it. I thought one day that the University of Texas would look at me."

The stadium has since been renamed Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. This season marks the 50th anniversary of his hiring. From 1957 to 1976, Royal's Longhorns compiled a record of 167-47-5, capturing three national championships and 11 Southwest Conference crowns.

Royal approached football the way legendary instructor Harvey Penick of Austin Country Club did golf, mixing X's and O's with homespun wit. Some of his coaching philosophies sound as if they came from Penick's Little Red Book:

"If you are playing under the real rules of golf, there is something weak in a person who moves his ball from behind a tree, who nudges his ball or mis-marks his ball," Royal said. "Adherence to the rules, sportsmanship and ethics ... those are the things we have to stand for."

"A person who takes over a 1-9 program does not inherit a warm bed."

Ed Price created the vacancy, resigning under alumni pressure after going 1-9. Royal, 32, wasn't first on UT's list. He was the third coach offered the job by athletic director Dana X. Bible. Bobby Dodd of Georgia Tech and Duffy Daugherty of Michigan State recommended Royal after declining offers.

"He is a fine man and a great player and I wish him all the luck in the world."

Careful what you wish for. In Royal's second season, the Longhorns ended OU's six-game winning streak against Texas with a 15-14 victory. That began a run of 12 UT wins in 13 games against the Sooners.

Royal was an innovator on and off the field. His "flip-flop" Winged T formation made its debut in 1961. Another T formation was the "T ring," given to players for earning degrees. His 1963 Longhorns won the national title, and 45 of the 48 lettermen graduated. Royal was the first coach in the nation to hire an academic/athletic counselor.

Texas unveiled its Wishbone offense on Sept. 21, 1968. The alignment featured three running backs stacked tightly behind the quarterback in a Y formation.

The Longhorns tied their first game and lost their second with the Wishbone. Then they won 30 straight, a run that included two national championships.

•Darrell K. Royal has no middle name. The "K" stands for his mother, Katy, who died of cancer when he was an infant.

•His salary during his first season at UT was reportedly $17,000.

•A native of Hollis, Okla., Royal was made an honorary Texan by the Texas House of Representatives after his first season.

•Friends call him Delbert because that's the name he used at the height of his popularity to keep his identity and location secret.

•Royal bid $117,350 at a public auction for friend Willie Nelson's Pedernales Country Club after it was seized by the Internal Revenue Service.

Royal's final season (5-5-1) was his worst in 20 years. But he managed to walk away from coaching at age 52 with no regrets, he said.

He threw his passion into his role of athletic director. He served from 1962 until 1980, when he became special assistant on athletics to UT president Peter Flawn. Royal was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983.

"I'm not tired of coaching, but I wanted to get out before I got tired of it," Royal said the day after he retired. "I always wanted to leave somebody's house when they wanted me to stay a little longer."

Except these Royalisms are much better than anything you can find in a box of chocolates:

"Three things can happen when you pass and two of 'em are bad."

"You never lose a game if the opponent doesn't score."

"Old ugly is better than old ugly."

"Only angry people win football games."

"We're gonna dance with who brung us."

"I learned this about coaching: You don't have to explain victory and you can't explain defeat."

"Football doesn't build charcter. It eliminates the weak ones."

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."

"You've got to think lucky. If you fall into a mud hole, check your back pocket – you might have caught a fish."

"If worms carried pistols, birds wouldn't eat 'em."

Darrell Royal posted some lofty numbers during his playing days at OU.