Saturday’s late night contest bidding Texas Tech to square off against Arizona will mark the second time the two programs have faced off in the last five years.
The Red Raiders made the journey to Tucson in 2019, losing 28-14, and will travel again this weekend– this time to square off as Big 12 foes. The two sides are long removed from the era in which they were originally bound by league play, in the days of the Border Conference that stood from 1931-62.
To many, the matchup Saturday is one more game on the schedule, a road opportunity for the current rendition of Red Raiders to continue what has been a relatively successful beginning to the 2024 season.
To the family of Arlen Wesley, a co-captain for Texas Tech back in the 1950’s, the matchup is much beyond that of just a game.
In the 1954 season, the Red Raiders traveled to Tucson, looking to add onto their impressive nine-consecutive wins over the Wildcats.
Arlen Wesley was a prominent member of that ‘54 squad, playing on both sides of the ball as a left guard, right tackle and on the defensive line. He was described as a tough player, who always answered the call to action wherever the team needed him.
Coach Posey, an assistant on the Tech staff at the time, brought a proposition to the group of defensive linemen that was almost certainly going to be frowned upon in most circles around the nation, even today.
Lining up across this group of players that season for Arizona was All-American tail back, Art Lupino, who was dubbed "the Cactus Comet," and would eventually lead the NCAA in rushing yards twice, the first of which was this very 1954 season.
Posey’s proposition was simple: The player who could knock Lupino out of the game would be gifted with a new suit.
During that 1954 outing in Tucson, Wesley saw his chance. He laid a hit right down on Lupino, square in the chest, his elbow finding Lupino’s front teeth in the process.
At the time, football helmets did not have facemasks, thus leading to a more severe injury for Lupino to deal with. Lupino’s tooth is still chipped to this day.
Wesley insisted it was a clean challenge. Officials at the game saw it no different. The play went on to be reviewed in film and again deemed to be a legitimate play. Arizona coaches and the media, however, were not of the same opinion.
Wesley’s play caused mass controversy, so much so that it made national headlines. That was a lot tougher back in the day without the prevalence of social media to boost engagement. This was no small incident that took place in Tucson.
The bare bones context of this story might suggest that Wesley was just doing as his coach had bid him to do. He made a monster hit, and was thus rewarded handsomely with a new suit.
Clothes like this were a rarity for Wesley, who grew up poor by all definitions of the word. He played football at Texas Tech not only for the love of the game, but because his football scholarship ensured he would be able to walk away from the steps of the university with an education in hand.
That was not something he could have been guaranteed, or even dreamed of, had he not had football to count on.
Back to the suit.
At the time, Wesley was in a relationship with a sorority girl on campus. The matchup with Arizona took place in early November that year. The girl, Jeri, had a sorority formal coming up on the calendar. Unfortunately for Wesley, he did not have any suitable clothes to attend this formal in.
The opportunities presented to Wesley surrounding the affairs of the Arizona game were too good to pass up.
Help the team win the game? Check. Please his coach? Check. Get a new suit, for free, to take his date to her sorority formal? Check. Ding, ding, ding.
Wesley’s hit, like mentioned above, made national news. After Wesley laid the hit on Lupino, Posey pulled him from the game and instructed Wesley to wait out the rest of the night in the locker room. Some narratives circulated that Wesley had been ejected, but the truth was Posey sent Wesley away for his own safety.
The team returned home, victorious 28-14, and Wesley was the recipient of a new suit, paid for by Posey, several weeks later. This new suit was, of course, his choice of attire for the Jeri’s sorority formal.
The two got married in 1956 and were married for 67 years until Arlen’s passing in 2023 at 90 years old. He only admitted to his closest confidants the true methodology in which he obtained the suit.
But in hindsight, he needed that suit more than he could have ever known.
Wesley told everyone he knew that everything good in his life came to him because God blessed him with Texas Tech.
His best friendships were crafted at Texas Tech. His degree inspired him to run his own business.
His wife and his family, now three-generations of Red Raiders, came from Texas Tech. Everything good in Arlen’s life came to him from Texas Tech.
A hit to help win a game, a new suit and a sorority formal led to his marriage, his family and ultimately, the connection to this game versus Arizona that those living to honor his memory will cherish for as long as the game is played as it's memory rekindled 70 years later this weekend when Texas Tech visits the Wildcats for the 20th time, looking for win No. 14 in Tucson.
