VAULT Harold Horton: Born to Coach

The Hog Pod with Bo Mattingly

Sport & Story

Arkansas, Hogs, Sports, Razorbacks

4.8 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If you were building a Mount Rushmore of important figures in Arkansas football history, there’s no doubt that Frank Broyles would be on there. But right there with him would be Harold Horton. Horton’s ties to the Razorbacks—and the state of Arkansas—run deep. He was part of three Southwest Conference championship teams in the early ‘60s under Frank Broyles, who then hired him as an assistant coach—a position he would hold for 13 years. After an unceremonious end to his time as a Razorback assistant and two years in the business sector, Horton was hired as the head coach at Central Arkansas, where he would win two NAIA national championships in eight seasons. He would return to Arkansas in 1990, working in football operations, before eventually serving as the president of the Razorback Foundation. All told, Horton had a major impact on the Hog football program for nearly 40 years. In this episode, Hogs+ senior contributor Clay Henry tells the story of Razorback great Harold Horton, with help from former Arkansas players and coaches like Tim Horton, Louis Campbell and Mike Boschetti.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, it's Bo Mattingly, host of the Hog Pod, and it's a sad day for Razorback Nation.
0:05.1	The Razorback community is mourning the loss of Harold Horton, who passes away at the age of 85,
0:11.8	a cornerstone of Razorback football and eventually Razorback Athletics with the Foundation,
0:17.9	dedicating over four decades to a program as a player, coach, and administrator.
0:23.7	As a defensive back, he played from 59 to 61 under Frank Broils.
0:28.2	He helped lead the Razorbacks to three consecutive Southwestern Conference titles or a share
0:32.8	of one and a victory in the 1960 Gator Bowl.
0:36.4	His leadership extended beyond the field. He returned as an
0:40.2	assistant coach in 1968, Frank Boyle's first former player who would later become an assistant.
0:47.5	And Harold Horton was a captain for Frank Boyle's as a player. But his 22 years in the Razorback
0:53.0	Foundation perhaps summed up what Harold Horton was all
0:56.8	about, bringing people together, a man of common sense, someone who understood Arkansas and made
1:05.1	the Razorback fan base a better thing to be a part of. And we won't forget his time at UCA,
1:12.3	where Harold Horton won two national championships,
1:15.7	and at one point, 38 consecutive games.
1:18.5	If you go back and look at his career, all he ever did was win.
1:22.3	As a player coming out of DeWitt,
1:24.6	as a coach later at Bald Knob and Forest City with UCA and Arkansas. He won in
1:30.9	every way. One as a dad. One as a person. One as a friend. And always did it with a smile on his
1:38.6	face and a thoughtful, kind word for everyone. Today we go back and remember the late Harold Horton with our
1:48.7	condolences to his wife Betty, his son Tim, his daughter Holly, their five grandkids
1:54.8	and three great grandchildren who have a legacy to remember forever.
	...

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