Steve Worster
August 8, 1949 - July 13, 2022 Bridge City, TX
Steve Worster was born in Rowlings, Wyoming, and was raised from an early age in Bridge City, Texas. He graduated from Bridge City High School in 1967, where he played tailback on the football team and catcher on the baseball team.
Worster was All-District for four years, All-State for two years, and a high school All-American. He led the Cardinals to the Class 3A championship in 1966, running for 2,210 of his career 5,422 yards during the 13-1 season. When he left Bridge City, the school retired his jersey. He was later inducted into the Texas High School Hall of Fame. He ran for 38 100-yard games, which is second in Texas prep history.
Worster entered the University of Texas on a football scholarship and played halfback under legendary coach Darrell Royal. Worster was a key element of the Longhorns' wishbone formation, which was first used against the Houston Cougars in 1968. He was named All-Southwestern Conference three times and was twice named All-American. Worster finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting for the 1970 season, and was also voted 1970 Texas Amateur Athlete of the Year by Texas Sports Writers Association. He was inducted into both the Texas Longhorn Hall of Fame and the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame. Texas Longhorn fans nicknamed Worster "Big Woo."
The Longhorns won two national championships and went to three Cotton Bowls during Worster's four years, and he was voted MVP of the 1970 Cotton Bowl.
The Los Angeles Rams picked him in the fourth round of the 1971 NFL draft but tried "just every underhanded trick they'd play," Worster said. "To the point, they even took me out to get me drunk to sign a contract... I just finally told them I wasn't interested." Worster spent one season in the Canadian Football League with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, then decided to stop playing football. "I played the game because I liked it, it was fun, but by then, I didn't care anymore."
In the mid-eighties, Worster moved back to his hometown of Bridge City, Texas, where people still remember him and the state championship he helped win.
