Jim Negri still remembers the hit, 68 years later.
Negri, a do-everything sophomore on the Arizona Wildcats football team, was covering a kickoff when he tackled Ralph Tate, one of the nation's top return men. Both men hit the turf, hard.
"But neither one of us was hurt, to my knowledge," Negri said. "We got up and went on."
When Arizona takes on Oklahoma State in the Dec. 29 Alamo Bowl, it will mark the first time the teams have met in football since that day - Oct. 17, 1942.
"God almighty," Negri, 87, said, "that was a long time ago."
At the time, Star reporter Vic Thornton wrote the game was "pulsating" and "kaleidoscopic." The Wildcats stunned Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) 20-6 in front of 10,000 fans at Varsity Stadium. Arizona improved to 4-0 on the season, its last before the university suspended the sport for two years because of World War II.
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Sitting at a table inside Tucson Country Club last week, Negri and former teammate George Bland riffled through old game programs and a school annual, the memories of the 1942 season flooding back.
Negri was a 178-pound fullback and linebacker from Douglas who went on to earn third-team All-America honors. Bland, a Tucson native, was a 140-pound freshman tailback who jokes he was "about seventh or eighth string."
Both men played in a game that was one of the biggest wins in program history at the time.
Bolstered by "Rambling" Robert Ruman's 134 total yards, the Wildcats blasted Oklahoma A&M in front of a sold-out crowd, most of which paid $1.25 to watch the UA's big upset. Some oddsmakers listed Arizona as an eight-touchdown underdog heading into the game, according to the Star's archives.
Ruman was easily the team's best player, a second-team All-American who would have been even better had he not broken his collarbone later in the season. Ruman's two backups, Ferril Capps and Negri, were felled by rib and knee injuries.
The Wildcats finished 6-4.
"If Ruman and Jimmy hadn't gotten hurt, things would have gone pretty well that year," said Bland, 85.
Despite posting big numbers, Ruman didn't score against Oklahoma A&M. Shanty Hogan, Tom Black and Wayne Dirst all rushed in touchdowns, and Jack Irish connected on two PATs to pace the UA attack.
The Wildcats ran the single-wing offense with Ruman, a left halfback, getting the majority of the carries. Arizona completed just five passes and punted 11 times.
Arizona's offense was indicative of the times. The Wildcats sported leather helmets with no facemasks, traveled to away games by train - and, as World War II raged - kept football in its proper perspective.
In fact, the win over Oklahoma A&M highlighted a harrowing autumn that saw most of the UA's football players drafted into the armed forces. Arizona did not play football in 1943 or 1944, and played just five games in 1945.
Negri was drafted into the Army midway through the 1942 season but was allowed to enlist at the end of the season. Bland was drafted in February 1943, a day after turning 18.
Both men served with distinction in World War II. Negri spent 30 months with Gen. Douglas MacArthur's unit in the South Pacific, mostly as part of the famed general's security detail.
Bland, a paratrooper in the 17th Airborne Division, earned a Purple Heart in Europe. He was hit by German shrapnel on his way to the Battle of the Bulge and suffered serious injuries.
That Bland was there at all was a testament to his bravery: He stayed in Europe even after learning that his older brother Ted, Arizona's first football All-American and a soldier serving in the 36th Infantry, was killed in France.
"It was a terrible time," George Bland said. "All these young men were killed. So, so many. …
"I guess we were at the wrong place at the right time."
Negri said despite the horrors of war, the two men "were born at a very good time."
"We were lucky, we were patriotic, and we were pretty moral," he said.
Both men eventually returned to Tucson with - Bland has been married for 67 years to Avonne. Negri and his wife, Betty, have been married for 60 years.
Bland went to dental school at Harvard and eventually opened his own dental practice. Negri served as an athletic director for troops stationed in Europe before moving to Texas and pursuing real estate. He retired to Tucson nearly 30 years ago.
Their memories of the 1942 season, and the win, remain fresh.
"We played both ways, and we didn't have nose guards to protect us. If you look at pictures, we all have scabs on our faces," Negri said. "We had a good time."
On StarNet: Read the story from 1942 - the last time Arizona faced Oklahoma State, then called the Oklahoma A&M Aggies - at azstarnet.com/wildcats
ALAMO BOWL
• What: Arizona (7-5) vs. Oklahoma State (10-2)
• Where: San Antonio
• When: 7:15 p.m. Dec. 29
• TV; radio: ESPN; 1290-AM, 1490-AM, 107.5-FM