Border War Chronicles: Truman’s First Border War, 1986
By Joe Proszek
To celebrate perhaps the final game of the Border War, Zoulogy will present memories of the most important chapters in the history of the rivalry every day leading up to the game. Today’s installment: The game on Nov. 22, 1986, Truman’s first Border War.
Mizzou’s 1986 offered little to be excited about. The Tigers finished 3-8 after losing five straight games from Sept. 20 to Oct. 18. But 1986 saw two important landmarks for Tigers football: their largest win ever over Kansas and the birth of Truman the Tiger.
On Sept. 16, the final results of a campus-wide vote were announced officially naming the Tigers new mascot “Truman” after President Harry S. Truman, the only president born in the state of Missouri.
Mizzou did not give their new athletic face a very good welcome, losing the next five games following his introduction. However, on a crisp November day, the Tigers made Truman’s first ever Border War game special.
The Tiger offense did not seem a likely candidate to erupt against Kansas. Quarterback Ronnie Cameron only completed 49 of his 111 passes that season, and Mizzou was fresh off a 77-0 embarrassment at the hands of No. 4 Oklahoma.
But the Jayhawks defense could do almost no right against the suddenly powerful Mizzou ground game, led by starting halfback Darrell Wallace and receiver Robert Delpino. The offense hung 48 on the Jayhawks while starting linebacker Gary Justis and the defense stifled Kansas, giving Truman a victory in his first ever Border War. Since Truman came to Mizzou, the Tigers lead the series 13-12.
Mizzou won the game 48-0, tying the largest blowout in the series (Mizzou had won three other games 48-0 earlier in the series), and neither team has had such a dominating performance since.