Louis Jordan, Class of 1911

A Longhorn Legend 

Louis Jordan (Class of 1911) carved a Longhorn legend at the University of Texas as his athletic skills were superior to those players of his time. He lettered three years in track and four years in football as a 6’4”, 225 pound right guard in 1911-1915. He was the first Texas player selected as a “Walter Camp All-American” and the only former athlete later inducted in the first class of the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1957. 

In 1915 Louis returned to San Antonio Academy to teach math and science and to coach the football team with an amazing ability to create “spirit and a winning team.” In the 1918 Academy Record, an article records a full account of Lieutenant Louis Jordan’s death during World War I as both the first SAA graduate and the first Texas military officer killed in action. He died from shrapnel from a German artillery shell on the fields of Luneville, France.

In 1924 when UT dedicated the football stadium as “Texas Memorial Stadium” in honor of war veterans, the people of Fredericksburg erected a flagpole called the “Louis Jordan Flagpole” at the southeast corner of the stadium, where it still stands today. Louis remains a giant in stature and spirit.