Oklahoma's Popular Culture

Many Oklahomans have contributed to modern America’s popular culture. A few can be mentioned here. In the 1980s and 1990s, Reba McIntire, Vince Gill and Garth Brooks became three of the best known and most famous country singers in the nation. Oklahoma’s Mickey Mantle and Johnny Bench were two of the greatest baseball players in the history of the game.

Actors James Garner, Gene Autry, Tony Randall, Van Heflin, Ben Johnson, Ron Howard and Iron Eyes Cody (Cherokee) also hailed from the Sooner State, as did actress Jennifer Jones and singer Anita Bryant. Astronauts L. Gordon Cooper, Owen K. Garriott, William R. Pogue and Thomas P. Stafford were also Oklahoma-born, as were Journalist Bill Moyers, comedian Dan Rowan, broadcaster Paul Harvey, cartoonist Chester Gould and Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller. The state’s football stars are many, including Barry Sanders of Oklahoma State University who won the Heisman Trophy and went on to an outstanding professional career with the Detroit Lions.

The Oklahoma Sac and Fox Indian Jim Thorpe was probably history’s best all-around athlete. He was a star in football, baseball and track and field. He won gold medals for his races at the Olympic games of 1912 and was voted the greatest athlete of the first half of the 20th century.

Oklahomans love spectator sports. Both the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State University Cowboys are in the Big Twelve Conference. Henry Iba was a legendary basketball coach at Oklahoma State University. Most of the state’s universities and colleges also have men’s baseball and women’s softball along with basketball, track and soccer teams for both men and women. Oklahoma City is also the home of minor league baseball and hockey teams.

Outdoor recreation is also part of Oklahoma’s popular culture. The state ranks third in the nation in the amount of fresh water fishing sites. Lake Eufaula, Lake Tenkiller and Lake Texoma are examples of resort areas where people can fish, swim, water-ski and camp out.

Study Guide Questions

1. Name two Hall of Fame Baseball players from Oklahoma.
2. Name three famous Country and Western singers from Oklahoma.
3. Name four famous actors from Oklahoma.
4. Name three astronauts from Oklahoma.
5. Who is Jim Thorpe and for what is he famous?
6. What university did Barry Sanders attend and what sport did he play?
7. Name three of Oklahoma’s lake resorts.

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