Duke Carlisle, a Texas Longhorns legend, has died at the age of 84.
The former quarterback led the Longhorns to an undefeated season in 1964, winning the team’s first national championship.
Carlisle passed away on Friday following a seven-year battle with lung cancer, according to the Houston Chronicle.
‘He was really a humble, self-effacing guy,’ Rich Terry, Carlisle’s son-in-law, told the outlet. ‘He never pushed himself and never took himself seriously. He was such an invert and just a good guy.’
While Carlisle never made All-American or first-team All-Southwest Conference, he did cement himself as a legend in Texas.
He was named MVP in Texas’s dramatic win over Navy and Roger Staubach in the 1964 Cotton Bowl.
Duke Carlisle, a legendary Texas Longhorns quarterback, has died at the age of 84
Carlisle, pictured with his wife Emily, passed away following a battle with lung cancer
Carlisle threw for a then-Cotton Bowl record 234 yards with two touchdowns in the win to outplay Staubach, the Heisman Trophy winner.
The 28-6 victory clinched Texas’s first championship title. The Longhorns have since gone on to win three more titles in 1969, 1970 and 2005.
He also played on both offense and defense, suiting up as a safety during his senior season under legendary Texas coach Darrell Royal.
He made a key defensive play during Texas’s undefeated season, making an interception during the Longhorns’ game against Baylor that year.
Born in Kaufman, Texas, as Emmett Augustus Carlisle, he was nicknamed Duke. He grew up in Athens where he took his high school team to the state quarterfinals as a junior.
Carlisle was drafted by both the NFL (Packers) and the AFL (Chiefs), but never played in a professional game.
The former signal caller led the Longhorns to their first ever national championship
Following college, he worked as an investment banker in New York before briefly moving to Dallas and eventually settling in Mississippi with a job in the oil business.
‘We are saddened to hear of the passing of Texas Athletics Hall of Honor member, Duke Carlisle,’ Texas shared on X on Friday evening. ‘Our thoughts & prayers go out his family, friends, and teammates.’
‘We lost a great Longhorn in Duke Carlisle,’ John Bianco, the Longhorns’ Athletic Director, wrote. ‘The QB who led Texas to its first National Championship in 1963 and a true Longhorn Legend in every way, he’ll be dearly missed but never forgotten. Sending my thoughts, prayers and condolences to his family, friends and teammates.’
Reporter Suzanne Halliburton posted: ‘Thoughts are with the Carlisle family. Duke was one of the legends of Longhorns football.’
