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by Matt Jones , Tom Murphy
Tommy Trantham, a three-time All-Southwest Conference defensive back whose 77-yard fumble return helped the Arkansas football team beat top-ranked Texas in 1965, died Sunday in Little Rock. He was 79. 
Trantham had been suffering with Parkinson’s Disease and was admitted to St. Vincent Hospital in Little Rock on Saturday.
A graduate of Little Rock Central High School, Trantham redshirted on the Razorbacks’ 1964 national championship team and traveled to all the away games as an emergency player, said Jerry Welch, his classmate in high school and at Arkansas. Trantham lettered for the Razorbacks from 1965-67 on teams that had a combined record of 22-8-1. 
“Tommy was one of the truly, truly good guys,” Welch said. “He wasn’t like a lot of guys. He never got in any trouble. He kept his nose clean and did the right thing and you could aways trust him. If he said it, you could take it to the bank.”
Ken Hatfield, a defensive back and return specialist on the 1964 team, practiced against Trantham that season when Trantham was still playing wide receiver.
“Tommy was a wonderful teammate,” Hatfield said. “He was a true Hog always and gave his best at all times. We need more men like him.”
His touchdown return against the Longhorns gave Arkansas a 13-0 lead in a game the third-ranked Razorbacks won 27-24 in Fayetteville on Oct. 16, 1965 — their second victory over a No. 1 Texas team in as many seasons and their 17th consecutive victory in a win streak that reached 22 games. 
“[Texas halfback Phil] Harris cut for an opening without a real grip on the ball, and our tackle, Jim Williams, hit him awfully hard, and anybody in Terrapin Neck will tell you that Trantham is a fine football player,” Arkansas coach Frank Broyles was quoted as saying by Sports Illustrated after the game. 
Texas marked the second game in a row Trantham scored a defensive touchdown. He had a 69-yard interception return for a touchdown the week before during a 38-7 victory at Baylor. 
Arkansas ascended to No. 1 in The Associated Press poll the week following the Texas victory for the first and only time in its history.
The Razorbacks repeated as Southwest Conference champions in 1965 with a 10-0 regular-season record. Trantham intercepted 4 passes that year. 
By 1967 he was featured on the cover of “Dave Campbell’s Arkansas Football” preview magazine. A photo of Trantham on the bench during the previous year’s 12-7 victory at Texas was captioned: “Tommy Trantham’s face tells the story on the day the Razorbacks made it three in a row over the Longhorns.” 
Prior to the 1967 season, Broyles told Sports Illustrated, “Tommy Trantham ought to help give us our best secondary.” 
Trantham recorded 6 interceptions for 104 yards and was credited with 12 pass breakups as a senior. His 12 career interceptions were a program record at the time his playing career ended and are tied with four others for third present day. 
Gary Adams, Trantham’s teammate but a year younger, broke the program record with 13 from 1966-68. Steve Atwater broke Adams’ record with 14 interceptions from 1985-88. 
Trantham’s program record of 300 interception return yards during his career has stood for six decades. 
He was named to the Razorbacks’ All-Decade team for the 1960s and was selected to play in the Hula Bowl and North-South Shrine Game after his senior season. He was inducted to the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor in 2019. 
Trantham played for the Arkansas Diamonds of the Continental Football League in 1968 and 1969 — the final year as a player/coach. Trantham recorded 9 interceptions on defense and caught 45 passes for 695 yards and 2 touchdowns on offense for the Diamonds, according to ProFootballArchives.com. 
He was an assistant coach at Hot Springs High School from 1970-75, helping the Trojans to an undefeated state championship in his first year on staff. 
Trantham went into banking for a time and then bought and operated Crystal Springs Resort on Lake Ouachita near Hot Springs.
“Tommy is one of 10 kids,” Welch said. “I grew up with his whole family. The good thing about going to the Tranthams’ [house], they never realized there was somebody extra at the dinner table.”
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