Governor Roy J. Turner Quotes in Jim Thorpe -- All-American (1951)

[first lines]

Man on Speaker's Platform: [applause] Ladies and gentlemen, the honorable Roy J. Turner, governor of the state of Oklahoma.

Governor Roy J. Turner: [audience applauds] Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here this evening to express our pride and pay tribute to a native son of Oklahoma. But I think it is only fitting that I forgo the honor of making this presentation myself, and call upon a great gentleman of whom we are also very proud, even though he is not a native son.

Governor Roy J. Turner: [the audience laughs] May I present to you one of the immortals of the world of sports: the greatly beloved Pop Warner.

[the audience applauds]

Governor Roy J. Turner: May I present to you one of the immortals of the world of sports: the greatly beloved Pop Warner.

[the audience applauds]

Glenn S. 'Pop' Warner: Thank you, Governor Turner, Mrs. Turner. Ladies and gentlemen, I am, of course, highly honored to make this presentation. But this event has special significance for me, and I feel a deep sense of personal pride and pleasure. Fifty years is a long time; many exciting people and events have had their moment on the American scene. Tonight we pay recognition to a man who had more than a brief moment - a man who, during the past half-century, has carved a permanent place for himself in all our hearts. And on this memorable occasion, I can't help but think back to a young Indian lad, who grew up on a reservation. As a boy, he roamed the woods with his father, hunting and fishing. Then one day, he was faced with the prospect of school: that frightening institution of the white man's world. But being cooped up indoors was more than young Thorpe could stand. His father had deposited him at the front door, and Jim left immediately by the back door.