Like many of the state's most colorful tales, the story of Texas' Big Bertha and a decades-long rivalry over the biggest drums in college football began with the bravado of a wealthy oilman.
In 1954, Longhorn Band benefactor Col. D. Harold "Dry Hole" Byrd, a man who had earned an unfortunate nickname for drilling wells that produced nothing before eventually making a fortune in the East Texas oilfield, directed UT band director Moton Crockett to procure the largest drum he could find.
Like Byrd, Crockett started out on his own expedition before striking it big. Really big.