I'll 'fess up ... I'm a nut for history, and a real sucker for exact anniversaries of historical events. The New York Times "Today in History" is a must read. But what won't make the New York Times, today, is that exactly 100 years ago, John Lang Sinclair put the finishing touches on a song that's frequently mistaken as the official Texas State song. Oops, do I hear my Aggie friends reaching for the Delta barf bags? Well, get a grip...here's the story.

The director of the State University's band - it wasn't called the "Longhorn" band yet - asked his roomie, Sinclair, to write a song for an upcoming minstrel show honoring the school's track team. That's right ... track team. Sinclair took an idea professed by then UT President William Prather, and matched it to the already popular melody of "I've Been Workin' On The Railroad", and voila ... "The Eyes of Texas" was born.

Its inaugural performance was May 12th - 100 years ago, tonight - at the new Hancock Opera House in downtown Austin. Within days it was the talk of the sleepy town. The "Eyes" would become the Official Song of the University of Texas, and mistakenly be thought of as the Official State Song.

Here's some perspective on what else was going on in sleepy little Austin, about that time. The city ... err... town boasted a population of 22-thousand. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody brought his Wild West Show to town ... President Roosevelt visited - Teddy, that is - ... and Congress avenue was still dirt.

The Eyes of Texas underwent 'copyright' issues until the 1980's when the University finally was granted the rights for good. And even as recent as last week, the University's Board of Regents reaffirmed the song as the "Official Song of The University of Texas".

Well done, Mr. Sinclair. Well done, 1903 Track team. And, Happy Birthday!