Compiled by Forrest Preece
By Daniel Young, General Manager, Dirty Martin's Place
Dirty Martin's Place has been a mainstay on the University of Texas campus since 1926. It is also known for hosting several famous University of Texas football players over its illustrious history. I have often heard stories from our customers about Bobby Layne, who attended the University of Texas from 1944 to 1947. He would stop by Dirty's before his games for a quick burger and beer!
This takes us to the 1970s with Earl Campbell, who is still a loyal supporter of Dirty's today! We have currently done away with carhop service, but when Earl pulls up and flashes his lights, you know we'll be out there in a jiff. His order, an OT Special, extra onions, and as he likes to say in his iconic Earl Campbell voice, "drag it through the garden." He also adds a strawberry malt, extra thick.
Nowadays not a whole lot has changed. A few years ago, the restaurant began being very active in taking pictures with staff and UT athletes, blowing them up and putting them up on the walls! From the past three years you can see the likes of Bijan Robinson, T'vondre Sweat, Ja'tavion Sanders, Jonathan Brooks, the late Cedric Benson, Kasey Studdard, and many more. All of these athletes are current or former NFL players.
In the spring of 2023, Arch Manning made his way to the UT campus before his freshman season even began. Before even his first collegiate practice, he was already a household name. Luckily for the restaurant, Arch stopped by one day that spring and took a picture with some of our kitchen staff. It instantly became our most fashionable photo; so fashionable that one day, it was stolen from the restaurant!
Once Dirty's management realized our beloved Arch picture was stolen, we took to Instagram offering a reward to anyone who might know the whereabouts of the photo. A few days later, it turned up, supposedly found in an elevator in a student condo somewhere off of Nueces Street. The students who returned the photo were all offered Dirty's gift cards and we now have their photo next to the Arch photo!
After this experience, we have made sure that our precious Arch Manning photo is now bolted to the wall!
