Top 10 images of Oklahoma

In terms of a crossover career that spans stage, screen, journalism, and social commentary, there has never been a more popular performer than Will Rogers during the 1920s and 1930s. This champion of the common man was proud of his Cherokee heritage and his birth in what would become Oklahoma. His memorial museum in Claremore has perpetuated Will's distinctive legacy for subsequent generations.

‘Grapes of Wrath'

As artists, John Steinbeck created one of the greatest stories in American fiction and John Ford directed a movie adaptation that translated the story into unforgettable images of the human spirit. At the same time, they painted a picture of Oklahoma as a dry, windblown state where dreams were shattered by hard times and the Dust Bowl. Their intent was to create dramatic tension, but many people accepted their images as reality.

Home of Mickey Mantle

Just as Mickey Mantle, the good-looking, charismatic baseball player from Oklahoma hit the big league stage in New York City, the new technology of television was bringing baseball into the homes of millions of families across the country. Seemingly bigger than life, the “Commerce Comet” became a legend in his own time to both fans and sports writers who traced his country boy image back to the hills of Oklahoma.

Tornadoes

In a media-driven world where image is often based on dramatic tension, there is no more sudden fury and gut-wrenching human drama than a tornado ripping across the landscape. Oklahoma, for geographical and climatological reasons, is dead center in the middle of Tornado Alley where weather forecasters such as Gary England are household names featured in movies such as “Twister.”

Sooner football

In the 1950s, as Oklahomans fought back against the image of their state as a dream-killing Dust Bowl, the soaring success of Bud Wilkinson's football teams generated pride and a new spirit of youthful vigor. Outside the state, the image of the Sooner football juggernaut would continue under Barry Switzer and Bob Stoops, especially after each hard-won victory over their arch rival, the University of Texas.