Marvin Lawson began what would become a family tradition in 1963 when he decided to start “running the chains” for the Sapulpa Chieftains—that is, handling the markers that help signal which down and how many yards until the next first down.
By the time he retired in 2007, he’d been doing the job for over 40 years. Tulsa World’s John Klein interviewed him in 2015 about how he got started.
“It was whoever would show up,” he told Klein back then. “They would look up in the stands and get a couple of guys.”
By that next year, Lawson had a permanent crew together, and running the chains at Chieftain football games has largely been a family affair ever since, until last Friday.
With the end of the 2025 Chieftain Football Season, the Lawson Chain Gang, consisting of Marvin’s son Chris Lawson and brothers-in-law Rob Ericksten and Ron Holton, finally retires; each of the original gang having more than thirty years of experience apiece.
Marvin himself worked under 11 different coaches and two different Chieftain football stadiums. Since 1963, there have only been 9 guys in total running the chains. Five of the nine have passed away.
Marvin Lawson passed away in 2022 at the age of 91. He was primarily remembered for two things: riding his horse around town and serving on the chain gang. After his passing, the school placed an empty chair with his jacket, vest, and marker at the sidelines in his honor.
In all their years, none of the gang has missed more than maybe five games each, at the most.
The chain gang is actually more critical to the game than most in the stands will realize.
“We’re part of the officiating crew,” Holton said.
It’s a responsibility they take seriously, but one that also carries risks. On a few occasions, they’ve been wiped out by a play that suddenly veered out of bounds.
Ericksten recalled a time when, for whatever reason, players or parents were at the sidelines, obstructing the view of the chain gang. A player ran to make a catch near the sideline, and someone standing in front of Ericksten jumped out of the way, and Ericksten had no time to react and was caught middle of the play.
“I hopped up hollering at people,” he said. “They stayed out of my way after that,” he said.
On more than one occasion, the chain gang has been accused of signaling to the coaches, but all such accusations have been thrown out without much argument.
Chris Lawson has said he’ll remain as a coordinator, and there’s a rumor of a 3rd-generation Lawson joining the gang full-time, but that’s still to be seen.
In any case, the original gang says that the part they played in the last six decades has been well worth it.
“We were all brought up to be a part of our community,” Holton told Sapulpa Times at the final game. “It’s what’s kept us coming back, even after our kids and grandkids all graduated.”
