Carter Hill’s passing, Jeff Ward, Bobby Lilljedahl , and Bill Little

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HORNS ???? UP

Carter Hill has passed away

Todd Hunt notified TLSN that Carter Hill has passed away.

Todd said:

“All, We have lost Longhorn Carter Hill. Carter passed away on April 4th. Carter leaves behind his wife, 2 sons and a daughter. Carter was an offensive lineman of the class of 1984 football team and discus thrower for the University of Texas at Austin.”

“To honor his memory teammates have setup a GoFundme for his daughter Bailey to help her complete nursing school degree at UTSA. “ The link is

https://www.gofundme.com/f/memorial-fund-honoring-carter-hill?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1 [gofundme.com]

Steve Llewellyn shares his thoughts:

“Carter Hill, a beloved father, husband, teammate and great friend passed away on April 4th. Carter was married to his wife Bobbi for 22 years and father to two sons Jackson and Thomas Hoskins and daughter Bailey Hill. To honor the special memory of Carter, we have established a college fund to help his daughter Bailey complete her nursing degree at UTSA. “

Comment from Billy Dale:

“Most of you know that one of TLSN’S goals is to leave no one behind . It is important to celebrate the lives of all Longhorn letter winners in all sports who pass away. If you would like to share a memory of Carter, please email me at Billydale1@gmail.com. “

TLSN will set up a permanent link to Carter’s celebration of life webpage soon. Horns ???? and Eyes ???? UP.

TLSN is an independent organization celebrating Longhorn Sports History and assisting qualifying Horns who need temporary financial assistance. TLSN is not associated with the UT Athletic Department or any organization closely aligned with UT.

All-American Kicker Jeff Ward (Still) Speaks Out

There are likely many Americans who know Michael Strahan only as a cuddly and personable morning TV host. And those who think Joe Namath is just some old guy who reminds Medicare recipients to check their zip codes for extra benefits. Strange as it might seem, not all folks know about Act I for these gents.

Similarly, there have undoubtedly been tens of thousands, likely many, many more who know Jeff Ward as strictly a provocative, compelling talk show host. The man who had listeners cussing and discussing him and his takes on current events for twenty years on KLBJ has since worked in a similar capacity for Gannett/Austin American-Statesman and now delivers tasty daily content for Hot Pie Media. His mantra is this: “My only agenda is to make you think.”

But in another time, going back almost four decades, Jeff Ward was the Texas Longhorns leading scorer for an unprecedented four straight football seasons.

From the pinnacle of an 11-0 regular season in ’83 to the depths of a losing senior season in ’86, UT’s kicker was the only positive constant during a tumultuous era. Ward’s 15 field goals often provided the W’s, by the narrowest of margins.

For the rest of Jeff’s story click on https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/jeff-ward-1983-1984-1985-1986

Bobby Lilljedahl

Sportswriter and author Mark McDonald shares a memory of an inglorious Longhorn record punt that kicker Bobby Lilljedahl owns. Mark says:

(methinks), Bobby Lilljedahl punted for Texas against a mighty wind. About 15 yards downfield, behind the Longhorn cover unit, the ball started rolling back toward the line of scrimmage.

End over tantalizing end, the ball kept rolling and rolling while Texas players blindly raced upfield to cover the Baylor return man. Texas fans could see what the players could not, hollering “down the ball! Down the ball!”

If memory serves, the Horns under Coach David McWilliams downed it all right … In 60+ years of watching football, it is the only time I ever saw a punter down his own punt. Lilljedahl downed the ball, but not before it accounted for a 1-yard loss.

Larry Carlson says “ I had to fact check…was pretty sure it was ’88 . The official game stat sheet shows wind at 22 mph. Pretty damn stout, and I’m sure gusts were worse that day in Waco.

Billy Dale asked Bobby at the Longhorn Lettermen Spring round-up about his record punt and Bobby said with a smile and a laugh shared the story. But he wants all the readers to know that what the wind taketh away the wind also giveth. Even with a -1 yard punt, his average punt for the Baylor game was 34 yards. Also in fairness, Bobby had a great career at Texas and is honored in Larry Carlson’s attached link. https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/punters

Bobby’s punting average per year.

1986 Texas SWC 37.4

1987 Texas SWC 41.3

1988 Texas SWC 42.6

1989 Texas SWC 41.2

A Special Tribute to the Longhorn Master Word-Smith Bill Little

From an unknown author

“Winners and losers typically have the same goals but different outcomes. It’s not goals that determine success; systems do.”

Bill Little’s systems always rose to the highest level of success. He was a creative genius using various media protocols to define the human spirit. In addition, he had a 6th sense in writing that revealed the nuances of sports that most professional writers miss.

He said, “What I found in sports was the human element. It’s the conquest of the human spirit. It makes you love the game — whatever it is — and you cry with it, whether you win or lose.”

Bill used all his extraordinary innate skills to elevate words to visions.

The link below shows the master at work elevating losing a game to a victory of the spirit. After all, handling defeat is part of everyone’s life journey montage. Defeat is a lesson learned and a stepping stone to success if corrected.

“In time, the good things that happened in Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Senior Night, 2011, will last. The loss, painful in the moment, will give way to memories of a special place, a special night, and remembrances of teammates, family and friends.

That is, after all, the mantra of this team. It has always been about each other, and about trying to rebuild something extraordinary. When it is all said and done, it will not be a single play or a number on a scoreboard that will hang like pictures in the hallways of the mind.

It will be an ever-changing montage that is a mosaic, blending the best of times and the worst of times, the hardest of moments with the exhilarating, because that is the only way we can understand the realities and the emotions of life. In the end, it will be the whole, and not the part of life that will matter.”

The link to the rest of the article follows.

Bill Little commentary: Pain threshold – University of Texas Athletics (texassports.com)

Bill Little’s article about the 1963 national champion quarterback Duke Carlisle is an excellent example of Bill’s ability to expose the core building blocks needed to tell a story that will stand the test of time.

to enjoy this article by Bill Little, Click on:

https://texassports.com/news/2013/8/21/FB_0821135834.aspx

And then there is the profoundly insightful article about the 2009 baseball run at the CWS that also converts a losing moment into a lifetime winning formula. The link is

https://texassports.com/news/2009/6/26/062609aaa_477.aspx

TLSN has also written an extensive article celebrating Bill Little’s burnt-orange passion at the following link:

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/bill-little

TLSN is an independent organization celebrating Longhorn Sports History and assisting qualifying Horns who need temporary financial assistance. TLSN is not associated with the UT Athletics Department or any organization closely aligned with UT.

Https://texaslsn.org