I believe that Stewart Keller’s ancestral lineage is the longest in the history of Longhorn sports. For 120 years, the Keller name has been associated with Longhorn sports with Stewart Keller representing the Longhorn family tree in 2019.

Stewart’s grandfather, Raymond Keller, is in the photo below dressed in a maroon and orange uniform. In 1899 Raymond was one of the first athletes to receive a maroon and orange Longhorn letter sweater.

The second row of photos shows Raymond’s brother, Victor Keller’s, brother on the 1900 football team. (The Cactus misspelled Victor’s last name.)

For 41 years, Raymond’s sweater has been stored in an airtight container at an off-campus storage facility. With the help of employees from the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, I was able to gain access to Raymond’s letter sweater and take the photo below. I believe this is the only maroon and bright orange letter sweater remaining from that era.

1933-1934 swim team.

In that container was an unexpected bonus!! Under Raymond Keller’s maroon and Orange letter sweater in that airtight container was Stewart’s Uncle’s (also a Raymond Stewart) 1933 diving letter sweater. Raymond was one of the first divers to letter in swimming and for the recognition received a letter sweater.

The Corpus Christi Caller took this photograph for an article published in 1976 for the NCAA tennis tournament. Stewart is with his uncle Raymond Keller who was a diver for the Horns in 1933.

Stewart was an instrumental part of the Longhorn tennis team in the mid-70’s winning the SWC for the first time in 11 years. The team finished 5th nationally. Tennis Coach Snyder said it was one of his best teams at UT. The Tennis team had a chance to win the national championship, but the #2 Longhorn went back to South Africa before NCAA’s, and even though Royal offered to fly him back on a private jet if he would play. He did not return. (Curren played #3 on that team and Denton #6).

In the NCAA’s, Texas had a re-match with a UCLA team they beat earlier in the year. Tied at four-all with UCLA, Texas needed to win the doubles match to advance in the NCAA tournament. Missing Stewart’s South African doubles partner, the Horns lost to UCLA 5-4. UCLA eventually lost to the national champion Stanford team 5-4.

Longhorn sports history is replete with stories like Stewart Keller’s.

TLSN is a free, insightful, educational, and historical website that captures Longhorn sports special moments, UT Sports history, UT traditions, UT legacies, UT culture, individual records, photos, insightful comments, and personal commentary from those who made Longhorn history into a form that all Longhorns can celebrate.Researching this incredible story was a joy for me. Thank you, Stewart, for emailing me and sharing this fascinating family story of Longhorn sports history.

Horns Up!

Billy Dale