6/7/2024 TLSN Newsletter #12 Volume VIII

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Hello Billy,

Herb Griffith here. I am sad to learn of Mike Cotten’s passing. My grandmother was Ms. JM Griffith’s longtime housemother at Moore-Hill. I found a picture of her from The American Statesman with Mike. It was taken before the Baylor game in ‘61.

You may only walk-on to play an NCAA qualifying sport at U.T. if you are accepted academically and enrolled at Texas.

A recent national media source wrote an article suggesting that the era of walk-ons may be ending. It is disheartening to hear this. TLSN has spent years capturing and documenting the inspirational history of Longhorn sports through the eyes of walk-ons—young men and women who are dreamers and choose to try out despite slim odds of making the team.

I agree with A&M Coach Elko and Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin comments about walk-ons.

Coach Elko says,

“I’m strongly against” a team with no walk-ons, “ I think it’s absolutely against what college football stands for, what it’s about……, It’s something that’s really bad for the sport.”

Land Kiffin says “Horrible Idea”: Slamming 85-Roster Cap Eliminating Walk-ons Under Newly Proposed Rule.

Many who have played scholarship collegiate sports support the spirit of Walk-ons, athletes who embody the last vestiges of collegiate sports’ purity. In 2024, they are the closest semblance to a pure amateur college athlete—a student who chooses to try out and play without financial compensation.

Cort Jaquess played linebacker for San Antonio Churchill and, at multiple points his senior year, led 6A Texas in tackles. He had a few offers to other smaller schools, but his dream was to play at Texas like his dad, Jay Jaquess, did in the 80s. His preferred walk-on status gave him that chance.

Below is the “You’re on Scholarship” surprise video for Cort. He was on a leadership committee and thought he was giving a talk to the guys when he was surprised with a scholarship.

Cort represents the spirit of many young men and women who dream of earning a Longhorn scholarship. The video captures the pure emotions of a walk-on and his teammates after he earns his well-deserved scholarship. The video is a reminder that in sports, respect is earned, not given, and on this day, there is a lot of respect in the room for Cort Jaquess’s contributions to the team.

Below is the celebration ceremony for Cort.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/urXNP4t4xK4Re33b/?mibextid=xCPwDs (outlook.com)

Super Drum Memoir

by Larry Carlson for texaslsn.org

Okay, just being honest here. I don’t recall any details from the Texas Longhorns’ basketball debut in the spanking-new Superdrum back in late November 1977. Second-year coach Abe Lemons would pilot the burnt orange to a magical 26-5 season. Texas was unbeaten in 13 games at their new home. Abe’s first team on the Forty Acres played in venerable, cozy Gregory Gym and went 13-13, with an equally equal 8-8 mark in Southwest Conference play.

Nobody raved about Lemons’s second volume as the season approached, but Texas was returning its top three scorers, Jim Krivacs, Ron Baxter, and Johnny Moore, and its top two rebounders, Baxter and Gary Goodner, the center who stood only 6-7. All that experience and it was still a young team. Among the starters, only Goodner was a senior.

But on Tuesday, Nov. 29, the hoops team opened up the sprawling new Special Events Center, as proper academic types wished for the arena to be called. It was the Superdrum or just the Drum to Texas fans and media. Whatever it was, it had three times the seating capacity of Gregory, was loaded with burnt orange seats, and even sported a Texas-sized scoreboard that loomed large, high above mid-court. At least as far as furnishings went, UT had joined the basketball big-time.

The Horns’ opener in their new digs was a beating of hated Oklahoma. And the winning didn’t stop. The sardonic Lemons, resplendent in western-flaired leisure suits, prowled the sidelines while a smallish and hardly stylish team just continued to pick on – and beat – teams that looked much prettier in warmups. The Horns would tie third-ranked Arkansas for the SWC title. Left out of the NCAA tourney that then fielded just 32 teams, the Lemons crew made lemonade and went on the then-prestigious National Invitation Tournament in high style, wowing Madison Square Garden fans while Lemons’ entertaining person bewitched the Gotham City media. It remains, to this day, one of the greatest Texas seasons.

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-super-drum

Longhorn High School Factories

by Larry Carlson for https://texaslsn.org

Ever wonder which cities and high schools have produced the most notable Longhorn footballers over the years? I have. Growing up on Texas football in the ’60s, I pored over the game programs, memorized the 3-deep roster in Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, and listened intently as lords of the radio, such as Kern Tips, regularly provided shoutouts to hometowns of heroes in burnt orange.

Cleburne

One small Texas town, Cleburne, stood out for producing Longhorn stalwarts in the Darrell Royal regime.

Five former Yellow Jackets starred for Royal.  Fiery LB Pat Culpepper was All-Southwest Conference in ’62, David McWilliams stood out as a center and LB for the ’63 national champs and served UT as head coach from 1987-91, leading Texas to the SWC title.  Another linebacker, Tim Doerr, was a key contributor for the ’63 champs and helped Tommy Nobis anchor the ’64 defense that won the Orange Bowl. Howard Goad was an all-SWC guard in ’66 and DB Fred Sarchet was a key defender for Royal’s ’75 team that shared the SWC crown.  Remarkably, all but Goad were captains for the Longhorns.

Photos below Pat Culpepper, Tim Doerr, David McWilliams , and Howard Goad

TEXAS CITY

The biggest burnt orange football factory is in Texas City.  The Stingarees have cranked out Longhorns like Texas City produces petrochemicals.  It started early in the Royal years, with tackles Eddie Padgett and All-American Don Talbert, followed by talented guard Marvin Kubin and versatile end Charlie Talbert, the second of the fearsome Talbert boys.  He was a key player on both sides of the ball for UT’s first national title in ’63.

Clayton Lacy was another Texas City rock on that title team and then came the “baby” of the Talbert clan, Diron.  He was a ’66 cover boy for Texas Football magazine and had an illustrious NFL career, first with the Rams, then the Redskins. 

The photos below are of Charlie, Don, and Diron Talbert.

Then, in 1978, defensive lineman Mark Weber made his mark as a Longhorn. He played from 1978 to 1981 and was an integral part of the defense that helped UT to the Cotton Bowl championship in his senior year.

 It was more than three decades before Texas City again cranked up the football factory with a pipeline to Austin.  Mack Brown’s first signing class in ’98 featured “the Texas City four,” Everick Rawls, Tyrone Jones, Ervis Hill, and Jermain Anderson.  The quartet had led the Stings to a state title, and each one made his mark as a starter while on the Forty Acres.  The most decorated Texas City hero is D’Onta Foreman, Doak Walker Award winner as the nation’s top running back in 2016.  Foreman rambled for more than 2000 yards in his final season at UT and averaged 6.4 yards a carry for Charlie Strong’s three teams before heading to a successful NFL career that is still churning.

Here is the link to the list of the eight other Longhorn High School factories.

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/longhorn-football-factories-

A TRIBUTE TO LONGHORN BRAND BUILDERS

The TLSN website captures powerful and insightful Longhorn comments from the minds of great authors, visuals from videos, professional media brochures, research facilities, website photos, newspaper articles, shelter magazines, and, most importantly, from Longhorn student-athletes who created the history of Longhorn sports. HORNS UP!!!

Volume VII newsletter #12 6/11/2022

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TOP GUN; NATHAN KASPAR

by Larry Carlson ( lc13@txstate.edu )

There’s certainly no shortage of “Top Gun” mania across the nation this summer. A breath of fresh air for many Americans. At least one former Longhorn football player isn’t shy about the fact that he was inspired as a kid by the 1986 Tom Cruise flick and made it an early goal to become a Navy pilot.

He was tough enough, talented enough, and committed to earning his football spurs as a Mack Brown era walk-on. If it was a daily battle to accomplish all that, talk to Kaspar now, two decades later, and he knows first-hand the vast difference between gridiron “battles” and saving lives while flying missions in the Middle East.

A family man who works and resides in Dripping Springs, Kaspar took time away from a busy business and family schedule to discuss the merits of Mack Brown’s leadership, the camaraderie between teammates and soldiers, and the challenges facing Longhorn football in the era of NIL and collegiate athletes often considered “entitled” by many observers.

Kaspar’s candid thoughts on the forces of social media, modern society, and how motivation can differ so much in two decades will compel readers to pause and take stock of how much has changed in such a short span. One thing hasn’t budged, though, and that is Nathan’s rock-solid belief that walk-on players are the floor that must lift the ceiling of a successful football team.

Meet Nathan Kaspar, a dyed-in-the-wool, burnt orange Top Gun at the link below. Horns ???? Up

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/nathan-kaspar

2022 Reunion of the 1971 and 1972 Longhorn Golf National Champions

The Lead up to the 1971 National Championships

Texas came close to winning the NCAA championships in 1949 and 1952.

Professional golf writer Barry McDermott said, “unfortunately, Collegiate golf in the early 1970s did not have a large audience. College Golf, penmanship exercises, and reading the Congressional Record ranked high in the boredom league. …. on par with intramural softball.”

Texas golf coach Coach Hannon says recruiting high school talent was a laid-back process with the pitch ‘come o down, son, and we’ll see what we can do for you.”

Houston Cougar coach Dave William exploited that “come on down” laid-back recruiting approach by aggressively pursuing the best high school golfers. Coach William’s aggressive strategy worked. Entering the 1971 season, the Cougars were two-time defending champions and had won 12 of the previous 15 NCAA titles.

In 1970 DKR and Coach Hannon changed Texas recruiting and competitive posture to compete with Houston.

A.D. Darrell Royal decided the SWC format of match play instead of stroke play was the reason the University of Houston dominated NCAA golf. Royal and Coach Hannon “asked” the SWC to switch to stroke play. The other teams in the SWC refused DKR’s “request”, so Texas played no round-robin games with SWC teams in 1970.

One year later, Texas is National Champion, toppling the giant of the collegiate golf world – the University of Houston.

The foundation to defeat Houston started in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

• May of 1967, George Machock, George Tucker, and William Cromwell signed letters of intent to attend Texas on a golf scholarship.

• On May 23, 1968, Coach Hannon signed Tom Kite to a Longhorn letter of intent. Tom was a two-time state high school golf champion.

• On May 9, 1970, Ben Crenshaw signed a letter of intent to play golf for the Longhorns.

For the history of Longhorn Golf from 1964- to 1981, click on the link below.

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/coach-george-hannon-19641981

To listen, read, and see Ben’s oral history visit the link https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/ben-crenshaw

1971 National Championship moments

Gentle Ben won the 1971 NCAA individual title with a then-record four-day score of 273. The record stood for 21 years. However, winning still took a team effort, with Kite firing a 289, Cromwell carding a 290, and Tucker and Machock each logging scores of 292.

1972 National Championship moments

In 2022, Texas won the Longhorn’s 4th national championship in golf. Equaling Texas football’s 4 national championships.

Fifty years before, in 1972, the Horn golf team delivered the second national championship to the Longhorn nation.

The 1972 NCAA championship had a dramatic finish to determine the individual medalist for the tournament.

Tom Kite on the 18th green missed a 6-foot putt while Ben Crenshaw made his 25-foot putt resulting in a tie for medalist honors with 279’s

After the 25-foot putt for the tie, Kite said to Ben, “What have you done to me?” “You’ve got to be the world’s greatest putter in the clutch.”

Still, teamwork won the national championship, not just Ben and Tom. George Tucker’s 298, Brent Buckman’s 297, and Tony Pfaff’s 291 were all needed to win the national championship.

Mean and Tough Longhorn football Hombres during the DKR era.

By Juan Conde.

Billy, I enjoyed reading the latest edition of your newsletter. DKR hired me in 1959, and I remained on his staff until 1976, when he retired. I met the Talbert brothers when I worked in the equipment room as an assistant to Mr. Jim Blaylock. The meanest, toughest of the Talbert brothers, in my opinion, were Don and Diron. Charley Talbert was tough and mean but milder than his two brothers. DKR once said to me, “ if he had to walk through a dark alley in a neighborhood known for its high crime, he would be sure that Don and Diron, Mike Dowdle, Tommy Nobis, and Don Allen would accompany him. DKR said he would be confident he would make it safely from one end of the alley to the other. I believe he would indeed be safe with these tough hombres as his bodyguards. Juan Conde

Swimming 2001

The 2001 Longhorn men’s swim team defined team spirit and individual excellence. The Longhorns won 11 of the NCAA meet’s 21 events, claiming four of five relays and accounting for six of the eight American and NCAA records. Ian Crocker, Brendan Hansen, and Nate Dusing were part of this team.

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/coach-reese

Horns UP ???? and eyes ???? up!

Sterkel to be inducted into U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame

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The TLSN website and newsletter are free, educational, historical, and insightful. Sharing Longhorn sports history through the eyes of those who created it.