1960
> 195k
news 5%)
‘onofaje^
’'Rnsfrom
nberJO,])!
rch 23, 1954 -
w staff is named for The
ilion after the mass
(nation in Februarv. ss^-sssksssssssssssss!
wjasi'OonjoooB'O'OoosDaDoc^romoic^wjc
De Frank —
Sept. 30,1966-
Editor Thomas De Frank and two of his assistants are officially removed from their
positions on the paper by the A&M Student Publications Board. The board removed
them because they ran an unsigned letter to editor.
However, De Frank said the dismissal was due to The Battalion’s criticism of the
administration's slowness in forming a campus political forum, which would provide
an avenue for students to discuss political issues and invite political figures to speak.
ursday, September 30, 1993
1893 - The Battalion • 1993
Page 9
Champions
ntinued from Page 8
The next one was a trip to
ansas to play the Razorbacks.
t sportswriter Jimmy Cokinos
not worried.
“Hogs, Frogs or Bears, the teams
look like the same animal to the
ers and will be treated accord-
;ly- a slaughter house,” he wrote
the day of the game.
Cokinos predicted the future
lily as the Aggies won, 27-0, and
bed the number one ranking in
nation. Tackle Joe Boyd scored
end round, and Oates wrote it
iok longer than a sundial for him
ies beat Ty.
>er.
ckles (Kim.
> going to
-aty, anotl
in where;
ough’s knet
in
the Horna
rolled, 20-(,
5-0 overall,
t played Imw
won, 2(l-
rmber five
success, lilt
imerous b
ions/ Page?
mn
certainly
having Te
on their
:. “Being
nd bein
t Aggie ring
other than
A&M had room to laugh, but
ose smiles quickly turned to
as Southern Methodist
res putslii|iie to visit.
The question was raised by The
ttalion sportswriters: “Could
be overconfident?” Boyd an-
ered that with an emphatic no
dsaid “... A&M would beat the
out of SMU.”
No phlegm was seen as A&M
ueaked by, 6-2.
The Aggies traveled to Houston
)lav the Rice Owls and posted
fifth shutout of the season by
icore of 19-0 to set up A&M s
ith meeting with the University
Texas.
After the game, Jeep wrote he re
ived a letter from a fan in Los
complimenting the Aggies
their fine football season.
This guy had a question for
in his letter,” Oates wrote,
nd he wanted to know if the
:xas Aggies were kin to Texas
itM. If they were, (A&M) cer-
mly had a swell football team,
congratulated us on our power
dbrains.”
During the Aggies’ off-week be-
ethe Texas game, they became the
prior to ffl (T champs for the first time since
'If. Oates wrote . what a relief,
iw, we can get serious.”
Sf ' The first salvo was filed by the
lily Texan, the University of
Texas’ student newspaper, in a
headline. “Aggies Champs today
... Chumps tomorrow.”
Oates said the Aggies would re
spond on the football field, and he
was right. A&M overran the Long
horns, 27-0.
The regular season was out of
the way. The Aggies had cleared 10
“The Aggies lived up to
this promise that they
would refuse to be beaten.”
—E.C. Oates,
former Battalion sports editor
straight hurdles. They were ranked
numoer one in the nation. Perfec
tion was within A&M’s grasp. But,
there was one more mountain to
scale in the Aggies’ pursuit of a na
tional championship. That peak
was Tulane.
On New Year’s Day, 1940, over
73,000 fans packed into the Sugar
Bowl in New Orleans to see the bat
tle between what writers were call
ing, the two best teams in the nation.
Kimbrough, who finished sec-
' g""I ryn*'■MMwy■ >w■ py-
ond in the 1939 Heisman Trophy
voting, scored a touchdown to give
the Aggies a 7-0 lead. Tulane
struck hack when Bob Kellogg ran
an A&M quick kick back 7o yards
for a touchdown to knot the score
at seven.
The Green Wave scored another
touchdown, but A&M’s Herbie
Smith stuffed the extra point. Tu
lane had a tenuous 13-‘7 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, A&M
drove to the Tulane 26-yard line.
Quarterback Cotton Price faded
back to throw, spotted Herbie
Smith open and hit him. Smith
rambled to the 10-yard line and
then lateraled to Kimbrough for
the winning touchdown.
A&M won, 14-13, and became
the SWC’s first national champions.
As usual, Oates summed it up
best.
“This corner thinks that the
best two teams in the nation bat
tled it out in New Orleans in a
fine exhibition of offensive power
football that also had enough de
ception,” Oates wrote. “The Ag
gies lived up to this promise that
they would refuse to be beaten.
A&M is and deserves to be the
national champions.”
A&M beat Tulane, 14-13, at the 1939 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
pproved
lass of kfk
HAPPY CENTENNIAL
BIRTHDAY!
LO
Congratulations to
The Battalion on your 100th year in publication.
We would like to thank
you for helping us grow
to be one of the largest
Trek dealers in the state.
Valley Cyclery
Serving Aggies since 1985
Gig ’Em!
Ruthie Gray - Owner
Class of '93
VALLEY CYCLERY
3122 S. Texas * C.S. (409) 764-2000 or 693-8880
1960-1970 — The Rudder Years
J. Earl Rudder an icon in A&M history
By Geneen Pipher
The Batfalion
Most students think of the Rudder Tower Com
plex or Rudder Residence Hall when the name “Rud
der” is mentioned, but as the Waco 'Tews Tribune
said in 1970 of the for
mer president of Texas
A&M University, “It is
difficult to sort out the
highlights of J. Earl Rud
der’s life. There were so
many of them.”
Rudder served as A&M
president from 1960-
1970, a turbulent time for
both the school and the
country.
Margaret Rudder, wife
of the former A&M pres
ident, said the University
drastically changed dur- Rudder
ing his term.
“When he came to Texas A&M in 1958, there
were less than 7,000 students enrolled, attending
classes in unairconditioned buildings and living in
unairconditioned dorms,” she said. “The student
body was all male, all military and the official name
of the institution was Agricultural and Mechanical
College of Texas.
“During his tenure, women were admitted, the
Corps was made optional , the name was changed
to Texas A&M University, and the school was inte
grated quietly and smoothly in the turbulent days
of the 1960s.”
Former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson noted
Rudders accomplishments in 1965 calling him, “my
cherished friend,” under whose leadership “Texas
A&M has reached a new pinnacle of achievement
and can look forward to the attainment of still higher
goals in the future.”
Under Rudder’s leadership, the Agriculture and Me
chanical College of Texas became Texas A&M Univer
sity in 1963, a name change that a 1970 edition of The
Battalion said signified the evolution of the school.
In the 10 years he was president, the University re
search budget nearly doubled and five new college di
visions were created.
“A&M literally grew so fast that the big problem
was to find staff, housing and classrooms to accom
modate the rush of students, which has continued to
the present enrollment of 42,000,” Mrs. Rudder said.
The decade of Earl Rudder brought Texas A&M
to the forefront in nuclear and space research, as well
as computer operations and oceanographic activities.
J. Earl Rudder was a small town boy from West
Texas who achieved international fame for his actions
in World War II.
Rudder grew up in Eden, Texas. When he gradu
ated from Eden High School in the spring of 1927,
Rudder briefly attended John Tarleton Agricultural
College before entering Texas A&M in 1930, where
he majored in industrial education.
After his graduation in 1932, Rudder taught
school and coached football in the small Texas town of
Brady in the same school as his future wife, Margaret
Williamson. When he was called to active duty, he was
assigned as a company commander at Fort Sam Hous
ton. In the fall of 1942 and winter of 1943, Rudder ar-
tended General Staff School and upon completing his
training he returned to his division. Later that year, he
was asked to organize and train the second Ranger Bat
talion at Camp Forest, Term.
In December, the Rangers were sent to England
and in the D-Day invasion of 1944, Rudder led his
battalion up the 100-foot cliffs at Pont du Hoc on
the Normandy Beach.
Gen. Omar Bradley, commander of the United
States Ground Forces in Europe at the rime, said, “No
soldier in my command has ever been wished a more
difficult task than that which befell the 34-year-old
commander of the provisional Ranger Force.”
Rudder was decorated for bravery seven times dur
ing the war. His decorations include: the Distin
guished Service Cross and the Purple Heart and deco
rations from the governments of France and Belgium.
In April 1946, Rudder was released from active
duty with the rank of colonel. Upon returning to
Texas, he moved back to Brady where he served as
mayor from 1946 to 1952.
In 1955, he was appointed Commissioner of
Texas’ General Land Office which at that time was
littered with problems.
According to the March 25, 1960, edition of The
Battalion, “He stepped into an office shaken by scan
dals in the Veteran Land Program. In time, the pro
gram was dissolved and the office was returned to a
place of integrity and respect in Texas government.”
Rudder resigned his post in 1958 when the A&M
Board of Regents appointed him as vice president of
the College. Two years later, on March 26, 1960, he
was inaugurated as president of the College and served
in that capacity until March 23, 1970, when he died of
a circulatory collapse, just three days short of a decade
of service.
wmmmmmmmmmm
Little Caesars M) Pizza! Pizza!
Celebrate
The Battalion's
100 th Anniversary
with us!
r
Present this coupon and receive
2 medium oizzas
pepperoni
for
$ 6.99
09/30/93
IMe Caesars*
« BRYAN
1775 Briarcrest
(Across from Apple Tree)
776-7171
• NORTHGATE
University
& Stasney
268-0220
• COLLEGE STATION
Texas Ave.
& Southwest Pkwy.
696-0191
BRENHAM
2112 Market St.
(Next to Wal-Mart)
830-0191