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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 23, 1956)
oeffler Leads Cagers of Wilderness From the top to the bottom in one leap is not something- the av erage man cares to try in the courfee of a lifetime, but to Ken Loeffler, A&M’s head basketball coach, it’s nothing more than a way to make a living. F i- o m the nationally-famous head coach of two-time national champion LaSalle to the coach of the disastrous Aggies, wallowing deep in the cellar of the country’s poorest major basketball confer ence, is the jump Loeffler made in 1955. One of the most successful bas ketball coaches in the business, Loeffler was named head coach at A&M in Mai'ch of 1955 following the resignation of John Floyd. In six seasons at LaSalle, Loef- fler’s teams won 145 games, lost but 30 and won two national cham pionships. His teams also placed second once and took a third place in the national tournament. A graduate of Penn State Col lege and the Univei-sity of Pitts burg law school, Loeffler coached at Geneva College and Yale Uni versity and served as a major in the air force during World War II. Following the war, Loeffler coached St. Louis in the national professional league before moving to LaSalle and his outstanding success. One of his LaSalle pro ducts—Tom Gola— was an all- America player four seasons and many call him the greatest player in the history of the game. Loeffler, with practically noth ing to work with, led the Aggies out of the SWC cellar into a fifth- place tie with Baylor in 1955-56. The Cadets had a 6-18 season and 3-9 conference record. KEN LOEFFLER—Aggie basketball coach A&M Varsity Basketball Schedule Dec. 1—Centenary at Shreveport Dec. 3—St. Maj-y’s at College Sta tion Dec. 5—Sam Houston at Huntsville Dec. 7—Trinity at College Station Dec. 10—Loyola at New Orleans Dec. 12—Mississippi Southern at Hattiesburg Dec. 13—Florida State at Talla hassee Dec. 15—Georgia Tech at Atlanta Dec. 18—Miami at Miami Dec. 27-29—S W C tournament at Houston Jan. 2—Rice at College Station Jan. 5—Arkansas at College Sta tion Jan. 8—SMU at College Station Jan. 15—Baylor at Waco Feb. 2—TCU at Fort Worth Feb. 5—Texas at College Station Feb. 9—Arkansas at Fayetteville Feb. 12—TCU at College Station Feb. 16—Baylor at College Station Feb. 19—SMU at Dallas Feb. 23—Texas at Austin March 2—Rice at Houston Non-SWC (Continued from Page 2) A&M holds a close 2-1-1 edge in the young series that began in 1952. In 1955 the Aggies racked the Cougars to the tune of 21-3. One of the powerhouses in the southwest and a definite favorite to win the Missouri Valley champion ship, Houston will be an improved team over the 1955 club that had a 6-4 record. Featuring three of the finest fullbacks in the area in Curly Johnson, Donnie Carraway and Owen Mulholland, the Cougars also have good material in Don Flynn at quarterback, guard Rudy Sptizenberger, tackle Dalva Allen and center Billy Mcllroy. Head Coach Bill Meek will have a speedy team, both in the line and backfield and the passing game should be vastly improved. The Cougars will be one of the toughest on the Aggie schedule. Coach Roy (Beau) Bell Aggie Baseball Mentor Coach Beau Bell ‘Big Leaguer The Battalion .... College Station (Brazos County), Texas Thursday, August 28, 1956 PAGE 3 1956 Grid Schedule Sept. 22 Villanova at College Station Sept. 29 LSU at Baton Rouge Oct. 6 Texas Tech at Dallas Oct. 13 Houston at Houston Oct. 20 TCU at College Station Oct. 27 Baylor at Waco Nov. 3 Arkansas at College Station Nov. 10 SMU at Dallas Nov. 17 Rice at College Station Nov. 29 Texas at Austin Ironically, Roy (Beau) Bell, A&M’s head baseball coach, played more basketball in his undergrad uate years as an Aggie than he did baseball. Although Bell lettered three times in basketball as compared with two years on the diamond, his fame came from hitting the ball and he was all-SWC right fielder both years. As a fly-chaser, Beau led the conference in hitting during his senior year. An exceptionally good eye brought his collegiate average to .474 that season. His homer in the final game of the conference gave A&M the crown. After college Bell played major league ball for the St. Louis Browns, the Cleveland Indians and the New York Giants. In his best major league season he hit .344. Coach Bell has won two SWC titles in his six years coaching the Aggies. His teams took the crown in 1951 and 1955. Bell’s 1956 team finished the season with a 10-13 record with five wins and nine losses in con ference play for fifth place. “We had a fine pitching staff and defensive team, but w’e didn’t have enough offensive strength,” says Bell of the 1956 squad. Five Bell products have reached the professional ranks in the last two seasons. Off the 1955 squad came Pitchers Joe Hardgrove and Jerry Nelson and Catcher Jimmy Williams and this season Joe Bor ing, shortstop, and Centerfielder John Stockton were signed to con tracts. Besides baseball and basketball, golf rates high on the list of activi ties for Bell. A World War II veteran, Beau’s excess time is spent with his wife and daughters. 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