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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