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4gs Meet TU In Season Finale
Special
Bonfine
Edition
Cbe Battalion
Volume 61
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1965
Number 238
TOM MURRAH
.. . Guard
CHARLES LaGRANGE
. . . Halfback
TED NELSON
. . . End
JERRY KACHTIK
. . . Linebacker
KEN (DUDE) McLEAN
. . . End
leniors Enter
inal Game
W'ell Prepared
For 12 Aggie gridders, Thurs
day’s long-awaited game will al
so bring the close of their col-
egiate football careers. The 12
lave been lauded throughout the
1965 season by both Head Coach
3ene Stallings and their fellow
ilayers for their leadership both
on and off the gridiron and for
their dedication to the squad.
These 12 are the graduating
seniors, the ones who wear ma
roon and white for the last time
Men they face the 40-acre squad
Kyle Field. The are:
Bubber Collins, Tom Murrah,
Charles LaGrange, Ted Nelson,
Jerry Kachtik, Duke McLean,
John Nilson, Jerry Nichols, Phil
Scoggin, Jim Stabler, Joe Well-
horn and Rickey Whatley.
Collins in this year’s number
»o fullback. Hailing from San
Intonio, he compiled a 3.5-yard
ushing average in 1964. In ’65 he
las been an asset as a blocking
lack and considers it an honor
to be a member of the squad.”
Tom Murrah, also from San
intonio, has been a standout at
lefensive guard this year and
lart of a line that has kept the
Igs in many a ball game.
Another part of that line has
«on John Nilson. He plays at
tackle spot and has broken
trough on more than one oc-
asion to harrass opposing quar-
erbacks in their attempts to
'ass. Nilson is from El Campo.
Backing that defensive wall
has been Joe Wellborn. It often
eems that he is in on every
ackle, and the Houston native
'as attained this recognition
f hile playing with a broken
humb since the TCU game.
On one end of the defensive
ine is Jerry Kachtik. Playing
is only year at defense, the
Jio Hondo product gained the
otnment from Gene Stallings
tat if he had 11 Kachtiks on
he field, he could just set back
■'ll say, “Go get ’em, Kachtiks.”
Holding down the safety posi
tion has been Jerry Nichols. The
San Augustine back sees effort
as the big difference in the 1965
Aggies, and has proved himself
a second-effort man on the re
ceiving end of punts.
A specialist that has proven
himself an able linebacker as
well as one of the top punters in
the nation, Phil Scoggin of Deni
son said of the TU game, “I’m
sorry that its the last game,
but nothing could be a better
finish than to beat them.”
Ted Nelson’s speciality is
speed. Lots of it. He’s used as a
split end on offense and to dash
in and block place kicks and
punts on defense.
Backing Kachtik at defensive
end is the general business of
Rickey Whatley. The Port La
vaca gridder weights in at 198
pounds and when he’s on the
gridiron its all tiger. He’s a
two-year letterman.
Lending leadership and scor
ing punch to the offense has
been Dallas native Jim Stabler.
He’s caught two touchdown pass
es, one against Texas Tech and
the other against Rice, though his
main claim-to-fame is his rugged
rushing.
also two for two in the passing
department, though his main
claim-to-fame is his rugged rush
ing. In receiving he’s second to
McLean with 11 catches for 131
yards.
If one player on the 1965 Ag
gie team has caught the imagi
nation of A&M Fans, its Ken
(Dude) McLean. The Dude his
snagged 47 passes for 585 yards
and scored a touchdown in the
Georgia Tech upset. With the
TU game left, he has already
sacked all A&M receiving records.
Charles LaGrange has had a
colorful career at A&M and in
in a couple of seasons ago. His
business now is preventing the
opposition from scoring from his
preventing the opposition from
scoring from his defensive half-
Aggies, Horns
Renew Rivalry
For 72nd Time
JOHN NILSON
. . . Tackle
JERRY NICHOLS
. . . Safety
PHIL SCOGGIN
. . . Punter
JIM STABLER
.. . Halfback
JOE WELLBORN
. . . Linebacker
RICKEY WHATLEY
. . . End
An Aggie Welcome
Today The Battalion presents it annual Bonfire
Edition.
A chronicle of history, tradition and background
of the Aggie Bonfire, this issue is dedicated to our
guests and to those who have known the satisfaction
of watching four days of hard work go up in smoke.
To our guests, we say welcome and we explain
some of the little known facts about the Bonfire
which signifies every Aggie's flaming love for his
school and his burning desire to beat the hell outa TU.
We don’t mind bragging about having the world’s
largest Bonfire, for indeed we are quite proud of it.
But we want you to help us share this experience
and to understand the sweat, time, frustration, danger
and just plain guts that have gone into making the
Aggie Bonfire what it is today.
Once again we welcome you to campus and hope
your stay with us will be enjoyable. You will see
Aggie spirit at its highest peak Thursday when the
oldest rivalry in the Southwest Conference is re
newed for the 72nd time.
As our guests, we invite you to examine this
spirit of which we are so fond.
Starting Lineups
A&M
WE—81 Dude McLean
WT—62 Don Koehn
WG—63 Tom Murrah
C—57 Jim Singleton
SG—51 Gary Kovar
ST—84 Ed Breding
SE—87 Joe Weiss
QB—14 Harry Ledbetter
TB—39 Ken Caffey
WB—35 Ronnie Lindsey
FB—40 Dan Schneider
OFFENSE
TU
WE—85 Ed Small
WT—50 Gene Bledsoe
WG—64 Frank Bedrick
C—55 Jack Howe
SG—60 Tommy Nobis
ST—67 Howard Goad
SE—87 Pete Lammons
QB—12 Marvin Kristynik
TB—22 Linus Baer
WB—42 Les Derrick
FB—36 Tom Stockton
By GLENN DROMGOOLE
Battalion Editor
One of the most cherished tra
ditions of a tradition-minded
school unfurls again Thursday
when the Texas Aggies entertain
Texas University for the 26th
time in the 72-game series of
the age-old Southwest Conference
rivals.
For the Aggies, however, the
tradition hasn’t been a happy one
—especially for the past 25 years.
During that period the Cadets
have managed only two wins and
a tie while watching TU up its
margin to 49-17-5 for the matches
which began in 1894.
The Aggies, under new leader
ship, hope to start chipping away
at the bulky Longhorn advantage
Thursday when Coach Gene Stall
ings puts his squad’s 3-6 tally
sheet on the line against TU
mentor Darrell Royal’s 5-4 slate.
Upsets have been as much of
a rule as an exception during this
heated rivalry, with Texas gain
ing the biggest one in 1940, 7-0,
over an Aggie team that was rid
ing a 19-game winning streak and
had its sights on a second
straight national championship
and a Rose Bowl bid. That vic
tory also ended the longest win
skein in SWC history until
Arkansas made it 20 consecutive
triumphs against Rice this year.
A&M pulled off a big surprise
in 1948 when they tied Texas 14-
14 in Memorial Stadium, the first
Aggie team to escape defeat on
the Austin turf. A&M‘s record
that year: 0-9-1.
A&M did it again in 1951 with
a 22-21 victory that left Texas
holding the bag instead of the
SWC title. TU had a fantastic
upset in 1938 when its winless
eleven downed the Aggies 7-6, the
only successful conversion made
by the Austin school all season.
Texas came through with an
other spoiler in 1955 when they
stopped the Aggies 21-6 in Col
lege Station, keeping the Aggies
from a conference championship.
Then in 1963 on that same Kyle
Field, A&M came oft-disputed
inches away from kicking TU out
of the top national spot in a game
which the men from Aggieland
scored A&M 13, TU 9, Referees 6.
So in a series where season
records mean relatively nothing,
this year’s contest is even more
perplexing. Picking a favorite for
Thursday’s clash has left pigskin
prognosticators scratching their
heads in awe. Texas, picked by
many this fall to regain its na
tional championship, has fallen by
the wayside until the Homs are
only one step above the cellar
with a 2-4 conference mark.
Meanwhile the Aggies, the popu
lar choice for the conference’s
basement, rest on the bottom with
a 1-5 SWC record plus two non
league wins for what many ex
perts consider an excellent show
ing. While TU has not lived up
to its expectations, the Aggies
have surpassed theirs. Still, the
Sips have won five to the Cadets’
three.
Neither history, season records
nor anything else seems to mat
ter much when A&M and Texas
meet each other in their annual
Thanksgiving Day battle. But the
story bears retelling.
The Aggies started the whole
thing off on the wrong foot back
in 1894 when they bowed 38-0,
and lost six more in a row, 48-0,
6-0, 5-0, 11-0, 17-0 and 32-0, be
fore finally pulling to a 0-0 tie in
1902. The teams got together for
a second meeting that year, with
A&M gaining its first taste of
victory, 11-0.
TU won the next four before
a 0-0 tie again interrupted the
string in 1907. Texas took the
second game that year and added
two more wins the next year be
fore the Aggies stepped in with
three straight triumphs in 1909-
10, A&M’s last back-to-back wins
over the Homs.
A rather bloody affair followed
the 1911 TU win in Houston, and
the series was discontinued until
1915 when A&M won 13-0 to be
gin a 25-year period of alternat
ing wins during which the Aggies
were 11-12-2. Then came disas
trous 1940 and Longhorn domina
tion.
In the past 25 years, the Cadets
have managed wins only in 1951
and 1956 and a tie in 1948.
On the silver anniversary of its
1940 win, TU holds the edge at
College Station, 12-11-2; at Aus
tin, 32-4-1; at San Antonio, 3-0-1.
The two teams have played even
in Dallas and Houston, 0-0-1 and
2-2 respectively.
But history can be forgotten
for about three hours Thursday
when A&M and TU match wits.
Little
Scoring
Likely
By LARRY JERDEN
Battalion Sports Editor
There won't be any national or
conference titles or bowl bids at
stake Thursday when the Aggies
tangle with the Longhorns, but
the name of the game, “A&M-
Texas,” is enough to denote the
show of action, prowess and sheer
football courage that will be dis
played on Kyle Field during the
annual Turkey Day affair.
The Aggies, under the first-
year leadership of Coach Gene
Stallings, have compiled a 3-6
record with wins over Georgia
Tech, Houston and Rice, while
the Darrell Royal-led Steers are
5- 4 for this season with victories
over Tuiane, Texas Tech, Indiana,
Oklahoma and Baylor.
Both teams are young this
year, with sophomores forming a
larger part of the starting line
ups than usual, but the final game
of the 1965 season will be the last
stand for 12 Aggies and seven
Sip seniors.
The Ags will be saying fare
well to Bubber Collins, Jerry
Kachtik, Charles LaGrange, Ken
(Dude) McLean, Tom Murrah,
Ted Nelson, John Nilson, Jerry
Nichols, Phil Scoggins, Jim Sta
bler, Joe Wellborn and Rickey
Whatley.
Making their final appearance
in orange will be Marvin Kristy
nik, Phil Harris, Tom Stockton,
Jack Howe, Tommy Nobis, Frank
Bedrick and Pete Lammons.
One of the features of the
game will be the meeting of the
SWC’s first and second place
punters. David Conway, the na
tion's leader, boasts a 44.3 aver
age on 46 punts while Scoggin of
the Aggies has booted a mighty
80 punts with a 43.5 average.
Even though the departing senior
is “only number two,” Stallings
says:
“I'd much rather have Scog
gin.”
Another rather personal duel
will be between the conference’s
number four and five passers.
Harry Ledbetter of A&M and
Kristynik will start for their re
spective teams at quarterback.
Ledbetter has completed 71 of 157
passes this year for 797 yards
while Kristynik has hit 63 of 127
for 853 yards. Both seems to
have a knack for hitting oppo
nent’s receivers, since Ledbetter
has had nine of his aerials inter
cepted and Marvelous Marv has
had eight picked off.
While the Horns aren’t as
potent as in recent years, they
still have more than their share
of standouts. Tommy Nobis, the
6- 2, 230-pound guards who was
concensus All-America last year,
leads the defensive charge and is
co-captain with Kristynik, the
SWC’s fifth place leader of total
offense yardage.
Two seniors that should put
on a good display of pass-catch
ing are McLean and Lammons.
Dude is in third spot on the con
ference charts with 47 receptions
for 578 yards and one TD while
Lammons has caught 24 for 347
yards and three TD’s.
The only statistic that makes it
to the board is the one called the
score, and that’s what decides ball
games. In nine games this fall,
TU has scored 210 points and
allowed 136, while the Aggies
have scored but 63 and allowed
only 149. The Cadets, with a
couple of notable exceptions, have
kept their games to low scores.
The Sips have had some higher
game totals but Darrell Royal has
said he expects a rugged, low-
scoring game.
But it’s Turkey Day, and that
usually means throw out the
whole season record in all its de
tail, start from scratch and watch
the greatest game of the year.
DEFENSE
LE—37 Jerry Kachtik
LT—71 John Nilson
MG—69 Robert Barnett
RT—52 Ken Lamkin
RE—82 Tuffy Fletcher
ROVER—42 Gary Kemph
LLB—55 Joe Wellborn
RLB—50 Robert Cortez
LHB—33 Jim Kauffman
RHB—18 Charles LaGrange
SAFETY—15 Jerry Nichols
LE—80 Barney Giles
LT—64 Frank Bedrick
LG—70 John Elliott
RG—73 Diron Talbert
RT—51 Bob Stanley
RIS—87 Pete Lammons
LB—60 Tommy Nobis
LB—37 Fred Edwards
LHB—44 Ronnie Ehrig
RHB—25 Phil Harris
SAFETY—18 Gary Moore
BATT PICKS
GAME
DROMGOOLE
GARCIA
DeFRANK
JERDEN
A&M-TU
A&M 10-9
A&M 13-6
A&M 17-14
A&M 7-0
Baylor-Rice
Bay 40-6
Bay 13-6
Bay 27-0
Bay 21-3
SMU-TCU
TCU 35-17
TCU 13-6
SMU 35-33
TCU 42-40
Aubum-Alabama Ala 14-7
Ala 13-6
Ala 19-14
Ala 17-6
Army-Navy
Navy 12-0
Navy 13-6
Navy 21-6
Army 7-3
Geo-GeoTech
GeoT 7-6
GeoT 13-6
GeoT 14-9
GeoT 8-2
Okla-Nebraska
Neb 27-7
Neb 13-6
Neb 38-7
Neb 40-2
Tenn-Vandy
Tenn 14-3
Tenn 13-6
Tenn 30-3
Tenn 12-2
Miss-MissSt
MSt 20-19
Miss 13-6
Miss 13-0
Miss 4-3
VMI-UPI
VMI 7-0
VMI 13-6
VPI 6-0
VPI 7-0
Last Week
8-2
6-4
7-3
6-4
Season
52-28
52-28
57-23
51-29