i battalion
iotv in his 13th year
Thursday, November 18, 1971
College Station, Texas
Page 5
Ags equipment man is colorful fixture
y JOHN CURYLO
■ttalion Sports Editor
As the jet prepares to take off
a Lubbock airport, the stew-
fdesses are checking to make
all the passengers have fold-
i their trays up against the seat
* front of them.
Making her way to the back
f the plane, one of the young
■Jjes encounters the A&M equip-
en t manager, calmly eating a
iicken dinner. His tray is still
"Sir, please put your tray in
He upright position,” she says
jolitely. ‘‘We’re about to take
"I can’t hear you,” S. M. Meeks
itplies, pointing to his right ear.
[turned off my hearing aid so
[wouldn’t hear the jet engine.”
Be continues eating his meal.
“Put your tray up, sir,” she
sjys again, getting impatient,
federal aviation regulations re
tire it.”
“Yes, it is nice weather,” Meeks
snaps, getting perturbed at the
interruption.
The plane takes off, and the
stewardess rushes up to Meeks
secldingly.
"Sir, do you realize that you
jut violated a regulation of the
Federal Aviation Administra
tion ?”
Meeks looks up, less than awed
it the admonition.
"Take it out of my hide, baby.”
Incidents like these have helped
lighten the attitude of Aggie
athletes for 13 years now, but the
A&M karate meet
nill be Saturday
The A&M Karate Champion
ships will be held Saturday, No-
tember 20 in DeWare Gym the
14M Karate Club announced
;l!onday.
The tournament will be open
lo anyone wishing to enter. The
meet will start at 11:00 a.m. with
(liminations beginning then. All
Hack belts should be there at
10:00 for a meeting.
There will be two divisions,
liimite, consisting of white belts,
■olored belts, brown belts and
lack belts, and Kata with three
tees: colored belts, brown
i*lts and black belts are the divi-
■iws. The rules will be discussed
immediately before the tourna-
Mnt begins. Basically, there will
1* no head contact and the
Hatches will be two minutes long.
A five dollar entry fee is re
ared. Trophies and certificates
till be awarded for first, second
‘»il third places. There will be
® admission fee for spectators.
Anyone wishing more informa-
Jn should talk to David Jordan,
Plainsman Lane No. 51 in
n i or Mike Gregory at 822-
|w45,
Jctober !
ig this ]
;u dents
i a. n
"rids:
OUR SPECIALTY
1/5 Carat
Eye Clean Diamond
For Senior Ring,
$40 plus tax
0- W. Varner & Sons
Jewelers
Nort h Gate 846-5816
oh
what a web
insecurity weaves
financial anxiety
invest
the answer
insurance
the way
our program
costs less now
nreans security later
call us
today
stop by
soon
we're here
°n campus
for you
come
0
PROVIDENT
MUTUAL
LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
OF PHILADELPHIA
Gordon B. Richardson
Campus Representative
07 University Drive, Suite 23
846-7027
humor of S. M. Meeks is in its
last season at A&M.
Now 65, Meeks is retiring at
the end of next summer. Or so
he says.
Others contend that Kyle Field
will crumble before the friendly,
down-to-earth little man moves
out.
Originally hired by Paul “Bear”
Bryant, Meeks worked here in
the spring of 1958. When Bryant
left for Alabama, Meeks stayed
on under Jim Myers. Hank Fold-
berg took over the coaching reins
in 1962, but the equipment room
was still the kingdom of the for
mer sporting goods specialist.
In 1964, Gene Stallings was
named head football coach. This
completed something of a cycle
for Meeks, because Stallings was
beginning his coaching career
when Meeks first came to A&M.
The office connected to the
equipment room resembles a mu
seum, and it takes a while to
appreciate all the relics.
An assortment of deer antlers
decorates the walls of the office,
and the inscriptions on the ply
wood mounting boards are a
chronological summary of Meeks’
life.
“1920—killed by S. M. Meeks
with a Bowie knife.
“1938—strangled by S. M. Meeks
using a shoelace.
“1939—killed by S. M. Meeks
with a bow and arrow.
“1958 — S. M. Meeks getting
older, deer was talked to death.”
Between each set of antlers are
some of Meeks’ favorite sayings.
“I’d rather buy than lend, and
the cost is almost the same.”
“I’m a self-made man, but if
I go through life again, I’m going
to get some help.”
“Some bring joy by coming,
others by leaving.”
“Lazy people have a lot to do
tomorrow.”
“We issue everything but guts.”
Along with these and many
others are “wanted” posters of
Meeks and sevex-al momentos. The
office is a combination of antique
and rundown. If and when he
moves out, the room will be bare
without all the decorations.
Meeks was born in Temple
Nov. 1, 1906. He was graduated
from Main Avenue High in San
Antonio in 1924 and then attended
Wesley College in Greenville two
years.
He coached at Wesley College
for one year and at Celeste High
for two seasons and then went
to work for Humble Oil for 10
Computer predicts
OU over Huskers
TULSA, Okla. <AP)—Note to Ne
braska and Oklahoma football
fans: It’s all been decided and
Oklahoma is the national cham
pion. |
Who says so?
A computer, which picked Okla
homa to win that big Thanksgiv
ing Day showdown 39-33.
A Tulsa television station,
KTUL-TV, fed all the statistics
it had available into a comput
er which came up with the six-
point Sooner victory.
The game will be played at
Oklahoma’s home field—and the
computer decided that gave the
Sooners a three-point advantage.
years. He coached at San Antonio
Edison for one year before going
into the sporting goods business
there for 15 years.
While in high school, Meeks
played semipro football with men
of 22 and older. Although light
as a halfback, Meeks was a fiery
competitor. If you don’t believe
it, just ask him.
“If I was playing ball today,
I’d be a tackle,” he proclaims to
non-believers, believers and any
one within hearing range. “I was
a mean one.”
Meeks and his wife Treysa have
three sons. All the boys won ath
letic letters at different univer
sities. Charley Meeks was a track
man at the University of Texas.
He is now a consultant geophysi
cist in New Orleans.
S. M. Meeks, Jr. was a halfback
at the University of Houston.
After coaching 13 years at
Schreiner Institute, he is a busi
nessman in Houston.
Tommy Meeks is a bank assis
tant vice president in Conroe,
having played halfback here from
1962 until 1964. The elder Meeks
indicated he may work with Tom
my after retiring.
“He’s got a real estate venture
in Conroe,” the equipment super
visor said. “I might go there to
have something to do. I like to
play a lot of golf, and I hunt a
little, but not as much as I used
to. When you get older, you’re
hesitant about killing things.”
Meeks is in charge of all equip
ment, clothing and fields under
the direction of the athletic de
partment. During the summer, he
keeps the fields in condition, and
when sports are in season, he
takes care of all the equipment
needed for whatever is going on.
This week, Meeks received a
letter from an old friend who saw
his picture in the program for
the SMU game. Enclosed in the
letter were several pictures taken
when Meeks was playing semipro
football. The 1924 photographs
showed a young, dark-haired ath
lete with his hair parted down
the middle. The features were the
same, and Meeks contends that
little else was different.
“I guess you could say that
now the part is a little wider,”
said the balding man with the
impish grin.
No one is quite sure whether
Meeks will retire or not, but
tongue-in-cheek speculation has it
that the athletic department has
received applications from the
equipment men at both Notre
Dame and the University of Ne
braska.
Regardless of who the next
equipment manager is, one thing
is certain—he has a tough act to
follow.
Grimsley tries poetry
By WILL GRIMSLEY
AP Special Correspondent
NEW YORK (A 5 ) — A female
Penn State football fan suggests
that picking football games is
pretty dull and mundane stuff
and why couldn’t the job be done
in rhyme.
If the lady insists we’ll give
it a go—maybe worse but verse.
Last week: 47-16, .746. Season:
428-163, .724.
Southern California 25, UCLA
20: The Bruins have Pepper, the
Trojans got salt. Believe you me,
it’s USC.
Penn State 42, Pittsburgh 13:
Mitchell’s the boy who does the
work; watch him close, or he’ll
go berserk.
Tennessee 20, Kentucky 14:
Neither team has got much punch,
you won’t miss much if you take
your lunch.
Michigan 21, Ohio State 7:
“Three yards and a cloud of
dust.” It’s a Hayes cliche that’s
picked up rust.
Arizona State 43, San Jose
State 20: They caught Stanford
napping, Did San Jose; but it’s
the other team that’ll yell “Ole.”
Arkansas 20, Texas Tech 15:
In Arkansas, the cry is “Pig!”
Not cops, but Porkers, don’t you
dig?
Stanford 33, California 20:
Bunce for the Indians, Cruze for
the Bears—a pair of backs on
scoring tears.
Yale 17, Harvard 14: No bowl
or title on the line, just a piece
of Ivy off an aging vine.
Louisiana State 14, Notre Dame
10: Fighter not lover is the Tiger,
Casanova. If you don’t believe it,
wait, he’ll show ya.
Colorado 27, Air Force 14: The
air is light and it makes one
wonder; why a Buffalo in the
Wild Blue Yonder?
Michigan State 25, Northwest
ern 19: Eric Allen is the Spartans’
steed; makes the Wildcats seem
slow, indeed.
Dartmouth 22, Princeton 14:
Green is for envy and Dartmouth,
too; Orange is for Princeton, but
mood is blue.
EAST—Columbia 31, Brown 13;
Boston College 28, Massachusetts
14; Villanova 19, Temple 16; West
Virginia 30, Syracuse 25; Colgate
20, Rutgers 15; Cornell 28, Penn
7; Holy Cross 27, Connecticut 10.
MIDWEST — Toledo 38, Kent
State 7; Illinois 27, Iowa 13; Pur
due 22, Indiana 18; Iowa State 20,
Oklahoma State 13; Kansas 17,
Missouri 15; Wisconsin 21, Min
nesota 14; Northern Illinois 31,
Xavier 19; Cincinnati 28, Miami
O. 25; Dayton 24, Bowling Green
20.
SOUTH—Duke 17, North Caro
lina 14; Florida State 29, Tulsa
14; Maryland 15, Virginia y;
Memphis State 32, Kansas State
14; South Carolina 28, Wake For
est 24; Vanderbilt 23, Tampa 16;
Chattanooga 17, VMI 10; William
& Mary 38, Richmond 27; Ohio
U. 21, Marshall 18; The Citadel
33, Davidson 22.
SOUTHWEST—Southern Meth
odist 22, Baylor 7; Texas Chris
tian 19, Rice 14; Texas Arlington
20, Lamar 14; Texas-El Paso 32,
Colorado State 18; Drake 17,
West Texas State 13; North Texas
State 26, Wichita State 17.
FAR WEST—Oregon 30, Ore
gon State 23; Washington 36,
Washington State 19; New Mexi
co 28, Wyoming 18; Pacific 20,
Fresno State 14; Arizona 19, San
Diego State 15; Brigham Young
26, Utah 19; Idaho 37, Utah State
21.
Phillips doubtful
for Turkey Day
AUSTIN LA*) — Texas quarter
back Eddie Phillips will not even
suit up for practice this week,
and coach Darrell Royal said it
is doubtful that Phillips will play
against Texas A&M Thanksgiving
Day, Nov. 25.
Texas must beat the Aggies to
go to the Cotton Bowl.
Phillips suffered a shoulder
separation against TCU last Sat
urday, after missing four full
games because of a pulled leg
muscle.
Royal also said he doubted that
fullback Bobby Callison or de
fensive tackle Greg Ploetz would
start against the Aggies because
of knee injuries.
Sophomore halfback Don Bur-
risk, however, has returned to
practice for the first time since
he hurt his shoulder in the Oct. 9
Oklahoma game, and Royal said
he would play against A&M.
AT NORTH GATE
OPEN FROM NOON TO 9 P. M.
Special $3.59
As Advertised In
‘Rolling Stone”
LED ZEPPELIN
SPECIAL $3.59
Special $3.59
As Advertised In
Rolling Stone”
3J<5" UK J VERS l 846-5'S/S
(across fr.-m A M) (NEW STOCK JUSTIN)
Before you buy your football corsage see our special
play for Thanksgiving Day.
For Your Flower & Gift Needs.
Think
Aggieland Flower & Gift Shoppe
209 University Dr.
846-5825
Hallmark Cards — Unusual Gifts
AT THE
They’re softer than a feather bed. Smoother than a crocus head.
Smoother than a poem said. So what else do you want
from a pair of pants? Super fit? Crazy, crafty, creative^
colors? Bold ’n Beautiful Pretentious patterns? Life
styles? Look no further! Cotton denims, barely
brushed or Scrubbed® to a supersoft plush. Ve-e-e-ery
soothing. Caressable cotton corduroys . . . they come
in a avriety with small ribs, thick ’n thin ribs, and
elegant embossing. That’s not all! There’re more
sizzling cotton softies in vleveteens and fabulous
fake velvets and buckskin. Plus featurettes.
Patch pockets and flaps. Thigh pouch
pockets. Wild wide belt loops. Bold
button flys. O.K! Now are you ready
for the colors? Wonderful Wino .
Bowery Green .. . Purple Passion. ^
Egg White . .. Pumpernickel
and Rye . . . Yolk Yellow . . .
Grass Green . . . Blah Beige .
Tombstone Gray . . .
NOW AT
The “NOW” Market
801 Texas Ave. 822-4670