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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 6, 1978)
THE BATTALION TUESDAY, JUNE 6, 1978 Page 9 But they’re not sex objects^ Diamond Darlings add life to Aggie baseball id n J exam V&Mi is AM I reseat mid din m I tltatte bats. Managing the Diamond Darlings is only one of Butler’s duties as assis tant sports information director. He also gives baseball game broadcasts on radio, and puts out material on the A&M basketball team. He describes himself as a 100 percent women’s libber. And he says that as far as putting women in the limelight goes, the Darlings are the No. 1 organization on campus. The limelight has its drawbacks, and the women seem to get their share of verbal abuse from tbe op posing team’s fans. “Texas was bad,’’ said Lisa Mat- risciani, a sophomore member. “You get called “Diamond Dogs” and barked at.’’ But Ruthie Wilkins, the group’s captain,says the women learn to ig nore the hollers from crowds. “Any time you’re in shorts in front of that many people you expect it, ” she says. During baseball season the Diamond Darlings attend confer ence, non-conference and road games. But in other months, their time is spent on promotions, ads, sales, hostessing and what Butler calls “meeting people. ’ “Coach takes us to speeches, banquets, anywhere he has to talk,” says Wilkins. “We go along to add a little color.” Some of this involves appearances at a barbecue for Dolph Briscoe supporters, a boat show, a Christ mas parade, and grand openings in Bryan-College Station. ss t | ian j| Retrieving bats is only a small part of the job |pf a Diamond Darling. The DDs are actually soneofi'part of a well-planned promotion of Texas ?ntoflt s of ^ l, *ggj ( , b ase hall coach Tom Chan- Aggie baseball, guson evidendy By MARY ALICE WOODHAMS ' K lt - llei insists that both of his teams be ° kT at ^ east an l lonr before starting l K inje for home games, ting CoflvVhile the men are warming up, [talcoli'iiembers of the Texas A&M Uni- e suici! ersity bat girl squad are selling •rimesMgrams, greeting fans, retrieving Union. )ul balls, and delivering Hershey fa Hs, sunflower seeds, chewing to- •h >!• aero and bubblegum to the >1 ccnlfj ascball team. •st draiiW'hg game begins, and the two one-M)jLionel Darlings (“DDs,” for- s theo'loi t) poised at the side of the dug- esmlk|t take turns chasing foul balls, lata is fljhb women are clad in maroon he Sow loop-necked t-shirts and white the an® Irts, and they have the aura of a theeaijiiup of sophisticated high school trd ^cheerleaders. Center® Andy Korenek, A&M’s student in dri®|anager, approaches one Diamond 10I a )f®-ling and asks her to say hello to s for catcher in a “real sexy voice” Hen she runs up to retrieve the ( >a|. The Aggies are playing Hous- L/u on\ Astros in an exhibition game, tvl'ind the catcher in question is Joe Ferguson. g a pl*’ ix from’ the n® Mexico i) milli° : id e$ : Moved She waits for the appropriate time, then darts onto the field,says hello, and returns with the bat. The fans, true to Aggie form, whoop in approval. “What happened?” she asks. “The catcher clapped for you, someone replied. t The Darlings are not, by any standards, like A&M’s Corps or mil itary band or male yell leaders in their manifestations of spirit. As the only support-group open to women, they have a job and they do it. But if the women happen to look provocat ive at the same time, their sponsors say, so much the better. Promotion is the name of the game, and it’s all part of a well- planned public relations campaign for Texas Aggie baseball — or Texas Aggie anything else. The Diamond Darlings were one of the first women’s organizations at Texas A&M when Chandler and his wife Willadene formed it six years ago. The Chandlers were inspired by a similar group (with the same name) at Iowa State University. Since then other schools have used bat girls, but the Darlings is the And Astro’s catcher Joe Fer- approves. Battalion photo by Pat O’Malley only group of its kind at a Texas Southwest Conference school. “Other teams have them.. .Arkan sas, Oklahoma, USC, Arizona,” says Robert McBurnett, the student trainer. But what makes the Texas A&M group different? “Looks,” says a player on the baseball team. Indeed. One ex-Darling is the current Miss USA, Kim Tomes. And Sandra Schumacher, one of this year’s members, is the new Miss Texas World Speedway. Their sponsor, Jim Butler of the Texas A&M athletic department, in sists that the 16 Diamond Darlings are not sex objects; rather, they are “just persons representing the Texas A&M baseball team.” Without a doubt, to an element of the spectators, they will be seen this way,” he says. But Butler adds that it’s the same way with male football or baseball players. “It’s the same way with Jane Pauley on the Today Show.” “Their duty is to call attention to the baseball games,” he says. “We don t really need someone to get Animal World FULL LINE PET SHOP — WHERE QUALITY COMES FIRST F/SH, DOG & CAT SUPPLIES ANIMAL BEDS & CUSHIONS DOG GROOMING REPTILES, BIRDS WIDE SELECTION OF TROPICAL FISH PETS ARE OUR PRIDE Once they worked at a bank open ing, directing motorists past the drive-in tellers. Another time they served as hostesses at Houston’s Bluebonnet Bowl. The women admit it’s hard work and that Diamond Darling duties take an average of 12 hours a week. The athletic department pays for their traveling expenses and uni forms, but the members make no money for their work. “There’s no pay involved — just the honor,” says Carol Anne Wat son, a freshman member.“But it’s worth it.” Wilkins agrees. “Everything the team gets, we get. I mean, they’re having a dinner for us... C. E. “Pat” Olsen, for whom A&M’s new 5,000-seat stadium was named, honored the Darlings with a dinner party in May. The former New York Yankees player and 1923 alumnus also presented each member with a miniature, engraved baseball bat. A Houston Astro, overhearing the conversation, smiles and says that Mr. Olsen just likes girls. One thing that concerns them is the group’s image, and the women say that image has improved during the last year. “People think we re everything from a softball team to a can-can group, says Matrisciani. “But we’re getting more respect this year.” A number of changes took place when Mrs. Chandler stepped down as sponsor and Butler accepted her job. Uniforms changed, selection methods changed, and the rules of the group became hard and fast. The Diamond Darlings used to run onto the field before the games, carrying a glove for each player and taking their field positions. The women would hand each player his glove and give him a kiss. The prac tice ended because one year, a team member was black and this “caused some problems, Butler said. Questions on baseball-aptitude tests used for selection also have be come more difficult. One year, ap plicants answered this question; “The suicide squeeze play is a very effective offense play in baseball. Should a batter: (a) squeeze the bat extra hard (b) miss the ball on purpose (c) bunt the ball (d) hit the ball behind the runner (e) none of the above.” Selecting the Darlings is serious business. First, Butler held a meet ing for all interested A&M women, and instructed them to wear a halter top and shorts. “We thought that would be the uniform,” he explains, “so we wanted to see how the girls looked in them, felt in them.” Eighty-five women showed up. They filled out applications, signed rules agreements, and took a quiz. Sample questions: Who won the SWC Baseball Championship last year? How many innings are in a normal game? Twenty-five finalists were selected, and these women were judged on their physical appear ance, photogeneity, ability to “wel come” a fan to a game, and voice. Butler tells the women that they’ll be expected to work hard, and that they will have time for Diamond Darlings and nothing else. - Except school. 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