Friday, September 11,1987/The Battalion/Page 13
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U&M’s openers both good and bad
met," thcAtk,, J, (
S52 "birthday' 7 games leave many memories
said.
trend today io*r
anning smoken .. By Tim Stanfield
tuation in the ytr (>■Sports Writer
rn can on ^ ‘-.iiViiat more could a Texas A&M
)[ their own ^tball fan want for his birthday
re non*sm f or Aggies to win the game
he said. losest to that day (in my case Sep-
„ emher 18)?
licted^ **” ^hough 1954 was my first year as
guess" — thatittjjjiA&M fan, I didn’t adopt the first
at between 10 Q f season as ni y birthday
nt of the f $ J r a rhe until the following season.
“very stubborn p or In y sixth birthday all I wanted
vas for 1 exas A&M to travel to Los
i s smoking anc i defeat the mighty
r to decline atia Bruins.
er smoken c fyjlas, Bear Bryant’s record at
pie don't ukr y&ftl would fall to 1-10 that day, as
he Bruins shut their visitors out 21-
icks, the imoL ) ■
ent — 32.5pera ■'fLced by All-Americas Jack Par-
md 25.1 John David Crow, and Charley
, H|eger, the 1956 Aggies not only
loking rate n )Hiuced a win for me, but they
13 percent ; ftiitoutVillanova 19-0.
i.7 percent fa ? C)ne year later, playing an excel-
ent Maryland team in the Cotton
autioned thau’ jbU i stadium, Texas A&M outlasted
lay be off roffhe Terps 21-13. That squad would
made up $»nually win eight straight games,
people indutfaJbing the way becoming the last Ag-
iurvey. For squad to reach the top spot in the
ling a largerin.t! [Mills.
an* listed a t Por the next 12 seasons the only
men of 40.6pe^iftbd a y game A&M didn’t lose was
lerceni higher ^rtaltry 7-7 tie with Houston in
| y. ML
ibably is a drop Aggies even provided some
not a real 8 history with the 1958 loss,
aid. vhich was 15-14 to Texas Tech.
In that game (which was non-con-
erence at that time), both the Ag-
[ies and Red Raiders used the new
wo-point .conversion successfully.
)nly Tech also kicked an extra-
roint, so I got beat.
rinflU A* ter losing to LSU in 1960, I had
ww ^/\4lliad enbi%h! Making a voW that (Vhly
m 11-year old kid \vould do, I de
eded that, until A&M again won an
ppening game, I wbuld accept no
urthday presents. All I wanted was
or them to win, which usually
rasure, U S. ir.ineant that they had to beat the Ti
ling advanced (jers
in every atyfA&M had the ball and was march-
•ar biology and ngirfor - theipossible-wimiing toUch-
aged 34 percMlBjn late in the 1964vgarrre, trailing.
nistry stuaena. -SHJ 9-6.
l-year studenii; Coach Hank Foldberg motioned
percent in btoicr°r • the ball to be thrown out of
percent inch{r )( >umds to stop the clock,
ondary schoolP.The quarterback sailed the
ored well abon^gskin that way, only to have a re-
rgories: 75 p«re e tver jump up and tip it into the
percent in l^ rr P s of a waiting Tiger defender to
tin physio. ;r >d the rally.
apanese brought a new opponent,
ts, the averap^tivgia Tech, and new hope of vic-
rtect in chm^y This 17-year old boy listened
sics, and 48kk^P)% as the Aggies “built” up a 3-0
talftime lead.
u advanced the Yellow Jackets scored 10
d do well," Jic^ llls * n tfa e third quarter and delib-
rview. “But ccii^tely ran up the score in the final
md English suMai ter,, winning 38-3.
SMU and A&M moved up their
1967 game in order to appear on na
tional television.
Ever heard of Inez Perez? The
little Pony QB sub moved his team
the length of the field, hitting Jerry
Levias with a short touchdown pass
at 0:04, giving SMU an unbelievea-
ble 20-17 win.
That A&M team lost its first four
games, then won seven in a row, tak
ing the SWC tide in the process. The
seventh win was a 20-16 verdict over
Alabama in the Cotton Bowl.
Now I would get my revenge on
LSU. A&M led 12-0 in 1968, but fi
nally fell behind 13-12 late in the
game.
A&M QB Ed Hargett moved
them to the Tiger goal Tine, only to
see an Aggie running back fumble
the ball into and out of the end zone
for a touchback.
LSU pounded A&M in 1969, then
with the new 11th football game on
the schedule, A&M played Wichita
State on September 12, 1970.
All the years of bitter disappoint
ment melted away, as I sat in Kyle
Field and not only watched A&M
win (41-14), but set a school total of
fense record in the meantime (550
yards).
I still needed to beat LSU to lift
the yoke of those defeats, but I en
joyed the victory just the same.
Two more wins came in birthday
games against Wichita State (41-7
and 36-13), then the two teams met
for the final time to open the 1973
season.
That game and the three open
ing-day games to follow not only
produced wins, but I also got shut
outs. ■
A&M drummed WSU 48-0 in
1973, beat Clemson 24-0 in 1974,
scored on its opening drive against
Mississippi in 1975, held on to win 7-
0, and skunked Virginia Tech 19-0
in 1976.
The Mississippi game was the first
of 10 straight wins, and the Aggies
got to number two in the polls be
fore getting humiliated 31-6 by Ar
kansas.
The shutout skein ended in the
third quarter against Kansas in 1977
when the Jayhawk fullback tossed a
long TD pass, but we still won 28-14.
1978’s opener found my brother
Ricky and I in Lawrence, Kan., the
site of the first game of my streak of
seeing A&M games in person (which
rests at 148 this weekend).
The score was tied 10-10 in the
third period when reserve A&M
quarterback David Beal ran 80 yards
down the home sideline to break the
game open and give the Aggies the
win.
Having won nine birthday games
in a row, I was a little cocky when
A&M took on Brigham Young in
Houston in 1979.
Up 14-3, A&M Coach Tom Wil
son put in some reserves and soon
the game was much closer.
The Aggies led 17-10 late in the
game, but Brigham Young drove for
a touchdown and made a two-point
conversion to win 18-17.
Bitterly disappointed as I was,
that game was an excellent example
of a typical Wilson-coached A&M
game: usually close, but often leads
were blown at the end resulting in
defeat.
Mississippi fell 23-20 in Jackson in
1980, but I will have more on that
game in two weeks.
Place-kicker David Hardy kicked
three field goals to help the Aggies
overcome a 28-16 halftime deficit to
defeat Cal-Berkeley 29-28 in 1981.
Again I became cocky, especially
when I heard that Jackie Sherrill was
coming to be our coach.
Little did I know.
Doug Elude ruined Sherrill’s first
game, leading Boston College to a
38-16 mercy killing.
California came to Kyle Field in
1983 and promptly took a 17-0 lead.
A&M chipped away, though, and
tied it up in the final period.
Cal’s new coach, Joe Kapp, took a
field goal off the scoreboard late in
the game in order to get a first and
goal situation.
Naturally, the Bears lost a fumble
on the next play. But A&M ran a
deep pitch that had the running
back alone in the end zone, where he
was tackled for a game-winning
safety.
The Aggies proceeded to the
wrong end of the field to kick off,
and, once they were lined up prop
erly, declined an onside kick. Cal ran
out the clock and won.
I had elbow surgery on August
15, 1984, choosing that date so that I
would be able to drive myself to
Bryan to see A&M demolish pitiful
Texas El Paso.
Only the Miners took an early
lead and, after A&M took over 20-17
late in the game, had a tying field
goal hit the left upright behind the
south end zone to preserve the
“great” win.
1985 took the Aggies to Birming
ham, Alabama, where that game was
tied 10-10 in the fourth period.
But Alabama kicked two field
goals, after which the Aggies let
down and allowed the Tide’s full
back to run for a touchdown right
up the chute of their defense.
LSU returned to the birthday
game in 1986. I knew that the de
fending SWC champions wouldn’t
let me down and that I could once
again celebrate my birthday.
Little did I know.
While keeping statistics for the
A&M radio network, I watched in
stunned disbelief, as the Tigers
torched my guys, 35-17.
I was mortified and bitterly disap
pointed that again I had seen a pos
sible victory turn into a terrible beat
ing.
But I learned my lesson that
night. Now that I am a student here
in Aggieland and loving every min
ute of it, I realize that there are more
important things than getting a
birthday win, especially over LSU.
So, in view of my new concept of
life and losing football games, let me
say, “Thanks for the three points,
Jackie.”
Valentine's
feud grows
against umps
ARLINGTON (AP) — Texas
Rangers coach Bobby Valentine says
he’s tried to keep his temper with
American League umpires who he
thinks are trying to drive him out of
the game.
“I’ve been a church boy,” Valen
tine says.
And owner Eddie Chiles thinks
Valentine is doing a good job of stay
ing cool.
Valentine accused umpires
Wednesday of taking advantage of
the knowledge that Chiles asked him
in May not to get himself ejected
from ballgames.
“It makes me understand a lot of
the smirks I’ve gotten on the field
and a lot of the confrontations I’ve
been egged on,” Valentine said.
Chiles, however, saluted Valen
tine Thursday for the coach’s efforts
to avoid conflicts with umpires.
“Bobby Valentine has my uncon
ditional support,” Chiles said in a
prepared statement. “Earlier this
season I was attempting to defuse in
game conflicts between American
League umpires and Bobby Valen
tine. I salute Bobby for his efforts in
this regard.”
Valentine made his accusation af
ter being ejected for the fourth time
this season during a 12-1 victory
over the Oakland A’s Tuesday.
“Jim Evans (umpire crew chief)
told me I don’t know how to argue
— I’m out of control,” Valentine
said. “He said, ‘What does your
owner think about it?’”
Evans said he doesn’t mind a
coach arguing as long as he does so
in a professional manner. “I said, ‘If
you expect to please your owner and
please us, you’ve got to know how to
argue,”’ Evans said.
U.S. studenti4^ l '
Article in magazine
adds insult to injury
By Doug Hall
Assistant Sports Editor
Talk about adding insult to in
jury!
That’s exactly what Sports Il
lustrated, with the help of LSU’s
fleet running back Harvey Wil
liams, did in its Sept. 14 issue.
For two _^
years the . .
Aggies dom- viewpoint
inated the
Southwest
Conference, made back to back
Cotton Bowl appearances, were
consistently ranked in the Top 20
and made one Top-10 finish.
And SI treated A&M like a
football version of the bubonic
plague.
Maybe a mention here, or a
reference there. And even a short
story of the annual match-up with
Texas.
Oh yeah, they did throw in a
piece on the January Interception
Bowl against Ohio State in Dallas.
But the Aggies didn’t deserve a
four-page article with cover-page
picture that showed LSU quar
terback Tom Hodson and a cap
tion that read, “LSU Shocks
Texas A&M.”
In all fairness, the A&M vs.
LSU match-up deserved the cov
erage it got. After all, both
schools were returning confer
ence champions. LSU had the top
Southeastern Conference new
comers returning (Hodson and
Williams), not to mention an All-
America candidate in wide re
ceiver Wendell Davis.
For their part, the Aggies had
the longest home winning streak
in Division I football, a No. 15 na
tional ranking, ESPN coverage
and a big quarterback question.
And though the Aggie’s medi
ocre performance produced
more questions than it answered,
LSU has a doggone good football
team. They weren’t ranked No. 6
nationally because they raise
good crawfish.
So “shocked” is probably not
an incredibly accurate verb
choice.
The word does apply, how
ever, to some of the statements
made by Williams, the Hemp
stead product who shunned the
Aggies at the last minute for life
along the Mississippi.
For starters, on A&M in gen
eral, Williams said, “All that mili
tary and uniforms and yell lead
ers. I don’t get off on that stuff.
And that dog — Reveille — that
dog is so sorry. I can’t stand that
dog.”
Thank you, Harvey.
On the Aggies’ vaunted 12th
Man Kick-On Team, the sopho
more tailback said, “Come on. I
ought to break it on them.”
Any other comments to really
get that maroon blood to boiling
for next year, Harvey?
How about, “I should get 160
to 180 yards and two touch
downs.” He said before the game,
in reference to what he evidently
considered a porous A&M de
fense.
It’s not entirely improbable
that, should A&M win the SWG .
and LSU finish second in the
SEC, a rematch could be ar
ranged in Dallas on Jan. 1, 1988.
Until then Harvey, sleep easy.
Because old wounds heal slow
and harsh words surely come
back to haunt you.
Ryan's 16 K's, low ERA
outshines poor record
HOUSTON (AP) — Astros
catcher Alan Ashby has caught three
no-hit games, including Nolan
Ryan’s fifth no-hitter in 1981.
But he has never seen Ryan better
than when the 40 year-old right
hander struck out 16 San Francisco
batters Wednesday night in a 4-2 As
tros’ victory.
“I’ve never seen him stronger or
better,” Ashby said. “The eighth was
the best. In eight years, I’ve never
seen him better.”
Ryan, 7-14, finished with 130
pitches, well over the 110-pitch limit
imposed by General Manager Dick
Wagner to keep Ryan’s arm from be
ing overworked.
Ryan had five strikeouts through
the first four innings but after Mike
Aldrete’s single in the fifth inning
scored the Giants’ second run, the
Alvin fireballer struck out 10 of the
last 12 batters.
He retired the side in the eighth
inning, his last, fanning Candy Mal
donado, Clark and Bob Brenly.
Astros second baseman Bill Doran
thinks Ryan should be a Cy Young
Award candidate despite his poor
record.
“He’s one of a kind,” Doran said.
‘You’ll never see a guy at 40 that am
azing or athletic. It’s a crying shame
we haven’t supported him better. He
should be considered for the Cy
Young Award.”
Ryan has a league leading 226
strikeouts and a 2.76 earned run av
erage, but has only a 7-14 record to
show for his outstanding season.
Ryan’s 16 strikeouts increased his
career strikeout record to 4,503.
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TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Calculator Demonstration
Day
Monday, Sept. 14
10:00 am till 4:00 pm
At the
Texas A&M Bookstore
in the Memorial Student Center
A Texas Instrument’s representative will be in our store to demonstrate the
Texas Instruments line of Business, Financial, scientific, and programmable
calculators dedicated to engineers, mathematicians and scientists.
If you are a student at Texas A&M University, Texas Instruments has a
calculator dedicated to your field of study. Visit with our representative and
investigate the calculator designed for you.
STORE HOURS
Mon.-Fri 7:45am-6:00pm
Sat 9:00am-5:00pm
845-8681
IN THE MEMORIAL STUDENT CENTER