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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 19, 1996)
t ida WEDNESDAY June 19, 1996 The Battalion Page 3 cal en- re im- to the i bulk, burn -prod- crude xut ropane nvert. jn avidR. rement, aony J. istrator ion. i of ap- ad air- •seeing Brod- ae most t weeks major, ave the afety of ystem,” etter of vilLpro- Ximum jrmake FAA’s vestiga- t a case urt. We rs 7 Editor : k, Ann Roy & Francis, ox, Ray Marcus jschber, rnies & arsity in 5-2647 by The 96. For AcDon- 2678. jp a sin- ool year ress, call ;. the r ses- versity- Texas Allen sports GLANCE Allen's bat smoking for USA Baseball Texas A&M centerfielder Chad Allen has been on fire at the plate since joining the USA Baseball Team. In 28 at-bats against internation al competition, the fourth-round draft choice of the Minnesota Twins is hitting a team-leading .571 with four doubles, 10 RBI and a .714 slugging percentage. With a two- g a m e sweep of Aus tralia in San Antonio on Monday and Tuesday the USA Baseball Team extend ed its unde feated streak to 10-0 this summer. Allen, who did not make the national team last summer, made the final team cut and will play in the Olympic summer games in Atlanta. Interviews set for tennis coach finalists Hoping to name a successor to longtime men's tennis coach David Kent by the end of the week, Texas A&M officials will in terview Tim Cass and Texas Tech coach Tim Siegal. Siegal, who will be in College Station today, played at Arkansas and served as the women's coach at SMU before taking over the men's program at Texas Tech in 1993. Cass will be interviewed on Thursday. In eight years as head coach at New Mexico he has won five WAC titles and has tak en the Lobos to the NCAA play offs six times. Martinez Bros, net success on pro circuit Former Texas A&M tennis play ers Bernardo and Eduardo Martinez took 4th place at the USA 2 ATP Professional Satellite Circuit Cham pionships in Florida on June 16. The Mexico City natives fell in the semifinals in a third-set tiebreak er to Tommy Schemadia of the US and Dreushimo Tshino of Japan, 6- 3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5); the duo received an invitation to the elite 16-team Masters tournament in Tallahassee, Fla., however. Eduardo, who just completed his senior season at A&M, teamed with fellow senior Eric Horan to win the SWC No. 2 doubles title. Belle's suspension re duced to three games CLEVELAND (AP) — Major league home run leader Albert Belle and Cleveland teammate Julian Tavarez, both of whom appealed Iheir five-game suspensions, each had the penalties cut to three games Tuesday by AL president Gene Budig. Belle, who flattened Milwaukee second baseman Fernando Vina a forearm, and Tavarez, who umpire Joe Brinkman, con tested the rulings that resulted from brawl between the Indians and Milwaukee Brewers on May 31. Belle, whose 25 homers are on a lace to challenge Roger Maris' ecord of 61, will begin his suspen- ion Friday during a doubleheader gainst New York. Tavarez, a key Member of Cleveland's bullpen, "as to start serving his penalty im mediately with Tuesday night's iame against Boston. Davis, Branson key Ns' win over Astros HOUSTON (AP) — Eric Davis Vnered leading off the 10th inning ’ Jeff Branson brought in another with a squeeze bunt Tuesday . t as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros 6-4. Davis hit an 0-1 pitch from Xavier Fernandez (0-3) over the left-field teoreboard for his 14th homer this teason. Hal Morris followed with a togle, was sacrificed to second and "entto third on a wild pitch. Bran- 'otithen bunted toward the right side J fthe mound to easily score Morris. The Astros had tied it 4-4 in the Attorn of the ninth on Bill Spiers' Trd homer this season. Spiers, who %ed the game as a defensive re- scement in the eighth, hit a 3-2 tchfrom Jeff Brantley (1-1) over the Sht-field scoreboard. It was the second time in three r s Spiers had tied a game with a ^-inning homer. Houston starter Darryl Kile 'itched a career-high with 11 strike rs and finished with a six-hitter ^72-3 innings. As the Crow Flies "He is the best back I've ever coached," the legendary football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant once said. By Brandon Marler The Battalion Reading over John David Crow’s accomplishments as a college and pro football player, one can see the logic behind Bryant’s words. A No. 1 draft choice of the Chicago Cardinals in 1958, Crow was named to the NFL Pro-Bowl four times in his career. He was also declared United fVess Play er of the Year and Back of the Year in 1958, as well as Player of the Year by Coach & Athlete Magazine, Top Perfonner in Col lege Football by Sport Magazine and Amateur Athlete of the Year by the Texas Sports writers. But what most Aggie fans re member most is Crow’s Heisman Trophy-winning season in 1957. • "A&M's Favorite Son" • When one steps back and sur veys the legendary playing ca reer of Crow and the eventful life he has led, it is easy to see why he has been called “A&M’s fa vorite son.” Raised in the Piney Woods of northern Louisiana, Crow gradu ated from Springhill High School in 1954 with an All-American football award already under his belt. Besides leading his team to the state championship in foot ball, Crow also lettered in bas ketball and track. He came to A&M in the fall of 1954, only to accomplish more in the next four years than most athletes accomplish in their lifetimes. Yet the qualities and charac teristics that made him one of the most respected men in sports become evident as one takes a seat in his office. Although he sits at a rich, burgundy oak desk that seems as massive as Kyle Field to a freshman running back on open ing day. Crow does not seem too distant. In fact, the longer you talk to him, the harder it be comes not to picture him down at the local general store on Main Street, shooting the breeze with the old-timers while the ra dio wails Willie and Waylon in the background. • "All-business" • This image, however, does not take anything away from the “all-business” side of Crow, the one he assumes in the athletic department as Director of Devel opment. With his storied back ground in athletics and business, Crow can raise $150,000 in a five-minute phone call as easily as he can talk about his playing years under Bryant. Crow’s determination springs from a family background of work in the paper mills of Springhill. “I was bom right in the mid dle of the Depression,” Crow said. “But because of the paper mill and the hard work of my dad, we were able to make a de cent living.” Much of Crow’s business these days concerns working with wealthy Aggies who are looking to contribute to the Athletic De partment. While many think these people simply want to see their name in the spotlight. Crow finds this is not always true. “When these donors give to the University, they don’t really receive anything of monetary value in return,” Crow said. “They might get their name on an endowed plaque or some thing, but this man who just gave us $100,000 doesn’t even want his name on the 12th Man Plaza wall. “Really, genuinely inside, these people just want to make a difference.” In Crow’s college days, mon ey was not an issue. Recruited by every major college in the country. Crow came to A&M at the beckoning of his brother’s college coach. Elmer Smith was head coach at Magnolia A&M in Arkansas, a college only 25 miles across the Louisiana-Arkansas border from Springhill. “When I went to visit Magno lia, Coach Smith told me that he didn’t think that I belonged there,” Crow said. “He told me that I should go and play at A&M, a big school where I would get a lot of exposure. The only reason he brought me there was because of their boosters.” In the end, both Smith and Crow ended up at A&M under Bryant — Smith as an assistant coach, .Crow as a player. 'The Bear Crow’s deep respect for Bryant came from a 40 year relationship that began his freshman year at A&M, also Bryant’s first year in Aggieland. The 1954 team won just one game under Bryant, a team Crow did not play on because freshmen were not allowed to play at that time. Over the next three years, Bryant guided All-Americans Jack Pardee, Denny Goehring and Crow, along with All-South west Con ference se- lections Roddy Osborne, John Tracey and Bobby Rony Angkriwan, The Battalion John David Crow showcases one of his pieces of Heisman Trophy memorabilia — a photograph of the four SWC Heisman trophy winners. Also pictured are UH's Andre Ware, SMU's Doak Walker and UT's Earl Campbell. through some of the most diffi cult times of his life. “In my athletic career, the fact that Coach Bryant said that I was the ‘best back he ever coached’ — well, that means more to me than all the awards I’ve been than she was back in high school when we were dating.” • "Soft-hearted" • given, e s p e - cial- 1 y Marks, to 18 straight wins and an SWC title. In four years at A&M, Bryant and Crow began to form a father- and-son-like bond, carrying Crow Photo Courtesy of Texas A&M Athletic Department A&M all-time great John David Crow won the Heisman Trophy in 1957 by rushing for 562 yards and grabbing five interceptions on defense. now, 40 years later,” Crow said. “A&M is going to have plenty more Heisman winners come through, but the fact that I was Coach Bryant’s only one — well, now that’s the real honor.” Crow says he and Bryant’s re lationship was much closer be cause of their lack of commurdca- tion while he was a player. “I think our relationship was a lot closer and more meaningful, probably because we did not cor respond a great deal, and we did not talk to each other a whole lot,” Crow said. “You don’t al ways have to talk a lot or talk to someone a great deal to have their respect.” Although Bryant’s spirit re mains with Crow, the most im portant figure in his life is Car olyn, his wife of 42 years. Crow said she is the glue that has held their family together, especially in the rough times. “We’re like all couples,” Crow said. “We have our arguments and fights, and there’s been times that I’ve stormed out of the house. After a few minutes though. I’d always realize that I didn’t have anywhere else to go, so I’d just head back inside so we could fix everything. “She’s even prettier today The gleam in Crow’s eye fades a little and begins to tear up as he talks about his son, John David Crow Jr., who died in an auto-pedestrian accident in Al abama on the day of the 1994 A&M-Oklahoma game. “We had just gotten back from the game when we re ceived a phone call telling us that he had been killed,” Crow said. The past few years have been tough for Crow’s family, espe cially John David Jr.’s wife and two daughters. “It’s a tragedy that, unless you have been through, you can’t really understand the pain that is caused,” Crow said. “It’s been a long road, and I don’t think I’ll ever get over it, but it is easier. The only way to get through it is to talk about it. That’s where my wife has been so great. Something like this a lot of times tears up a family, but she’s really helped keep us together.” One might not expect such soft-hearted sentiment from one of the toughest half-backs to ever play the sport of football, but spending time with Crow reveals he is not the stereotypi cal hard-nosed athlete. • "The Future" • In fact, his eyes grow large at the mention of the future of A&M athletics and the pro gram’s future in the Big 12. “Right now, the room that A&M has to grow is amazing,” Crow said. “With the growth of the school and R.C.’s (Slocum) success, everyone sees the potential. “Back in the early ‘80s when we weren’t winning, no one wanted to spend money on the program, especially the donors. Now, everyone is seeing the po tential that we have and I’m ex cited to be in the middle of all of it. I just hope I’m around in 10 more years to see it all.” Crow comes across as the typical hard-working, small town Texas boy who had a lucky break, a phenomenal athletic career and is living the Ameri can dream by helping develop the department that gave him his start. His accomplishments have helped him put things into perspective about his family, business and a school he loves as much as the game of foot ball itself. “I know I’ll never be able to give back all that this school has given me, opportunity- wise,” Crow said. “This isn’t going to be something I dwell on, though. “I have a wonderful family, I love the job that I work at, the people I get to work with, and I love this school. What more could I ask for?” July 8,1935: Born in Marion, La. 1954: Graduated from Springhill H.S. as an All-American halfback. 1954: Entered Texas A&M under new coach Paul "Bear” Bryant. July 2, 1954: Married Carolyn Gilliam. Nov. 13,1957: Named Heisman Trophy winner. 1958: First-round draft choice of the Chicago Cardinals of the NFL. 1968: Retires as player. 1969: Named assistant to Coach Bryant at Alabama. 1974: Named offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers. 1976: Named Athletic Dir. and Head Coach at Northeast Louisiana University. 1983: Named Associate Athletic Director at Texas A&M. 1988: Named Athletic Director. 1992: Named Director of Athletic Development.