May 9, 2002
This is another "B" Line column, a periodic collection of news items of interest to members of the Baylor "B" Association. Contribute news about you or your teammates via e-mail to Dutch Schroeder (Dutch_Schroeder@baylor.edu), Reba Cooper (Reba_Cooper@baylor.edu) or Jack Loftis (Jack.Loftis@chron.com). The mailing address is Baylor "B" Association, P. O. Box 8120, Waco, TX 76714.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T - Ben Hough, an active member of the Baylor "B" Association and former chair and active member of its nominating committee, played on the 1948-49-50 baseball teams. He firmly believes the 1948 Bears - the first Baylor team to participate in NCAA regional baseball competition - do not get enough respect. The NCAA's first regional tournament was held in 1947 and featured eight teams, four from the East and four from the West. After being eliminated in the West, University of Texas coach Bibb Falk felt his Longhorns had been short-changed by umpires and refused to return to the tournament in 1948 after winning the SWC title. When second-place Texas A&M also declined to go, an invitation was extended to the third-place Bears. They lost to the University of Southern California in their first game and then beat Colorado State and Oklahoma State before again losing to USC in the finals. The Trojans advanced to the College World Series in Omaha and won the national title over Yale, despite the fact that the Bulldogs had a first baseman and captain named George Bush. Hough, who attends most BU athletic events with his pal Bill Horick, made his case for more respect to the athletic department and a photo of the 1948 team is now on display at Baylor Ballpark, as well as being featured in the 2002 Baylor Baseball Press Guide . . .
YOU ALREADY KNEW - However, speaking of groups that command respect, the 1977 and 1978 Baylor baseball teams will be honored at Homecoming this year. Each won a South Central NCAA Tournament championship and participated in the College World Series. In case it is not already on your calendar, Homecoming Weekend is Oct. 25-27 and the football opponent will be Kansas State . . . On Page 111 of the excellent and aforementioned baseball press guide is a bit of trivia that could prove useful if a certain misinformed and misguided politician continues to take cheap shots at Baylor (we also recommend sharing this information with our Aggie friends). The press guide factoid states that "the beginnings of Baylor's school song ('That Good Old Baylor Line') can be traced back to 1907. That's when student George Baines Rosborough penned an alternative set of lyrics to the waltz tune 'In the Good Old Summertime,' first made popular on Broadway in 1902. Rosborough's new lyrics were humorous, with references to sending Baylor's gridiron rivals home 'done up in turpentine.'" Of course, less violent stanzas were substituted later . . .
MAKE THAT GENERAL CRIBBS - Maria Cribbs, a 2000 Baylor Distinguished Alumnus, has just been promoted to the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force. A 1975 Baylor graduate and the sister of BU track lettermen Jerome and Carlos Cribbs, she entered military following her ROTC days at Baylor and you can see what it got her: Chief of staff for the Department of Defense's Office of Homeland Security. Both of her brothers ran track for Coach Clyde Hart in the mid-1970s. Jerome is now a Delta Airlines pilot and brother Carlos has a military career of his own. The latter must do a lot of saluting around Thanksgiving time and Christmas . . . From Baylor Line Editor Todd Copeland's Spring issue of the Baylor Alumni Association magazine we learn that James Vilade, who played BU baseball in 1994 and 1995, is now an assistant baseball coach at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa. After a successful four-year stint as head coach at the University of Dallas, where his teams had a 118-52 record and won two Division III America Southwest Conference titles, Vilade moved to ORU in the fall of 2001. As of May 7, the Golden Eagles have a 32-15 record and are 10-0 in Division II Mid-Continent Conference play. Incidentally, Vilade's wife Jennifer (Burrows) was a Baylor volleyball letterwinner in 1993 and 1994 . . .
JACK LOFTIS
CO-CHAIRMAN
COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
