Nov. 12, 2003
This is another "B" Line column, a collection of news items of particular interest to members of the Baylor "B" Association. Contribute news about you or your teammates via e-mail to Lee Harrington (leenelaine@281.com), 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.
Members of the 1983 Baylor Bluebonnet Bowl team took the field for bows at Floyd Casey Stadium at the end of the first quarter of the Homecoming Game against Texas Tech. It's too bad that NCAA rules didn't allow a dozen or so of the former players to hang around longer. At that point Baylor only trailed Tech 21-14, but wound up losing 62-14.
The Grant Teaff team took a 7-3-1 record to Houston for the 25th anniversary of the Bluebonnet Bowl only to lose to Oklahoma State 24-14. However, some members of the 1983 team rank among the finest players to ever represent Baylor. To name but a handful: Cody Carlson, Thomas Everett, Gerald McNeil, Mark Adickes, Tom Muecke and Alfred Anderson - the latter being saluted as the Game Day Legacy Player at the Tech game.
A Friday-night reunion dinner in the "B" Association Room kicked off the special activities for the 1983 team. Coach Teaff and assistant coach Bill Lane were present, but assistant coach Cotton Davidson had to miss the event to watch one of his grandsons play in an important high school game.
Of the 94 players on the 1983 roster, only one - offensive tackle Marty Block - is deceased.
HOMECOMING NOTES - In addition to their brief walk-on between the first and second quarters of the Tech game, many of the 1983 players lined up on the field with other former players to pep up the 2003 Bears as they exited their dressing room for kickoff. Spirit-minded Mike Beane, who oversees THE DEN on game days, coordinated the project. During the game THE DEN tent also became a haven for many BU fans trying to escape the light rain that fell during most of the afternoon . . . Reggie Newhouse is the 2003 recipient of the Bobby Jones Award, an honor named for the late BU quarterback of the 1950s. It is presented to the player whose combined practice and game performances rank the highest. Ironically, Jones, who helped Baylor beat Tennessee 13-7 in the 1957 Sugar Bowl, died a few years later in an auto-train accident while serving as a member of the Tennessee coaching staff . . . Pre-game visitors to the "B" Room had a difficult time concentrating on the Baylor-Tech contest because their attention was focused on TV screens where Oklahoma was breezing to a 77-0 victory over Texas A&M . . . Press box comics said before kickoff that it would be considered a moral victory if the 2003 Baylor Homecoming Queen showed up in any colors other than Texas Tech Red & Black. The reference was to Homecoming 2001, when the Baylor royalty committed a fashion faux pas . . .
NOTEBOOK LEFTOVERS - "B" Association President Ronnie Goodwin and BU Athletic Director Ian McCaw have engaged in casual conversations about their respective organizations working closer in the days ahead. But no formal talks or announcement will occur until after Baylor's final game of the season . . . Sponsors of the "B" Room pre-game meal for Homecoming were Bobby Beane, Bob Bustin, Walter (Pinkie) Palmer and Jack Ward . . . And you can start thanking Bob Ammon, Faith Beaty, Tommy Bowman, Rick Butler, Burl Coker, Dick Couey, Milton Cunningham, Joe Bob Gough, Richard Gough, David Hicks, Gary Luft, Derrel Luce and Eddie Sherman now for their sponsorship of the Nov. 22 spread prior to the season finale against Oklahoma State. The televised game will begin at 11:30 a.m., which means the "B" Room brunch will begin around 9:30 a.m. . . . Ticketless baseball letterwinner Jinx Hoover of Austin traveled to Boston on faith during the American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and his beloved Red Sox. And Hoover's faith was rewarded, as he was successful in finding tickets for sale outside Boston's legendary Fenway Park. But even faith sometimes falls short as the Yankees won the series in seven games . . . And speaking of faith, does anyone recall Baylor ever being a 53-point underdog, as is the case in the upcoming game against No. 1 ranked Oklahoma? It's true that Baylor has lost all 12 of its previous matches with Oklahoma - dating back to 1901 - but only once have the Sooners scored 50 points against the Bears (50-22 in 2000). The closest game was in 1996 when Oklahoma won 24-23 . . .
(The "B" Line column is produced by Jack Loftis, editor emeritus of The Houston Chronicle and chairman of the Baylor "B" Association Communications Committee.)
