May 1, 2003

This is another "B" Line column, a periodic 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.

It was tossed out as a rhetorical question in the March 6 "B" Line column: Did anyone remember that Ted Uhlaender was a catcher for the 1961 Baylor Bears before going on to the major leagues where he excelled as an outfielder for Minnesota, Cleveland and Cincinnati?

Houston attorney Howard Lee certainly remembers, since he was a pitcher for the Bears that year. He also recalls how the 1961 season ended in one of the most bizarre finishes in Southwest Conference history.

The date was May 17 and the Texas Longhorns came to Waco needing to win one game of a doubleheader to claim the league championship. But if Baylor won both games, it would wear the crown.

The games were played at Dutton Field, a facility without lights, and this shortcoming became a critical factor in Game 2 after the Bears had won the opener, 3-2. Baylor had scored two runs in the ninth inning to win behind the strong pitching of Bob Barnett, who won his eighth game of the season without a loss. The winning run was driven in by third baseman Ronnie Goodwin, currently president of the Baylor "B" Association.

Significantly, the game was played in two hours and 25 minutes before a crowd of only 500.

Chance for title . . .
Now, in Game 2, both the Bears and Longhorns faced a must-win situation and Texas got off to a good start, scoring two runs in each of the first two innings. By the bottom of the fifth, the Horns had increased their lead to 7-1.

But in their half of the inning the Bears sent 14 batters to the plate and scored eight runs for a 9-7 advantage. However, it was a short-lived lead as Texas left-fielder Chuck Knudson hit a two-run homer to tie 9-9. Ironically, the runs were charged to Barnett, who had entered the second game as a reliever. Neither team scored in the sixth-inning and after three hours the umpires called the game because of darkness. By this time there were 1,200 fans in the Dutton Field stands.

Originally, the two games had been scheduled for the previous Friday and Saturday, but they were rained out and re-scheduled as the Wednesday doubleheader. Baylor coach Lloyd Russell first assumed the tied game could be finished the following day, but Texas coach Bibb Falk went to the SWC rule book and pointed out - accurately - that no game could be played after final examinations had begun. And Baylor's exams were to begin the next day.

Why not Katy Park? . . .
Baylor officials' next suggestion was to move the game to Katy Park, in downtown Waco, where it could be finished under the lights. But Falk balked, claiming the game ended in a tie and the Longhorns could claim the title because it had a slightly higher won-loss record. When SWC commissioner Howard Grubbs was contacted in Dallas, he ruled in favor of the Longhorns.

In his book on SWC baseball, former Houston Chronicle sportswriter Neal Farmer described the scene as follows: "Texas lore said the (Longhorns') bus just didn't show up at Katy Park, but went straight to Austin. Baylor officials seriously considered moving final exams back one day . . . While the gambit didn't play well in Waco, they loved it in Austin."

Sports editor Lou Maysel, writing in the Austin American-Statesman, had this to say about Falk: "Already generally pictured as a sharpster in a flock of lambs, Falk undoubtedly will see his reputation as a sly old fox grow from the zany Wednesday windup of the league's baseball race."

The 1961 season was Russell's last year to coach. Following that season he suffered a heart attack and the head coaching job was handed to Dutch Schroeder, who led the Bears for the next 12 years.

Although it still hurts, Howard Lee remains philosophical about the outcome of the ill-fated doubleheader. "Oh, well, no use crying over what might have been for us," he said.

JACK LOFTIS
CHAIRMAN
COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE