26 Baylor Football Legends To Be Honored During TCU Game
8/30/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 30, 2006
Sixteen former standouts in Baylor's 104-year football history will be honored during halftime of Sunday's nationally-televised game against No. 22 TCU. The 16 honorees are part of the new Floyd Casey Stadium heritage display, which was completed earlier this month.
"This is an exciting project that recognizes and honors Baylor's football stars and great teams throughout its history," said Baylor Director of Athletics Ian McCaw. "The banners tell the story of more than 100 years of Baylor football and celebrate our rich football tradition. Moreover, this project makes a significant and desirable impact on the appearance of the stadium."
The heritage display outside of Floyd Casey Stadium features life-sized banners of 26 Baylor football greats, with 12 banners hanging on the stadium's west side and 14 on the east side. In addition, the façade on the stadium's west side pays tribute to the Bears' eight bowl championship teams, while the east side façade salutes every All-American in the program's history.
Former legends expected to return for Sunday's halftime ceremony include running back Walter Abercrombie (1978-81), halfback Ronnie Bull (1959-61), defensive tackle Santana Dotson (1988-91), wide receiver Lawrence Elkins (1962-64), defensive back Thomas Everett (1983-86), linebacker James Francis (1986-89), offensive lineman Bill Glass (1954-56), defensive end Roger Goree (1970-72), defensive back Gary Green (1973-76), quarterback Neal Jeffrey (1972-74), defensive back Vann McElroy (1978-81), offensive tackle Fred Miller (1992-95), offensive tackle James Ray Smith (1952-54), head coach Grant Teaff (1972-92), quarterback Don Trull (1961-63) and split end Stanley Williams (1949-51).
Five of this weekend's returnees are enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame (Elkins, Everett, Glass, Smith and Teaff) and nine others (Abercrombie, Bull, Dotson, Francis, Goree, Green, McElroy, Trull and Williams) earned All-America status at least once in their standout careers. Miller was a three-time consensus All-Southwest Conference performer who currently plays for the NFL's Chicago Bears, while Jeffrey engineered the Bears' "Miracle on the Brazos" Southwest Conference championship team in 1974.
The other 10 Baylor legends honored with stadium banners include defensive back Gary Baxter (1999-2000), split end Sam Boyd (1936-38), halfback Wesley Bradshaw (1921-22), quarterback Adrian Burk (1948-49), quarterback Larry Isbell (1950-51), head coach Morley Jennings (1926-40), lineman Barton Koch (1928-30), quarterback Billy Patterson (1936-38) as well as college and pro football Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary (1977-80).
The 26 honorees were selected by a blue-ribbon committee which included longtime Waco Tribune-Herald sports editor Dave Campbell, Baylor B Association Executive Director Emeritus Dutch Schroeder, Abercrombie and Teaff.
Each of the honorees will receive a framed replica of his banner during Sunday's halftime ceremony. Kick-off for Sunday's 104th Baylor-TCU football game is set for 4:40 p.m. on Fox Sports Net from Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco.
Notes: Baylor worked out in half-pads for 2 hours and 15 minutes Wednesday afternoon and reported no new injuries ... Tickets continue to sell at a brisk pace for Sunday's season-opener against TCU, the first meeting between a pair of longtime rivals since 1995 ... The Baylor Athletic Ticket Office will be open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Sept. 2 and 9 a.m. through halftime on game day, in addition to its normal operating hours for the rest of the week ... "We are fighting a little bit of boredom right now," said Baylor coach Guy Morriss following Wednesday's practice. "We got our work done and saw what we need to see. We'll cut it back tomorrow and Friday so they should be alright come Sunday. It has been a long grind, just repeating the same stuff over and over." ... Baylor will elect team captains for the 2006 season on Sept. 2.
