Nov. 13, 2002
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), Kyle Penney,(Kyle_Penney@baylor.edu) or Jack Loftis (Jack.Loftis@chron.com). The mailing address is Baylor "B" Association, P. O. Box 8120, Waco, TX 76714
SOME GOOD NEWS - Everything considered, Baylor University's radio broadcasting team of John Morris and Walter Abercrombie are due a breather. And the relief could not come at a better time - sandwiched between the Bears' games with Texas and Oklahoma. On Friday night the two will team with Baylor "B" Association President Knox Pittard to help celebrate the dedication of the Hall of Fame Wall in the "B" Association quarters and the induction of six new members into the Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame. Morris will be the master of ceremonies while Abercrombie, already a Hall of Fame member, will give the invocation. This year's list represents the greatest number to be enshrined in a single year since the honors were first bestowed on former coach and athletic department mainstay Floyd "Uncle Jim" Crow and baseball great Ted Lyons in 1960. The six inductees for 2002 include:
RONALD E. BURNS - A standout athlete at Sam Houston High in Arlington, Ron Burns brought his talents to Baylor in 1974. Even as an underclassman, he made a huge impact for the Bears, earning All-SWC accolades as a freshman and becoming the first Baylor freshman to make an All-SWC team. In 1974, he was named Freshman Defensive Player of the Year when the Baylor Bears won the Southwest Conference championship for the first time in 50 years. He was All-SWC for the four years of his Baylor career and one of the captains of the 1977 football team. Ron was named to the All-Decades Team of 1970-1979 as a defensive back and was a letterwinner from 1974 through 1977. Currently Ron and his wife Denise reside in Arlington, Texas.
DENNIS L. GENTRY - Dennis is a native of Lubbock and was named Associated Press first-team All-Southwest Conference and third team All-American. He also was elected to the United Press International second team All-SWC. In 1981 Dennis played in the Senior Bowl. He played for the Chicago Bears from 1982-1992. Dennis had the best game of his career in 1980 against Texas, rushing for 130 yards as Baylor swept its conference opponents. Currently Dennis holds Baylor school records as fifth in rushing yardage, 2231; seventh in rushing touchdowns, 15; tenth in yards per game, 50.70; and second in yards per carry, 5.39. He recorded a total of six 100-yard games, which is the sixth highest in Baylor history. He was a letterwinner from 1979-1981. Dennis and his wife Jaye now reside in Waco.
NATALIE NALEPA - Natalie had a magical year in 1991. In her final year competing for Baylor, she took third in the 5,000-meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She also took fifth at the NCAA Cross Country Championships that season, the highest finish ever by a Baylor female. At the Indoors National Championships, Natalie's 4x800-meter relay team took fifth, while she finished seventh in the 3,000-meters. All in all, Natalie was a four-time All-American in 1991, which ties for the most All-America honors ever garnered by a Baylor women's track and field athlete. Conference success preceded Natalie's national success in 1991. She took Southwest Conference indoor titles in both the mile and the 3,000 meters that season before heading outside to lead the conference in the 1,500, 3,000 and 5,000-meter races. Her five conference titles also tie for first on Baylor's career list. A letterwinner from 1988-1991, Natalie is the indoor record holder in both the mile (4:43.31) and 3,000-meter (9:13.66) events. She also is a member of the school-record holding 3,200-meter relay team (8:44.86). Natalie now resides in Austin, Texas.
RAYMOND A. PIERRE - How much can be accomplished by an athlete in four short years? A lot, if you can run 400 meters in less than 45 seconds. In his senior season of 1989, Raymond Pierre ran a 44.59-second 400-meter race to win the Outdoors National title. A six-time Southwest Conference champion, Raymond found success as an individual as well as with a team. He is tied for fourth in Baylor history for All-America honors, earning the distinction 12 times, eight of those as part of relays. Whether indoors or outdoors, Raymond raced for the finish line. He ran so fast that two of his records have not been broken. He clocked the fastest Baylor time ever recorded in the 500-meter race (1:00.58). He also ran for the sprint medley relay team that holds the outdoor record of 3:13.00. A letterwinner from 1986-1989, Raymond won at least one conference title in each of his four seasons with the Bears. He also earned All-America honors all four of the years that he donned the green and gold. In four years, his 4x400 meter relay teams never finished a National Championship race without recording one of the Top 5 times, with the highest finish being a second place performance at the 1989 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Raymond now resides in Waco.
RAYMOND L. VICKREY - Ray lettered at Baylor from 1954-1956, but he accomplished a lot more than just earning letters while competing for the Bears. He found success both as an individual and as a team member and was a master in field events as well as on the track. With a leap of 24 feet, Raymond won the Southwest Conference long jump title in 1954. Two years later, he bettered that mark to 24' 3" to earn his second conference long jump title. The long jump championship was not his only Southwest title in 1956. He also ran on the 4x110-yard relay team that took the conference title. Raymond and his wife Sharon live in Richardson, Texas, and he pastors Royal Lane Baptist Church of Dallas.
MICHAEL S. WELCH - Mike came to Baylor out of Sweetwater High School as the 41st best recruit in the nation. As a freshman, he played behind Jim Thorpe Award winner Thomas Everett. Welch won the Scholar-Athlete Award from the American Football Foundation. In 1987, The San Antonio Light chose Mike as Southwest Conference Defensive Newcomer of the Year. He was a second team All-SWC pick by The Dallas Morning News and The Houston Chronicle. He led Baylor in tackles with 131 stops, 86 of them solo efforts. Mike came into the 1988 season as a pre-season All-American but hurt his knee in an off-season workout. Despite this injury, he overcame this obstacle and returned to the football field a year later with 100 tackles, 57 of them solos, and intercepted two passes. During his career Mike intercepted 16 passes, which currently ties the Baylor school record. During a career in which Mike lettered in 1986, 1987, 1989 and 1990, he had 319 career tackles, that places him eighth in total tackles for Baylor. Mike also achieved greatness in the classroom. He maintained a 3.75 grade point average in computer science. He was a member of the Gamma Beta Phi Academic Honor Society and the Upsilon Pi Epsilon Computer Honor Society. Mike was a three-time member of the Southwest Conference GTE Academic Honor Team. He also was a National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete Award Winner and a two-time first-team GTE Academic All-American. In the two years he made the Academic All-America team, he was the SWC's only representative on the first team. Mike and his wife Wendy now reside in Lewisville, Texas.
WALL OF HONOR - In addition to the Hall of Fame ceremonies, the Wall of Honor also will be officially dedicated on Friday night. Baylor University is believed to be the only school in America to have two former athletes win the Congressional Medal of Honor. Both men, Jack Lummus and John (Killer) Kane, won the nation's highest military honor for heroics in World War II . . .
JACK LUMMUS - Jack played football, basketball and baseball for the Bears from 1938 through 1941. He was an All-Southwest Conference centerfielder before signing with the New York Giants of the National Football League. After one year of pro football, Jack joined the Marines and was a platoon leader in the initial days of fighting on Iwo Jima. While leading a charge on enemy positions, he stepped on a land mine and lost both legs. Despite the heavy bleeding that resulted, he led his platoon to knock out several pockets of Japanese fire, a vital part of the U.S. victory. Jack died of his wounds shortly after the battle in 1945 . . .
JOHN "KILLER' KANE - John played football and basketball at Baylor and was a survivor of the ill-fated 1927 basketball team involved in a bus-train wreck in Round Rock, Texas. He was one of 12 survivors. John joined the Army Air Corps in 1932, and soon became a bomber commander of legendary proportions. It was said that he was the best pilot and toughest commander in the Air Corps. It was often debated who feared him more - the German army or his own men. On August 1, 1943, Kane led what at the time was the deadliest air battle in history - a low-level, long-range bombing raid on Hitler's oil-refining complex in Ploesti, Romania. This site produced a major part of the Axis' fuel supply and was one of the most heavily guarded locations in history. John Kane was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in 1996.
(Thanks to BU Assistant Athletic Director/Communications Scott Stricklin and "B" Association Administrative Assistant Reba Cooper for furnishing most of the information for this week's "B" Line column.)
JACK LOFTIS
CO-CHAIRMAN
COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
