Posts Tagged ‘FOOTBALL EL PASO’

8 Feb

Book About Bowie Coach Buryl Baty Available

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in El Paso Sports, Ray Sanchez. Tagged: , .

by Ray Sanchez 02.01.15

bbatybookThe long-awaited book by the son of Buryl Baty, the beloved Bowie High School football coach who died in a tragic accident in 1954, is now available for purchase. It was written by his son, R. Gaines Baty, and is titled “Champion of the Barrio. The Legacy of Coach Buryl Baty.”

He truly was a champion. Buryl Baty, a tall, handsome former Texas A&M star quarterback, took over the football reins of the southside school and turned the Bears into proud champions. His teams finished first in the district in two of the four years he was at the helm and was favored to make it three of five the year of his death.

He and assistant Jerry Simmang were killed when a young driver of a big truck fell asleep and crashed into their car head on. Another assistant, Fred Rosas, who was asleep in the rear seat, suffered horrendous injuries but survived.

HERE’S HOW the book is described by the publisher, Texas A&M University Press:

“Buryl Baty was a winning athlete, coach, builder of men and an early pioneer against bigotry. “In 1950, after serving in the second world war and then quarterbacking the Texas Aggies during the glory days of the old Southwest Conference, Baty became head football coach at Bowie High School in El Paso. He quickly inspired his athletes, all Mexican Americans from the south side ghetto, the Segundo Barrio, with his winning ways and his personal stand against the era’s extreme, deep-seated prejudice to which they were subjected.

“However, just as the team was poised to win a third championship, an unthinkable tragedy turned their world upside down. Years later, these former players formally recognized Coach Baty’s lasting inspiration and influence by dedicating La Bowie’s stadium in his name and inducting him into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame.

“IN THIS POIGNANT memoir, R. Gaines Baty also describes his own journey to get to know his father. Coach Baty’s life story is portrayed from the perspectives of nearly one hundred individuals who knew him in addition to many documented facts and news reports. NFL Hall of Famer Raymond Berry provides a heartfelt and relevant foreword, and Gene Stallings, Ray Sanchez, Alexander Wolff, Roger Staubach, Kent Hance, Nolan Richardson and others have endorsed the book.

”A university professor labeled this an important and historic piece of work. It is an inspiring true story of leadership and triumph.”

THE BOOK is available now for pre-purchase at www.Amazon.com and www.Barnesandnoble.com, or at a physical Barnes & Noble location, for delivery in mid-to-late February, 2015. Supply is limited. For more information, see www.ChampionoftheBarrio.com.

Gaines Baty sent me an advanced manuscript of the book and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I lived through those sorrowful days of the accident. I was a young sports writer at the El Paso Herald-Post and in charge of covering high school sports. I wept when I heard the news of the accident. So did other El Pasoans. Buryl Baty was a friendly, highly intelligent, polite man one couldn’t help but like.

I have a special memory of him. He’s the one who nicknamed me “Ray.”  My byline in those days read “By Ramon Sanchez.” Ramon is pronounced rah-mon. Coach Baty was new in town and not too versed on Spanish pronunciation so when he called for me at the office in 1950 he pronounced rah-mon as ray-mon.”

The sports editor at the time, Bob Ingram, smiled, tuned to me and said, “It’s for you, Ray,” emphasizing the word Ray.

The nickname quickly caught on, especially with the non-Spanish speaking population of El Paso, and I was forever more to be known as Ray.

I like it and it makes me remember this extraordinary coach and wonderful human being.

8 Feb

The 81st Sun Bowl Game One of Best Ever

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in El Paso Sports. Tagged: , , , , .

sunbowllogo by Ray Sanchez 01.04.15

A game for the ages.

How else can you describe last week’s 81st Sun Bowl game? This was Ali vs. Frazier duking it out and Affirmed and Alydar battling nose and nose down the stretch in Triple Crown races.

And the finish was as stunning as Bobby Thompson’s last inning homerun in 1951for the New York Giants against the Brooklyn Dodgers or Doug Flutie’s Hail Mary last-second winning touchdown pass for Boston College in 1984 against University of Miami.

This year’s Sun Bowl didn’t end with an offensive play but with a spectacular defensive one that was just as emotional. Arizona State’s Kweishi Brown intercepted Duke quarterback Anthony Boone’s pass in the farthest corner of the end zone with just seconds on the clock to give Arizona State a 36-31 victory.

The entire game was such a back and forth battle with neither team giving up that many of us felt it was a shame for either side to lose.

The game is certainly one of the greatest in Sun Bowl history.

 

CONGRATULIONS to El Paso Times photographer Rudy Gutierrez, who caught the game-winning interception on his camera for posterity. What tremendous timing it must have taken. The photo shows the ball in the interceptor’s hands and is so clear you can see the two players’ faces.

It has to go down as one of football’s greatest sports photos.

 

SPECIAL NOTE: Demario Richard of Arizona State scored four touchdowns in the game to tie a Sun Bowl record for most points scored by a player. But El Paso’s Jesse Whittenton, who played for Ysleta High School before joining UTEP, still holds the record for most points accounted for by a player. He accounted for 35 points with three touchdowns passes, two rushing touchdowns and five extra points in the 21st Sun Bowl against Florida State in 1955. Such a performance may never be duplicated.

 

AND A SPECIAL thanks again to all the people who volunteer to make the Sun Bowl game so attractive. Scores of El Pasoans give much of their time without pay to make visitors welcome, help the media and direct folks to the proper places. It makes one’s heart throb with pride. I especially missed Mr. and Mrs. Charles Garcia, who had been media hosts for years at the Hawthorn Suites. Mr. Hernandez, 58, died of a heart attack. I was happy to see his memory honored at this year’s game.

 

TRIVIA QUESTION: Paul Bryant won 323 games as a coach. Can you name the four colleges with which he won those games? Answer at end of column.

 

HERE’S WHAT I’m looking forward to in 2015:

  • UTEP winning the Conference USA basketball championship and going into the NCAA playoffs. I think there’s a good chance.
  • The resumption of play by the El Paso Chihuahuas. What fun that will be.
  • Watching Sean Kugler coach the UTEP football team next fall. He did so well this season.
  • The addition of Major League soccer to the El Paso sports scene. We can dream, can’t we?

 

A RESIDENT of Santa Teresa Country Club came rushing up to me the other day happy as a lark. He said it’s almost a sure thing that Santa Teresa will be declared a village and thus won’t be annexed by the city of Sunland Park.

Oh, yes, and did you know “Taco Night” is still being held on Wednesdays in the Santa Teresa clubhouse? Yessir. What’s more, the bar is open at night.

10 Jun

Jesse Whittenton: Great All Around Athlete

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in El Paso Sports. Tagged: .


Jesse Whittenton is the greatest El Paso athlete this sportswriter ever covered.
As I once wrote, he could have been a pro golfer.
Or a pro tennis player
Or a pro in just about anything in sports.
He became a pro football player and spent nine years in the National Football League, mostly as a defensive back and mostly with the Green Bay Packers in their glory days.
I have never seen a more naturally gifted athlete. He had tremendous strength, uncanny agility and a devil-may-care attitude that made him even more dangerous.

I STARTED covering Jesse when he played at Ysleta High School in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Those were the days of the single wing and Jesse, needless to say, was the tailback. He could pass and, lordy, could he run.
He led the Ysleta Indians to the district championship in 1951 and went on to help UTEP, then Texas Western College, to some of its greatest years in football. He played fullback his first year, halfback his second year and quarterback his last two years. He was All-Border Conference his last two years and was named the Most Valuable Player in the Sun Bowl in 1955 after leading the Miners to a 47-20 victory over Florida State.

AS A PRO, he helped Green Bay win two NFL championships and three Western Division titles and was voted to the Pro Bowl as a defensive back four times.
He retired in 1964 and came back to El Paso in time to co-sponsor Lee Trevino on the PGA Tour along with his cousin, Don Whittington.
And then the three of them helped start Santa Teresa Country Club.

HIS FOOTBALL career took its toll. The last time I saw him he was moving to Las Cruces and was joining Sonoma Ranch Golf Course. But he was broken of body if not of spirit. He’d had hip surgery, knee surgery, shoulder surgery and his spine was a total mess. The constant pain he lived with was excruciating.
On top of all that, he came down with throat cancer. It was all too much. He was found dead at the age of 78. He had taken his own life.
My heart is broken, but I cherish the memory of having known him and having covered his outstanding career.

TRIVIA QUESTION: Cal Ripken Jr., who played for the Baltimore Orioles, holds the Major League record for most consecutive games played at 2632. Who is second? Answer at end.

UTEP BASKETBALL coach Tim Floyd has an interesting project ahead of him. He recently recruited Matt Willms, a 7-foot-1 player from Findlay Prep of Henderson, Nevada, which won its third ESPN National High School Invitational championship in four years.
But don’t start jumping up and down with joy yet. I remember what late UTEP basketball coach Don Haskins once told me: “Heck, I can sign a 7-footer anytime I want, but can he play basketball?”
Willms played in only half of Findlay Prep’s games, averaged a mere 8.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
His teammates were so good that some of them have already signed with Arizona, Ohio State and UNLV so Willms must not have been that much of a contributor.
But hey, if anyone can develop a 7-footer into a good basketball player, I’ll bet coach Floyd can. And boy, would that be a big help to the Miners.
Good luck, Tim.

ANSWER to trivia question: You guessed it. The immortal Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees who played in 2130 straight games.