Posts Tagged ‘green bay packers’

2 Nov

Whittenton: UTEP’s Best Football Player Ever

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

© by Ray Sanchez 10.26.14

UTEP recently selected an All-Centennial Football Team as part of its 100th Anniversary Celebration. Thirty five players were whittenton photochosen.

Jose L. Torres, a faithful reader of this column who is now communications and media relations director for the Airport System of the City of Dallas, wonders if fans could pick a single top player at each position. It got me to thinking. What if I pick UTEP’s all-around best football player ever, period.

It would be Jesse Whittenton.

 

THERE HAS never been a more complete football player in the history of the school. He was outstanding as a runner, receiver, quarterback, cornerback and safety.

During his UTEP career from 1952 through 1955 he rushed for 1351 yards, passed for 1381 yards, caught 19 passes, intercepted nine passes, brought back 17 punts for 230 yards and returned 20 kickoffs for 375 yards. He also scored 18 touchdowns and kicked 44 points after touchdowns before taking his talents to the Green Bay Packers, where he was such a great defensive back he was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Football Hall of Fame.

 

JESSE WAS born in Big Spring, Texas, but he grew up in El Paso. He attended Ysleta High School in the days when players played both offense and defense. Those were also the days of the single wing offense. He played tailback on offense and rushed and passed the Indians to the district championship in 1951.

UTEP, then known as Texas Western College, quickly grabbed him. Then, in 1953, as a sophomore, he helped the Miners to an 8-2 record and a 37-14 victory over University of Southern Mississippi in the Sun Bowl. As a receiver he caught a 25 yard scoring pass from quarterback Dick Shinaut.

 

THE NEXT YEAR, with Shinaut gone, Whittenton moved to quarterback. He was sensational. The Miners went 8-3 and beat Florida State in the Sun Bowl, 47-20. Whittenton passed for three touchdowns, ran for another two and kicked five extra points in that game.

It’s one of the greatest single-game performances ever in the Sun Bowl. And yes, his 35 points is a Sun Bowl record.

Needless to say, he was named recipient of the C. M. Hendricks Most Valuable Player Award.

 

HIS CAREER with the Packers was also outstanding. Legendary Green Bay coach Vince Lombardi described Jesse “as close to a perfect defensive back as anyone in the league.”

With an NFL career that spanned 112 games, Jesse, 6 feet 1 and 193 pounds, helped the Packers win two National Football League championships, went to the Pro Bowl twice and was named First Team All-Pro in 1961.

He was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1976.

He played seven seasons for the Packers (1958-64), led Green Bay with six interceptions in 1960 then tied for the team lead with three other players with five in ’61. In all, he intercepted 20 passes and recovered 10 fumbles.

 

jesseolderAFTER RETIRING from football, Whittenton returned to the El Paso area and along with his cousin, Don Whittington, took over Horizon Country Club, helped sponsor Lee Trevino on the PGA Tour and eventually all three helped build Santa Teresa Country Club.

Jesse took up golf seriously then. Incredibly strong, he could hit a golf ball “a mile.” His drives sometimes covered at least 400 yards. The 503 yard fifth hole on the YUCCA course at Santa Teresa has a bit of a dogleg with a lake on the left side. No one, not even Trevino, dared try to hit over the lake. Whittenton would clear the lake and be almost even with the green.

He tried the PGA Tour and made the cut in one tournament. Later, he tried the Senior PGA Tour and finished 21st in one tournament.

He passed away two years ago. Oh, what beautiful memories he left us.

10 Jun

Busy Sports Weekends Can Be Fun to Cover

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

What a weekend.
On Friday night, there was the celebration of the life of late Ysleta High School, UTEP and Green Bay Packers football great Jesse Whittenton at the Larry K. Durham Center.
Saturday afternoon there was the Belmont Stakes with I’ll Have Another trying to complete the Triple Crown.
And Saturday night there was the 2012 El Paso Boxing/Martial Arts Hall of Fame induction banquet.
On Sunday, today, I’ll probably collapse.

BUT HEY, it’s fun. The most touching of the events was, of course, Jesse Whittenton’s. I was lucky to have followed and covered his amazing career from the time he was in high school through his outstanding play at what was then Texas Western College and finally as an all-pro defensive back with the Packers.
At six feet of solid muscle, ruggedly handsome and freewheeling he made women swoon and men envious. It’s been great listening to and recounting the many stories about his life on and off the football field. I hope to share some of them in columns to come.

ALSO AT THIS writing I don’t know if I’ll Have Another won the Belmont Sakes Saturday. I knew I was going to root for him. A Triple Crown winner would be great for horse racing.
Horse racing as a whole has been great for the country, including El Paso. Like racetracks are at other places, Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino has been a big asset. It employs hundreds of people, is generous to charities and provides excitement like no other sport. I mean, when you play the races, you’re a participant, not just an onlooker.
I was dubious about its legitimacy, as many others were, when Sunland Park Racetrack opened in 1959. Now, I’m one of its biggest fans.

AS FOR THE El Paso Boxing/Martial Arts Hall of Fame Saturday night, I can’t say enough nice things about Tom McKay, its founder and current president
Did you ever try to hold back a hurricane? When McKay goes into a project he goes all out
The Hall had been dormant for eight years. Mostly, it was because McKay had been battling serious health problems. But he’s back, and he flooded the news media this year with endless press releases and photos and phone calls.
And yes, the El Paso Boxing/Martial Arts Hall of Fame returned in all its glory.
People like McKay not only make the world turn, they make it turn for the better.

OH, YES, this week also included my birthday. I wrote my first sports column for the El Paso Herald-Post in January of 1950. That’s 62 years ago. Today, it seems like yesterday. Time seems to go faster as you get older.
I’ve written a sports column at least once a week, and sometimes three or four columns a week, ever since. I’ve gone through several typewriters and a few computers.
But like I’ve said, hey, it’s been fun.

CORRECTION: This it’s a bit late but it’s never too late to correct a mistake. I once wrote that Nemo Herrera was the only high school coach who had coached in El Paso and had won State high school championships in two major sports. He won two state titles in basketball at San Antonio Lanier High School and then won a state title in baseball at Bowie High School. Jewell Wallace coached El Paso High School to the state title in basketball in 1941 and Central High School in San Angelo to the state crown in football in 1943.