Posts Tagged ‘UTEP’

2 Jan

Readers Express Their Love of Nolan Richardson

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

by Ray Sanchez 11.29.15

It seems like everywhere I go people are talking about the question and answernolannow.jpg article with Nolan Richardson that appeared in the Oct. 19 issue of El Paso Inc. And oh, the emails and comments on Facebook.

For good reason. Richardson is undoubtedly El Paso’s greatest native combination athlete/coach.  He not only excelled as an athlete at Bowie High School and UTEP but went on to coach Western Texas to the national junior college championship, win a National Invitation Tournament title at Tulsa University and win a NCAA title at University of Arkansas.

Nolan let out his inner most personal feelings in the article, and fans seemed to like that. Following are some of the comments I received:

 

TONY JORDAN: “You really got the best out of Nolan in that addicting interview. It was so enjoyable I couldn’t get enough. My brother, Phil Jordan, played ball against Nolan both in high school and college and always said he was the toughest guy to defend. My greatest moment with Nolan was back in 1985 when Paul Moreno, Dr. Pablo Ayub and I held a fund raiser at Caravan East for the devastation that the earthquake in Mexico City had caused and who shows up out of the blue but a true El Paso hero, Nolan Richardson That moment is to this day and forever engraved in my heart. Only you could have gotten an interview like that. We needed to know. El Paso thanks you.”

 

JAY TAVREZ directed his email directly to Richardson: “Coach, when our junior high coach would take us to watch Texas Western when the games were played at the (El Paso) Coliseum you were our favorite player. In one game, you were submarined and landed on your head and all of us thought you were seriously hurt, but after they tended to you, you got back on the floor and continued having an excellent game! You were not only a great athlete, you were the toughest one we had seen! Thanks for giving so much back to your communities!!!!!”

 

RICHARD GLANCEY: “ (Richardson is) one of the greatest persons I have ever known. His loss of his daughter had a tremendous effect on him and his family. Yes, Nolan, I remember playing golf at Ascarate and afterwards you had a beer and a chaser. God Bless this dear friend I have not seen perhaps since his daughter’s funeral that I flew in for.”

 

RANDY SANDERS: “What a great guy! When I was a kid my dad would leave work early so we could get a seat in the tiny Bowie gym and watch him play basketball.”

 

GEORGE SAENZ: “Nice job in interviewing Nolan, I got to meet him two years ago and had a good conversation and a few drinks with him at Adrians.”

 

LUIS ZUNIGA, a longtime sportscaster at the Spanish language KINT station, even took to Spanish to express his feelings: “Excellent interview Ray. Sin duda alguna que Nolan es, y sera siempre, el emblema y embajador de El Paso a donde quiera que vaya. He is a class guy. Tuve varias oportunidades de entrevistarlo durante mis dias en KINT TV-26. Felicidades para ambos.”

(Translation: “Excellent interview, Ray. Without any doubt Nolan is and will always be the emblem and ambassador of the passage to wherever I go. He is a class guy, I had several opportunities to interview him during my days in KINT-TV, Channel-26. Congratulations to you both).”

 

THE ABOVE comments are just a few of the emails I received. Many other folks came up to me and told me personally what great esteem they feel for Nolan.

I feel so proud to have known him since he was only nine years old and hit a homerun in Little League. I actually gave him his very first writeup.

Nolan Richardson personifies all that is good about athletics.

3 Aug

Looking Forward To Thrills of UTEP Football

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

by Ray Sanchez 07.26.15

Are you starting to get excited about the upcoming UTEP football season? I am.

The Miners will play their first game in five weeks (Sept. 5) and I can’t wait to see. runing back Aaron Jonesaatonjones and kickoff return specialist Autrey Golden back in action. They’re so good Jones has already been named a preseason candidate for the 2015 Doak Walker Award presented annually to the autreygolden.jpgnation’s top college running back and Golden has been named the preseason Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Year.

To me, there’s no more thrilling sight in football than watching a back running through, around and over would be tacklers. Maybe it’s because of my high school experience.

 

I WENT OUT for football as a sophomore running back at El Paso High School. I weighed only about 135 pounds then but boy, was I fast. The first time I took a kickoff I blazed through my bigger, stronger – and slower — teammates like water through a strainer.

Unfortunately, on the first play from scrimmage I hit the line and a big lineman (170 pounders were considered big then) fell on my left arm and broke it.

I was taken to the hospital and a cast was put on. I expected to get a lot of sympathy when I got home but instead my mother (a typical strict, loving but no-nonsense Mexican mother) gave me the bawling out of my life. “I told you not to play that stupid game,” she groused.

She made me drop the sport.

But to this day every time I see a running back break loose for a long run I can imagine me in his shoes.

Bring on the football season!!!

 

TRIVIA QUESTION: What was Doak Walker’s full name and for which college and pro teams  did he play? Answer at end of column.

 

THERE’S HOPE again that the El Paso Golf Hall of Fame will be revived after a few years of being comatose. Rita Aguilar writes:

“The board of the El Paso Golf Hall of Fame is proud to announce that this year’s induction banquet will be held Nov. 17 at Coronado Country Club. As usual, we are requesting resumes for nominations … Resumes should be sent electronically in pdf format to:  epgolfhof@yahoo.com.  Deadline for resumes is Monday Aug 3. Resumes must include golf background and qualifications along with biographical information either as a player, coach, volunteer or any other golf related capacity.  Should also include any other civic involvement if applicable.  Referral and recommendation letters may be included within the resume and biographical information.”

 

ONE FELLOW I would love to see inducted is the late Ernie Ponce. Ernie, a longtime community leader, led the push to build Ascarate Municipal Golf Course at its present location, which is so much more accessible to the general public.

As the council member overseeing the Parks and Recreation Department, he also helped the construction of small playgrounds all over the city during his three terms from 1951 to 1957.

A graduate of El Paso High and the Alexander Hamilton Institute of Business of New York, he was also a successful businessman.

Many believe Ascarate Golf Course should have been named Ernie Ponce Municipal Golf Course just like the previous municipal golf course was named for A.S. Valdespino, its originator.

 

AND OUR condolences to Ron Gillett on the death of his wife, Elizabeth “Liz” Hughey Gillett. She passed away June 30. Born in El Paso November 6 1941, she attended Dudley School, Mesita School, El Paso High School, Mary Baldwin College and graduated from Texas Western College (UTEP). An exceptionally attractive lady, she was a tennis buff and she and Ron owned Dos Lagos Golf Course in Anthony for 29 years.

 

ANSWER to trivia question: His full name was Ewell Doak Walker Jr. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1948 while playing for SMU then played six seasons for the Detroit Lions. He was inducted into both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

19 Jun

UTEP Coach Price Nominated for Athletic Hall

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

by Ray Sanchez 03.08.15

Mike Price, who won the hearts of El Paso with his coaching and engaging personality, is mpriceamong nine new nominees for induction into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame.

Price took over the football reins at UTEP in 2004 and immediately turned the Miners’ fortunes around. Taking over a team that had gone 2-11 the year before, he led the Miners to an 8-4 record and an invitation to the Houston Bowl. He repeated the 8-4 record in 2005 and received another bowl bid, this time to the GMAC Bowl.

All in all, he won 48 games during his nine year career with the Miners and took the team to three bowl games. His 48 victories rank second only to the 66 by coach Mack Saxon, who coached the Miners in their infancy, and his three bowl games ties Mike Brumbelow’s record for most bowls by a UTEP coach.

 

BUT THERE’S more to Mike Price than coaching. His warm, friendly disposition fit in nicely with the El Paso population. I like to refer to him as “everybody’s favorite uncle.”

What’s more, he was an innovative type. El Pasoans will forever remember his coming onto the field at football games holding up a real miner’s pick. The pick soon became a symbol of the school and can now be seen on lapels and autos and billboards.

El Pasoans love Mike Price, and he loves us back. Although he had gained national prominence as national Coach of the Year at Washington State University in 1997, he decided to make El Paso his permanent home after giving up coaching in 2012.

 

THE NINE new nominees bring the total this year to 17. Voting for induction by the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame board of directors will be held March 16 at First Christian Church, 901 Arizona Avenue. The induction banquet will be held April 29 in the Signature Room at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino.

Following are the eight nominees besides Price who were presented at the final nominations meeting last Monday, in alphabetical order:

 

RUBEN DOMINGUEZ, former cross country and mile high school state champion at Austin High who later was an alternate member of the 1975 UTEP national champion cross country team.

 

BRIAN KANOF, professional photographer who has captured some of El Paso’s greatest sports moments, including one of long-jump world record setting Bob Beamon that appeared in Sports Illustrated and one of Don Haskins that led to Haskins being known as “The Bear.”

 

KARL KIELICH, a member of the United State Bowling Congress who is credited with helping to bring the organization’s national tournament to El Paso this year. He has been involved as a bowling official 30 years.

 

JOE OVERTON, former Coronado High School baseball coach who produced some of El Paso’s outstanding college players and won the district title with a perfect 14-0 record in 1984. He also coached the offense of the Coronado football team that won six consecutive district titles from 1977 through 1982.

 

PAUL PEARSON, a long distance runner who was so outstanding he was inducted into the UTEP Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003 along with other members of the 1974 indoor NCAA championship team. He had multiple high finishes in national meets.

 

JERRY PIPPINS, Coronado High tennis coach whose players have won 16 straight district titles. His record at Coronado is 156-0 for fall tennis and 354-43 overall.

 

ED STANSBURY, one of the greatest all-around athletes at Irvin High School. He starred in track, football and basketball. He later played football as a starter at UCLA and was signed by the Houston Texans in 2002 and the Seattle Seahawks in 2004.

 

RUSS VANDENBURG, who played football for UTEP during its golden decade (the 1960s) and later coached at Burges High School where his track teams won district titles. Among other positions, he currently holds a seat on the UTEP development board.

 

NOMINATED previously were Ray Adauto, Eric Alwan, Roy Culberson, Bob Geske, Shawn Lehigh, Matt Simon, Scott Stein and Brian Young.

29 Dec

It’s a Great Time For El Paso Sports Fans

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

by Ray Sanchez 12.14.14

KEVIN LOVELL, general manager of KVIA-TV, commenting on last week’s column wherehappyminers I told how much I love El Paso, said I should also have pointed out what a great time it is to be an El Paso sports fan right now. He’s right, what with:

  • UTEP going to play Utah State in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 20,
  • Our Sun Bowl coming up with two fine teams with sparkling 9-3 records, Duke and Arizona State, on Dec. 27,
  • Canutillo High School becoming the first El Paso County high school to make it to the semi-finals of the state football playoffs,
  • Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino which started live horse racing last week expecting a grand season
  • And, heavens to betsy, El Paso now having a Triple A baseball team and stadium.

 

Our cup runeth over.

 

TRIVIA QUESTION: Can you name an athlete who played both in the National Basketball Association and Major League baseball in the 1980s? Answer at end of column.

 

CHARLES HILL, El Paso historian who works as a football and basketball statistician at UTEP, also commented on last week’s column: “The best reason for living in El Paso is the people of El Paso. Visitors to our city always comment on how warm and welcoming the people of El Paso are. It’s true. We may not have the best economy, or beaches or other great tourist attractions but we do have the best people in the country.”

 

ERIC ALWAN, publicity director at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino, has become quite an orator. He is so excited about the 2014-15 live horse racing season which opened last week that he went into mythology at a pre-season press conference last week. He said Sunland horse racing has grown so much in stature throughout the industry that it is “like a rising Phoenix.” And he added that the Grade III $800,000 Sunland Derby on March 22 has become so popular that he expects not one, but two, airplanes full of horses to come from out of town for the big race. Now that’s what I call colorful talk.

 

DID YOU KNOW? Department: Bob Stull, UTEP athletic director, has had a hand either as a coach or in his present position in the last six bowls the Miners have participated in. He coached the Miners to the Independence Bowl in 1988 then hired Gary Nord who took the Miners to the 2000 Humanitarian Bowl, Mike Price who took the Miners to three bowls (Houston in 2004, GMAC in 2005 and New Mexico in 2010) and now Sean Kugler who is taking the Miners to the Gildan New Mexico Bowl Dec. 20.

 

FRED ALBERS, sports director at KTSM-TV, came up with a great idea while covering PGA tournaments for NBC Radio. He picked up a flag at each of the four Majors (the Masters, British Open, U.S. Open and PGA) and had each one signed by the winner of each tournament. Then he had the flags auctioned off at the banquet preceding the Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic in November. They brought in a nifty $20,000 for the First Tee of El Paso program run by his wife, Kristi.

 

.AND YES, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. If you want to watch UTEP play University of Arizona in basketball next Friday night then go watch UTEP play Utah State in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl the next day there’s a charter bus that’ll fit your needs for a mere $100. The price includes bus ride, a bowl game ticket and a tailgate party. The bus will leave El Paso at 6 a.m. on Saturday and return after the bowl game. Interested? Call the UTEP Alumni Association at 915-747-8600.

 

ANSWER to trivia question: Danny Ainge, who played basketball for the Boston Celtics and Sacramento Kings and baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays

23 Nov

College Football This Year A Feast Of Goodies

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

By Ray Sanchez 11.23.14

Has 2014 been a great college football season or what? It’s been a delicious smorgasbord of close games, upsets and improbable utep logocomebacks. Former major powerhouses like Alabama, Texas, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Florida State have had to share the spotlight with lesser lights like TCU, Mississippi State, Baylor and even Arizona State

Florida State has remained undefeated but it’s been frightened so often it’s a miracle its fans haven’t suffered heart attacks.

All season any number of teams could claim they’re No. 1. All of which will make for one of the most exciting finishes to the season ever.

 

AND THEN there are the UTEP Miners. Many people, including me, scoffed when my crystal ball predicted they would win six games this year, but there they are today with six wins and bowl eligible.

That makes the 2014 season even more thrilling. Now, people are asking which bowl will pick the Miners. The best bet is the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque. That would be neat what with a nifty payoff of $456,250 and close enough for El Pasoans to drive to.

But wait a minute. If the Miners can win their final two regular season games against Rice and Middle Tennessee they could go to an even bigger, richer bowl.

Either way, things are rosy.

 

TRIVIA QUESTION: Which professional team was the first to put emblems on the helmets? Answer at end of column.

 

SPEAKING OF trivia questions, ours have become quite popular among some readers. A pretty young lady came up to me the other day and said she looks forward to the trivia question in my column every week. However, she confessed that she cheats. “I look at the answer at the end of the column right away after I read the question,” she said with a big smile, “I can’t wait.”

 

PICKING AN all-star team in any sport is a tricky thing. There’s no way you can please everyone. I know. I’ve been picking such teams for more than 50 years.

So it was no surprise to me that there were a few complaints that some players were left off UTEP’s Centennial All-Star teams. The most complaints I heard in football concerned Harvey “Pug” Gabrel, who would have set a national single game rushing record in 1949 but for a great act of sportsmanship. When coach Jack Curtice offered to give him the ball often in the second half against New Mexico State so he could set the record he turned it down, saying he didn’t want to pile up the score on the hapless Aggies. It cost him the title.

 

BUT OVERALL, the folks that picked the Centennial all-stars, and they did it without the help of the media, did a fine job. The all-stars were embraced and highly applauded when they were introduced at last week’s football and basketball games.

Personally, the selection that warmed my heart most was that of Ernest Keily. He was the pulling guard on the Miners’ great teams of the late 1940s. He’s the one who cleared the way for Fred Wendt’s national rushing title in 1948 and would have paved the way for Gabrel the next year. Pulling guards so seldom get attention. What’s more, Keily and I were schoolmates at El Paso High School in the early 1940s.

 

THE RESPONSE to the offer by Mesa Publishing to hand deliver my latest book, “The Good, the Bad and the Funny of El Paso Sports History,” to anyone within the El Paso city limits was surprisingly good. Most of those who ordered by calling me at 915-584-0626 or emailing me at rayf358@yahoo.com got autographed books within 24 hours. The offer still stands, Mesa Publishing says.

 

ANSWER to trivia question: The Los Angeles Rams in 1948.

 

23 Nov

Here Are Other Former UTEP Football Greats

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

by Ray Sanchez 11.09.14

My selection of Jesse Whittenton as UTEP’s best football player ever drew quite a few comments from readers — and not a singleutep logo one disagreed with the selection.

C.J. Hill, a statistician at UTEP football and basketball games and longtime follower of the Miners, did point out some other outstanding players, however. Here’s what he wrote:

 

“THANKS FOR the article on Jesse Whittenton. I defer to your wisdom about Whittenton being UTEP’s all-time greatest player as I never got to see him play in person. I do remember seeing him play for the Packers in the early 60’s and he was a great player. I can’t say that I remember all that much as I was only 7 or 10 years old at the time.

“UTEP has certainly had its share of great players. Fred Carr was probably the best that I have seen and he was also a gifted basketball player that played for the Bear in the year following the NCAA championship.

“Other great Miners that I have seen were George Daney, Thomas Howard, Seth Joyner, Quintin Demps, Chuck Hughes, Don Maynard, Charlie West, Johnnie Lee Higgins, Bob Wallace, Billy Stevens and many others. I would say that Fred Carr and Charlie West were the best Miners that I have ever seen in person. I didn’t get to see Don Maynard in person but of course I remember his great career with the (New York) Jets.”

 

ANOTHER READER, Alton Setliff, wrote, “He (Whittenton) was an absolute stud!  He had great presence about him as well, but not the arrogant type; he was just a plain ol’ great athlete.”

Jose L. Torres, who inspired my column on Whittenton, wrote, “Ray:  That was a superb story on Mr. Whittenton. The things I learn about El Paso sports from you are great. That is why I always sat next to you while we both were covering Miner games.  I’m so glad you are still writing books.” He added that he rates Chris Jacke as the best field goal kicker the Miners ever had and Tony Tolbert as the best defensive end.

 

THE MOST touching email came from Whittenton’s wife, Barbara:

“I just came across the article you did about Jesse in El Paso Inc. I can’t thank you enough for remembering him.  He was such a special person who I still miss every day.  He always said you were one person who supported him throughout his career.  Again, thank you so very much.”

Jesse Whittenton passed away two years ago.

 

TRIVIA QUESTION: With this year’s World Series just over, this is timely. Can you tell me who was the winning pitcher in the longest World Series game ever? Answer at end.

 

WAYNE KNOX, 76, a well known bowler from El Paso, passed away in Temple, Texas, on October 22 of pancreatic cancer. Wayne was the son of Jo and Leonard Knox and was an outstanding bowler who during his career bowled four perfect games of 300. He is survived by his wife, two sons, five grandchildren and his sister, Evelyn George Seybold of El Paso.

 

GOOD NEWS concerning my latest book, “The Good, the Bad and the Funny of El Paso Sports History.” People still tell me they want to buy a copy, especially with Christmas coming soon. You can still get the book on Amazon.com or at Barnes and Noble Booksellers but it’ll take a while.

However, Mesa Publishing, located in El Paso, is now offering to hand deliver an autographed copy to your door anywhere within the El Paso city limits. You can call me at 584-0626 or email me at rayf358@yahoo.com, and I’ll sign it, tell Mesa Publishing and you’ll have it in a day or two.

Now that’s what I call service.

 

ANSWER to trivia question: Believe it or not, it was the immortal Babe Ruth. He pitched a 14-inning complete game for the Boston Red Sox and beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 2-1, in 1916.

23 Nov

Crystal Ball: UTEP Basketball to Make NCAA

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

by Ray Sanchez  11.02.14

Everywhere I go these days, El Pasoans are coming up to me, smiling and saying, “How ‘bout them Miners?”ray's crystal ball

For good reason. The UTEP football team, which many fans expected to do little this season, is off to a stunning start. Not counting the two “money” games they played against Texas Tech and Kansas State, the Miners were 4-1 going into this weekend. (Okay, okay, if you count the “money” games they were really 4-3).

Still, the Miners have been a big surprise to almost everyone – except my crystal ball. It predicted the Miners would win at least six games this football season. I had been hesitating to take my crystal ball out of its drawer and ask it about the upcoming UTEP basketball season because it’s so obnoxious I knew it would start bragging about its football prediction. It always brags when it’s right and makes excuses when it isn’t.

BUT WHAT could I do? The Miners open the basketball campaign in a couple of weeks against Washington State and readers are already asking me for its pick. So I opened the crystal ball’s drawer, held my nose and took it out.

As expected, it jumped out hollering, “I told you so, I told you so. You doubted me about the UTEP football team, didn’t you? Admit, admit it.”

I felt like punching it in the nose – if it only had a nose. I said, “Wait a minute. The Miners haven’t won six games yet. Anything could happen.”

It replied, “Yeah, but you know it’s all but a cinch now, don’t you?”

“Okay, okay,” I said. “I admit I doubted you, but can you just settle down and give me your thoughts about how the Miners will do in basketball this coming season? They open on Nov. 14 against Washington State.”

IT STILL HAD an obnoxious smirk on its fact but it did quiet down a bit. It cleared its throat with that disgusting officious tone it always uses when predicting, and said:

“You think the Miner football team is good? Wait ‘til you see the basketball team. The Miners are not only going to have a winning season, they’re going to the NCAA tournament.

“Coach Tim Floyd is loaded. He not only has two of the best players in Conference USA returning in Julian Washburn and Vince Hunter, both 6 feet 8, but he has 7-1 Matt Wilms, 6-10 Cedric Lang and 6-11 Hooper Vint back to handle the boards.

“Guards? C. J. Cooper will be in his senior year and the Miners have reportedly rounded up some fine young recruits. I don’t put much stock in recruits because one can’t tell how newcomers will do. Some will flop and some will surprise and become stars.

“BUT THE POINT is the Miners have the nucleus of an outstanding team. So-called experts have picked the Miners to finish second behind Louisiana Tech in the conference, but the Miners could very well finish on top. Either way, I’m picking the Miners to make the NCAA tournament.

“Now can I go back to sleep? You make me work so hard and give me so little credit. I don’t know why I even talk to you.”

I scoffed, “Work hard? My God, you’re in your drawer sleeping all year except for the few times I ask for you predictions.”

That got the crystal ball’s dander up. “Sleeping? I’m in there thinking, idiot. Why do you think I give you such good information?”

I laughed, picked it up and put it back in its drawer. “Go back to sleep,” I said, emphasizing the word sleep.

29 Mar

UTEP Museum To Celebrate 100th With Book

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

© by Ray Sanchez 02.16.14

Have you visited the UTEP Centennial Museum now that the school is observing its 100th year of existence?
If you haven’t, you’ll find it a treat.utepmusemphoto
When I dropped in the other day I had a ball going through the entire museum but headed directly to the sports section first. Can you believe there’s a display of some of the football equipment worn by Ken Heineman in the very first Sun Bowl football game in 1935?
There’s also a display of Bob Beamon’s world record long jump of 29 ft. 2 ½ inches in the 1968 Olympics. Part of that exhibit is a photo of him taken during his leap but more than that, there’s a strip on the floor showing exactly the distance he covered in that jump. You’ll be amazed at how far he really “flew.”
There are also other displays, photos of years gone by, film of the 1966 Miners who won the NCAA basketball championship and film of the history of the school.
It’s easy to get to the museum. Get on Sun Bowl Drive, turn onto University Avenue, if there’s a guard tell the guard you’re going to the museum and the museum will be just a block on your right hand side on the corner of University Avenue and Wiggins Road.

NEXT THURSDAY, Nov. 20, will be a special day for me there. Kaye Mullins, administrative assistant of the UTEP Centennial Museum, called and invited me to have a signing of my new book, “The Good, the Bad and the Funny of El Paso Sports History,” and perhaps give a little talk at 4 p.m. that day.
Needless to say, I accepted the invitation.
I know you’ll enjoy the museum.
And the book, too. After all, there’s a lot about the history of UTEP in the book — how the school began and how sports started and evolved through the years. It also includes some of the Miners’ greatest games, athletes, coaches and administrators and how they made it all happen.
What’s more, it would be great to meet you.

TRIVIA QUESTION: What was the first name of Major League legend Dizzy Dean? Answer at end.

HERE’S A LITTLE more on Santa Teresa Country Club and its potential restoration:
A fellow golfer who used to own a home there, Richard Blizzard, says he got it straight from Dona Ana County officials that the man who bought one of the three parcels that includes one of the two courses is part of a group that includes some folks from Mexico. He says the group has first rights to the other two parcels (the second course and the part that includes the clubhouse) and is probably planning to take over the whole thing and develop it.
“I’ve seen a couple of tractors out there,” Blizzard says, “so like it looks like they’re serious.”

VINCE KEMENDO, former El Paso businessman, is retired and now living in New Braunfels, Texas. But he still keeps up with the Miners. He wrote:
“I watched the UTEP/East Carolina basketball game on Fox Sports … It reminded me that the UTEP players do not have their names on the back of their jerseys while most other college teams do. This was also the way it was when (Don) Haskins was coach.  I wonder why that is. Do you know? … UTEP wore white uniforms–visiting team–and ECU wore dark uniforms. Do you know why that was?”

I CHECKED with the NCAA. In football, the home team must wear white jerseys unless both teams agree otherwise on special occasions. Basketball rules are little more lax. The rule states that the home team will “generally” wear white jerseys. So its’ all up to the participating teams.
As for players’ names on back of the jerseys, that’s up to each individual school. Miners team coach Tim Floyd being a disciple of Haskins, it’s natural that he follows Haskins’ example of no names.

ANSWER TO trivia question: Jerome.

29 Mar

Keitha Adams’ Nomination For Athletic Hall A Hit

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

 © by Ray Sanchez   02.23.14

kiiethaadamsWow! If you ever had doubts about the high esteem in which Keitha Adams, UTEP’s highly successful women’s basketball coach, is held you should have been at the latest meeting of the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame last Monday.

I mean, I’m talking Don Haskins-size love here.

Charles Hill, a member of the Miners’ statistics crew, nominated Ms Adams for induction this year and presented glowing letters of recommendation from (hold your hat) Mayor Oscar Leeser,  state representative Joe Pickett, U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke and Miners men’s basketball coach Tim Floyd plus video interviews from such folks as UTEP athletic director Bob Stull.

They spoke not only of her extraordinary coaching ability but of her devotion to education and her involvement in community and charity affairs.

 

MAYOR LEESER summed her up like this: “Coach Adams motivates her team not only on the court but off the court … She has given back to her community ever since she arrived in El Paso … Coach Adams has been recognized nationally and El Paso should now recognize her locally by inducting her into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame.”

I could go on and on with praise from others but you get the idea.

Her nomination was received with applause by the usually stoic El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame board of directors. Dare I say she’s a shoo-in for induction?

 

LARRY RODRIGUEZ was among three other El Pasoans nominated Monday. He is president of the UTEP Miner Fan Club and has been hailed as “a great asset to UTEP athletics.”

In a letter of recommendation, UTEP athletic director Bob Stull wrote, “Larry is a great person and a great Miner. He pours his heart and soul into UTEP athletics. He constantly bends over backwards to accommodate us. We are fortunate to have him as a fan and supporter.”

Retired football coach Mike Price wrote, “Larry Rodriugez is the ultimate Miner fan … He has given great support to several generations of UTEP players and coaches.”

 

GABE NAVA, a former Austin High School basketball star who went on to an outstanding career at University of New Mexico, was a third person nominated. Former coaches and members of his family spoke not only of his superb talents but the fact he was a role model not only as an athlete but also as a person. Sadly, he passed away at a young age and is listed for induction in the posthumous category.

 

FRED LOYA, another outstanding supporter of athletics, was the fourth El Pasoan nominated. Because of technical problems, no resume was presented but one high school coach after another stood up at the meeting to praise his contributions to sports.

“He was always there to contribute to whatever we needed and never asked for anything in return,” one said.

 

THE NEXT meeting of the Hall, and the last at which nominations from the public will be accepted, will be held March 3 at 5:15 p.m. at First Christian Church, 901 Arizona Avenue.

Voting for induction will be held March 17 at the same place. The induction banquet will be held April 30 in the Signature Room at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino.

Nine nominations in all have been received so far. More are expected at the next meeting.

If you think someone else should be a candidate for induction, get off your duff, get up a resume and present it to the board of directors on March 3. Otherwise, don’t complain if someone you think is worthy is left off the nomination list

2 Jul

OLD LETTERS SHOW DOBBS’ LOYALTY TO MINERS

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

Mike Dobbs, son of former UTEP football coach Bobby Dobbs, was cleaning out his desk and going through some old boxes at his home in California recently when he found some things that belonged to his late father.

One was his father’s playbook that guided the Miners to some of their greatest victories in the 1960s. Oh, how some coaches would love to get their hands on that.

He also found letters his father wrote when he turned down an offer to coach Army and decided to stay at what was then Texas Western College.

Mike writes, “What struck me so deeply about reading these (3) letters, all dated April 21, 1966, was dad’s profound loyalty to Texas Western College, his sense of moral obligation to TWC and the City of El Paso and his need to have a clear conscious by not leaving Texas Western College.”

MIKE ADDS that he also got chills reading a letter his father wrote to Vince Lombardi explaining his decision to stay with the Miners.

His father wrote, “ … we were in the middle of spring practice, and all my coaches wanted to go with me. The program here (at Texas Western) could have been hurt severely, and for this reason I could not leave with a clear conscious. In any event, I made the decision the way I thought was right.  I feel that my decision will be vindicated, and I will never look back or second guess.”

Bobby Dobbs turned the Miners’ losing program completely around in 1965, going 8-3 and beating TCU in the Sun Bowl. He was 6-4 in 1966 then went 7-2-1 in 1967 with a win over Mississippi in the Sun Bowl. He retired as coach of the Miners in 1972 and never coached again. He passed away in 1986.

The letters that his son found add to the wonderful legacy Bobby Dobbs left at UTEP.

TRIVIA QUESTION: Can you name two players who have hit three homeruns in a World Series game? Answer at end.

SANTA TERESA Country Club members keep wondering what’s to become of their golf course and other facilities. Will the club be sold? Will things get worse or better?

I ran into owner/operator Greg Collins at lunch the other day. He seemed genuinely upbeat. “Things are getting better, things are getting better,” he repeated with a smile but without elaborating.

Members are keeping their fingers crossed that some day the club will be restored to the jewel of a facility it once was.

DAVID LATTIN, to no one’s surprise, has been inducted into the UTEP Athletic Hall of Fame along with four other Miner stars. Big and strong, he was the axle of the 1966 Miners team that won the NCAA basketball championship.

I was also especially glad to see Andy Everest among the inductees. He was one of the first football stars I covered after joining the El Paso Herald-Post as a rookie sports writer.

Everest sort of took a back seat to the Miners’ outstanding backs, Fred Wendt and Pug Gabrel, of that highly successful1947-51 era. But like Lattin in basketball, he was the big man of the football team. He played center on offense and opened those big holes for the runners to go through. And he was a fearsome linebacker on defense.

Other inductees this year are Gary Brewster (basketball), James Munyala (track) and Kim Turner (track).

All five will be inducted as the 11th class of the UTEP Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday, Oct. 5, 2012, at UTEP. For more information contact the Miner Athletic Club at (915) 747-8759 or mac@utep.edu.

ANSWER TO trivia question: Babe Ruth did it twice (in 1926 and 1928) and Reggie Jackson did it once in 1977.