TOP OF THE QUEUE NEWSLETTER #27 11/13/2021
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From concept to finish Jimmy Nixon’s vision to honor the 4 Longhorn national championship quarterbacks and football teams took three years of dedication, patience, and resolve.
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Jimmy and Billy’s Most Excellent Adventure
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From 11/02/2021 to 11/05/2021, Jimmy Nixon and Billy Dale had a most excellent adventure to the past. Traveling 2600 miles round trip from Austin to Cold Springs, Minnesota to deliver the 4 N.C. busts to their new homes mounted on 5 ‘ pedestals. It was definitely a once in a life time experience.
As Horns, we must re-learn the winning formula taught by the 1963, 1969, 1970 and 2005 teams.
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Learning from history sheds light on and adds perspective to the present state of Longhorn football. The Longhorn Nation must learn to look backward to move forward. History is full of winning formulas when people listen.
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DKR started the road to the winning formula in 1957. Taking this team from a one win season the previous year to a 6-4 season.
You would have thought the 1957 team was undefeated that year. Fans, players, U.T. leaders, and the political power structure for once all were singing from the same Longhorn hymnal. All believed that Texas football was destined for greatness. Team synergy was apparent By 1963, Texas was a National Champion.
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The head of the team is always the quarterback but the body of the team (the pedestal) lays the foundation for national championships.
So the names of all players, managers, trainers, and coaches will be either engraved or etched on the pillar.
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TLSN goal is to save for posterity Longhorn memories as shared by former Longhorn players, their families, and special friends. Below are two stories. One by Pam Anderson about her father who played tennis for the Horns in the 1920’ s. The other, a first-person account of Longhorn volleyball player and TLSN Board member Beth Coblentz’s pioneering journey into intercollegiate volleyball and BEYOND.
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Louis Wright Ferguson- Tennis
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“Dad attended UT after oil was discovered on campus-owned land, which helped to swell campus coffers and fostered a solid reputation in mining engineering. “We used to step off campus into the desert,” he’d say. Dad would recall streetcars rattling down Congress Avenue, and he regaled me with tales of how he and fellow chemistry students made bathtub gin during Prohibition. As their geology fieldwork spanned the Hill Country, he told me of a time they ended up at some rancher’s illegal still to see turkeys staggering around drunk on discarded corn mash.” Pam Anderson
https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/copy-of-tennis-professor-and-coach-penick-mens-always-adding-content
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Longhorn Oral history by Beth Coblentz
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Beth says, “When I was growing up I was outside playing football, horse, riding dirt bikes, with the boys in the neighborhood. I loved it. None of my girlfriends like to get dirty so it was just me and the boys.”
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We went 31-0, won the State Championship, and I received the MVP Player of the Year for the State of Florida in Volleyball. Beth is on the front cover of a 1992 Fitness magazine.
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“ I accepted a full scholarship from the University of South Carolina for Volleyball. “ I was young, 17 until mid-November, and naïve. “
“USC was not the right place for me.” Beth is #4 in the photo.
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“The University of Texas (Mick Haley), asked me to join the Longhorns, and I accepted. He wanted to put Texas on the volleyball and our team helped Mick/UT do that. “
Beth is #4.
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Beth’s message
“Playing Team Sports has helped build the person I am today, through the activity, the coaches, my teammates, the good times, the bad times, and the unsure times.”
As the Executive Vice President of Houston-based Academy Sports and Outdoors, Beth was part of a team that built Academy from 500 million to over $3 billion. “ I looked at everyone that joined us as part of our team. If they weren’t a team player, then I did not want them to join us. I made that clear in every interview and lived and died by that motto.”
“I had a full-circle moment when I was fortunate enough to be able to work with UT again and Chris Plonsky with the licensed business that Academy had with UT.”
For the rest of Beth’s story visit
https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/beth-coblentz-oralhistory-volleyball
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With resolve and strength of will, Coach Patterson was instrumental in moving Texas swimming to an era of prominence.
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Coach Patterson with Joan Spillane (1960 Olympic Champ)
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Pat Patterson
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Inducted into HOH in 2010;
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A three-year letterman at Texas and team captain in 1956;
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One of the leading scorers at the 1955 SWC championship meet ;
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Begins his head coaching career in 1961 at Rice University;
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Coaches at Arkansas, Texas A&M, and then back to Texas in 1971;
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During his seven seasons as a head coach at Texas, he produces 21 SWC Champions and 12 All-Americans;
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Was instrumental in the formation and development of the first University of Texas Women’s Swimming team;
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Pat Patterson was the right leader at the right time. He was a strong-willed individual who never gave up his goal to convince the UT administration to increase coaching salaries, travel expenses, and scholarships.
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He was part of the dream to build a state of the art swimming facility;
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He is a major reason that women and men’s swimming is now a perianal power.
The link to Coach Patterson’s site is @
https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/patterson
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Patterson with Craig Fox, Guy Hogstette, Brent Baker
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Octavious Bishop oral history is scheduled for posting the end of November 2021
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I have never met Octavious Bishop, but I know him well. Octavious Bishop lives a full life surrounded by his loving family.
His resume’ is anchored by success as a Longhorn football player, football coach, inspirational leader, and professor. The quote below from Octavious shares his work ethic.
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TLSN is not associated with the UT Athletics Department or any organization closely aligned with UT.
TLSN is an independent organization celebrating Longhorn Sports History and assisting qualifying Horns who need temporary financial assistance.
The TLSN website and newsletter are free, educational, historical, and insightful. Sharing Longhorn sports history through the eyes of those who created it.
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