May 28th, 2022 -Top of the Que Volume VII Newsletter #12
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Mack Brown, Bill Little, and Jenna McEachern all played a role in writing a perceptive and thought-provoking book titled “One Heart Beat.” One of the many points highlighted in the book states that teams possessing rhythm and cadence of one heartbeat maximize performance on game day.
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One Heart Beat – Life Lessons learned in the foxhole.
Once, when he had risked his life against all odds to charge bravely against the Germans, World War I Medal of Honor winner Sgt. Alvin York was asked why he had done it. There were hundreds of the enemy, and at times he seemed to be all alone.
“Did you do it for the glory?” a cynic asked.
“No,” said York.
“Well, then,” asked the reporter, “were you thinking of your family back home?”
“No,” York said again.
“Your country, then?” the question came.
“Nope,” York said.
“Well, why then?” asked the frustrated reporter.” Why did you do it?”
“I did it,” said York, “for the guys in the fox hole with me.”
You can bet that all of Sgt. Alvin’s fox hole buddies shared one heartbeat.
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Catching a pass in a Longhorn scrimmage
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The Foxhole
If I ever have to jump into a foxhole, whatever the circumstance, I hope Tyres Dickson is there to greet me with his survival instincts and winning burnt orange spirit.
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Of course, Collegiate sports are just games, not wars with life or death consequences; still, sports have symbolic “fox hole” overtones that require one heartbeat to reach a team goal.
In 1998 Longhorn football player Tyres Dickson was in a horrific car accident that required many surgeries and decades of dealing with health issues, extended hospital stays, and painful re-hab.
Instead of quitting, Tyres dug a metaphorical foxhole and filled it with the power of faith, mental toughness, family, friends, and caregivers. All facets worked together as a team with one heartbeat.
As a result, he now lives each day with a sense of destiny, choosing to mentor others and share his story with those who will listen. His is a great story that needs to be shared.
The TLSN Mission
In 2020 TLSN reached out to Tyres with a helping hand. Chairman Benny Pace and I visited Tyres in his apartment. We assumed we would do most of the talking but that was not the case. On this day, Benny and I were the students, and Tyres was the teacher. Listening to Tyres talk about the last 20-plus years of his walk to Emmaus was inspiring.
As we left Tyre’s apartment, Benny said, “we have to help him!” And TLSN (Texas Legacy Support Network) has.
Fast forward to May 18, 2022, at the Houston Touchdown Club. In attendance was Tyres thanks to a special Mojo friend, Bill Abel, who used his wheelchair-compatible van to help Tyres attend the function. It was his first social event outside his home in 9 years.
During the Houston Touchdown luncheon Coach Sark shared his vision for U.T. football, and TLSN Chairman Benny Pace shared Tyres’s story of adversity.
Tyres received a standing ovation. It was a One Heart Beat moment for the Longhorn nation. Tyres Dickson -a wounded Longhorn warrior- epitomizes the caring heart of our great university.
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Horns ???? and Eyes ???? Up for Tyres Dickson
Side note: Professor Larry Carlson and Longhorn football player Jay Arnold enjoyed their “excellent adventure” at the Houston Touchdown Club event. In the 6/12/2022 newsletter, Larry will share his special moments and photos of the event from an avid Longhorn fan’s perspective.
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Here are a few photos taken during the Luncheon.
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Left to right: TLSN Board member and national champion volleyball player Beth Coblentz, Billy Dale, JoEllen Dale, Vince Young, Benny Pace, Donnie Wigginton and Tyres
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Coach Sark- Horns up for Tyres.
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Tyres received a standing ovation!
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Billy Dale, Donnie Wigginton, (Don, Charley, and Diron Talbert) with my wife JoEllen in the middle and Tyres at the lower left.
As a side note- All the Talbert’s are enshrined in the Longhorn Hall of Honor. As students at Texas, collectively, they had a “reputation.” Each will say it was the other two brothers who had notoriety, but ……
Nothing says more about the Talbert’s than an Austin restaurant sign that refused service stating “No shoes, no shirts, and no Talbert’s.”
While Diron, the youngest of the three, was drafted by the NFL in 1966, there were still rumors that Diron visited the athletic dorm at Moore-Hill Hall frequently in 1967. For the 1967 freshman players brutalized by the hazing process, the ghost of Diron filled Moore-Hill Hall. Donnie Wigginton said he chose not to leave his dorm room if the rumor mill mentioned Diron was visiting a former teammate.
Speaking of one heartbeat, mine was in my throat walking to class with the thought that Diron could be nearby. His ghost forced me into a foxhole mentality with the bushes around Gregory Gym my safe haven if Diron appeared.
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I am always looking for Longhorn sports history content and reunion-type photos to share with the TLSN readers. Please send to Billydale1@gmail.com.
Last month, Rey Moreno shared Johnny “Lam” Jones’s story about the world record time that was disqualified.
This week Jo Ann Kurz emailed me information about women’s tennis from 1973 to 1976. Kurz played tennis for Coach Hagerman at UT Austin. Jo Ann was a quarterfinalist at the USTA collegiate nationals in 1977 and earned All American honors. She was also a finalist at the regional championships covering Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.
Here is her story about the early years of Title IX.
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Jo Ann Kurz states, “Significantly, I saw the change in women’s tennis with Title IX. I got a tuition waiver my first two years, then more assistance my 3rd and 4th” years.
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Jo Ann Kurz says about her tennis coach, “Betty Sue was an excellent coach. She helped me learn doubles and that helped my singles game. She was very patient as I developed more in my junior and senior years…..”
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“We went from riding in Betty Sue’s Volkswagen bus to Arizona to flying to the Braniff Mixed Championships in Michigan, all because of more funding. We taught lessons for the Austin Tennis Foundation to bring money in for our team before we had enough funding to fly to team events.”
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Betty Sue Hagerman Welch was ranked No. 1 in Texas in women’s and mixed doubles in both the open and 35 and over divisions. She was also ranked No. 1 in Women’s 35 singles. Welch’s coaching accolades include starting the Division 1-A women’s tennis team at the University of Texas. Her many awards as an educator and coach include being named 1993 USPTA National High School Tennis Coach of the Year.
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For more on the history of women’s tennis click on :
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Larry Carlson remembers Clark Field and the 1972 Baseball Team run at the National Championship
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I couldn’t believe my eyes when I entered UT’s Clark Field for the first time. It was 1972 and I had witnessed dozens of Longhorn football games across the street at Memorial Stadium.
Seeing the emerald grass in this real field of dreams, sitting in the splintered seats of the venerable grandstands, watching the Horns warm up with pepper games, and hearing the cracks of wooden bats was all very cool. But the coolest part of the setting, hard at first to wrap my brain around, was Billy Goat Hill.
All nature’s amusements aside, and the fact that Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig had played against UT here, what thrilled me most as a fan was the sheer prowess of the Longhorn players.
It was only fitting of course, that this bunch of young billy goats were led by a guy named Cliff.
In ’72, Coach Gus had reliable arms in the form of Ron Roznovsky, Martin Flores and Bobby Cuellar.
With Texas headed for the playoffs again and me having passed all those freshman classes, I got an extra treat as I moved back to my parents’ SanAntonio home for a summer job as a lifeguard (It wasn’t the dream job I had expected; I was merely one of the state’s most lightly-paid babysitters). The Regionals would be hosted by San Antonio. Excellent teams from Trinity and Pan-Am (now known at UT-RGV) would face off against UT in a three-team, double-elimination tourney at VJ Keefe Field on the St. Mary’s University campus.
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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.
TLSN is not associated with the UT Athletics Department or any organization closely aligned with UT.
Https://texaslsn.org
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