Dailey is just over your right shoulder. (#8)

I edited the team picture on the previous page to include names (for Bullet Bob Arnold). Ha!

Thanks, guys, #8 was the one i couldn't identify, didn't look like TD to me.

We don't look much different today, do we, Jack??!!!

You could take the guys on that team that didn't play much, and make a pretty good D-1 team.

That was married student housing at South Gate. Other than that, I didn't recognize it because the green wooden grandstand we had in the early 60s isn't there.

To answer someone's question, No, the term walk-off is a relatively new term.

This does not have anything to with OP but is a Baylor story from the early 80s. We were playing them a doubleheader and it was between innings late in the second game. While the ump was dusting the plate, one of the Baylor fans yelled, "Ump, when I am old, I am going to be just like you--blind and out of work." We were sitting on the first base side, and I yelled back, "Yeah, with your Baylor degree, you probably will be." Things got real quite and since I was a bit old to be doing that sort of stuff, I was looking for a place to run and hide. Thankfully nothing happened. i was told later that our players got a kick out of it.

Good bull! With only one other Ag there to watch your back, you were in no danger.

Cactus Jack
Thank you for posting. Exactly what I hoped someone would have.

I almost forgot MEN wore stirrup socks. I loved wearing them in HS and Babe Ruth Baseball.

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Great pic Jack! I thought Billy Hodge was on that team, as a fish, but guess not. I'm struck how mature Elmo (#10) looks, tho just a fish, while Doug Rau (#7) looks to be in Jr. High still.

Love the old school T caps. Wish they'd bring em back!

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The baseball media guide lists him as a letterwinner in 1969

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Great pic Jack! I thought Billy Hodge was on that team, as a fish, but guess not. I'm struck how mature Elmo (#10) looks, tho just a fish, while Doug Rau (#7) looks to be in Jr. High still.

Love the old school T caps. Wish they'd bring em back!

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The baseball media guide lists him as a letterwinner in 1969

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Yeah, I misremembered. He was only a fish in ' 68, behind 3 time All-Conference catcher Joe Staples. There were two fish who started on that team; Dave Elmendorf and Doug Rau, but I'm not even positive about Rau.

Btw, Elmendorf and Hodge played fish football as well.

Yes, Doug Rau pitched quite a bit on that team as a freshman, it had a really good pitching staff, Schwartz, Rocky. Benesh, Walter Varvel.

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1968 Aggies

Seated L to R: Thomas Dean Chandler (Bat Boy), Eddie Vaughn, Doug Rau, Dave Benish, Bob Long, Ricky Schwartz, Dave Elmendorf, David Larson, Gary (I think) bat boy.

2nd Row: Coach Tom Chandler, Johnny Walker, Larry "Boom Boom" Stelley, Walter Varvel, Bullet Bob Arnold, Rocky Joe Thompson, Boyd "Bevo" Hadaway, Bob Sanders, Mike Winters manager.

3rd Row: Butch Ghutzman, Joe Staples, Terry "The Boy" Dailey, Joey Robbins, Richard "Midget" Backest, Jimmy "By God" Raley, and Pete Maida.

[url=http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/ricschwartz13/media/IMG_0170_zps7iwugnij.jpg.html][/url]

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Nice glasses #5 !

I look like a friggin' physics professor in those glasses, couldn't see a lick, blind as a bat.

Knew and had classes with some of those guys.

Recall a few home runs hit into the ramps of Kyle Field and some good natured exchanges of fans with TCU great Mickey McCarty.

I haven't seen Ghutzman in a while, anyone know what he is doing these days?

Ghutz is in Houston, doing well, hasn't changed in 50 years....hah!!!

Thanks-it's been about 10 years since I've run across/seen Butch

Anybody know where I can get a copy of the Baseball Press Guide? I need info on Bill Crain '66
for Athletic Hall of Fame nomination.

2015 media guide or the one from 1966?

2015 press guide. Thanks

2015 Texas A&M Baseball Media Guide

Thanks. Very much appreciated. The "Old Timers" have a hard time competing in the record
book due to the number of games allowed by the NCAA in the SWC days.

I second the Billy Crain nomination.

BUMP because, once again, we are 9 days away from Aggie baseball!!

There are a lot of great old baseball images available in the yearbooks that can now be viewed online. If I knew how to capture those and post them, I would do it.

http://library.tamu.edu/yearbooks/

There is a shot from CF of the old Kyle Field diamond that appears in more than one yearbook in the '50s. I was even able to figure out that the baseball grandstand once doubled as a track grandstand; yes, that's right--the track was not around the football field when the first wooden football grandstands were constructed--the track didn't move until the permanent concrete grandstands were built), but was situated just south (due south, not College Station south) of Deware Fieldhouse, with the home plate to CF line basically running due east, before being moved to the more familiar location, with home plate to CF running due north, towards the KF football press box.

Some enterprising photographers even made the trip over to Austin in '66 and '74, and got some interesting pictures of the old billy goat hill, and a memorable shot of Chandler arguing with an umpire.

Lots of material to mine if someone has the time and tech skills.

Glad to find this thread again, and honored to be in the presence of these great 60s Aggie ball players!!

awesome pics.

LT Walter Varvel differed me from dutie at Ft Lewis when I was headed to Nam, and later help transferred me for the 2nd Armoured Div to the 1st Cav Div at Ft Hood. His dad was a long time prof on campus. Billy Hodge and I played fast pitch softball together in BCS for years. I have seen him hurt 3rd basemen who played to close.

67, you brought up Mike DiNero's name in an earlier posting on this thread. Here's a Mike DiNero story that I witnessed personally.

I'll preface it by saying Mike was a really good all around athlete and one tough, tough SOB! He was drafted by the Phillies (I think) out of high school, but chose to play football.

In '68 Mike decided to come out for baseball and joined the team after the season was partially underway. I believe it was his sophomore year. Anyway, he was a third baseman and was taking infield before a game. He either got distracted or was still unfamiliar with the infield pattern, but I saw him take a ball thrown by our catcher (Staples) right square in the mouth! It would have knocked out a lesser man, but not Mike! As you can imagine, his lip swelled like a grapefruit almost immediately and there was blood all over the front of his uniform. He doubled over and put his hands on his knees for a short time. Help ran to him from from all over the ballpark which he quickly dismissed. I then saw him PUSH HIS TWO FRONT TEETH UP INTO HIS HEAD, wipe his face with his towel, and continue infield!!! When Coach Chandler asked Mike how he was, Mike, with his very unique and dismissive hand wave said, "I'm alright, I can play!" And he did.

After the game he went to see a dentist, of course, and got a mouth full of stitches and something to stabilize his front teeth. He continued playing baseball for a short while that season and then stopped showing up, for whatever reason -- probably spring football.

As Bullet Bob (MMantle) pointed out, he was funny and had an Ohio accent. I heard him get after someone: "Bite the bag, ya creep!" I heard that more than once. Had to laugh!

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This thread

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OP, thanks for flushing out these guys. They tend to post less often than Sasquatch sightings.

great pics

My fondest memory of Mike DeNiro, that great smile, and everyday positive, upbeat attitude, yes, he was a tough guy, but also a really nice man.

So sad.

I live in Bryan.

Saw Walter Varvel at Olsen a year, or two ago, in great shape, hadn't changed much, gosh, did ever have the best 12-to-6 curveball I ever saw.

Am close friends with Billy Hodge, we see him and Betty Ruth regularly, our wives hate it when Billy and I get together, we can talk sports for hours.

Many people don't realize what an exceptional all-around athlete he was, he played freshman football at A&M, could jump through the roof on the basketball floor.

Never saw a catcher who could run like Billy.

See you guys at the yard.

RR