I recently came across a newspaper article from 1926 that mentions that my father's company in the Corps won the Howel Trophy that year. I'm class of '65, and I don't remember ever hearing about the Howel Trophy. Does anyone know anything about this award? Or what happened to it?

I have a 1926 Longhorn. Let me know his company, maybe I can find a little.

And are you sure of the spelling?

So far, I've found that R.W, Howell, sometimes I've found it spelled Howel, was a prominant citizen of Bryan in the 1920s, and owned the Howell grocery chain, and built the LaSalle Hotel.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/5UyJkM][/url]Bryan - 23 by Cushing Memorial Library and Archives, Texas A&M, on Flickr

Residence R.W. Howel; Bryan, Texas


[url=https://flic.kr/p/5UD8Du][/url]Bryan - 29 by Cushing Memorial Library and Archives, Texas A&M, on Flickr

Howell estate on Ursuline Rd; photograph date: ca. 1980; Bryan, Texas

CanyonAg77 - Why didn't I think of that. I also have an old Longhorn from when my father was a senior (either '29 or '30). I'll check it out, but would also appreciate it if you could check yours, too.

Also, thanks for the info on Mr. Howell. And, no, I'm not sure of the spelling. The article was in the Fredericksburg paper and used the spelling Howel, but that may have been a typo.

Oh, and I'm not sure what company Dad was in, but I can check that old Longhorn and see.

CanyonAg77 - I checked out my copy of the '29 Longhorn and could find no mention of a Howell Trophy. I did find that Dad was in Company F Infantry that year. I assume that he was in the same company throughout his Aggie career. At least that was the way it was when I was there, with some exceptions.

OK, figured it out. Back in the 1920s and 1930s, there were trophies awarded to the best company / battery for each branch (Infantry, Artillery, etc.) annually. The Howell trophy was awarded to the best drilled Infantry company in the Corps. The Waldrop trophy was awarded to the best Artillery battery in the Corps. And I guess there were similar trophies for the other branch units.

I'm guessing that sometime after WWII these were discontinued in favor of awards for the General Moore award for the best outfit in the Corps. Don't know if that's still being awarded these days or not.

A few archived newspapers from the Eagle from the 20's/30's mention the Howell grocery chain

https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&ei=FYHiWpjUMabz5gKwsKWQAg&q=%22Howell+grocery%22+bryan%2C+tx&oq=%22Howell+grocery%22+bryan%2C+tx&gs_l=psy-ab.3...7691.9858.0.9983.10.10.0.0.0.0.111.917.7j3.10.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..0.9.802...0j0i22i30k1j0i22i10i30k1j33i160k1j33i22i29i30k1.0.nmXz9Ldbl_E

bigtruckguy3500 - Thanks. I found my information by reviewing archives of the Bryan Eagle from the 20s and 30s. I also found several articles on the Howells. I didn't read most of them, but it appears that they were a prominent family in the Bryan / College Station area during that time.

Here's a link to a list of the various trophies awarded to the top Corps units in the different branches during the pre-WWII era.

https://archive.org/stream/annualcatalogueo1920agri#page/328/mode/2up/search/waldrop+trophy

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So far, I've found that R.W, Howell, sometimes I've found it spelled Howel, was a prominent citizen of Bryan in the 1920s, and owned the Howell grocery chain, and built the LaSalle Hotel.

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Director at the First National Bank of Bryan: (1926 Longhorn)

I found a photo online of the 1912 ad from the Longhorn, where he was listed as a cashier. Worked his way up!

But then, his dad was chairman of the board in 1912.

Google Books

Trench55 said:

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OK, figured it out. Back in the 1920s and 1930s, there were trophies awarded to the best company / battery for each branch (Infantry, Artillery, etc.) annually. The Howell trophy was awarded to the best drilled Infantry company in the Corps. The Waldrop trophy was awarded to the best Artillery battery in the Corps. And I guess there were similar trophies for the other branch units.

I'm guessing that sometime after WWII these were discontinued in favor of awards for the General Moore award for the best outfit in the Corps. Don't know if that's still being awarded these days or not.

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Waldrop is another prominent business name in Bryan history. Parks and Waldrop, later AM Waldrop.

So, I'm pretty sure General Moore award for best overall outfit, Hochmuth for military proficiency, and Jouline for outstanding academic outfit, are still out there. They were definitely there in my day. Probably some more, as cadet uniforms today seemed to have gone full-on Mexican General.

It would be interesting to know when the old commercial-sponsored names were dropped, and when the awards were named after individuals.

General Moore was class of 1908, and IIRC, was commandant prior to WWII. His fame came later, as one of the Corregidor commanders.

Hochmuth was class of 1935, and was a veteran of WWII. He died in a helicopter explosion, Vietnam, 1967. Was the highest ranking American killed in Vietnam (MGEN)

So it would be interesting to know at what point their names were attached to the awards.

Enjoying the thread.

From what I've been able to find, it appears that the General Moore award was initiated near the end of WWII. I've found references to the Howell trophy at least up to about 1935, but nothing after 1945. If I recall from what I read yesterday on the history of the Corps, the Branch designations were dropped in 1960, and the Corps reorganized into three brigades of Army and two or three wings of Air Force. I started my fish year in 1961, and at that time the 1st Brigade's colors were Infantry blue, and the 2nd Brigade's colors were Artillery red. Not sure about the 3rd Brigade. The companies in that Brigade included married students, athletes and other special situation students.

In looking over the current organization of the Corps, it appears that there are two Army brigades and a Marine Brigade, plus the Air Force Wings. Back in the 60s, any cadets planning to go into the Marines were located in one of the Army companies as D&C (Drill & Ceremonies) cadets. They attended Marine Platoon Leaders Course in the summers.

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So, I'm pretty sure General Moore award for best overall outfit,

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Earliest I can find 1947 Longhorn:

F Infantry Moore Trophy

List of awards from the 1951 Aggieland



Aggie Band cord (future Hochmuth cord) given by Houston Chamber of Commerce Military affairs committee

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Hochmuth was class of 1935, and was a veteran of WWII. He died in a helicopter explosion, Vietnam, 1967. Was the highest ranking American killed in Vietnam (MGEN)

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first appearance 1969 Aggieland:

Jouine for an outstanding academic outfit first appeared in the 1962 Aggieland:

Thanks to all the Internet Wizards willing to do the research. And thanks to Cushing Library for putting the Longhorns/Aggielands online