wisdom said:
Another Shelby Metcalf quote. (I am sure of the year, but I am not 100% sure of the opponent, nor the Aggie player involved, nor even which team had the ball and was about to score. Someone who knows of this incident may want to set the record straight.) It was late in the 1968-69 season and the team was playing Baylor in G. Rollie. In those days, all the non-basketball athletes sat on the bleachers which reach down to the floor, behind the goal at the north end of G. Rollie. Somehow, Ronnie Peret for the Aggies, got behind the Baylor defense, probably a steal and then a pass to him, and he had a clear, uncontested lay-up at the goal at the north end of the court. The rest of the players for both teams were at the other end of the floor. The only defender anywhere near him came from behind and at about 45 degrees from the side, and the only possible defense of the lay-up was a flagrant foul, which is what he did. The defender raced towards him, laid him out with a very flagrant foul, and the momentum of the bodies of the 2 basketball players carried them hard into the bleachers containing the all the remaining Aggie athletes. This created some pushing and shoving and then a brawl and it was looking very ugly for a few moments, however the athletes were able to hold off the hot tempered parties and no one got hurt. The fight received lots of attention in the press.
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Fast-forward to about a week later. The Aggies are SWC Champs, and the students are holding a special yell practice in G. Rollie for the team, and sending them off to the NCAA Tournament. Coach Metcalf is holding a microphone, addressing the student body and recognizing the players. In those days, whoever won the SWC rarely got out of the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament. In the media that week were discussions of the weak Southwest Conference and giving the SWC Champs very little respect in polls and in tournament match ups. Coach Metcalf addressed this issue and quipped, "Ring Magazine ranks us #1." The place erupted with a roar of laughter and then wildcat.
I was there, a 'butt in the FTAB. We got the short end of the stick from the clock operator in Waco a few days earlier and they stole a win. After the game, it wasn't a fight, some fish got beat up by the Baylor football team. So, G. Rollie was a powder keg. For the Baylor people that made the trip, most of them had to watch the game on closed circuit TV in Guien (SP?) hall. High tech of 1969, and Guien hall was where Rudder Tower is now.
So, late in the game, our center Ronnie Perrit, is going for a lay-up and the Baylor center, Friedman (sp?) slams Perrit's head into the backboard. Unfortunately he landed right where the Aggie football team sat. All hell broke loose. To my untrained eye it looked like Billy Hobbs was beating the crap out of Friedman, but I was wrong. Actually, and this is what Coach Metcalf and Coach Stalling told the SWC investigation, Hobbs fearlessly through his body across Friedman to prevent injury.
After a minute or so, Col. Adams figured Friedman was well enough protected and had the FTAB play the National Anthem and order was restored. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
