Thanks for sending this Duck Patrol. After talking with dad, graddpa did letter in 45. Not sure why its not listed but I know they do have his jersey in the former players hallway at Olsen.

Craig and Ackar, we will look for that 1955 Bowman or any other card that's not posted here.

Craig - most any of Ray's cards can be found on eBay fairly easily. The 61 Sugardale and 62 Union Oil are tough to find, but the others are available. Like I said, I have all of his cataloged vintage cards (pre 1980). I dont know of any uncataloged cards except for one with the Tulsa Oilers from 1960. You can see mine here (hopefully)



(Link removed - just email me at my earlier post if you would like the link)

These are the list of his cards that I know about:

1954 Bowman #121 Ray Katt RC - In cserold01's post
1954 New York Journal American #28 Ray Katt
1955 Bowman #183 Ray Katt - In cserold01's post
1955 Bowman Advertising Strips #13 Bob Rush/Ray Katt/Willie Mays
1955 Giants Golden Stamps #24 Ray Katt
1956 Cardinals Postcards #14 Ray Katt***
1957-58 Cardinals Postcards #24 Ray Katt***
1957 Topps #331 Ray Katt - In cserold01's post
1958 Hires Root Beer #57 Ray Katt
1958 Hires Root Beer with Tabs #57 Ray Katt
1958 Topps #284 Ray Katt - In cserold01's post
1960 Topps #468 Cardinals Coaches/Johnny Keane/Howie Pollet/Ray Katt/Harry Walker - In cserold01's post
1961 Union Oil #P9 Ray Katt
1962 Sugardale #17 Ray Katt CO****
1979 TCMA 50'S #235 Ray Kaat
2009 Topps Heritage 1960 Buybacks #468 Cardinals Coaches/Johnny Keane/Howie Pollet/Ray Katt/Harry Walker
2010 Historic Autographs In Memory Of #RK Ray Katt /6 - In Mr.Ackar07's post
2012 Historic Autographs Champions New York #95 Ray Katt/19*
2012 Leaf History of Baseball Cut Signatures #792 Ray Katt/30*

***In Agsncws' link, these are in the 9th row
****In Agsncws' link, this is in the 14th row

The 2009 buyback looks just like the 1960 Topps card, just with a gold foil buyback stamp on it.

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he does have another cut signature card similar to the Beau Bell cut signature, but the owner of the only copy I've seen was asking a bit much

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Any idea how I could get in touch with this guy? Thanks, Craig

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See my link in the above post. You can't really contact the seller, as COMC does not allow that. You can, however, outright purchase the card and have it shipped to you since COMC does have the card in hand at their Washington warehouse. I just didn't want to pay $41 for the card.

Mr Ackar's list is indeed complete (with regards to cataloged cards - I use the Standard Catalog of Vintage Baseball Cards as my baseline). There are 2 uncataloged "cards" that I am aware of: the aforementioned 1960 Tulsa Oilers team set and a 1961 Cleveland Indians Picture Pack (I forgot about this one). While I know those 2 exist, Ive never even SEEN examples of either.

What an ambitious endeavor, and boy am I glad you decided to do it! I for one am grateful to be a recipient of all your hard and dedicated work. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment. Thank you.

Fantastic thread. I appreciate all of your work into this

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Grandpa would roll over in his grave if he knew that somebody spent over $200 on one of his cards and would be really pissed once he found out it was me.

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Glad I could help out. Don't feel bad about spending that much on the 1961 Union Oil card. That card is in fantastic condition, and, according to the PSA database (the company that graded that card a 9 out of 10) hey have only graded one other card from that set higher than your grandpa's card. You now own the second highest graded card in that set, and the highest graded Ray Katt card in the set. You will likely never see another in that condition.

Awesome thread, and it's great to see another one's collection like this.

I recently got another Lary autograph rookie where he put his A&M class year. If you need one for your collection, it's yours. It's currently getting authenticated/slabbed at PSA.

The Elmendorf and other Lary are part of an Aggie football consensus All-American collection I'm putting together. If you have any autographed stuff of Joe Routt, John Kimbrough, or Marshall Robnett, let me know.

anyone know for sure if former MLB infielder Roy McMillan played for A&M?

This site shows him attending A&M:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcmilro01.shtml

There are several indications that he attended A&M, but I cant find evidence that he played baseball here.

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There are several indications that he attended A&M, but I cant find evidence that he played baseball here.

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He could only have attended A&M, but I also am not sure if he did or not. He signed with the Reds at age 16, and made his debut at 21, so he would not have played for the Ags. I have him on my "Commonly associated with A&M, but not" list. None of his cards mention A&M either.

thanks, guys.

This thread is really awesome, thanks for sharing your collection with us.

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Awesome thread, and it's great to see another one's collection like this.

I recently got another Lary autograph rookie where he put his A&M class year. If you need one for your collection, it's yours. It's currently getting authenticated/slabbed at PSA.

The Elmendorf and other Lary are part of an Aggie football consensus All-American collection I'm putting together. If you have any autographed stuff of Joe Routt, John Kimbrough, or Marshall Robnett, let me know.

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Thanks for the offer, but I want to stick with pack-issued certified autographs. I would seriously keep the note he wrote with that card together! I only collect baseball, so I don't have any Routt, Kimbrough, or Robnett autos.

Tom Chandler Head Coach 1958-1984



During Tom's 26 years at the helm for the Aggies, he only produced one losing season. Through 999 games coached, he guided the Aggies to a 660-329-10 (.666 winning percentage) record along with 5 SWC Champions titles, 7 playoff appearances, and the Aggies' 2nd trip to the College World Series (1964). Tom took over as head coach after spending 1958 as the assistant to Head Coach Beau Bell. During his tenure, 54 players signed pro contracts, and 9 (by my count I may be off) would reach the majors. After retiring from his coaching job in 1983, Tom would spend the next decade and a half scouting for the Indians, Dodgers, and Tigers. During his scouting days with the Indians, he would sign popular Aggie short-stop Ever Magallanes. Tom has received numerous awards for his coaching, and his jersey is one of two that have been retired by the Aggies.

Dave "Davey" Johnson 1962




Davey was a two sport star at A&M excelling in both basketball and baseball. During his long MLB career as both a second baseman and manager, Johnson would become one of the more well-known Aggies in baseball. He participated with the 4-time AL pennant and 2-time WS winning Baltimore Orioles from 1965-1972. During this stretch, he was a 3-time gold glove winner, joining his double-play partner, Mark Belanger, for two of his awards (one of only ten such double-play combos to win the awards in the same season); third baseman Brooks Robinson was in the middle of his 16 gold glove streak at that time as well. Upon his trade to the Atlanta Braves, he would team up with Hank Aaron and Darrell Evans to become the first trio to hit 40+ home runs in a season. Johnson's 42 homers that year (only as a second baseman he hit 1 more as a pinch hitter) would tie Roger Hornsby's record for most by a second baseman. At the end of his playing career, he played briefly for the Yomiuri Giants in the Japanese League. When Davey transitioned into a MLB manager, all he did was win; he only posted 3 losing records in 17 years managing in the MLB. He led the 1986 Mets to an improbable World Series title, and posted a lifetime 1,372-1,071 record winning two Manager of the Year awards; he would finish in the top three of voting five other times. Because Johnson retired in 2013, he will appear on the Expansion Era Committee ballot in 2016 with a chance for HOF enshrinement in 2017. If elected, he will join Yale Lary as the only HOFers in the major professional sports from A&M. I created a thread a while back discussing why I think he has a legitimate chance: here.

Doug Rau 1968-1970



Doug was solid in all three years of his career at Texas A&M. He went 18-7 during that time and posted a minuscule 1.70 ERA; his 228 career strike outs was a record for A&M at the time of his departure. During the 1970 campaign, he led the Aggies with a 9-1 record and a draw-dropping 0.86 ERA; this single season Texas A&M ERA record would last for 40 years. Doug was drafted in the first round of the 1970 amateur draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and would make his MLB debut two years later. Despite his success as a starting pitcher, he is best known for getting into a profanity-laden argument with Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda when Lasorda went to lift him in Game 4 of
the 1977 World Series for a reliever (Audio Clip - NSFW).

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Mr. Ackar
Have you been able to locate a card(s) for All-American Bob Long '69?

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So, this weekend I realized that I never found a card for Bob Long because I had always been searching under Robert Long. Turns out I skipped this card from the 1991 Phillips 66 Texas A&M 100 card multi-sport set: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1991-Texas-A-and-M-Collegiate-Collection-71-Bob-Long-FB-NM-MT-/321471182499?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ad92cf6a3

I'll soon have 171 different players as the card meets Rule #4, mentioning his baseball playing days at A&M!

MrAckbar,

how many different cards of former A&M players do you currently have?

will you list all 171 players?

as a fellow collector of A&M sportscards, I am impressed by your collection.

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MrAckbar,

how many different cards of former A&M players do you currently have?

will you list all 171 players?

as a fellow collector of A&M sportscards, I am impressed by your collection.

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As of this morning, I have 1,329 different cards. You will eventually get to see all of them. I know there hasn't been many so far, but the amount per player will start to pick up. Michael Wacha accounts for just over 10% of the collection...

Are you asking for me to post a list of players I have, or are you asking if I will eventually post all 170? If it's the former, I can type up a list in a couple of days; if it's the later, then yes.

Dave Elmendorf 1968-1971



In 1971, Dave earned All-American honors both as a center fielder (his second such honor) and as a safety for the football team. He also would earn Academic All-American in both sports, and is one of 20 Aggies to be selected three times as an All-Conference honoree in baseball. Dave had all kinds of success on the baseball diamond. In 1968, he would tee off for three home runs against Texas Tech scoring 5 times in that game. In a display of what made him a threat on the grid iron, Dave would lead the Aggies with 13 steals in 1970. Then, in 1971, he paced the Aggies with a .402 batting average which at the time tied him with Bob Long as the highest average during a season. Dave was offered baseball contracts with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, but turned them down to play professional football where was drafted in the 3rd round by the Los Angeles Rams. He had a successful nine year career in the NFL helping the Rams win Super Bowl XIV. Dave was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997, and was a long-time color commentator on the Aggies' football radio broadcasts starting in 1989. Gabe Brock had a great interview with Dave in 2012 which can be found here.

William "Billy" Hodge 1969-1971



Billy may have played for the Aggies in 1968, but I haven't confirmed it; Bob Arnold, BoerneGator or Cactus Jack may have some insight into this. He was drafted out of high school in 1967 but did not sign, so I think he may have made it to campus by 1968 unless he went the JC route. Hodge, a catcher, was a hitting machine for the Aggies, earning All-Conference honors in both 1970 and 1971. In 1970, he paced the Aggies with 5 home runs and 27 RBIs, and in 1971, he hit three triples in one game against SMU which is still an A&M record. Hodge was drafted in 1971 by the San Diego Padres where he made it to AAA before bouncing out of the pros.

Robert "Bobby" Falcon 1973



Bobby transferred to A&M from Panola JC where he had pitched back-to-back no hitters. During his lone season on the mound for A&M, Bobby would set a then A&M record by striking out 66 SWC opponents. He would strike out 87 batters during the full campaign leading the Aggies with 5 victories and recording a 2.19 ERA. The Royals selected Bobby in the 8th round of the 1973 amateur draft.

Love the collection MrAckar. Thanks for sharing it with us

What card is that of Bobby Falcon?

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What card is that of Bobby Falcon?

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Bobby's card is a 1975 TCMA Waterloo Royals minor league card.



Thanks CDub, that means a lot to me coming from you

I know I owned all of these at one point, might still have them at my parents house:

Mark's coming up later this week.

Bobby Falcon was pretty much considered a member of my mother in law's family. Her brother was drafted right out of HS and went to the Royals with Bobby. Just last week through a strange set of circimstances we bought this same card off of EBay. The family was heartbroken when they lost Bobby in a car wreck in the early '80's. It was nice seeing Bobby's card in your collection.

James "Hoot" Gibson 1975-1976



Hoot Gibson, who just happened to share a nickname fellow fire-baller and HOFer Bob "Hoot" Gibson, more than lived up to the big time pitcher stature for the Aggies during his tenure for the Maroon & White. An All-American in 1976, Hoot would post a still standing Aggie record of 16 victories while throwing a still standing 10 complete games, all while posting the third best single season ERA in Texas A&M history of 1.09; he even notched a save. Gibson ranks ninth all-time in Aggie victories with 25, but everyone above him pitched for more than two seasons. A work-horse for the Aggies, he would appear in nearly half of the games played during his two year stint, but sadly this came during the Texas Longhorns' stranglehold on SWC Champion titles, and the Ags would finish 2nd in the league both years. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos, but would sign later with the Atlanta Braves.

Robert "Bobby" Bonner 1975-1978



Bobby earned All-American honors during his senior year while batting .343, and finished 11th all-time in Aggie career doubles with 43 and 9th all-time in Aggie career triples with 11. He would lead the Aggies in hits and runs scored his last three years with the team. During the 1977 season, Bonner helped the Aggies end the 12 year reign of the Longhorns winning or tieing for the SWC conference title. The next season, he would help the Aggies secure their first out-right back-to-back SWC conference titles. At the end of his Aggie career, he was selected in the 3rd round of the MLB amateur draft by the Baltimore Orioles. He has two direct connections in the baseball community with Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. First, he is one of two other players featured on the iconic 1982 Topps rookie card of Ripken, and 2nd, the Orioles chose to call up Bonner from the minors in 1982 over Ripken, much to the chagrin of Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver. After his pro playing career, Bobby spent many years serving as a missionary in Africa.

Olsen Field 1978-Present



There may be a new facade than the one pictured in the above card, and Olsen Field may have added "at Blue Bell Park" to its title, but the namesake of C.E. Pat Olsen has been home to the Aggies since 1978. Here, the Aggies have posted a 997-324-4 record (I think this is correct) through yesterday's win over UTPA, and could very well reach 1,000 victories in the friendly confines this weekend. With the help of Pat Olsen, the Aggies built a state-of-the-art $2 million facility that was second to none. Since then, Olsen Field has hosted the NCAA regional's five times with the attendance at the 1999 regional ranking 2nd all-time. In 2004, Olsen Field was rated as the best college baseball venue by Sports Illustrated in large part due to the fiercely loyal "RAggies" that would constantly heckle opponents. After $24 million in renovations, Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park would reopen in 2012 repositioning the facility as one of the best in the country. Olsen Field sports Tifway Bermuda Grass for its playing surface.

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Billy may have played for the Aggies in 1968, but I haven't confirmed it; Bob Arnold, BoerneGator or Cactus Jack may have some insight into this. He was drafted out of high school in 1967 but did not sign, so I think he may have made it to campus by 1968 unless he went the JC route. Hodge, a catcher, was a hitting machine for the Aggies, earning All-Conference honors in both 1970 and 1971. In 1970, he paced the Aggies with 5 home runs and 27 RBIs, and in 1971, he hit three triples in one game against SMU which is still an A&M record. Hodge was drafted in 1971 by the San Diego Padres where he made it to AAA before bouncing out of the pros.

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I know Billy from church and here is what he told a bunch of us about his days at A&M, "I came to A&M on a football scholarship in 1967. After playing three sports as a freshman, grades convinced me to concentrate on baseball in '69, '70 and '71. I was drafted in the first round by San Diego and played 5 seasons in the minors, living in California, Louisiana, Arizona and Hawaii." Billy has lived in the B/CS area since he got out of pro ball.

mrackar, excellent collection. I recognize a few cards and am glad they are part of such a great collection and being shared with the loyal. Thank you.

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Dave Elmendorf 1968-1971



In 1971, Dave earned All-American honors both as a center fielder (his second such honor) and as a safety for the football team. He also would earn Academic All-American in both sports, and is one of 20 Aggies to be selected three times as an All-Conference honoree in baseball. Dave had all kinds of success on the baseball diamond. In 1968, he would tee off for three home runs against Texas Tech scoring 5 times in that game. In a display of what made him a threat on the grid iron, Dave would lead the Aggies with 13 steals in 1970. Then, in 1971, he paced the Aggies with a .402 batting average which at the time tied him with Bob Long as the highest average during a season. Dave was offered baseball contracts with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, but turned them down to play professional football where was drafted in the 3rd round by the Los Angeles Rams. He had a successful nine year career in the NFL helping the Rams win Super Bowl XIV. Dave was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997, and was a long-time color commentator on the Aggies' football radio broadcasts starting in 1989. Gabe Brock had a great interview with Dave in 2012 which can be found here.

William "Billy" Hodge 1969-1971



Billy may have played for the Aggies in 1968, but I haven't confirmed it; Bob Arnold, BoerneGator or Cactus Jack may have some insight into this. He was drafted out of high school in 1967 but did not sign, so I think he may have made it to campus by 1968 unless he went the JC route. Hodge, a catcher, was a hitting machine for the Aggies, earning All-Conference honors in both 1970 and 1971. In 1970, he paced the Aggies with 5 home runs and 27 RBIs, and in 1971, he hit three triples in one game against SMU which is still an A&M record. Hodge was drafted in 1971 by the San Diego Padres where he made it to AAA before bouncing out of the pros.

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I played fish football with Billy Hodge in ' 67 (along with Dave Elmendorf). He was a QB from Bryan HS. I'm pretty sure he was on the baseball team in the spring of ' 68, but never played or didn't letter, as Joe Staples ' 68 was a three time all-SWC catcher in front of him. But Bob Arnold or others on that ' 68 team can speak to his role, if any. He obviously made the right decision to switch to baseball.

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mrackar, excellent collection. I recognize a few cards and am glad they are part of such a great collection and being shared with the loyal. Thank you.

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You could probably say that you were the start of all this Sandy! A few more of your donations will make their way to this thread before it's over.

Thanks Boerne and Tom for the commentary; it helps.

Mark Ross 1976-1979



Mark Ross and Mark Thurmond (below) are probably the best duo of pitchers that A&M has ever had at one time. After playing a small role his freshman year, this Mark would win 11 games his sophomore and junior year, and finish atop the A&M record books with 34 career wins. Ross is still the A&M leader in career innings pitched (397.0) and complete games (26), is one of sixteen members of the 200-K club, and 11th all-time in career ERA with a 2.54 mark. Mark also had the distinction of playing for the US in the World Amateur Championship Tournament in Italy in the summer of 1978; this was the predecessor to the Baseball World Cup. After his senior year, Mark was drafted by the Astros in the 7th round of the 1979 amateur draft, and was in the majors by 1982. After his playing days, Mark served as a coach in the Atlanta Braves farm system for almost a decade.

Mark Thurmond 1976-1979





What does this Mark have in common with the other Mark mentioned above? Besides the fact that they both came from Houston, that both were finance majors at A&M, and they both pitched for A&M over the same four seasons, this Mark also shares the top spot in career A&M victories with 34. You can also add that like the other Mark, this Mark is a member of the sixteen member 200-K club, and he also represented the US in the 1978 WAC tournament in Italy. However, there are two accomplishments that the other Mark can't claim. Mark Thurmond threw the Aggies' 3rd no-hitter in school history beating Texas Tech 5-0, and was also the starting pitcher for the San Diego Padres in the 1984 World Series where fellow alumni Pat Olsen threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Finishing one career complete game behind Mark Ross (2nd all-time), Thurmond finished his A&M career with a 2.29 ERA (7th all-time). Just to end this with a completely random fact, Thurmond led the 1976 Aggies in triples.

Mike Hurdle 1977-1980



Mike, who is in a four-way tie for the most career triples at Texas A&M with 14, led the Aggies his freshman year with a .349 batting average and 8 home runs, two of which came in the same inning against LSU. He would have another successful season his sophomore year batting .331 and finishing second on the team in doubles, home runs, RBIs, and slugging percentage. Although his numbers would drop during his last two years at A&M, Mike still had a potent bat and was taken in the 13th round of the 1980 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. Continuing with the theme for today, Mike also participated in the 1978 WAC tournament in Italy where Team USA finished runner up to Cuba.