Billy Pickard passes away at age 81

Billy Pickard, who was something of an icon in Texas A&M athletics even though he never played a sport for the Aggies, passed away at 12:05 a.m. on Monday.

He was injured in a fall at his home and suffered a stroke.

He was 81.

Pickard, class of ’56, was a fixture in A&M athletics for more than 60 years either as employee in various positions or a dedicated fan after his retirement in 2009. He had a very close relationship with several A&M head football coaches, including Bear Bryant, Gene Stallings, Jackie Sherrill, R.C. Slocum and Mike Sherman.

“He was such a complex guy, you could write a book about him,” Slocum said on Sunday night. “He brought such a passion to A&M athletics. Basically, that’s all he did. He was up here early in the morning and was the last one to turn his light off at night. He had a great passion for the teams, coaches and players.

“He knew the players and took a personal interest in them. Ask any of the players over the years and they all felt close to him. The young men who worked for him as managers and trainers … those guys just absolutely worshipped Billy. He was hard on them. Had them up there early in morning and late at night, but he cared for them. He was a phenomenal guy. You talk about all the years and all the lives he touched even as a student trainer in school in the ‘50s. I met him in 1972 and worked with him until 2002.  Over the last several years we stayed in touch. He was just a mountain of a man.”

Pickard was a student trainer as a freshman in 1952 and made the infamous trip to Junction in ’54 when more than half the team quit.

He later was named head trainer by Stallings in 1965. In following decades he served as equipment manager, assistant athletic director, associate athletic director and senior associate athletic director for facilities. He even served as strength coach for a while.

Pickard attended athletic events regularly. He was at the Texas A&M-Alabama basketball game on Saturday.

“He was a legendary figure at Texas A&M,” said Rusty Burson, an A&M historian and author of several books about Texas A&M sports. “He covered so many different eras and so many different coaching staffs from Bear Bryant all the way through [the Kevin Sumlin era].

“He had such an unbelievable knowledge of Texas A&M history. His stories about the facilities and changes that went on through his life and tenure at Texas A&M was like a history book. He could tell you where all the skeletons were buried and he was probably told to bury some skeletons. He was such a caretaker of Kyle Field. He had that touch to the past with so many first-person recollections.”

Pickard once had a reputation for being surly and volatile. Slocum acknowledged that, but said Pickard just had a straightforward personality.

“He had a rough side to him,” Slocum said. “He would speak his mind, but two minutes later he was fine. He was always a bottom-line guy. He would always be loyal and supportive. I really appreciated him because he would come in and be totally honest with me about his opinions on different things. And generally, he was right.”

Pickard had mellowed in recent years. He was also a frequent guest on local radio shows and the subject of several newspaper articles.

He was so much a part of the fabric of Texas A&M sports that Burson included an entry about Pickard in his recent book: “100 Things Texas A&M Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.”

“A lot of times we throw that term 'company man' around,” Burson said. “I think Billy Pickard was the ultimate company man and his company was Texas A&M athletics. Not only did he work it, but he breathed it, slept it and was passionate about everything regarding Texas A&M athletics.”