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Photo by Karli Stewart, TexAgs
Texas A&M Football

Front Table Faithful: Local Aggies build Beliucci Hour Lunch tradition

October 17, 2018
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They come to break bread and crack jokes.

Every Tuesday and Thursday a group of a dozen or more retired and/or semi-retired Aggies meet at The Tap — a College Station bar and grill — to satisfy their appetite for lunch and Texas A&M football.

They gather to listen in to the Belliucci Hour radio program and hear TexAgs’ Billy Liucci and Ryan Brauniger review and preview Texas A&M football games. The scene calls to mind da Vinci’s portrait of “The Last Supper”  — The Looch Supper? — except in this crowd, there is no Judas. These are all intensely loyal Aggies.

“They’re the unofficial Board of Regents,” The Tap owner John Whittington said on a recent Thursday. “They’re all retired and all made Aggieland their home."

“Getting to the front table is a rite of passage. They’re here three or four hours a day. They’re not here just for the radio show. And, of course, they know more about what’s going on than Billy.”

They don’t really, but they’re just as committed.

“We’re die-hard football fans,” said Jimmy Wright, who played quarterback for A&M in the ‘50s and had a successful career as a college football coach. “We complain like anyone else. And we go to all the games and support A&M. They (his table-mates) have no idea about technique, Cover 3 or 2-2 zone. But they know if there’s bad coverage.”

Many of them have been present for the Belliucci Hour show since its inception in 2001 when local radio host Louie Bellina partnered with Liucci.

While Liucci frequently arrives a few minutes after Brauniger has opened the show, these octogenarians and septuagenarians typically arrive an hour earlier to arrange tables at the foot of the stage.

They call themselves the “Front Table Board of Directors.”

“It’s an exclusive club,” says Ron Lueck, Class of ’64. Adds Wright: “Number one, you’ve got to have a good story to stay here.”

The front table characters also include — but are not limited to — Jimmy Owen ’69 who worked for Carrier Air Conditioning; Bill Housman ’58, a Geologist; Brandon Gaines ’79, a budget supervisor for Marathon Oil; Dee Godbey ’68, a Vietnam veteran who produced some of the largest in-water boat shows on the west coast.

There is Don Asher ’57, an Air Force veteran with a booming voice. There is Don West ’76, an aeronautical engineer. There’s Terry Gossett ’62, who was — quite literally — a rocket scientist.

Some members of the front table have passed on. New ones — like Jeff Tipton ’79 — have come on board.

“I’m one of the younger ones,” Tipton said. “I love the show and I enjoy all the people I eat with. I can’t think of anything better to do in College Station.”

Wright said those sitting at the front table must have gray hair or no hair. Tipton doesn’t quite meet that criteria — not yet, anyway. But exceptions will be made. 

“We need younger guys,” said Don Moskal ’59, a retired farmer. “We’ve lost some.”

Still, Charlie Graf ’60, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, said some membership requirements that cannot be compromised. “You’ve got to be willing to BS or listen to BS,” he said.

There’s no shortage of that. Lueck, a retired American Airlines pilot, proves as much when he recalls his military service during the Vietnam War.

“I spent the whole war as an instructor pilot in Del Rio,” he says. “And not one single Viet Cong got across the Rio Grande.”

The one-liner sets off a chorus of laughter. 

So does a story that is recounted by Don Moskal ’59, a retired farmer, who is still kicking himself for missing the famed 1955 come-from-behind victory over Rice.

The Aggies trailed 12-0 with less than five minutes remaining but rallied for a 20-12 win. Wright threw a long touchdown pass to give the Aggies the lead in the final minutes.

Not until this particular day did Moskal admit to Wright that he never actually witnessed that game.

“We were going to the game in Houston. We had a freshman with us who said if we went to Beaumont he had some hot dates for us,” Moskal recalled. “Girls were more important than football. We were kicking ourselves in the butt listening to the game on the radio.

“Then, it turned out the guy lied. He didn’t have dates for us. He was from Beaumont and just wanted to go home.”

That led to another round of raucous laughter. But when it comes to taking care of their own, the Front Table Board of Directors is all business.

T.D. Scott had a highly successful career as a high school football coach and administrator. He’s confined to a wheelchair now. Yet, he attends the bi-weekly lunches when his health permits. His friends dote on him. They joke with him. And when he leaves they all stand, salute and march alongside him while humming “Hail to the Chief.”

“He loves this place,” Lueck says.

And like all the rest, he loves the Aggies. By extension, they all love coach Jimbo Fisher, too. They believe Fisher will bring a national championship to Texas A&M. 

They hope it comes soon. Aggies never lose. But sometimes they do run out of time.

Recognizing their loyalty, Fisher appears to see the value of such an experienced self-appointed board of directors. He has addressed the Front Table, and they’ve listened intently to his plan for success.

“He tells us all his secrets,” Owens said. “We won’t remember them anyway.”

Pictured above: 

Top row l-r: Ed Watson, Don Moskal, Jimmy Wright, billy, Jeff Tipton, Dee Godbey, Don Asher

Bottom row l-r: Jimmy Owen, Bill Housman, Brandon Gains, Don West, Johnny Burns

 

Discussion from...

Front Table Faithful: Local Aggies build Beliucci Hour Lunch tradition

6,964 Views | 7 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by AggieRinger
dlbarnes76
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AG
A really good bunch of guys and good aggies!
DLB76
Z Team
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WorkTogetherAgs
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Gig 'em, Ags.
Rock1982
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Gig'em Ags!
CrottyKid
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Gig 'em, fellas. Thanks for paving the way for us younger Ags (even though I meet the no-hair criterion already).
Grits
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Damn good bull.
-OCHWFLAKASSBRTTEFE-
AggieRinger
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