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Texas A&M Baseball

D.D. Grubbs remembers helping shape Olsen's everlasting atmosphere

April 28, 2024
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A&M baseball moved across the tracks to Olsen Field in 1978, and the new ballpark provided Derrick "D.D." Grubbs a blank canvas with which to work. From the PA booth at Olsen, Grubbs helped build many of the traditions and much of the atmosphere that still exists today.

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D.D. Grubbs remembers helping shape Olsen's everlasting atmosphere

13,138 Views | 33 Replies | Last: 6 mo ago by adbono
BoomGoesThe
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9:21p, 4/28/24
Hahaha! The song accompanying the late 80's Aggie hottie is classic. Just after the 20:50 mark.
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e=mc2
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11:11p, 4/28/24
AG
DD was great! Dang Astros stole him!
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SchizoAg
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1:08a, 4/29/24
Dice
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7:22a, 4/29/24
AG
DD made the ballpark extra fun!
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AgFormerlyInIrving
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7:54a, 4/29/24
AG
I miss the little tag he'd play when the ball came back down the net, and he'd hold the penultimate note until someone picked up the ball.

So everyone would yell "pick it up!!" to stop the playing of the note.

Good times.
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maroon barchetta
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8:53a, 4/29/24
If I remember correctly, he got ejected from a game in the 80's when blue missed a call and he played "Three Blind Mice" on his little keyboard.

Does anybody remember that?
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Hop
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In reply to maroon barchetta • 9:01a, 4/29/24
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maroon barchetta said:
If I remember correctly, he got ejected from a game in the 80's when blue missed a call and he played "Three Blind Mice" on his little keyboard.

Does anybody remember that?



Actually, he addressed that in the interview yesterday. He said he never played "Three Blind Mice" and that he wanted to get a reaction out of everybody at the park except the umpires. People come up to him all the time about getting kicked out. It was one of those stories that caught fire around campus but didn't happen.
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maroon barchetta
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In reply to Hop • 9:12a, 4/29/24
Hop said:
maroon barchetta said:
If I remember correctly, he got ejected from a game in the 80's when blue missed a call and he played "Three Blind Mice" on his little keyboard.

Does anybody remember that?



Actually, he addressed that in the interview yesterday. He said he never played "Three Blind Mice" and that he wanted to get a reaction out of everybody at the park except the umpires. People come up to him all the time about getting kicked out. It was one of those stories that caught fire around campus but didn't happen.


Sorry. Haven't had a chance to watch the whole interview but I'm glad you explained it!
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Hop
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In reply to maroon barchetta • 9:26a, 4/29/24
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maroon barchetta said:
Hop said:
maroon barchetta said:
If I remember correctly, he got ejected from a game in the 80's when blue missed a call and he played "Three Blind Mice" on his little keyboard.

Does anybody remember that?



Actually, he addressed that in the interview yesterday. He said he never played "Three Blind Mice" and that he wanted to get a reaction out of everybody at the park except the umpires. People come up to him all the time about getting kicked out. It was one of those stories that caught fire around campus but didn't happen.


Sorry. Haven't had a chance to watch the whole interview but I'm glad you explained it!


I think Dave South got ejected while broadcasting a game court-side from either the SWC or Big 12 Tourney one year after giving the referees the choke sign after a bad call that went against A&M.
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BQ_90
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In reply to Hop • 9:29a, 4/29/24
AG
Hop said:
maroon barchetta said:
Hop said:
maroon barchetta said:
If I remember correctly, he got ejected from a game in the 80's when blue missed a call and he played "Three Blind Mice" on his little keyboard.

Does anybody remember that?



Actually, he addressed that in the interview yesterday. He said he never played "Three Blind Mice" and that he wanted to get a reaction out of everybody at the park except the umpires. People come up to him all the time about getting kicked out. It was one of those stories that caught fire around campus but didn't happen.


Sorry. Haven't had a chance to watch the whole interview but I'm glad you explained it!


I think Dave South got ejected while broadcasting a game court-side from either the SWC or Big 12 Tourney one year after giving the referees the choke sign after a bad call that went against A&M.
SWC men BB tourney, i think 87 or 88
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Hop
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In reply to BQ_90 • 9:34a, 4/29/24
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BQ_90 said:
Hop said:
maroon barchetta said:
Hop said:
maroon barchetta said:
If I remember correctly, he got ejected from a game in the 80's when blue missed a call and he played "Three Blind Mice" on his little keyboard.

Does anybody remember that?



Actually, he addressed that in the interview yesterday. He said he never played "Three Blind Mice" and that he wanted to get a reaction out of everybody at the park except the umpires. People come up to him all the time about getting kicked out. It was one of those stories that caught fire around campus but didn't happen.


Sorry. Haven't had a chance to watch the whole interview but I'm glad you explained it!


I think Dave South got ejected while broadcasting a game court-side from either the SWC or Big 12 Tourney one year after giving the referees the choke sign after a bad call that went against A&M.
SWC men BB tourney, i think 87 or 88


Probably 1988. I actually went to the 1987 SWC Tourney and sat very low behind press row. I don't recall seeing a scene, although I guess I could've missed it on a trip to the restroom.
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twk
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In reply to maroon barchetta • 9:47a, 4/29/24
AG
maroon barchetta said:
If I remember correctly, he got ejected from a game in the 80's when blue missed a call and he played "Three Blind Mice" on his little keyboard.

Does anybody remember that?
He didn't get ejected, and I don't recall what he played, but whatever it was, Jon Bible turned around to the box and motioned to him to knock it off. Between innings, DD went with the Doobie Brothers "Listen to the Music."
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twk
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In reply to Hop • 9:49a, 4/29/24
AG
Hop said:
BQ_90 said:
Hop said:
maroon barchetta said:
Hop said:
maroon barchetta said:
If I remember correctly, he got ejected from a game in the 80's when blue missed a call and he played "Three Blind Mice" on his little keyboard.

Does anybody remember that?



Actually, he addressed that in the interview yesterday. He said he never played "Three Blind Mice" and that he wanted to get a reaction out of everybody at the park except the umpires. People come up to him all the time about getting kicked out. It was one of those stories that caught fire around campus but didn't happen.


Sorry. Haven't had a chance to watch the whole interview but I'm glad you explained it!


I think Dave South got ejected while broadcasting a game court-side from either the SWC or Big 12 Tourney one year after giving the referees the choke sign after a bad call that went against A&M.
SWC men BB tourney, i think 87 or 88


Probably 1988. I actually went to the 1987 SWC Tourney and sat very low behind press row. I don't recall seeing a scene, although I guess I could've missed it on a trip to the restroom.
I think it was in the 90s. A&M was playing TCU, and Dave didn't feel like the Aggies were getting a fair shake from the officials. I believe that it was during the break, Dave supposedly made a choking motion that drew the ref's ire and got him ejected.
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12thMan9
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In reply to twk • 10:17a, 4/29/24
AG
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-03-13-sp-10335-story.html

'93, vs UH in 1st round.
Ronnie '88
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Hop
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In reply to 12thMan9 • 10:30a, 4/29/24
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AG
Great find! This is so classic Dave South from that article. He didn't apologize to the media. He doubled down on the attack of the referee in question!

"He looked at me, and I went . . . ," South said, duplicating the gesture he made for Stout. "And he kicked me out of the game. Does he know I'm looking at him? What does this tell you about the kind of game he was having?"

Reporters monitoring the radio broadcast said South had told his listeners that "the Aggies are playing two teams today--the Cougars and the Southwest Conference officials."
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maroon barchetta
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In reply to Hop • 11:46a, 4/29/24
Hop said:
Great find! This is so classic Dave South from that article. He didn't apologize to the media. He doubled down on the attack of the referee in question!

"He looked at me, and I went . . . ," South said, duplicating the gesture he made for Stout. "And he kicked me out of the game. Does he know I'm looking at him? What does this tell you about the kind of game he was having?"

Reporters monitoring the radio broadcast said South had told his listeners that "the Aggies are playing two teams today--the Cougars and the Southwest Conference officials."


Have him on TA radio to talk about it!
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Sterling82
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11:55a, 4/29/24
DD is quintessential 70s / early 80s in that photo. Seems like a great guy in the interview.
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Hop
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In reply to Sterling82 • 2:20p, 4/29/24
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Sterling82 said:
DD is quintessential 70s / early 80s in that photo. Seems like a great guy in the interview.


He really is a nice, likable guy. He was also a great interview this weekend. He's very knowledgeable and articulate about the smallest of details. Meeting him for the first time this weekend was a pleasure.
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Adam87inSA
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3:16p, 4/29/24
AG
Just went back and watched A Sweet Season on YouTube. Great highlights (some of it repetitive) and heartfelt narration.

But my GAWD was there some HORRIBLE music in the late 80s. And much of it found its way on to that video.

Can a brother just get a little ZZTop on this?
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BQ_90
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3:19p, 4/29/24
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rewatching a sweet season reminded me of the ****hole stadiums UH, Rice, tech, TCU had. Probable Baylor too. I think only the Aggies, sips, and pigs could host SWC Tourney because they others didn't have lights.
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twk
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In reply to BQ_90 • 3:38p, 4/29/24
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BQ_90 said:
rewatching a sweet season reminded me of the ****hole stadiums UH, Rice, tech, TCU had. Probable Baylor too. I think only the Aggies, sips, and pigs could host SWC Tourney because they others didn't have lights.
Rice had lights, but not enough seats, a tarp, locker rooms, etc.

The ballparks are mostly in the same locations as back then, but they all built major improvements in the 90s or 00s, except for Arkansas which built a new ballpark a mile down the road. The only thing that distinguished the Arkansas park from most of the others you mentioned were lights and a nasty astroturf rug. Tech's was a little different in that they had started on building a serviceable park, but only had one small section behind the plate (they also had lights).
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BQ_90
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In reply to twk • 3:43p, 4/29/24
AG
i just remember those rice regionals in the 2000s and having to walk thru the tennis courts to get to the stadium
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el_guapo
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5:51p, 4/29/24
I was a student in the stands during the late 80's including '89. Olsen was so much fun. I had never been to any game with the kind of fan and pressbox interaction like that. After college I attended some Texas Ranger games and they were so incredibly boring compared to Aggie baseball that I stopped going.

Thanks, DD for making my college experience so much better!
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TAMU1990
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9:33p, 4/29/24
AG
Loved it all as a student and Olsen is still great.
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Cen-Tex
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7:37a, 4/30/24
AG
He talks about a PA system at the old Kyle field when he was at A&M in 1977 or 1978. Anyone remember if there was a PA at the baseball games before those years and if so, who staffed it?
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BohunkAg
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In reply to maroon barchetta • 8:32a, 4/30/24
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maroon barchetta said:
If I remember correctly, he got ejected from a game in the 80's when blue missed a call and he played "Three Blind Mice" on his little keyboard.

Does anybody remember that?
That was a minor league organist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilbur_Snapp

Quote:
On June 26, 1985 he was ejected from a game at the Jack Russell Stadium for playing "Three Blind Mice" in response to what he thought was a bad call from the umpire, Kevin O'Connor.[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilbur_Snapp#cite_note-3][3][/url] The umpire pointed up to Snapp, who was sitting at his organ behind first base, then thumbed him out of the game.[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilbur_Snapp#cite_note-NYT-1][1][/url]
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BohunkAg
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In reply to Hop • 8:33a, 4/30/24
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Hop said:
Great find! This is so classic Dave South from that article. He didn't apologize to the media. He doubled down on the attack of the referee in question!

"He looked at me, and I went . . . ," South said, duplicating the gesture he made for Stout. "And he kicked me out of the game. Does he know I'm looking at him? What does this tell you about the kind of game he was having?"

Reporters monitoring the radio broadcast said South had told his listeners that "the Aggies are playing two teams today--the Cougars and the Southwest Conference officials."
Colin Killian had to take over after Dave got thrown out. I was listening to that game.
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91AggieLawyer
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In reply to Hop • 11:35p, 4/30/24
AG
Hop said:
BQ_90 said:
Hop said:
maroon barchetta said:
Hop said:
maroon barchetta said:
If I remember correctly, he got ejected from a game in the 80's when blue missed a call and he played "Three Blind Mice" on his little keyboard.

Does anybody remember that?



Actually, he addressed that in the interview yesterday. He said he never played "Three Blind Mice" and that he wanted to get a reaction out of everybody at the park except the umpires. People come up to him all the time about getting kicked out. It was one of those stories that caught fire around campus but didn't happen.


Sorry. Haven't had a chance to watch the whole interview but I'm glad you explained it!


I think Dave South got ejected while broadcasting a game court-side from either the SWC or Big 12 Tourney one year after giving the referees the choke sign after a bad call that went against A&M.
SWC men BB tourney, i think 87 or 88


Probably 1988. I actually went to the 1987 SWC Tourney and sat very low behind press row. I don't recall seeing a scene, although I guess I could've missed it on a trip to the restroom.

1993 SWC tournament. I haven't seen him in years, but I knew the official pretty well back in the day.
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dixichkn
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In reply to el_guapo • 1:55a, 5/1/24
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el_guapo said:
I was a student in the stands during the late 80's including '89. Olsen was so much fun. I had never been to any game with the kind of fan and pressbox interaction like that. After college I attended some Texas Ranger games and they were so incredibly boring compared to Aggie baseball that I stopped going.

Thanks, DD for making my college experience so much better!
Same here. DD was as integral to the Olsen experience as the game itself. He egged on the first iteration of the Raggies/203. We'd never seen a PA guy interact with a crowd like that before.
We had some great football teams at the time, but the most fun we had back then were the games at Olsen. Great times. Thanks for sharing the memories
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mhtrucker87
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4:03p, 6/28/24
AG
My brother-in-law played for Lubbock Christian, who opened the season against the Aggies in 1988. I went to that game. He said he loved DD's stuff and the Raggies. He was even a recipient of some Ragging.

I skipped an accounting class I hated in the spring of 1988 to go to a game. There was an Italian guy on the team whose walkup song was "The Godfather Theme." Those games back then were so much fun, and I'm glad I got to experience DD's schticks. I do remember the Olympic scoring now that I think about it.
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dixichkn
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12:29a, 6/29/24
AG
Quote:
There was an Italian guy on the team whose walkup song was "The Godfather Theme.
Tom Carcione. Remember like it was yesterday
Chuck E's in Love. TNT, I'm dynamite! Big Bad John.
Great stuff.
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monarch
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In reply to Hop • 11:57a, 6/29/24
S
That is truth.
Peace for Ukraine!
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adbono
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8:11p, 6/29/24
Wow, was that a walk down memory lane! I was a player on the first team to play in Olsen Field and knew DD. It is really cool to hear him talk about all the things that happened at Olsen back then. And I want to congratulate him on an awesome career in baseball broadcasting. It is no stretch to say he exceeded all expectations.
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