A Thorn Among the Roses

Posted by Dan Jensen

Check out these season records for the first ten of our 19 straight district champions: 31-2, 22-8, 33-1, 33-3, 33-4, 27-14, 39-3, 36-2, 26-6, 25-7...

Hey, wait a minute!  What's that 27-14 doing in there?  That must be Deer Park or Alvin or somebody else.  Surely not our consistently big winning Clear Creek Wildcats.

Oh yes, but it is our Wildcats.  The team of 1959 was that thorn among all our roses.  Who was it that played on that team that dared to lose in double digits?  Did our wealth of talent suddenly run dry?  Were there several injuries?  Did we not have a good senior class, or was just the whole team not very good?

Well, we didn't have any injuries that I recall.  Edward Davis was one of three senior starters on that team.  I will not reveal the identity of the other two.  Well, did we not have any younger players developing and helping?  We had a junior, Bennie Lenox, and a sophomore, Paul Timmins, in the starting lineup and I'm not sure what developing and helping they did even in later years.  We had several Lenoxes through the years and it's always been hard to distinguish between them since they were all pretty much just role players.

The team lost by 20 to Baytown in the season opener, by five to Port Arthur in the third game, by three to Lufkin in the fifth and by 14 to Port Arthur in the sixth game and took a 2-4 record into a game with Milby.  Edward Davis likes to dwell on the win over that school in his junior year since his future wife was a Milby student and in the crowd.  But, this time Milby won by five and the record slipped to 2-5 with Bellaire, quite a good team, next up.

No Wildcat scored in double figures so who do you think won?  Yeah Bellaire, but by 26 points, 62-36?  Off night, one that would never happen again?  Maybe a wakeup call for this lagging team?  Maybe so since we hammered Texas City, gained revenge against Baytown and reeled off three other easy wins to go 7-6 with Alvin, Stephen F. Austin and Bellaire coming up.  Oops, Alvin wins by eight, SFA by ten and would you believe, Bellaire by 26 again?  This time the score was 70-44.

The record was now 7-9 and was the time when Coach said to me, "You can start writing about the demise of our basketball team."  I don't know if he really meant it or not but that is what he said.

Now, I need to quit pounding on our guys because they did take a 11-11 record into district play and we all know that, by then, we did not lose district basketball games.  We had won 28 straight in the three years before and when this season was finished it was up to 40 on the way to 79 by the end of the 1962 season.

In bi-district, we knocked off Needville, 45-38 and headed for the regional tournament in Victoria.  We brushed aside Northside SanAntonio, 72-57 with Lenox scoring 31 and Davis 16 and were rolling now and just one step away from a fourth straight trip to the state tournament.

But, it was not to be.  Devine won, 41-38 even though its best player, Tinker Davidson, was held to just three points.  Lenox scored just 13 on six of 20 shooting from the field.  Davidson hit only one of six.  Who was guarding him so closely?  Maybe someone can tell us.

So the season that started on a dreary note ended that way but, to be fair to our guys, there were plenty of good things in between and they can stand proud as part of our long line of district champions.

The next year's team returned to Victoria and played the same two teams with a dramatically different ending.  Stay tuned.

Comments

[Ed Davis]

As a wise person once said, "It ain't how you start,but how you finish!" could describe the '59 team. I am proud that we put it all together after a rather brutal early schedule and came with a few points of going to state. Not too many of the other Creek teams of that era made it any farther then we did. And we did protect the district win streak. And no one can fault our effort in each and every game. Coach would not let us give any less than 100% at all times.

Of course, guys who write sports news like Dan may not always comprehend the difficulties of playing the game with all the pressures of tradition on your shoulders. But, no one can fault Dan for his unbridled enthusiasm for and support of the Wildcats over a very long period of time. We should all thank him for that.

[Hugh Taylor]

True confessions time.

I do not remember much of this game but I do remember the closing minutes, and it is not a bright spot like Jimmy Goodmans glory in Rosenburg. Preparing for the game, we practiced a trap play for times when we might need to get the ball and score. Others were to trap and I was supposed to intercept. It was a good idea. Coach had us practice and prepare. The time came, the pass was made, but I was too slow. I needed Timmons speed or better anticipation. I was still too late and the game was lost. I might have done some good during the game but this last few seconds is about all I can remember.

It's all Ed's fault cause he was not 6'-9" tall.

We lost 14 games. Were any of them 2A schools?

We won 66%. Not bad unless you're playing for Creek with Dan in the stands. Can we get copies of the game stats so we can check this out?

[Dan Jensen]

Hugh, am I right in assuming you are talking about the Devine game in the regional finals? If so, that is an interesting revelation on your part. Don't feel bad. I don't think we ever had anyone as quick as Paul Timmins.

And yes, I do have my box score on the game and I assume that Sir Edward can post it here if I scan it to him or, if I were more computer literate, maybe I could do it from here.

It looks to me like you did your part, although you perhaps did not shoot enough. You were three of four from the floor and one of two from the line for seven points. Bennie Lenox led with 13 but did not shoot well. I guess he should have been 6-9 also although did you know he is now 6-4 rather than the 6-2 or so he was then?

You have a good point about the number of losses to 2A teams. Perhaps there was not one before Devine. 2A New London was the only non-4A team on our schedule in the first ten games that year.

New London had beaten us in the first round game of the state tournament just the year before, and I guess Coach was anxious for a rematch. We had lost, 52-47 in Austin and it was quite frustrating. I recall Coach remarking how so many of our shouts dipped down into the basket, then spun out. Chuck Trcka was 5 of 21 from the field and Bennie Lenox was 4 of 19. It was a wonder we were not beaten worse than 52-47. Sir Edward Davis was our second leading scorer in that game with 14.

We won, 47-41 in the rematch. Lenox had 22 that time but Hugh, you still did not shoot enough, hitting your only attempt. Probably Ed Davis wouldn't feed you enough as he threw it up 15 times and scored 12 points.

[Hugh Taylor]

I think Frost was as fast or quick as Timmons during our time. But that brings up another question. Where was Bo Bo to help Chuck. Proctor taught him. He could play. Football, track & baseball, why not basketball? Interesting.
I thought we were pretty good & had a great time playing. We had some great guys. Now you've got me wondering if we could play. Like Ed said, a few points & we would have been at state no matter how many loses to 3 & 4A schools. Bellaire just killed us & did dammage to the school bus we rode!

[Dan Jensen]

William Frost was faster than Paul Timmins but I am not sure he was as quick. Maybe we can get input from others on this interesting subject.

Both were really good athletes and I am been thinking about authoring a thread and asking who y'all think our best all-round athlete was.

As to Bobo Frederick and his basketball career, it is a plumb puzzlement why he did not make the transition from junior high to high school basketball.

He was a star on Bobby Proctor's junior high team, but as a junior varsity player, I recall him missing a shot from the key and Proctor saying, "If he had missed shots like that for me last year, we would have been in trouble."

Frederick may have been our best all time football player and was good in baseball and track and it is too bad that he made no impact in basketball and did not play behond his sophomore year.

[Dan Jensen]

"Not too many of the other Creek teams of that era made it any farther then we did."--Sir Edward Davis

Let the record show that seven of the ten teams listed above did advance farther. In fact, the 1959 club was the only one in an eight year stretch that did not make the state tournament.

[Ed Davis]

Well, Dan, those of who played for that team think it was great to have had the experience to play on it. Going to regional finals was an accomplishment no matter what former sports writers think. This whole blog was supposed to be a positive experience for all us former Creek players and fans so I will think nothing but positive thoughts about my 59 team. So, I will end my input on this topic and sleep soundly tonight.

[Dan Jensen]

Now Eddie, what would be positive about letting a blatantly false statement stand?

To the rest of you, let me hasten to say that Sir Edward and I have exchanged countless e-mails since the Carlisle Project and blog began and, although I didn't really know him before, I now count him as a good friend and rejoice that she shares my love for Baylor athletics.

Jimmy Pell and Hugh Taylor are two others that I knew only as athletes with practically no personal contact. That is no longer the case, thanks to the magic of the internet.

[Dan Jensen]

I think Paul Timmins was mighty quick and Hugh Taylor votes for William Frost. Any other nominations out there from anybody?

Johnny Valentino was quick, both on the basketball court and at defensive end.

We need to name an "All Quick" team. Our retired coaches could really help on this. I'm retired too but I'm not a coach. Not quick either.