This and That and Other Great Stuff

Posted by Ed Davis

A previous post in this blog was entitled A Place for Idle Chatter and was designed so that anyone could comment on any topic they wished.  It was first published in June of 2006 and over the past two years plus has garnered a numerous amount of comments on a wide variety of subjects.  In fact, it has gotten so many comments that it has gotten sort of unwieldy to move around in.  So, acting upon a suggestion by our own Dan Jensen, I decided to create a new thread for more "idle chatter" so that we can start fresh with new comments and move on from there. 

So, if you have anything you want to say on anything under the sun, this is the place to do that.  Add your comments below by clicking on the "comments" button at this end of this post, type in your name in the space provided for that (no need to type in email or URL info), and then type in your comment.  When you have finished with your comment, scroll down to the bottom and click on the button entitled "Post" and your comment will be published instantaneously on the blog.

By the way, I did not remove the A Place for Idle Chatter post so you can still read through the rich comments that have been posted there over the years.

But now, get to posting those comments.  We know you have a lot to say and we want to hear it!!!

Comments

[Dan Jensen]

I have had a great time lately exchanging e-mails with a small group of post-George Carlisle era guys.

They are Lynn Davis, Paul Hackett, Scooter and Ronnie Lenox, Terry and Bubba Mathis, Frank Goodman and ye olde Ed Davis. Lynn ran into Doug McKee today at lunch and invited him to join us.

I hope they will post some of their athletic experiences and/or otherwise at this spot.

And, I hope that anyone who wanders this way will do the same. This blog needs all the help it can get.

[Terry Mathis]

I hope Doug is as good at bloging as he was at playing sports. He must be pretty good at eliminating those bugs to. Hope to hear from him.

[paul hackett]

OK gutys...here is a little league all star story involving Doug...Terry and myself. I hope they remember.

It was at our first or second practice. It was hitting practice and doug was pitching. we were actually doing game situations and Terry was on second base and i was hitting. Me hitting and doug pitching..outcome probability of strikeout...95%.

Keith had been trying to work with doug on some sort of off speed pitch.,.curve..straight change(which in those days we called a "letup"). We also had talked about stealing signs.

So doug smokes a couple of balls past me when I look to 2nd base and Terry is making some sort of an arc with his right hand. Being astute as i was, I figured it out. Not a fastball!!! Whatever doug had that wasn't a fastball was coming next. I dug in and proceeded to hit the first home run of all star practices.

I never told Doug.. Terry...did you?

Paul

[Dan Jensen]

It's good to see a few trickle in on this new thread but I wonder if very many will.

Actually, I wonder about a lot of things these days and just made some committee assignments to a group of Baylor fans that I chat with. I am callinf for elimination or modification of:

*Nike Swoosh on uniforms and a thousand other places
*Sliding Pants (why do basketball players need to slide?)
*Player Celebrations during games
*Mulkey's Excessive Salary
*Rampant Use of obscure Initials
*Blind Tub Thumpers on BaylorFans.com
*Title IX
*Partial Baseball Scholarships
*Dismantle High School on wrong side of Creek--I'll take that one

[Dan Jensen]

Lynn Davis has been telling a group of us about things that have gone with the wind and are hiding in the tall grass.

Well I have a story to tell about those golden days of League City sports--a time when there was no Little League or other summer youth baseball. We did have American Legion ball but big Galveston would hammer dear ol' Post 554 and disdain us as "country hicks." (Who is the big dog now?)

Cousin Keith Mathis and I snuffed out this glaring void one summer (just one, but it was plumb glorious) by organizing a four team league. I don't remember exactly but the ages ran from about ten to 14. No one had driver's licenses, so I always think of it as a Bicycle League. We played on the field by the elementary school that has already been mentioned by this group.

We had four teams. Keith and I were player managers of the Red Caps. Another, headed up by catcher Jimmy Best, was the White Caps. Galveston had a pro team then by that name. I don't recall the names of other two. I think principal John Ellisor may have umpired one of the games but I'm not sure about other umpires--if we had any. I don't recall a single parent being around and that probably made it more fun.

Billy Follett pitched for one of the teams that I can't remember and he threw Nolan Ryan hard. I didn't light him up like I once did Ryan. Cousin Keith was the league's best pitcher and catching him was Bobby Galloway, who told me a year or so ago that he rode his bicycle from Webster for the games. I told you it was that kind of league. Those two later formed the battery for the high school.

I played first base with brother Pat at second base. Joddie Witte was on the team and I guess he played third base because I know a young James Davis was on our team and he was a shortstop in those days. I don't remember the outfielders. Arthur Landriault may have been one of them. I am not sure but I am sure that he always batted cross handed in baseball.

The league folded after one year because some of the older players had to go to work for a living. Too bad. Gone with the wind and hiding in the tall grass.

[Dan Jensen]

And another thing, a time of rejoicing for a long suffering Baylor football fan.

Old Baylor pounded the Aggies today, 42-21 and led 41-7 before hitting the coast button.

It was PLUMB LOVERLY!!! If you don't believe me, ask Ed Davis. I am sure he was there.

[Ed Davis]

Actually I missed the game to go spend time with our new granddaughter, Karly, up in Dallas. But I followed it on the radio and enjoyed "whooping" up on those Ags. Dan is right - it was plumb loverly.

[Dan Jensen]

Scooter Lenox is part of the e-mail group mentioned above.

His ticket to Clear Creek fame is the fact that he was an all-state basketball player (the last of four in the Lenox family) but maybe not all know he was a very good high school pitcher.

Even less know that Baylor offered him a baseball scholarship. But, his brother Bennie was an assistant basketball coach at Texas and how seriously do you think he considered the baseball offer?

But, in retrospect, both he and Bennie now think that going the baseball route may have been a better career move for him.

The same may be said of Terry Mathis, drafted high by the Phillies out of high school.

[Dan Jensen]

I have just heard a rumor and want to know if it's true. It's a pretty wild one and I question the source.

It has been reported to me that a new elementary school in League City, south on Highway 3, will be named for Ralph Parr. Can anyone verify this rumor?

[Dan Jensen]

We need a reliable source to confirm this Ralph Parr report.

[Dan Jensen]

Hugh Taylor, one of our local correspondents has e-mailed me that Ralph has indeed been so honored and pointed me to an announcement.

Elementary school #25 on Highway 3 near Highway 96 in League City will be named after Ralph Parr, former high school teacher, principal and current Board of Trustee member. The school naming committee, comprised of community members, considered 17 names before submitting three (J.P. Daro, Ray Hutchison, and Ralph Parr) to the Board of Trustees. Trustees voted 6–0-1, with Ralph Parr abstaining, for Ralph Parr Elementary School which is set to open in the fall of 2009.

[Terry Mathis]

Who are the other (2) on the list, and were they teachers, principals, or what? I thought you had to be deceased to have something named after you. I guess people are living longer these days, so they are running out of candidates.

[Keith Carson]

It's nice to read about the honor for Mr. Parr. He was the 12th grade principal at CCHS when I was the senior class vp and ruler of the varsity basketball team bench :). Remember visiting his house on the lake several times. I also remember playing on the Kilgore Lumber Cubs one year in little league. Jody Meford was our "hammer" and hit a ton of home runs, well maybe 4 or 5, but that was lot! I think we won two games.

[Dan Jensen]

It's nice to see some new names on this blog recently. I hope y'all will continue. Varied opinions are good.

I am about to start a petition against any school being named for Ralph Parr. I asked him, as a school board member, what he thought of our present basketball situation and, like he often does, he is ignoring me.

He may have been "ruler of the varsity basketball team bench" in other times but I don't think he even attends games any more.

Ralph is gone with the wind and hiding in the tall grass these days.

[Dan Jensen]

My Baylor guys just plumb shocked number one seed Kansas in the Big 12 basketball tournament. It was plumb loverly!!!!!!!

If you don't believe me, ask Ed Davis and Buddy Carlisle.

[Ed Davis]

First the Jayhawks and then the Longhorns. How sweet it is!!!! I now hope that the Tigers from Mizzou are on the menu for today.

Sic 'em, Bears!!!

[Dan Jensen]

There was a story about Jason Skaer in this week's Tulsa World.

He played for Billy Carlisle at Deer Park before playing at Oklahoma State and Rice. He officiated at Billy's memorial service and pastors a church at the Woodlands.

His wife, a member of the Bellville/Texas Longhorn Koy family, recently gave birth to their first child. He was named James Carlisle Skaer.

[Alex Kalinowski]

Well hello again. It's been a while. I still read of and on but haven't posted. I just read about
Arthur, can't believe Gerald didn't sat anything since they use to work togeathere. Mabee he didn't know. We are all gettin up in age, I know a lot of my working friends have gone on. I jst past 71 and still doin good. Bob Galloway's wife Pola also passed away last month.I didn't find out about that till it was over. I also worked with Bob at Carbide. Well I don't have a lot to say not much happening in Jasper Texas these days. I will start reading the blog more and mabee injec something now and then.

[Ed Davis]

Alex,

Your comments are always welcome. Hope you visit often and continue writing about what is on your mind and in your heart.

Ed

[Alex Kalinowski]

We were in LC a cpl. of mos. ago. I still have two Sisters and a on living there. Could not wait to get out of all the traffic and back home. We had a young summer intern from Kemah working with our youth this summer. Got a chance to talk with him about Creek. I told him we were the first graduating class from new HS in 57, with about 60 seniors. He was amazed. I remember when us old LC guys use to ride bikes from LC accross draw bridge , to Webster and back to LC. It took a while but we did it now and again. Me , James Davis, Tom Goodman and a few others, some of who are gone on now. No way you could do that now with all traffic. I hope to see some stuff here from some of our class mates. I really enjoyed seeing all of them at the 50 yr. reunion. Mabee will make Linda's 50 yr one in 2013. Might fit one in earlier.

[Dan Jensen]

The second post of this thread mentions some Clear Creek stars of yesteryear that have been exchanging e-mails with me as a group from time to time.

I was checking some old box scores after Curley Lenox's state championship year story and noticed in his junior year that there was a reserve listed only as J. Jones. That was because there was a Rick Jones, who was a starter.

J. Jones played in 32 of the 39 games in his only varsity year. Even though he played that much, I do not recall his first name.

I asked the group and it's shameful how those has beens treated a serious question with such frivolity. Lynn Davis, noted for being gone with the wind and hiding in the tall grass, said June Jones who, of course, is a noted football coach who never attended Clear Creek. Paul Hackett and Ronnie Lenox confirmed Lynn's poor example.

I hope someone does remember who the mysterious J. Jones, Class of 1962, was and will share with us.

[Dwayne "Curley" Lenox]

His first name is Jim. He was 6'6" tall and his physical build was fairly similar to Bill Doty's. Unfortunately, he only played a couple of minutes each game.

His dad was a preacher but I don't remember the name of his church. Jim would talk about him quiet often, especially on the bus while traveling to out of town games.

Jim was one of the most pleasurable and well-liked players I ever played with. I don't recall his field goal percentage but I know that he could, at least, shoot the ball better than one person on the team,Fleecy Townsend. That might have been his only claim to fame in the basketball arena. Unfortunately, most of his basketball skills were extremely lacking.

Jim's primary assignment during the year was to guard Bill Doty and make it tough for him in practice. He took his job seriously and did it well. By the end of the season, Bill had accumulated multiple bruises and abrasions as a result of Jim hacking or falling all over him. However, it made Bill a better player.

[Dan Jensen]

Don't tell anyone but I have no recollection at all of a Jim Jones. How could I not remember a 6-6 guy that played in a majority of the games? That is plumb pitiful. Call me whatever you want, I deserve it.

My dusty old record book shows that he shot 43 per cent from the field which is good but his 56 per cent from the foul line is not.

His best game was probably in a 72-42 win over El Campo. He played a lot in the second half, had nine rebounds and six points. He only averaged 1.2 points for the year.

Why did he play just the one year?

[Dwayne "Curley" Lenox]

If memory serves me correctly, Jim moved with his family to Clear Creek when he was a junior in high school and played on the junior varsity that year. He moved up to the varsity his senior year.

He always took shots close to the basket, simply because his post moves were not very good. He was so much taller than the people guarding him that all he had to do was turn and shoot. In those days, post people were not allowed to dribble much anyway and for good reason, they couldn't. Did you ever see Bill Doty or Rick Jones attempt to dribble?

[paul hackett]

Bill Doty was a senior at rice my freshman year. It was Don Knodels first year and even though Bill was clearly our best player, knodel was very critical of his "stationary game". Dribbling was not in Bill's quiver.

[Dwayne "Curley" Lenox]

Comment:

I also said in my "little book" that, as far as I could remember, the time we played El Campo for bi-district my senior year was the only time a team I was on had ever played them. Not true. After scrounging through my scrapbook, I found where we played them a couple of other times throughout my career. One of them happened to be in the bi-district game during my junior year. That's the game when Bill Doty scored 44 points.

The aging process tends to play tricks on one's mind. As a result, I unashamedly admit that I forgot we played El Campo before my senior year. However, I remember very vividly the game itself, where we played, and Bill coming close to tying Bennie's scoring record. I hope there are a few other guys out there that stumble around in the land of absent-mindedness from time to time. I feel confident there are.

Late in the 4th quarter of the bi-district game with El Campo, Bobby Rule suggested to me that, because Bill was close to Bennie's record, we should get the ball to him every time down the court so he would have every opportunity to break it. I believe Bill had scored 40 points by that time.

To be honest, I wasn't interested in being a part of deliberately running up Bill's numbers so he could break or tie a record. If he did it within the natural flow of the game, that was a little different. I have never been in favor of doing such things, even when I was playing. Follow coaches game plan, play to win, and if records fall in the process, so be it. No problem. Just don't play the game with the goal of creating favorable stats for either a teammate or yourself in order to break records or raise scoring averages. Those are not all that important. Winning is.

Just like in Deer Park, Bill had a great game and we probably would not have won either one without him. In fact, we would not have. I just think the Deer Park game was more important to the success of our season than the bi-district game ever could be. It was critically important for us to beat Deer Park or there might not have been a bi-district game at all. Thankfully, Bill came through in both games in a big way and we were able to win.