|
|
|
|
|
Teams on the Wall of Honor |
In 1909 Belton High School won a “Hoosiers” (the movie) type victory by winning the state track and field championship over Dallas H.S., San Antonio H.S. and Austin H.S. in an era when all high schools in the state (regardless of size) participated in the same “class.” Belton athletes were state champions in 7 of the 13 individual events and broke 8 of 13 state high school records in the state high school track meet on Fri-Sat. and in the Monday duel meet with the academy champion, Allen Academy. Yet this remarkable athletic performance by the team was forgotten by Belton by the 1950's as the school declared that the 1958 Tiger basketball team had won the first state championship in school history. Belton won the state meet by scoring 53 points to 28 for second place San Antonio, 20 points for third place Austin, and 16 points for fourth place Dallas. The year 1909 marked the third year that the State of Texas had held an official state track meet as team winners from every region of the state were invited to Clark Field at the University of Texas on May 7-8, 1909, to compete for the state team championship. Belton (the team was not called the “Tigers” in 1909 but was simply referred to as “the Belton team” or “Belton High School”) won the Central Texas regional with 42 points over Temple (31 points), Waco (15), McGregor (6), and Corsicana (0) and advanced to the state track meet along with the three other regional winners, Dallas High School, San Antonio High School, and Austin High School. Thus the 1909 track meet was an early example of “The Final Four” (teams) as applied to track and field. Belton Senior Roy E. Holcomb scored 25 points (almost as many as the 2nd place team) by himself with four firsts, two seconds, and two thirds and broke four state records. He won first place in four events: the 100-yard dash at 10.8; the 220-yard dash at 23.4; the 440-yard dash at 56.4; and the 12-pound hammer throw at 111'. He was second in the 50-yard dash; ran on Belton’s second place 880-yard relay team; and was third in the 12-pound shotput and in the 120-yard low hurdles for a total point count (according to the newspapers–their point calculations are unclear) of 25. The second highest individual point total of 16 was made by a second Belton athlete, Senior Pat H. Dougherty, who was first in the broad jump at 19'6" and first in the discus throw at 96'3"; second in the 100-yard dash, the 220-yard dash and the 120-yard low hurdles; and ran on the second place 880-yard relay team. Belton Senior Arthur O’Connor won first in the 880-yard dash at 2:12 & 2/5 and ran on the second place 880-yard relay team. A fourth Belton athlete, Pope, was third in the 880-yard dash and ran on the second place 880-yard relay team. Other team members were Lee Hudson, Roe Wood, Shine and Coach/Principal Walton H. Hamilton. Thus Belton athletes were state champions in 7 of the 13 individual events. The 1909 Belton annual reported that Belton “broke eight of thirteen State high school records” in the state high school track meet on Fri-Sat. and in the Monday duel meet with “academy champion” Allen Academy which Belton lost 58-55. Holcomb broke state records in four events: the 100-yard dash (10.8), 220-yard dash (23.2), hammer throw (121'4'), and the 880-yard relay (1:40). Dougherty broke state records in three events: the broad jump (19'8"), discus (96'3) and 880-yard relay (1:40) and O’Connor in two events: the 880 yard dash (2:11.2) and the 880 yard relay (1:40). U.I.L. records in Austin still list “Holcomb of Belton” as the “first record holder” in the 220-yard dash at 23.4 and “O’Connor of Belton” as the “first record holder” in the 880 yard dash. Belton threw a huge party at the town square
upon the return home of the triumphant State Champions and the yearbook
(“The Broncho”) predicted that “gray haired men and women”
would remember forever how the Belton High School track team of 1909 carried
off the state High School championship.” However, within 30
years the 1909 track team had been forgotten! In 1999
Dr. Billy Wilbanks “discovered” the story of the 1909 track team in the
U.I.L. records in Austin and wrote an article about the 1909 “Forgotten
Heroes” for the Belton Journal and Temple Daily Telegram. Three
of the team members (Holcomb, Dougherty, and O’Connor) are on the Belton
Athletic Wall of Honor.
Belton High School won the state AA basketball championship in 1958 with a 58-56 double overtime, sudden death, victory over New London in the state finals in Austin. The Tigers made perhaps the greatest comeback in state tournament history in the finals as they came from 8 points down with less than three minutes left to win on two free throws in sudden death overtime. The Tigers’ final record in 1958 was 23-8 (12-0) as the team was only 6-8 in pre-district play but all of its 8 losses were to 3-A and 4-A teams and were partly due to the team starting two sophomores, one junior and only two seniors and it took several games for the young team to “hit its stride.” Belton won 17 straight games as the team was undefeated in district play and beat its closest rival, Rockdale, twice by scores of 55-52 and 55-44. The Tigers then beat Burnet 44-36 in bi-district and Gonzales 59-47 and Rusk 65-50 in the regional before defeating Seminole 76-66 in the state semi-finals at Gregory Gym in Austin. The 58-56 double overtime victory over New London on Saturday, March 8, 1958, was climaxed by two free throws by James Brantley in sudden death overtime and came after perhaps the greatest come-from-behind victory in the history of the state tournament as Belton, down by 8 points with 2 minutes and 45 seconds remaining and under the greatest possible pressure, hit its last 11 shots---6 field goals and 5 free throws--- including the final two free throws in sudden death by James Brantley. Billy Wilbanks, who hit 5 of the last 6 field goals, led the Tigers with 14 points followed by Brantley with 13 (including all 5 free throws in the comeback) and Richard Inman with 13. The starting line-up for the playoffs was comprised of 5'11" Sr G Billy Wilbanks, 6'1" Sr G James Brantley, 6'1 Jr F Bernard Bartek, 6'0" soph F Richard Inman, and 6'5" soph C Dale West. The top “outside” subs were 6'2" soph G Dennis Watson and 5'10" soph G Willie Garner and the top “inside” sub was 6'2" Sr F Jarrell Hayes. Other team members were 6'1" Sr C Tommy Normand, 5'10" soph G Dicky Baker, 6'0" Soph F Calvin Hayes, and 5'9" soph G Bill “Buster” Surghnor. The manager was Dell Mack Hyer. Mack Birtchet was head coach and Joe Pirtle was the assistant coach. Birtchet was the most successful basketball coach in Belton’s history as he was 217-54 (an average of 24-6 per year) during his 9-year tenure as head basketball coach from 1955-1963. Birtchet won one state championship, two regional championships, appeared in the state tournament twice, won four District Championships, and finished second five times. He developed four all-state players (Wilbanks, Inman, West, and Bill Ward) and three of those appeared in the Texas H.S. Coaches basketball All-star game (the fourth, Inman, was in the football All-star game). On the year the Tigers averaged 62 points
per game to opponents’ 45 ppg. During district play and the playoffs
the team averaged 70 ppg to opponents’ 42 ppg. The team’s leading
scorers were Wilbanks (21.6 ppg) and Inman (around 15 ppg) and the leading
rebounder was West. Wilbanks and Inman made the AA All-State Tournament
team and Wilbanks was named to the 2nd team AA All-State Team selected
by the Texas Sports Writers. He also played in the Texas Coaches
Association All-Star Game in Houston and in the Texas-Oklahoma All-Star
Game. By 1960 when all members of the 1958 Belton team had graduated,
three had made all-state (Wilbanks, the 2nd team in 1958; Inman, the 1st
team in 1959 & 1960; and West, the 2nd team in 1960) and four played
basketball in college. Furthermore 10 of the 12 went to college on
athletic scholarships: Wilbanks played basketball at Texas Tech and
Abilene Christian College; Inman went to Oklahoma for football and
track; West went to Texas for basketball and baseball; Tommy Normand went
to Hardin-Simmons for football; Dennis Watson played basketball at Howard
Payne; Jarrell Hayes and Calvin Hayes played football at Texas A&I;
Bernard Bartek played football at TCU; Willie Garner played basketball
at Temple Jr. College; and Dick Baker played football at Tarleton State.
Three had outstanding college careers as Inman twice won the Big Eight
shotput title; Jarrell Hayes was all-Lone Star Conference in 1961 and led
his team to the National NAIA (football) championship in 1959; and Bartek
was all-SWC at TCU. Also, all 12 of the boys on the 1958 state championship
team graduated from college and four obtained doctorate degrees (Wilbanks
in criminology, Normand in law, Watson in chemistry, and Baker in dentistry).
The 1985 girls’ golf team at Belton High School won the State 4-A golf championship becoming the first Tiger female athletes to win a state (individual or team) championship in any sport. On May 10, 1985, the five-woman Tiger golf team of Senior Susan Teas, Junior Amy Smith, Sophomores Shelley Roberts and Pam Bockhold and Freshman Kelly Klaus defeated runner-up Sulphur Springs by 18 strokes with a winning total of 742 strokes (373 on Thursday and 369 on Friday) at the Morris Williams Golf Course in Austin. Teas was the top Tiger individual scorer with an 82-86=168 and finished 4th in the individual competition. The Lady Tigers won a second state 4-A championship in 1988 (with Klaus, Shelley Yarnell, Jean Hamrick, CeCe Fisher and Stephanie Guillen) marking the first time Belton High School had won two state championships in the same sport. Kelly Klaus became the only Tiger athlete—man or woman—to play on two state championship teams (as a freshman in 1985 and as a senior in 1988). Klaus and the Lady Tigers came close to winning a third state title as the 1987 team finished second and was in first place until the last 9 holes but lost by seven strokes. The 1985 & 1988 state championships were during the 1981-1989 tenure of Belton golf coach Ken Taylor whose girls’ teams also finished third in the state twice (1983 & 1984) and second in 1987 (seven strokes behind the winner) and 1989 (two strokes behind). Taylor’s boys’ teams won the regional twice and finished third in the state in 1983 and sixth in 1985. Teas, Roberts, and Bockhold had Belton’s three best scores at the 1984 state tournament when the Lady Tigers were third in the state. The Tigers won all the tournaments they entered in 1985 as they were first at the Austin, Belton, Bryan, Lampasas, San Saba, Brenham, and Waco tournaments (which included several 5-A teams) before District. The Lady Tigers won the District golf meet by default as no other school had an entry. Susan Teas was medalist with a 89-91=180, Kelly Klaus was second with a 89-98=187; Pam Bockhold was third with a 97-94=191; and Amy Smith was fourth with a 90-104=194. The Belton “B” team won second in the District and consisted of Sophomores Karen Teas, Julie Heartfield and Peggy Groves and Freshman CeCe Fisher and Sally Haugh. The depth of the Lady Tigers was also evident at the Belton Invitational as the team split into two (equal) teams and won first and second in the competition. At the Region 1-4A tournament at the Brownwood Country Club Belton tied Andrews in regulation play for the championship but won in a playoff to capture the regional title and advance to the state tournament. All five women still play golf . In 2001 Pam Bockhold Harrison lived in Belton with her husband, Brian, and 10-week old daughter, Abby Nicole. Pam graduated from Belton H.S. in 1987 and is also a graduate of Texas A&M and the University of Houston College of Optometry. She and her husband operated Excel Eye Care in Belton. Amy Jo Smith Cunningham lived in Austin with her husband, Rob, and children, Finn, 3, and Barton, 5 months. She graduated from Belton H.S. in 1986 and received degrees from Texas Christian University and (M.A.) and the University of Cincinnati. She taught Geology at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. Kelly Klaus Morrison lived in Belton with her husband, John, and son, Matthew, 3. She graduated from Belton H.S. in 1988 and from Tarleton State University (where she was on the golf team) in 1993. She worked part-time as a pharmacy technician at Britt Drug in Belton. Susan Teas Blaisdell graduated from Belton H.S. in 1985 and lived in Waco with her husband, Greg, and children, Emily, 11, and Caroline, 5. Shelley Roberts Cheatham graduated from Belton H.S. in 1987 and lived in Salado with her husband, Jeff, and two children, Barton, 6, and Bethany, 4. Coach Ken Taylor and his wife Sharon, and their children, Anna, 17, and Scott, 15, lived in Denver City where Ken and Sharon were counselors with the Denver City schools. The 1988 Lady Tiger golf team won the Texas Class 4-A golf championship for the second time in three years when they defeated defending state champion Andrews by 64 strokes and came within 10 strokes of the state 4-A record. The championship team was coached by Ken Taylor and the five team members were seniors Kelly Klaus and CeCe Fisher, junior Shelley Yarnell, and sophs Jean Hamrick and Stephanie Guillen. Klaus became the first Belton athlete to play on two state championship teams as she was a freshman on the 1985 team and a senior on the 1988 team. The 1985 & 1988 state championships were won during the 1981-1989 tenure of Belton golf coach Ken Taylor whose girls’ teams also finished third in the state twice (1983 & 1984) and second in 1987 (seven strokes behind the winner) and 1989 (two strokes behind). Coach Taylor’s boys’ teams won the regional twice and finished third in the state in 1983 and sixth in 1985. Belton won the District 9-4A golf tournament in Waco by 253 strokes over 2nd place Leander (1042 to 1,295). and had the top six places in the individual competition. Kelly Klaus was the District medalist with a 86-79-93=258 and was followed by CeCe Fisher and Shelley Yarnell at 261, Jean Hamrick at 263, Stephanie Guillen at 284, and Sharon Barnes at 311. The Lady Tigers won the regional golf meet in San Antonio by 137 strokes over Uvalde advancing to the state tournament in Austin for the 6th time in 8 years. Belton had three of the top four individuals as Yarnell was second (tied for first but lost in a playoff), Fisher was third and Hamrick, fourth. At the state tournament in Austin, Belton defeated defending champion Andrews (which beat the Lady Tigers in the 1987 tournament) by 64 strokes with a winning total of 671 strokes. In the individual competition, Shelley Yarnell (165) and Jean Hamrick (165) tied for 6th followed by CeCe Fisher (168), Kelly Klaus (173), and Stephanie Guillen (181). Jean Hamrick finished 8th (1987), 6th (1988), 3rd (1989) and 4th (1990) at the state tournament during her four years at Belton. Klaus was 6th at the state tournament as a senior and 10th as a junior. Yarnell was 6th at the state tournament as a senior in 1989 and 2nd in the regional and 1st at District as a junior. Klaus and Fisher played together on Tarleton State University’s first women’s golf team in 1988-1989 under Coach Joe Cummings and Yarnell joined the Tarleton team the following year. Jean Hamrick played on the ladies professional “mini-tour” golf circuit in 1991 and was a golf pro at Barton Creek Country Club in Austin for six years. In 2001 Kelly Klaus Morrison and her husband,
John, and son, Matthew, 3, lived in Belton where Kelly worked part-time
at Britt Drug. She graduated from Tarleton State in 1993 with a degree
in corporate fitness.
The Belton Tigers won the school’s first state baseball championship on June 10, 1994, with a 4-0 victory over Big Spring in the 4-A final after a dramatic 9-5 come-from-behind victory in the semi-final against Carthage. The team, which began and ended the year ranked #1 in the state, was 35-6 on the year and landed five players on the all-state tournament team and four on the all-state team. Coach David Tidwell was named 4-A Coach of the Year in Texas and pitcher/shortstop Brock Rumfield was named 4-A Player of the Year. The Tigers started the year with great expectations as all nine starters returned rom the 1993 team that won district and lost in the third round of the playoffs . The senior-dominated starting line-up included one returning all-state player (Jason Regan), an all-Centex pitcher (Brock Rumfield) and four all-district players. The Tigers were 15-3 in pre-district games and then went undefeated (8-0) in District 25-4A . Belton defeated Austin Travis 8-0 in the one-game bi-district playoff; defeated Austin Westlake 5-4 in a come-from-behind “miracle win” in the last of two of three games in the Area; defeated Corpus Christi Callallen 6-4 in the final game of a two of three series in the regional semi-finals; and beat Robstown 13-1 in the final game of a two of three game series in the Region IV finals to make the “final four” at the state 4-A tournament. In the state semi-final game the Tigers were trailing Carthage 5-4 with two outs left in the seventh (last) inning when Jason Regan hit a 405-ft. solo home run—“the shot heard ‘round Texas”---on the first pitch to tie the game and send it into extra innings. In the bottom of the eighth Regan hit a grand slam home run to win the game 9-5 in one of the most dramatic endings in state tournament history. Regan was “mobbed” in a tumultuous celebration at home plate as the game ended with a state title. Regan, whose two homers in the two state tourney games had been matched only one time in the 46-year history of the state tournament, was the winning pitcher in Belton’s last seven playoff wins before the state tournament. He was the starting pitcher in the semi-final game but gave way to Brock Rumfield in the sixth who became the winning pitcher after throwing three shutout innings to close the game. In the championship game Belton jumped out to an early lead and coasted to the 4-0 victory over Big Spring (28-7) and the state championship behind the shut-out pitching of Brock Rumfield who thus pitched 10 shut-out innings as the winning pitcher in the two games of the state tournament. The Tiger offense was led by two ground-rule doubles by Rumfield and one each by SS Regan and OF Darren Brinkley. When the Tigers returned to Belton the next day the team bus was met and led by a police escort to the city square where hundreds of fans applauded their success. The city also held a “night” for the team at the Expo Center on June 21. Regan, Rumfield and Brinkley all made the first team 4-A all-state team chosen by the Texas Sports Writers Association while 1B David Stroud made the 3rd team and Rumfield was selected as the Player of the Year in 4-A. Rumfield and Regan also made the Texas Association of Baseball Coaches 4-A all-state team. Rumfield was 12-3 with a 1.58 ERA as a pitcher and hit .419 with 9 home runs and 50 RBI’s as a hitter and Regan was 15-2 (and the winning pitcher in all of Belton’s 7 wins in the first 4 rounds of the playoffs) with a 1.94 ERA as a pitcher and hit .430 with 8 homers and 52 RBI’s. Five Belton players—Pitcher/Shortstops Regan and Rumfield, OF Brinkley, 1B Stroud, and 2B Shayne Drake—made the U.I.L. All-State Tournament team and Regan, Rumfield, Stroud and Brinkley were named all CenTex by the Austin American Statesman. Players making all district were Regan and Rumfield (who were named co-MVP’s), Brinkley, Stroud, Drake, and 3B Brad Washburn on the 1st team and catcher Brad Turner and OF’s Bobby Spradley and Michael Jones on the 2nd team (thus Belton had one player at each of the nine positions make at least all-district). Coach David Tidwell, in his 17th year of coaching, was named CenTex and Texas 4-A Coach of the Year. Rumfield and Regan signed pro contracts and each played several years in the minor leagues. The enduring memory of the 1994 season has to be the picture of Jason Regan rounding third base after the semi-final victory with his finger high in the air indicating “No. 1" after he hit the game tying homer in the bottom of the eighth. His “statement” and prediction came true—Belton was No. 1. |
|
