TCU Basketball Trivia Question

[froginmn]

I was 99% sure this thread had been revived by a bot. Was expecting something like, TCU basketball has been a successful venture, brought on by James Naismith.

 

[Michael Milton's Jaw]

Hal Chestnut!

It was in 1969 when Chestnut made the call that brought Bill Mack to WBAP and the Midnight Cowboy was born.

 

[ShreveFrog]

The original question got me wondering, who was the Jackie Robinson for TCU Baseball? I'm hoping one of you who watched outfielders run up the hill might know.

I want to say there was a juco transfer in the mid to late 1970s from New York. Even looking back at rosters from that era, I can't remember his name. But he wore glasses and kind of looked like a less muscular Reggie Jackson.

 

[Big Frog II]

There is Mickey McCarty and then everyone else who ever wore purple & white. Maybe Sam Baugh was as good in two sports but he was no McCarty: 6’ 7”, 245 lbs, starting pitcher in baseball, All SWC 2 years in baseball , glue in those great Swaim basketball teams, drafted in the 4th round of the 1969NFL draft by the Chiefs and got a Super Bowl ring that year. Drafted by The NBA, MLB, and ABA also. Came out for baseball one year, the day after the last basketball game and threw a 3 hitter.

Mickey McCarty was my sports hero growing up.

 

[Wog68]

I Talked with Mickey shortly before he died, and asked him which sport he would choose to play if he could do it over again. Baseball was his answer.

 

[EUROFROG]

When I look at the game-by-game results for 1970-'71, it just screams "football conference." Frogs go 3-8 in non-con, dropping both ends of home-and-homes to independents Denver (17-9) and Oklahoma City (9-16 under crafty Abe Lemons), along with home losses to Purdue, Nebraska, and Drake. Then they run off 6 wins in a row to open SWC play.

Also, did something happen to Swaim after the '71-'72 season? Two conference titles in his first four seasons; single-digit wins in 4 of his last 5 seasons.

Graduations hapened. In 72-73, as I recall, we lost most of the team and had to start two freshman, a couple of JUCO guys and Herb Stephens. Was a tough time for Frog Basketball.

 

[EUROFROG]

The '68 and '71 teams (and those between and just after) were awesome. Long live Coach Swaim! Leap always thought '71 team was the overall best team in TCU history. McCarty, Goo, Snake, Cash ... so many great players.

My father was friends with Coach Swaim. When TCU came to Houston to play Rice he let me sit on the end of the bench twice. In "72 and '73 I walked on trying to live a dream of actually playing for the Frogs. Every afternoon from 2-5 in September I got to play pickup games in DMC with players such as Herb Stephens, Lynn Royal, Gary Landers, Bill Bozeat, and Lawrence Young. The second try I actually made the JV, but with only one scholarship player on there with the eight walk-ons we didn't even have enough for a full scrimmage. The JV program was canceled after one week of regular practice under Coach Whitt. When I went up to Swaim's office to turn in the practice jersey I asked if I could keep it. He then offered me a deal I couldn't refuse. He needed more closet space in the equipment room and offered me to take anything I wanted. He opened a closet and staring at me were three generations of genuine TCU game uniforms both home and away including jerseys, shorts and stirrup socks, about 45 sets in all. I hauled two big trash bags full of every uniform used from 1962 - 71. My intramural teams at TCU, YMCA teams in Houston, and youth league teams used them for about 20 years. In @ 2005 I collected them up and made a project of getting them back to the actual players who wore them. With lots of help of former players here on FFF and others I was able to get them back into the hands of players like James Cash (my avitar is his set of home and away), Micky McCarty shortly before he passed away, and many others. Wog68's # 40 was probably also distributed to its original wearer.