There's a train a-coming: the recruiting class that changed college football
I was on the faculty at Texas A&M for 27 years and taught sociology of sports. Now my son and I are writing a book about the 1972 recruiting class and the fascinating story of the integration of Aggie sports.
That recruiting class - Bubba Bean, Ed Simonini, Pat Thomas, Jackie Williams, Carl Roaches, Garth TenNapel, Skip Walker, Alvin Bowers, Richard Osborne, Edgar Fields, Bucky Sams, and other Aggie legends - was arguably Texas A&M's best ever.
It was also one of the most important in college football history, and it accelerated desegregation in the sport across the South.
We've interviewed many of the players and coaches. We've watched the games and read the press reports. Now we need to hear from you, the ordinary students and fans who saw it all happen.
How do you rank the top five wins of the Emory Bellard era? Where do you put the wins over LSU in 1974 and 1975? Texas in 75 and 76? How about the big wins over Arkansas, Texas Tech and Baylor?
Put your rankings and reasons in the thread below, and tell us your best stories. Where did you watch the game, who were you with, what did you do?
Don Albrecht
Mathew Albrecht '03
I was on the faculty at Texas A&M for 27 years and taught sociology of sports. Now my son and I are writing a book about the 1972 recruiting class and the fascinating story of the integration of Aggie sports.
That recruiting class - Bubba Bean, Ed Simonini, Pat Thomas, Jackie Williams, Carl Roaches, Garth TenNapel, Skip Walker, Alvin Bowers, Richard Osborne, Edgar Fields, Bucky Sams, and other Aggie legends - was arguably Texas A&M's best ever.
It was also one of the most important in college football history, and it accelerated desegregation in the sport across the South.
We've interviewed many of the players and coaches. We've watched the games and read the press reports. Now we need to hear from you, the ordinary students and fans who saw it all happen.
How do you rank the top five wins of the Emory Bellard era? Where do you put the wins over LSU in 1974 and 1975? Texas in 75 and 76? How about the big wins over Arkansas, Texas Tech and Baylor?
Put your rankings and reasons in the thread below, and tell us your best stories. Where did you watch the game, who were you with, what did you do?
Don Albrecht
Mathew Albrecht '03