TheDOCTORdre
11-17-2004, 07:32 PM
Classic football event coming to Bowl
By Ben Barkley/The Reporter Managing Editor
The Sweetwater community wants to honor one of its own during the 2005 football season.
The Sweetwater Chamber of Commerce's sports committee has established a plan to create a "Sammy Baugh Classic," which would be held during the third week of the high school football season in 2005. The Sweetwater ISD Board of Trustees voted to support the proposal and the use of the Mustang Bowl.
Committee co-chairman Ted Thomas spoke to members of the board during its Monday meeting. He said that the idea has come about because of the success of the Gordon Wood Classic in Brownwood the past two seasons. He noted that the "Sammy Baugh Classic" would not be held the same week as the classic in Brownwood.
The format would be similar with one game on Thursday and Friday and two games on Saturday. He noted that Sweetwater would be the marquee game and would be played on Friday night.
"Sweetwater will always be the Friday night game," he said.
One of the selling points for the classic will be the bowl and turf.
"Teams will want to come up to Sweetwater to play in the bowl," Thomas said.
He added that the committee already has the permission of Baugh to use his name for the event.
Thomas has made a list of teams and will soon be sending out letters to the schools.
"In Brownwood, the first year they had to invite teams," he said. "Now, they are getting calls from teams. This is something that could really take off."
Superintendent Dr. Ronny Beard said he likes the idea and it would pull people into the community.
"This will be a neat deal for Sweetwater," he said. "The Chamber has been great to work with."
Board members agreed that the idea was good and were excited to hear the news.
"What better name to use than Sammy Baugh? He is known around the nation," said board member Wes Bishop.
Baugh arrived on the pro football scene in 1937, the same year the Redskins moved to Washington from Boston. The Texas Christian star was the team's first round pick that year. Over the next 16 seasons "Slingin' Sammy" not only helped establish the pro game in the nation's capital, he also was a major influence in the offensive revolution that occurred in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
When Baugh first started with the Redskins, pro football was largely a grind-it-out ground game. The forward pass was something to be used with caution, and never inside your 30-yard line, except in desperate situations. By the time Baugh was through, the forward pass was a primary offensive weapon.
Obviously, such a change could not be totally brought about by one individual. But Baugh was the catalyst that changed the game. No one had seen a passer who could throw with such accuracy.
Baugh started his pro career as a single wing tailback and didn't make the switch to the T-formation until 1944. He won a record-setting six NFL passing titles and earned first-team All-NFL honors seven times in his career. Sammy also led the NFL in punting four straight years from 1940 through 1943. Extremely versatile, he led the NFL in passing, pass interceptions, and punting in 1943.
One of his best single performances came on "Sammy Baugh Day" in 1947 when he passed for 355 yards and 6 touchdowns against the Chicago Cardinals, that season's eventual champions. Baugh, although highly competitive, was still comparatively easy-going and never lost his sense of humor. When the Chicago Bears defeated the Redskins, 73-0, in the famous 1940 NFL title battle, a Redskins end dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone. Reporters asked Baugh if the outcome would have been different had the pass been caught. "Yeah," Baugh answered, "It would have made it 73-7."
By Ben Barkley/The Reporter Managing Editor
The Sweetwater community wants to honor one of its own during the 2005 football season.
The Sweetwater Chamber of Commerce's sports committee has established a plan to create a "Sammy Baugh Classic," which would be held during the third week of the high school football season in 2005. The Sweetwater ISD Board of Trustees voted to support the proposal and the use of the Mustang Bowl.
Committee co-chairman Ted Thomas spoke to members of the board during its Monday meeting. He said that the idea has come about because of the success of the Gordon Wood Classic in Brownwood the past two seasons. He noted that the "Sammy Baugh Classic" would not be held the same week as the classic in Brownwood.
The format would be similar with one game on Thursday and Friday and two games on Saturday. He noted that Sweetwater would be the marquee game and would be played on Friday night.
"Sweetwater will always be the Friday night game," he said.
One of the selling points for the classic will be the bowl and turf.
"Teams will want to come up to Sweetwater to play in the bowl," Thomas said.
He added that the committee already has the permission of Baugh to use his name for the event.
Thomas has made a list of teams and will soon be sending out letters to the schools.
"In Brownwood, the first year they had to invite teams," he said. "Now, they are getting calls from teams. This is something that could really take off."
Superintendent Dr. Ronny Beard said he likes the idea and it would pull people into the community.
"This will be a neat deal for Sweetwater," he said. "The Chamber has been great to work with."
Board members agreed that the idea was good and were excited to hear the news.
"What better name to use than Sammy Baugh? He is known around the nation," said board member Wes Bishop.
Baugh arrived on the pro football scene in 1937, the same year the Redskins moved to Washington from Boston. The Texas Christian star was the team's first round pick that year. Over the next 16 seasons "Slingin' Sammy" not only helped establish the pro game in the nation's capital, he also was a major influence in the offensive revolution that occurred in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
When Baugh first started with the Redskins, pro football was largely a grind-it-out ground game. The forward pass was something to be used with caution, and never inside your 30-yard line, except in desperate situations. By the time Baugh was through, the forward pass was a primary offensive weapon.
Obviously, such a change could not be totally brought about by one individual. But Baugh was the catalyst that changed the game. No one had seen a passer who could throw with such accuracy.
Baugh started his pro career as a single wing tailback and didn't make the switch to the T-formation until 1944. He won a record-setting six NFL passing titles and earned first-team All-NFL honors seven times in his career. Sammy also led the NFL in punting four straight years from 1940 through 1943. Extremely versatile, he led the NFL in passing, pass interceptions, and punting in 1943.
One of his best single performances came on "Sammy Baugh Day" in 1947 when he passed for 355 yards and 6 touchdowns against the Chicago Cardinals, that season's eventual champions. Baugh, although highly competitive, was still comparatively easy-going and never lost his sense of humor. When the Chicago Bears defeated the Redskins, 73-0, in the famous 1940 NFL title battle, a Redskins end dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone. Reporters asked Baugh if the outcome would have been different had the pass been caught. "Yeah," Baugh answered, "It would have made it 73-7."