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Making the case for Bobby Cavazos as next Texas Tech football Ring of Honor member | Williams
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- Making the case for Bobby Cavazos as next Texas Tech football Ring of Honor member | Williams
In February 1954, a few weeks after Bobby Cavazos wrapped up one of the greatest seasons and careers by a Texas Tech football player, the announcement of his forthcoming marriage appeared in the A-J.
"Cavazos was freshman vice president, sophomore favorite, distinguished military student, Mr. Texas Tech, a member of Who's Who on Campus, All Border conference three years, voted the Most Outstanding Player at the Gator Bowl game, 'Texas Athlete of the Year' and All American (second team) in 1953."
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Since Texas Tech recently announced three additions to its football Ring of Honor , I've seen and heard plenty of discussion about who should be next.
Here's who should be next: Bobby Cavazos.
He was the brightest of several stars on the 1953 team that went 11-1, ranked 12th and, distinguishing itself from the Red Raiders' formidable 1976 and 2008 teams, ended the year with an impressive bowl victory. In helping vanquish Auburn 35-13 in the Gator Bowl, Cavazos ran for 141 yards and three touchdowns.
With the Red Raiders operating out of the Split-T, Jack Kirkpatrick and Jerry Johnson platooning at quarterback, they averaged a nation-leading 38.6 points per game that season. Cavazos' 80 points made him the second-leading scorer in the country.
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The Associated Press named Cavazos a second-team All-American. In 1960, A-J columnist Joe Kelly made a case that Tech greats Cavazos, Walt Schlinkman and Jerrell Price were first-team worthy, but AP selectors "bent over too far backwards trying to keep all sections of the nation happy."
From the time he finished in '53, Cavazos held the Texas Tech career rushing record for 12 years (until Donny Anderson broke it in '65), the Tech career scoring record for 26 years (until Blade Adams broke it in 1979) and the Tech career touchdowns record for 36 years (until James Gray broke it in 1989).
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Put another way, in the first 64 seasons of Texas Tech football, no one piled up more TDs than Bobby Cavazos's 32 over three years.
The Tech populace embraced Cavazos in the way generations after loved Tyrone Thurman and Wes Welker . Look again at the second paragraph above. The proud son of a King Ranch foreman was sophomore class favorite and Mr. Texas Tech. Think about that. A minority accorded those titles in the 1950s at Texas Tech.
"He was most popular man and all this business," Kirkpatrick said upon Cavazos's passing in 2013. "Everybody liked him."
"Bobby was an awfully, awfully nice guy and very unpretentious about his abilities," teammate Pete Harland said.
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Tech's enrollment during Cavazos' time ranged from 4,900 to 5,400. Perhaps that makes his class favorite and Mr. Texas Tech status more impressive. On a campus that size, undoubtedly a much higher percentage of students and staff felt like they knew him. And liked him.
So did his teammates, from what I gathered when Cavazos died at age 82, as well as at a team reunion years before.
"Bobby was always one of the topics of conversation, whether he was there or whether he had to miss one because of other commitments," Harland said. "He was just outstanding, deserving of every one of the accolades and honors that he ever received."
This year's Ring of Honor additions — tight end Andre Tillman, linebacker Thomas Howard and Welker — will grow it to 12. Kirby Hocutt and the selection committee sent a good sign in 2021 by tapping Elmer Tarbox, star of the 1930s, and by having two from the 1970s in this year's class, one would hope they're making a statement against recency bias.
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It's the Ring of Honor, eras all-encompassing. Not the Ring of Honor for heroes to people under 50.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: The case for Bobby Cavazos in Texas Tech football Ring of Honor
