Sports began to blossom in Heavenly in the 1950s, led by Teddy
Gray, Bobby McBride, Serafin Vela, Bill Anderson, Gale Oliver and others
However, Refugio fans began to curse loudly in the 1955 semi-final game against Huntsville when a Refugio runner dropped the ball on his way to a clear TD in a very close game. Huntsville easily won the state title the next week.
In Basketball ('52) Bob Wilpitz and I tried to freeze the ball nearing the end of the last game of the year when we saw sub=coach Ken Goetzel about to sub for us.; Goetzel called time anyway and subbed for us. Thus ended my stellar high school career in basketball.
Jasper Gonzales was a fine athlete but not a superstar. Late in 1955 at the district track and field meet in Cuero, Jasper made the next-to-the last heat in the 440-yard dash, along with Bill Anderson. Jasper advised the other four runners in the heat to start fast, since Bill was the defending state champion (a lie). Sure enough, Bill started fast and was the leader as the pack emerged from behind the stands on the other see of the field. But Bill faded fast. And guess who won the heat?
A few springs later, when Wilpitz and I were students at UT Austin, we decided to go over to the track and see how Heavenly was doing
Well, the state track and field title was up for grabs going into the final race, the mile-relay, for which Refugio had the Kinard twins running at the #3 and #4 spots. The race was close, and as the final handoffs were taking place, Nicky dropped the baton pass.
But what did Nicky do? Perhaps something any Refugio trickster would have done with a baton on the ground in a close race. Nicky Kinard picked up the baton and ran straight across the fb field to retake the #1 sport, which, of course, let to his team's disqualification. But not disqualification from history, that's for sure.
Back to the Huntsville game cited above. Some years ago in celebration of the 50 years it had been since the game, several Refugio exes and others who were either in or at the game, we held a reunion in College Station.
The 1955 Huntsville qb and later UT Longhorn qb, Joe Clements was the guest speaker, who at the time of our reunion was head fb coach and AD for the Huntsville Hornets. During his speech for the reunion, Clements told this memorable story:
"Before the game, I recall listening to the most beautiful rendition of Onward Christian Soldiers I've ever heard coming from the Bobcat dressing room. After the song, our coach stood up and shouted, "Alright Hornets, let's go out there and beat the hell out of Refugio!"
Note: Does anyone know how long the Bobcats continued to sing Onward Christian Soldiers before and after their games, win or lose.? I recall that it wa particularly moving for us to sing it after a loss. Astonishingly, singing the song lifted our spirts, reminding us that we were all together in preparing and living the game, win or lose.
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