Post by CC_Varmints on Jun 28, 2017 10:58:26 GMT -6
Hooks recognition serves as reunion for 1967 King state title team
CC King 1967
For some of the King Mustangs it had been since graduation that they had seen some teammates.
That meant more than 50 years since the Mustangs left what was then known as Disch Field in Austin with a 1-0 win over Abilene Cooper to claim the Class 4A University Interscholastic League state baseball championship.
The 1967 Mustangs became the first UIL state baseball champions from Corpus Christi, a major turning point in what has now become a rich history, including seven baseball crowns, four from CCISD.
“It is kind of fun, to know that we opened it up and that so many great athletes have followed in the footsteps,” second baseman Bryan Mayo said.
On Saturday the Hooks honored the Mustangs 50 years after their accomplishment on King High School jersey night — a mock-up of the current Hooks jerseys in King’s forest green color scheme.
Coach Jerry Funk and 12 other members of the Mustangs were recognized prior to first pitch after a weekend filled with rekindling old friendships.
“It is a lot of fun. The highlight of it is seeing coach Funk,” outfielder Larry Smith said. “We never could have come close to doing this without him. I appreciate what leadership is all about as I got older. He gave us that. He played with us and treated us all the same.”
Smith went on to play at Texas A&M and said he did not learn half as much playing with the Aggies as he did at King.
The team was buoyed by pitching and defense — led by future Texas Longhorn and major league pitcher Burt Hooton and Steve Nelson — allowing one run over the team’s final seven games including the entire playoff run.
Funk was the first to mention that even though the Mustangs gave up two runs or fewer 18 times in 35 games, the team rarely scored enough to earn decisive wins.
“I never (thought we’d win state) and I’m not sure the boys did, but with the pitching we had we knew we were going to be in every game,” Funk said. “There were 18 games that year wear the opposing team scored two runs or fewer. We were only scoring three though.”
Funk said as King kept winning, the crowds continued to grow.
Third baseman Mark Lauritzen, the third baseman for King, said the crowd for Game 2 of the regional final was a precursor for what has become expected today.
“The game before we went to made it to the state tournament we had over 3,000 at Cabaniss, which was unheard of in those days,” Lauritzen said. “Then they followed us to the state tournament. We got a police escort coming back into town.
“Everything was great. I look back (now living) in Austin and I see Moody, Carroll and the attendance (numbers today) and this town just really backs the high school baseball teams.”
Moody and Ray played for the Region IV-5A title at Whataburger Field and drew more than 6,700 in each game earlier this month.
In 2009 Moody and Calallen, owners of five of Corpus Christi’s state baseball titles, met in a regional final series that drew 24,757 over three games including 9,026 for Game 1 at the home of the Hooks.
Though Coles won the Prairie View Interscholastic League title in 1965, and Miller (1951), Ray (1953-1955) and Carroll (1962) had been to the state tournament before the Mustangs' title it was King that claimed the first UIL crown for the city.
“It was kind of a blur … it happened so fast,” Smith said. “It was the end of the school year and we all had jobs. We were all off to work the next day. We played summer ball here but we had been on such a high, nobody was that interested in playing summer ball. We went through the motions. It went by incredibly fast.
“(This recognition) means a lot. It was a lot of fun. I thought everybody forgot about us. I’m glad we didn’t forget about each other.”