Sports Random Musings April 30

I would be amiss to leave the 1930's Dripping Springs sports scene without highlighting some of the best athletes to ever grace the hallways. It is always hard to compare players between the generations because of the circumstances and improvements of equipment to work with. However, I have no doubt these athletes would have starred in whatever generation we would want to compare. When the conditions they dealt with are realized their accomplishments are even more incredible. This generation faced the following conditions. Track meets would be held on dirt. Only sand landing pits in the high jump and pole vault events. If you were lucky to have track shoes, the cleats were probably a half inch long. If you were playing football, the fields were probably carved out of a pasture and lined off as best they could. There were stories of having to chop sunflowers off the field they were to play on. The uniforms were crude compared to present and the helmets were made of leather. If it was basketball and you played in Dripping Springs it was definitely an outside dirt court. Thankfully, for the Tigers, there were schools in the area with indoor gyms they could borrow to play games in or play in tourneys there. No bus trips to games. Either parents taking kids in cars or in some cases, a truck or truck and trailer with everyone piling on and taking off. Baseball fields much the same.

The first athlete is one I have no doubt every coach in DS history would be watering at the mouth to get to coach. He was Elbert Earl “Nookie” Myers. Not sure but believe he was around 5'9, 185 pounds and could run the 100 in 9.9. He played for Dripping Springs from 1935-39 and excelled at every sport he played. He started for the basketball team all four years and although stats are not available, he made all-tourney in his final three county championship tourneys. They played other tourneys I am sure, including four more in senior year, so the probability of him making more all-tourneys were great. Just no writeups to confirm. Instrumental in leading the 38-39 team (13-4 inc) to the first county championship for Dripping Springs. He ruled the roost in track by winning the 100 and 220 all four years and a second place his senior year kept him from doing the same in the broad jump. He would get a first and fourth in the javelin, two thirds in the shot put and a fourth in the high jump during his four years. His bests were 100 (10.0) although he had been said to have been timed in 9.9, 220 (23.5), broad jump (19'6) and javelin (136'8.5). His senior year he qualified for the state meet when he placed fourth in the 100 at regional but got sick and could not make the trip to Denton where the meet was held. He never had enough help to win the county meet. His adjusted 46 points scored in the 1937 meet is still a single meet school record. His speed was legendary, made more so when a challenge race was proposed against he and Bobby Layne, the legendary UT QB in the mid-40's. The race supposedly took place on the old Hwy 290. He chose to run bare-footed in the ditch and handily defeated the younger Layne.

Unfortunately, football was only able to enter his life his senior year when six-man football was inaugurated. With that speed and size one can imagine what a beast he was on the open field of six-man. There is a picture of him running the ball with a defender behind him already on the ground and he was stiff-arming another as he was going by. He had once told me that the Austin High coach had tried to get him to move there and play for him but he was okay with going to Dripping Springs. That would have been a great coup for Austin High. He would lead the Tigers to a 7-2 record and a tri-championship in that first season. He was nicknamed “Seabiscuit” by a reporter because of his speed. The season was covered pretty well by one newspaper because it was the first season but they missed much of the stats. It is known he scored 78 points which represented two-thirds of the points scored but there were four games in which the Tigers scored 263 points including defeating Wimberley 98-7 and Dale 105-0, not accounted for. In the Wimberley game it was reported all of his runs were between 5-50 yards (Probably because that was as far as he had to go to score). You can rest assured he scored the majority of those points which means, by math, in the 176 range. He was the team captain and the first player from Dripping Springs to make first team all-district. He said he had a chance to go play for a college but once again was not interested. Although no baseball games had players named with the scores, it is for sure he was a good player as well. There is a team picture of him with all of his brothers that played community ball. He made Dripping Springs his home for all but a few years and passed away in 1998. Unfortunately, he was a very modest person when it came to talking about his athletic accomplishments and could not get him to embellish them.

A teammate of Myers, Damon Hollingsworth was another all-sport performer. He would play for Dripping Springs three years (37-40). He excelled at basketball as well. He played on the 38-39 county championship team but as a senior he could not lead the team back to the title. He not only made the county all-tourney team his senior year but was all-tourney at Johnson City (2nd), Kyle (1st), Uhland (cons) and Pflugerville (cons) and the team had a known 10-3 record. He was not as dominant in track as Myers. He placed third in the 880 ('38) and second in the javelin ('39). He and his teammates did bring the first county track championship to Dripping Springs in 1940. He was first in javelin (147'10), ran a leg on the winning mile relay and placed fourth in the 440 and 220 low hurdles. He still holds the school javelin record. He was the QB on the first two Tiger football teams, leading both to 7-2 records. It is just a shame that better reporting did not take place in those early days that would record more stats for the games. Hollingsworth was rewarded for his season by being named first team all-district QB and receiving honorable mention All-American. It would truly be interesting to have all the stats for Hollingsworth and Myers in all their sports. Although baseball was not played during his stay at DS, Hollingsworth played baseball for the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks. He passed away in 2016.

There might be some question about best athlete but hands down the best family had to go to the Felix Lindsey family that produced six athletes during that span. They lived on the 600 acres that is present-day Caliterra. The four boys contributed heavily in the success of the basketball and track teams. Again, in many cases, details are sketchy at best. Malcolm played from 25-29. He helped the basketball team to the finals of the county tourney in 27-28, losing to Kyle 17-13. It is known he placed first and second in the mile run and third and fourth in the high jump. P.D (Darrell) played from 27-31. Not only played on the 27-28 team but helped lead his 30-31 team to the finals, losing to Kyle 10-8. He ran the mile and ran on the mile relay. Possibly the best was Dudley (33-37). His 34-35 team lost 20-12 in the finals to San Marcos. He was high point for the tourney with 33. The next year it was a 15-7 loss to SM with Dudley scoring 21 in the tourney. San Marcos took them out 32-20 in the semis but Dudley still made all-tourney. No confirmation but no doubt he was all-tourney in the previous county tourneys. He placed second in the 880 in two county meets and second in the broad jump. D. W. (Duard) 37-40. Played on the county championship team and the runner-up in 1940. Played on the 1939 football team but was stronger in track. Placed fourth in high hurdles and second in the mile in '39 but was mostly responsible for the county championship in '40. He won the pole vault (9'0), 880 (2.15.4) and his anchor leg made up 12 yards to win the mile relay and the meet. No other information found but Angeline and Ethel were listed on the 30-31 basketball team.

Sad to report the death of Wesley Eugene “W.E.” Malott. (You can read his obituary in the April 30th edition of the Century News.) He was a member of the first senior class after I arrived in Fall of 1965. He was a friend and a member of the community all of his life. He hit a pothole while riding his motorcycle in Wimberley on March 6, lost control and received multiple severe injuries that he just could not overcome. He died on April 15. W.E. was a decorated Navy veteran of the Vietnam War.