Some mighty names have passed through the halls of Hardin-Simmons. Few have accomplished so much with so much passion. Coach "Slingin'" Sammy Baugh did just about everything a gridiron athlete can do--and passed away quietly last night at age 94.

Baugh in his coaching days

The last surviving member of the inaugural Pro Football Hall of Fame class brought the forward pass into the game during a time when nearly every play from scrimmage was a run. He wrote the record book for passing while playing for the Washington Redskins and still owns the record for career touchdown passes for that team (187). A star on the Sweetwater team, Baugh originally planned to play collegiate baseball until an injury (sliding into second base) negated a scholarship to Washington State. Although he was best known for the pass, he got the nickname "Slingin' Sammy" from a sportswriter covering a baseball game at TCU.

Baugh was also a star quarterback for TCU and was drafted in the first round by the Washington Redskins in 1937. He made such an impact on the Redskins that they won the NFL championship his rookie year. Baugh played the pro circuit for 17 years, setting records at three positions. He completed 1,693 of 2,995 passes for 21,886 yards.

In 1955 Hardin-Simmons University went shopping for a coach to revive a mediocre football program and found an eager west Texas rancher (and retired Redskin quarterback) excited about the challenge. He'd been offered better salaries with huge programs, but accepted because of his love of football and a desire to make a difference with the team. It was a great move from a recruiting standpoint--everyone knew Sammy Baugh. He coached at HSU from 1955 through 1959, compiling a 23-28 record. Coach Baugh did pretty well--better than the record indicates. At the time, HSU was a Division One team and played some of the toughest teams in the nation. Most of Baugh's losses during those years came against teams like Louisiana State University, Arkansas, Baylor, Mississippi, Georgia, Auburn, and Arizona State--on the road.

He went on to coach professionally with the New York Titans and Houston Oilers, and was inducted into both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. He retired to Double Mountain Ranch between Rotan and Roby and continued to help the sport raising money for football scholarships. In 2000, HSU inducted Slingin' Sammy into the HSU Athletic Hall of Fame.

Baugh was once asked about his most memorable game, and the answer was surprising. No, it wasn't one of the five NFL championship games, the Sugar Bowl, or the time he passed for four touchdowns and intercepted four passes against the Detroit Lions--it was an valiant effort at HSU that he counts as his best game.

The year was 1958, and the schedule took HSU on the road to LSU. The Tigers were unbeaten and en-route to a national championship--HSU was just a minor bump in the road. Knowing LSU was going to run over them, Baugh prepared the team to keep from losing. The only chance they had was to keep the ball away from the Tiger's high-powered offense. The plan was to pass for eight yards on first down, then run twice for the first down. The plan worked pretty well--LSU just couldn't get the ball. A muffed punt and a long LSU drive settled the game with a 20-6 win for the Tigers, but their coach later called Baugh and told him, "No LSU opponent did a better job of ball control than your Cowboys. I thought you ought to tell your boys." Thinking back on a career that reached heights few players or coaches will ever experience, Coach Baugh said, "I was never prouder than I was at that moment."

Services for the Big Country quarterback and coach are at First Baptist Church, Rotan, Monday December 22, at 2:00 p.m. The family will receive visitors at Weathersbee-Ray Funeral Home in Rotan, Sunday, December 21, between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m.Coach