Winners are in BOLD.

Saturday, December 17:

New Mexico Bowl
New Mexico vs. UTSA

New Mexico is tough at home. Bob Davie has done a nice job.

Las Vegas Bowl
Houston vs. San Diego State

Tough draw for Houston, especially after Tom Herman’s exit.

Cure Bowl
Central Florida vs Arkansas State 

Red Wolves are for real, especially on offense.

Camellia Bowl
Toledo vs. Appalachian State

Watch out for Yosef! (look it up)

Celebration Bowl

Grambling vs. North Carolina Central

New Orleans Bowl
Southern Mississippi vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

Golden Eagles roll.

Monday, December 19:

Miami Beach Bowl:
Tulsa vs. Central Michigan

As Gordon Lightfoot says, “The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down ….”  Not today.

Tuesday, December 20

Boca Raton Bowl:
Western Kentucky vs. Memphis

Tigers make the Hilltoppers blue.

Wednesday, December 21

Poinsettia Bowl:

BYU vs. Wyoming

Cowboy Joe parties in San Diego! Powder River!!

Thursday, December 22

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl:

Idaho vs. Colorado State

Rams over the Vandals.

Friday, December 23

Armed Forces Bowl:

Louisiana Tech vs. Navy

Navy rights the ship. They’re good.

Bahamas Bowl:

Eastern Michigan vs. Old Dominion

Dollar General Bowl:

Ohio vs. Troy

Still wondering why Nebraska ran off Frank Solich. He’s really good.

Saturday, December 24

Hawaii Bowl:

Hawaii vs. Middle Tennessee

Great place to visit, tough place to play.

Monday, December 26

St. Petersburg Bowl:

Mississippi State vs. Miami (OH)

Bulldogs slip by a well-coached Redhawks team.

Quick Lane Bowl:

Maryland vs. Boston College

Independence Bowl:

N. C. State vs. Vanderbilt

Anchor Down!

Tuesday, December 27

Heart of Dallas Bowl:

Army vs. North Texas

Army green outshines the Mean Green.

Military Bowl:

Temple vs. Wake Forest

Owls have the plan.

Holiday Bowl:

Washington State vs. Minnesota

Cougs and Mike Leach have a day at the beach.

Cactus Bowl:

Boise State vs. Baylor

Broncos are sneaky good.

Wednesday, December 28

Pinstripe Bowl:

Pittsburgh vs. Northwestern

Pat Fitzgerald does a great job.

Russell Athletic Bowl:

Miami vs. West Virginia 

Mountaineers are really good.

Texas Bowl:

Texas A&M vs. Kansas State  

Bill Snyder says, “Come in, Houston ….”

Foster Farms Bowl:

Utah vs. Indiana

Utes are too much for wounded Indiana.

I’ll pick the other 16 games plus the National Championship tomorrow.

Kick ‘Em High!

Here we are, suddenly at the last weekend of the 2016 regular season in college football. Championship Saturday, they call it. The hopes and dreams of a lot of teams ride on tomorrow’s outcomes. Then the College Football Playoff committee will sort it out. Here are my picks:

• Colorado over Washington – The Buffs have something special going on.
• Alabama over Florida – The Tide will roll … big.
• Virginia Tech over Clemson – My “out-on-a-limb” upset. Gotta pull for Justin Fuente.
• Penn State over Wisconsin – The Nittany Lions are the only team that beat Ohio State.
• Oklahoma over Oklahoma State – In this battle between two teams who can load up and run it, the home team prevails.

Frog fans, your job is to get your rain gear out, bundle up and be at “The Carter” early to show your support for this senior class and a team that fought through a lot this year.

Meanwhile in Fort Worth, it’s senior day for the Frogs, featuring a game with all kinds of story lines. The weather, for one, may shorten the game as the ground attack may take center stage for both teams. TCU and Kansas State are playing to figure out who goes where in the bowl scenario. Rumor has it that the winner goes to the Texas Bowl in Houston. Loser goes Walkin’ in Memphis (I love that song). Regardless of location, the Southeastern Conference will provide the opposition.

Kansas State comes in at 7-4 on the season. The difference between the Power Cats and the Frogs is that KSU beat Texas Tech. Their four losses are by a total of 41 points, most of them coming from a 21-point loss to OU, the only game they’ve been out of.

Kansas State’s offense spotlights the running game and a big running quarterback in #16 Jesse Ertz. He’s taken a beating this year but refuses to come out of games. He has a sore shoulder, among other ailments. Ertz hands it off to #24 Charles Jones, who has 2,154 all-purpose yards in his career, and Justin Silmon, a former walk-on tough guy. Watch out, too, for redshirt freshman #34 Alex Barnes, who has five rushing touchdowns in the last two games, including a big day in Waco, where he wiped his cleats on Baylor for four touchdowns.

When the cat paw rears back and puts it in the air, watch out for deep threat #9 Byron Pringle, the receiving weapon that KSU has been missing for a couple of years. K State runs an old fashioned offense, utilizing a fullback and tight end on EVERY play. I love that. They’ll sprinkle in some spread looks and four wide receiver sets to modernize things, but it’s mostly to create space for the running game. Remember, Bill Snyder is calling the plays, so there will be magic in the huddle.

The Frogs will line up across the neutral zone from a KSU defense that is No. 1 in the Big 12 in rushing defense, allowing just 110 yards per game. They are also No. 1 in total defense, yielding 391.5 yards per game. They play a 4-2-5, and they love to blitz and bring pressure. Their best player on defense is #22 Dante Barnett, the free safety. TCU will have to work hard to get the running game going like it did last week in Austin (wasn’t that great?), and they’ll have to utilize the short-passing game if the weather’s as nasty as predicted.

Rain or shine, get to Saturday’s game early to honor the TCU football seniors, including #40 James McFarland.

Frog fans, your job is to get your rain gear out, bundle up and be at “The Carter” early to show your support for this senior class and a team that fought through a lot this year. They’ve gotten to a bowl. Now, let’s see them put the cherry on top with a seventh win.

Speaking of a seventh win, did you know that in 1991, Jim Wacker’s last year as head coach at TCU, the Frogs beat Houston, 49-45, with a last-minute touchdown pass to Stephen Shipley? It was an exciting game, but in the aftermath, the 7-4 Frogs did not receive a bowl bid. Imagine that.

Times have changed.

See you Saturday morning.

Kick ‘Em High

Since we last visited, TCU went to Austin and gained bowl eligibility with a road win over Texas. It appears to me that offenses are going back to the run game these days. Six Big 12 teams are averaging more than 200 yards per game on the ground.

Men’s hoops traveled west to Las Vegas and won two tough games en route to winning the Global Sports Classic. The win over UNLV — on the Rebels’ home floor — was impressive, and the win over Washington on Saturday night showed the depth that Jamie Dixon is developing with this team. So far, the impact of Alex Robinson and Vladimir Brodziansky has raised my eyebrows. Robinson helped finish off Washington with 24 points on Saturday. Vlad and Karviar Shepherd are turning into defensive forces.

Tonight is your chance to see the Frogs in person when they face Washington again at 6 p.m. at Schollmaier Arena. Last Saturday’s game was part of the Global Sports Classic tournament; tonight’s game is the second installment of a two-game contract the Frogs inked with Washington. Last year, TCU traveled to Seattle and got blown out by Washington, 92-67. This Frog team is good and getting better.

Speaking of hoops, congratulations to head coach Raegan Pebley and the Lady Frogs on their hard-earned win today over Butler, 73-47. Their record now stands at 5-1. The local school kids in attendance today were making noise and “Shakin’ The Scholl.”

Kenny Hill started the scoring in Austin. (Photo by Michael Clements. Courtesy of TCU Athletics)

Back to football: It’s hard to believe we’re closing in on the end of the season Saturday against Kansas State. It’s Senior Day, which is always bittersweet. It’s also a chance for the Frogs to get to win number seven and enter bowl season with momentum. They’ll have to do it against KSU and its great head coach Bill Snyder, or “The Wizard,” as I like to call him. He’s in his second term as the head coach at K-State (known for years as Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science), and he’s revived the program again. The Wildcats play an old-fashioned brand of ball-control offense and tough defense, all while controlling the clock. They actually use a tight end and a fullback as constants in the offense! This should be fun. More on Kansas State on Friday.

In the meantime, ponder these staggering factoids of the day:

• Alabama’s defense didn’t allow a touchdown in the MONTH of November.

• Lowest “wear-and-tear” job in college football? Being the punter for Navy. The Midshipmen punted two times in November! Wonder if they even bothered to wash his uniform?

Kick ‘Em High!

I hope you all will take a few minutes and relax from the track meet that has been the last several months. Seems like I was just in California on vacation or in Omaha for the College World Series … and BAM! Here we are at the kickoff to the holiday season. Football season seems to do that; it pulls you at warp speed through the fall. One day I’m driving home from a muggy, hot morning scrimmage at Amon G. Carter Stadium, and the next thing I know, it’s the day before Thanksgiving … and time to give thanks. A lot of thanks.

Be thankful, Horned Frogs. (photo by Leo Wesson)

I’m thankful for my memory and the ability to recall Thanksgivings past with family and those on the road with friends, maybe working a football game on radio. Making a road trip. Picking up my dad at the airport. Driving down I-35 on Wednesday night, gazing at the clear Texas sky, anticipating a weekend with my cousins. The aroma of my grandmother’s house in Austin at 3904 Cherrywood Road – it was a cornucopia of appetite-tantalizing splendor. Hit you like a wall as you walked in the door. I can still see the scene there: Adults around the big round table in the dining room, kids at the four-top in the kitchen. Loud conversations bouncing off the plaster walls of the house my grandfather built. Trying to stifle a giggle during the prayer. EVERYONE was there. I’ll be in Austin on Thursday. I think I’ll take a drive down Cherrywood Road.

I’m writing these as they come to me over a cup of coffee. What are your Thanksgiving memories? Take time to let them and the things you’re thankful for come to you. And give thanks. It’s the day to do it.

Once you’re done and the tryptophan coma has worn off, there’s work to do on Friday in Austin. The Frogs and the Longhorns both have their sights set on a bowl, and a win punches the ticket for both. The difference is the Frogs have two games to get it done. For the Horns, this is it.

Texas will be running on a lot of emotion as they play for head coach Charlie Strong amid a difficult week in Austin. No matter the outcome or the decision by UT, it’s the players that it’s toughest on in this situation. I remember playing the last week of the season in 1982 at Texas A&M with our fired head coach F. A. Dry, who was let go the weekend before after a loss to Texas. It was a strange, emotional week, and the trip to A&M was just weird. We tried to play for our coach and send him out in style, but the truth was that the emotional and psychological toll of the week affected our play, and we just plain ran out of gas in the second half.

That being said, the Frogs have to be ready for anything Friday in Austin. Texas will come to play, and they’ll pull out the stops. Why not?

Aside from a few gadget plays, the Frogs’ biggest concern will be running back D’Onta Foreman, the Heisman Trophy candidate who has run for 1,863 yards and has 250-plus in three of his last four games. Texas has the offensive line to give him the room he needs. The Frogs will need the run-stopping effort they had three weeks ago at Baylor. That means better tackling. Coach P said yesterday in his press conference that the Frogs missed 20 tackles in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma State.

Offensively, the Frogs will have to reestablish the run game and get physical. Texas will likely employ much the same strategy that Oklahoma State did, jamming the box and making running difficult. Creativity will be the key for TCU.

Once again, the Frogs go into their second-straight road game in which the attention is centered as much off of the field as it is on it.

The good news is that the Frogs are getting good at playing in interesting environments.

On another note: It’s time to congratulate (again!) TCU’s quarterback Sonny Gibbs and offensive end (that’s what they used to call receivers back in the day) Buddy Iles on the 55th anniversary of TCU’s version of “The Catch” in 1961. It was a “flea-flicker” that caught the Horns by surprise just before halftime when Gibbs hit Iles for 50 yards and a touchdown. TCU upset No. 1 Texas that day 6-0. It happened in Austin 55 years ago this month. If you see them, tell them thanks. Darrell Royal never got over it.

Kick ‘Em High!

Happy Friday! It finally feels like football season! Bundle up when you head to the game tomorrow. It’s going to be a cool 48 degrees at kickoff.

No. 13 Oklahoma State comes to visit Saturday. This is just the second time at “The Carter” for Oklahoma State since TCU joined the Big 12. They’re riding a six-game winning streak, and they have lots of weapons.

OSU quarterback Mason Rudolph is the hottest QB in college football right now. He has been ablaze the last three games, and no quarterback in college football has more deep completions (34) or yards on deep throws (1,342). Last year, he lit up the Frogs for 352 yards and five touchdowns. Doing most of the damage on the receiving end was James Washington, #28. He’s a speedster from a little town north of Abilene called Stamford, Texas (check the note below for an interesting fact on this tiny town). Washington had huge games recently, including 82-yard scoring catches in each of the last two games. Last year against TCU, he was stealthy, running through the Frog secondary with five receptions and 184 yards, including scoring grabs of 48, 50 and 74 yards. Additional wideouts with large claws include Jalen Mccluskey, #1 (62 catches on the year) and Jhajuan Seales, #81. The Cowboys worked hard to improve their running game, which last year was pitiful. This year, they are averaging 148 yards per game, most of it on the legs of freshman Justice Hill, #27. One area of interest for TCU’s defense should be Oklahoma State’s offensive line. No group in the Big 12 has given up more sacks this year.

On the other side, Cowboy defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer is a crafty one. The wily veteran put together a great game plan last year, with his defense seemingly moving at the snap to exactly where the ball was going, forcing four interceptions. His scheme features lots of looks and has defenders moving all over the field. The key is to take the space that they give you. The defensive line was hit hard by graduation and has been rebuilt. Linebacker Devante Everette, #40, is very active. Free safety Jordan Sterns, #13, leads the team in tackles. The Frogs’ newly-found power running game will be a great counter to some of OSU’s antics. I like the screen game as well, with short passes short-circuiting the Cowboys’ penchant for jumping routes and playing aggressively in the secondary.

After last year’s loss to OSU, which took the Frogs out of the College Football Playoff picture, TCU should be hyped and ready for this one.

Oklahoma State is off next Saturday.  They’ll finish up the season at Oklahoma on December 3. The Frogs head to Austin next Friday to take on Texas (but I bet you knew that!)

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. OSU’s James Washington hails from Stamford, Texas, which also happens to be the hometown of TCU alum and 1971 Masters Champion Charles Coody, who was a standout quarterback for Stamford High School back in the 1950s.

Kick ‘Em High!

An overhead view of the Nov. 17, 1984, football showdown between TCU and the University of Texas at Amon G. Carter Stadium. (photo courtesy of TCU Athletics)

Thirty-two years ago today, No. 12 TCU hosted No. 10 Texas in a Southwest Conference showdown. It was a cold, gray and misty November day, and I remember the waterfall of noise in the stadium as I teed up the ball to kick off. You could feel it.

The Frogs trailed at the half, 10-9, before the Horns broke the game open in the second half, winning 44-23. Still, for the Frogs, it was a landmark day representing TCU football’s climb out of a 20-year ditch. The sellout crowd of 47,000-plus was the largest in Amon G. Carter Stadium history. Check out the photo – they even parked cars on the track! Unbeleeevable!

I knew it was a big game when I saw legendary writer and TCU alumnus Dan Jenkins walk by the locker room on his way to Friday’s practice. Dan didn’t live in Fort Worth back then and was usually off somewhere covering some world championship.

Basketball Time

We’re about to get into the thick of basketball season. The Frogs play six games in the next 16 days. Your next chance to see Jamie Dixon’s group is Friday night at 6 p.m. when Jacksonville State comes to visit Schollmaier Arena. Trivia question for you: What is the Jacksonville State mascot?

Lady Frogs are off to a hot start. They’re 2-0 after a win over Sam Houston State, 81-37. Stat for you: The Lady Frogs led by six at the half, then outscored SHSU 38-5 in the third quarter! Hello, defense! Next up is SMU on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Schollmaier Arena.

More congrats to the TCU Women’s Soccer team and head coach Eric Bell on the program’s first NCAA tournament berth. Great job by TCU Athletics in hosting the first-round game as well.

Just a reminder for you that Thanksgiving Day is a week from today. Better get shopping.

Moore Good News

TCU football student-athlete Caylin Moore has been named a 2016 Rhodes Scholar finalist. The Rhodes Scholarship is one of the oldest and most prestigious scholarships in the world. Only 32 students from the United States are selected each year. Moore, a senior safety, is an economics major with a 3.9 grade-point average.

Frog Football takes on No. 11 Oklahoma State on Saturday morning. OSU’s Mason Rudolph (no relation to the PGA Tour golfer from the 1960s & ’70s) is the hottest quarterback in college football right now, and he’s more accurate with deep throws than short ones. Maybe the cool weather will cool him off.   The temperature at kickoff is going to be in the 40s.

More on the Cowboys tomorrow.

Kick ‘Em High!

This is a holiday that gets buried in the headlines and bustle of everyday life. That’s a shame. Reach out to a veteran you know and say thanks today. They lay it all on the line. My dad, Joe D. Denton, is a veteran of World War II. He was a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps, the forerunner of today’s Air Force. Here he is back in the day. He’s my hero.

Joe D. Denton was a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. (photo courtesy of John Denton)

Flag talk

When I was growing up in Dallas, the Dallas Morning News always badged their masthead on holidays with an alert: “Fly Your Flag.” For some reason, that practice stopped. Fly your American Flag this weekend to honor all of our veterans.

Historic Weekend for several Horned Frogs

Good luck to the history-making TCU women’s soccer team. The squad will open action in the program’s first NCAA Tournament tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at Garvey-Rosenthal Stadium. The Aggies are coming to visit, and that always makes for a lively atmosphere. Get there early! Hosting a NCAA tournament game is a special thing.

And it’s time for hoops! Basketball season is here – a long, interesting journey that begins now and ends on Monday of Masters Week. In between, there are always a lot of thrilling games, upsets and nail-biters. Trips to faraway places and cold venues, such as Ames, Iowa, in the dead of winter. Or Manhattan, Kan., where the howling wind and near-zero temperatures lashing you on a tarmac while waiting to board a plane will keep you honest. I’m looking forward to all of it, and I’m wishing both the women’s and men’s teams good luck and, most importantly, good health throughout the season. Winning teams are healthy teams.

Lots of big basketball news on campus. The Jamie Dixon era begins tonight at 6 p.m. against St. Thomas. Raegan Pebley (in her  third season at TCU – doesn’t seem possible) and the Lady Frogs tip it off against Incarnate Word right after the men finish. It’s a rare double-header at Schollmaier Arena … take it all in. And don’t forget to claim your Jamie Dixon bobblehead.

Enjoy your historic TCU Athletics weekend.

Kick ‘Em High!

Happy day after the election. As the old song “Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues” by Danny O’Keefe says:

“Some gotta win, some gotta lose …
Good time Charlie’s Got the Blues.”

Regardless of who is president, that person deserves our prayers. Such a gigantic job.

In other news … How about those Frogs?

TCU Women’s Soccer is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. Great job by head coach Eric Bell and the entire staff and team. AND they get to host a first-round game! Get out and support them on Saturday when they host the Lady Aggies of Texas A&M at 7 p.m.

The matchup feels like a lucky one. We’ve done well against the Aggies in post-season play lately. #Schloss.

And, yes, the trip to Baylor last Saturday was great, with a few surprises thrown in to make the day almost perfect. The pregame chicken fried steak at George’s was superb, and the game was even better. The Frogs played their most complete game of the year. All three phases of the game dominated the Bears, and Kenny Hill was near-perfect. A healthy duo of Kyle Hicks and KaVontae Turpin made the Frogs unstoppable. Next up: Okie State and a chance to get bowl eligible.

Hey, Basketball Jones!  It’s Hoops Season!
More history this weekend at Schollmaier Arena as Jamie Dixon makes his debut as head basketball coach for TCU. The Frogs take on the St. Thomas Celts Friday night at 6 p.m. Get there early; it’s bobblehead night. The Lady Frogs follow the men with a 8:30 p.m. game against Incarnate Word. Good luck to both teams – make it a great year.

Fans, your job is to be loud and “Shake ‘The Scholl!’ ”

More Friday on whatever comes to mind.

Kick ‘Em High!

Time to take that 83-mile trip down I-35 to visit the Baylor Bears. Along the way, don’t forget to stop in West (known as West Station back in the old days) for some kolaches and myriad other treats. Remember the pimento cheese sandwiches.

Our crew will be making its traditional stop at George’s in Waco for a pregame meal of their famous chicken fried steak. Am I making you hungry?

Speaking of hungry, we have a matchup of two hungry teams with stomachs (and coaching staffs) growling for a win. Baylor (6-1, 3-1) lost its first game of the year at Texas last week and the Frogs (4-4, 2-3) have hit a rough patch with losses in three of their last four. This game will be interesting for a number of reasons. Baylor, amid all the other things going on in Waco, has to bounce back from a loss, something it hasn’t had to do all year. What will the Bears’ response be?

TCU has to bounce back from a heart-twister of its own after last week’s double-overtime loss to Texas Tech. The Frogs still have not put together a complete game, and they have a great opportunity to do so on Saturday in Waco. The defense is playing better, relying on a deeper rotation of players to create pressure. The offense has struggled and needs a jump. The return of KaVontae Turpin will help. Last week, the kicking game, which had been cruising along nicely through the first seven games, threw a rod at a critical time. All three phases of the team need to come together on Saturday.

While a lot has changed in Waco over the last six months, one thing hasn’t. Baylor is loaded with talent, and the Bears are playing good football. The one surprise may be how well quarterback Seth Russell has recovered from his severe neck injury. He’s as good as ever and has run for 440 yards, including a 50-yard scoring jog through Austin last week before suffering a concussion.

Running seems to be a big theme for the Bears under acting head coach Jim Grobe. Baylor is averaging 299 yards-per-game by bear tracks, outrunning the air game by an average of 38 yards each game. Watch out for #32 Shock Linwood, now Baylor’s all-time rushing leader with 4,029 career yards. He’ll be playing in his 45th game as a Bear. Baylor uses a three-back rotation, so look for Terence Williams and JaMycal Hasty as well. Receivers are still the stars at Baylor. K. D. Cannon, #9, is a deep threat who can take over a game; he has six touchdowns on the year. Ishmael Zamora, #8, is a Josh Doctson-like 6-4 and 215 pounds, and he uses his size well, especially on hitch screens, which seem to be Baylor’s favorite play this year.

Defensively, former SMU head coach Phil Bennett still runs the show. His group is No. 1 in the Big 12 in scoring defense (19.7 points-per-game), total defense (353 yards-per-game) and pass defense, surrendering an average of just 179.4 yards. You’ll see mostly a 4-3 defensive look from Baylor, but they’ve been flipping to a 3-4 as well, trying to find the right fit for the personnel. Nose tackle #97 Ira Lewis anchors the defensive line, and #48 Travon Blanchard, who plays the Bears’ hybrid position, is the best player on the field. Linebacker Taylor Young, #1, is an undersized, Mike Singletary-type who never stops, and safety Orion Stewart, #28, is a crafty veteran who will shepherd the secondary in his 44th appearance.

On special teams, kicker Chris Callahan has struggled this year, hitting just eight of his 12 field goal attempts. He’s most famous for the hit he took a couple of years ago when his field goal attempt was blocked in the Cotton Bowl against Michigan State. Google it.

The Frogs are working to get bowl eligible, and the Bears are trying to stay in the race for the Big 12 Championship. The last two games have been wild, with the Frogs losing a 21-point lead in Waco in 2014 and then prevailing in double overtime last year in the cold rain in Fort Worth. This one will be no different — a long, wild battle on the Brazos River. You may need TWO chicken fried steaks.

And Happy Birthday to the late Walter Cronkite.   The iconic broadcaster, who was the narrator of my youth for CBS News, would have been 100 today. He had a great signature sign-off:  “… And that’s the way it is … Friday, November 4th 2016.”

Kick ‘Em High!

Herm Reich played first base and right field for the Chicago Cubs in 1949. (photo courtesy of John Denton)

Sorry I missed you yesterday, but I was waiting for the World Series to end. I got nervous last night thinking the Cubs were going to blow a lead. I’ve been conditioned to expect that after what happened to the Rangers in Game Six of the 2011 Series. Glad the Cubs got it done. Feel for the Indians — they are a class act.

And somewhere Herm is enjoying it.

Herm Reich, that is (pronounced “Rich”). Herm was the big brother my dad never had. They met in the Army Air Corps in 1942, became lifelong friends and were closer than close until Herm died in 2009.

Herm spent his best baseball years serving his country during World War II. After the Axis Powers had been sent to the showers, he returned to pro baseball as a star in the Pacific Coast League.

Amazingly, he made the Cubs as a 31-year-old “rookie” in 1949, when he hit .280 with three home runs and 34 RBIs, appearing in 108 games. He wore #22.

He loved the Cubs and playing in Chicago. I’m sure he’s celebrating in Heaven today, telling everyone how great it is in his loud voice that began every excitable sentence with, “Ah, Hell…..!” He was a gregarious guy and had a great spirit that typifies “The Greatest Generation” and the game of baseball. He never quit. He signed all of his autographs, “Give It a Ride! … Best Wishes, Herm Reich.”

Why the focus on this obscure ball player from years gone by?? Well, I’m his namesake. My dad thought so much of Herm that Herman is my middle name. And I’m proud of that today and every day. I still think about him a lot, and I have one of his Louisville Slugger bats from his playing days.

Today, Herm and all of Chicago are partying like it’s 1908!

Speaking of Cubs and the bear family, the Frogs have some business with the Bears who roam the Brazos River Valley this weekend. More on them tomorrow.

Kick ‘Em High!

Herm Reich’s custom Louisville Slugger bat. (photo courtesy of John Denton)