Texas A&M Basketball team of 1964 became the first Aggie basketball team to win the SWC in 41 years.

2. Billy Atkinson, Cecil Ferguson, Dick Stringfellow, Ken Norman, Bill
Robinette, John Beasley, Tim Timmerman, Bill Gasway, Lynn
Merritt, John Reynolds, Bennie Lenox, and Paul Timmins. Kneeling:
David Stiles, Shelby Metcalf, and Don Wilson

3. TheThe 1963-64 Aggie team1963-64 Aggie team had lost all of the previoushad lost all of the previous
years height and three of the top four scorers and inyears height and three of the top four scorers and in
the preseason were picked for 6the preseason were picked for 6thth
place in the eightplace in the eight
team Southwest Conference.team Southwest Conference.
The Aggie basketball team had not won an outright SWCThe Aggie basketball team had not won an outright SWC
Championship since 1923. In 1964, they won 13 out of 14Championship since 1923. In 1964, they won 13 out of 14
SWC games with the only loss coming at the buzzer afterSWC games with the only loss coming at the buzzer after
having a 19 point lead at the half at Texas Tech.having a 19 point lead at the half at Texas Tech.
Legendary CoachLegendary Coach Shelby MetcalfShelby Metcalf, who went on to have, who went on to have
the most wins inthe most wins in SWC history,SWC history, was in hiswas in his first year asfirst year as
the Aggie coach and later won 6 SWC championships.the Aggie coach and later won 6 SWC championships.
Shelb
y
Metca
lf
438
Aggie
Victorie
s
G. Rollie

4. Asked what he told his players after Tech fans resorted to throwing coins at the Aggies:
"I told my players to show some class, & not pick up anything less than a quarter.""I told my players to show some class, & not pick up anything less than a quarter."
Shelby once recruited John Reynolds by taking him fishing on the Brazos for two days:
"You just can’t get real good players with catfish anymore.""You just can’t get real good players with catfish anymore."
When a number of A&M players were having trouble academically, he arranged to have
them enrolled in a basket weaving so that they could increase their grade point average.
"Problem was a couple of them were American-Indians, and they set such a high"Problem was a couple of them were American-Indians, and they set such a high
curve that they flunked the others out."curve that they flunked the others out."
Commenting on the notoriously fickle A&M fans, Metcalf observed:
"The only happy Aggie is an unhappy Aggie.""The only happy Aggie is an unhappy Aggie."
Metcalf loved nicknames. He nicknamed a player named Smart, "Plenty." After reviewing
first semester grades, Metcalf changed Smart's nickname to "Nottoo.""Nottoo."
After R.C. Slocum resigned under pressure from former A&M president and CIA Chief:
"R.C.'s lucky. He could have just disappeared, you know.""R.C.'s lucky. He could have just disappeared, you know."
During a turbulent airline flight, an A&M player was feeling quite nauseous, a player told
him “I am dizzy, sweaty, and nauseous. I think I might throw up."
"Well now, now you know how I feel every time I have to put you in a game!“"Well now, now you know how I feel every time I have to put you in a game!“
His famous reply to a player who had four F's and a D on his grade report.
"Son, it looks to me like you're spending too much time on one subject,""Son, it looks to me like you're spending too much time on one subject,"
After the NCAA went from 2 refs to 3 refs doing a basketball game:
" 3 blind mice are not any better than 2 blind mice!“" 3 blind mice are not any better than 2 blind mice!“
On why he called his switching defense from zone to man-to-man the “Idabel”“Idabel” defense:
“We had a girl in high school that went from man to man”“We had a girl in high school that went from man to man”

5. wo players the 1963-64 Aggies did have were the 1962-63wo players the 1963-64 Aggies did have were the 1962-63
WC “WC “Player-of-the-YearPlayer-of-the-Year”,”, Bennie LenoxBennie Lenox andand JohJoh
easleyeasley, who would later become the most prolific, who would later become the most prolific
corer per gamecorer per game inin Aggie history. BothAggie history. Both would later bewould later be
amed to one of theamed to one of the 25-man Helms25-man Helms All-American TeamsAll-American Teams..
Benni
e
Lenox
John
Beasle
y

6. 1. Aggies 75Aggies 75 SMU 61
2. Aggies 92Aggies 92 TCU 64
3. Aggies 65Aggies 65 Texas 60
4. Aggies 74Aggies 74 Rice 70
5. Aggies 83Aggies 83 Baylor 58
6. Aggies 72Aggies 72 Arkansas 64
7. Aggies 82Aggies 82 Texas Tech 84
8. Aggies 79Aggies 79 Rice 67
9. Aggies 77Aggies 77 Baylor 71
10. Aggies 60Aggies 60 Arkansas 57
11. Aggies 82Aggies 82 Texas Tech 70
12. Aggies 73Aggies 73 SMU 70
13. Aggies 70Aggies 70 TCU 66
14. AggiesAggies 6565 Texas 63
NCAA Regionals
15. Aggies 62Aggies 62 TX Western 68
****The Aggies were 18-7 for the seasonAggies were 18-7 for the season.
Shelby Metcalf

7. With a tremendous display of poise, shooting accuracy and
near-errorless basketball, A&M’s cagers gained sole
possession of first placefirst place in the SWC roundball race with an
ego-boosting, chances-boosting 65-60 victory over the TexasTexas
LonghornsLonghorns, the pre-season favoritepre-season favorite and traditional rival.
Aggie Coach Shelby MetcalfCoach Shelby Metcalf showed an overflow crowdoverflow crowd
of 7,800 in Gregory Gymof 7,800 in Gregory Gym and several million TV viewersTV viewers a
hustling, heads-up ball club.
Tim TimmermanTim Timmerman, 6’7” sophomore from Houston, scored 1212
pointspoints and pulled down seven rebounds for team runner-up
honors in both departments. KenKen NormanNorman also had 12 points12 points
and Dick StringfellowDick Stringfellow had 10 points10 points and a strong defensive
game.
Bill RobinetteBill Robinette led the team in rebounds with eightrebounds with eight and hit
two long shots. Bennie LenoxBennie Lenox was high scorer with 1717
pointspoints. The LynxLynx amply demonstrated the poise and clutch
play for which he is noted by hitting three buckets in the last
three minutes, each with A&M holding a one-point lead.
The Aggie victory was a vivid illustration of the outstandingoutstanding
job Metcalf has donejob Metcalf has done in his first year as head man. Picked to
finish sixth, the Cadets are now all alone atop the SWC with a
3-0 record3-0 record including crucial road victories over SMU and
Texas.

8. Texas got pushed out the back doorTexas got pushed out the back door, though not off thenot off the
porchporch, in the SWC race, as Texas A&M held on in the second half
to win 65-60 before 7,800 fans in Gregory Gym.
The Fight That Didn’t Happen, Thanks To Police
Everyone came hoping to see it or be in it, but no one wouldno one would
start itstart it – the fight at the A&M gamethe fight at the A&M game, that is, and well enough,
because University officials employed every device knownemployed every device known and a
couple of others to control anything that might occur.
Chief Hamilton had 30 men30 men from his Traffic and Security Division
with him as six Austin Police Department patrolmensix Austin Police Department patrolmen armed with
billy clubsbilly clubs and six highway patrolmensix highway patrolmen also appeared. [The
Department of Public Safety reported five of their men there, but
sixsix were inside the gum.]
Officers were stationed at all stairways and exits and within large
contingents of fans. Pat Culpepper, assistant football coach, stood
by the usual roost of UT athletes, and Hank FoldbergHank Foldberg, A&M
athletic director, strode menacinglystrode menacingly in front of the Aggies largest
group as the game ended.
One fan even had three personalthree personal
bodyguardsbodyguards in the event anything
started. She was Lynda Bird JohnsonLynda Bird Johnson,
daughter of the President, escorted by
a trio of Secret Service mentrio of Secret Service men. Lynda Bird
Watching for “Fight
That Never Came”

9. By Jim Butler
Battalion Sports Editor
While Cassius Clay was taking the title from Sonny Liston, the Aggies
virtually clinched their first SWC crown in 41 years with an 82-70 win over
Texas Tech before a capacity crowd of 8,500 in G. Rollie White
Coliseum.
The victory that put the Cadets two games out in front of their nearest
rival –Tech - was even sweeter considering Tech’s win over the Aggies in
Lubbock, but this time the clock kept runningthis time the clock kept running.
A&M IS NOW 10-1 in league play while the Red Raiders are 8-3. The
Maroon has three games to play –SMU & UT here and TCU in Fort
Worth. One win will cinch a tie while two will cinch the title.
Tech took their first, last and only lead of the game when sophomore
Dub Malaise opened the contest with a free shot. Then A&M’s top
sophomore John Beasley took over and it was all Big John for the next
two and a half minutes. Beasley hit four jump shots and a free throw to
boost the Cadets to a 12-5 margin.
The Matadors closed it to 12-9 but just couldn’t contend with Beasley’s
touch. The smooth postman from Kildare ended the first 20 minutes with
15 points and the Aggies held a 45-29 lead, hitting 53.8 per cent of their
shots to 39.3 for Tech.
For four minutes in the first half, the league-leading Cadets defense
held the league-leading Raider offense scoreless.
A&M Coach Shelby MetcalfCoach Shelby Metcalf played 11 men and all 11 played like all-
conference selections. Billy AtkinsonBilly Atkinson and Cecil FergusonCecil Ferguson played great
games on defense while Ken NormanKen Norman and Tim TimmermanTim Timmerman chipped in
And then there was JohnJohn
ReynoldsReynolds. The soph from
Possum Walk was hardly in a
minute before being hit by
Tech’s Glen Hallum and
returning in kind. Fouls were
called on both after a minor
riot and the two werethe two were

10. Lynn
Merritt
Cecil
Ferguso
By Charles Carder [Sports Staff]
College Station – Bill RobinetteBill Robinette, who scatters 180
pounds over a 6-7 frame, and John BeasleyJohn Beasley, who
weighs 40 pounds more and is just an inch taller,
combined efforts to pick up a faltering Texas A&M
basketball squad here Friday night and pace the
Cadets to a sure share of the SWC basketball title.
RobinetteRobinette, a senior from Port Arthur, broke open
the SMU Mustangs’ tight zone defense with his
outside shooting and BeasleyBeasley, collected 13 rebounds
to set a new A&M single record, as the Cadets
clipped the Ponies 75-70 before 8,1008,100 fansfans.
Bennie LenoxBennie Lenox, the top scorer in the league was
held scoreless in the first half and the Ponies were in
front by one point, 39-38, at the intermission. The
longest lead of the first half was SMU’s five-point
bulge at 11-6.

11. By Jim Butler [Battalion Sports Editor]
The Aggies came within a lung’s shout of pulling defeat
from the jaws of victory Thursday night but Texas choked
twice and the Cadets squeezed out a 65-63 win.
With 0:42 on the clock, A&M had control and a 64-62 lead.
Having a hard time finding the basket, the ball had little
trouble finding the hands of Texas’ Tommy Nelms. Joe
Fisher took the pass, threw the ball over his head toward the
basket and turned around to watch it drop through, 64-63.
Nineteen seconds remained when the Aggies inbounded
the ball. UT’s Jim Bob Smith intercepted an Aggie pass and
was fouled by Paul TimminsPaul Timmins.
Smith went to the free throw line amid a screaming 8,5008,500
fansfans. Oblivious to the yelling and with an Orange aura of
supreme confidence, Smith calmly flipped it up – and
missed.
But old lady luck waved her Orange cape and Fisher tipped
the missed shot back to Smith. The 6-2 senior drove for the
winning goal with 0:04 left but was fouled again, this time by
John BeasleyJohn Beasley.
The staunch Aggie supporters pushed their vocal cords to
the limit. And once again Smith blew the shot that could have
given the Steers a win over the Champs.
Little Billy AtkinsonBilly Atkinson snatched the ball, the buzzer sounded
and the Aggies wheezed.
Fans covered the floor and trundled the happy cagers off
to the showers. But the action wasn’t over. AtkinsonAtkinson had to
be retrieved from the dressing room to shoot a free throws Billy

12. Dick
Stringfellow
College Station-The Texas Aggies propelled like a Model-T with a dirty
spark plugs the first half, went into orbit in the second period here Tuesday
night to bounce the Baylor Bears, 73-58.
It was the fifth straight winfifth straight win of the SWC race for the Aggies and the fifth
straight defeat for the Bear. But the Cadets didn’t play like the SWC leaders in
the initial period while Baylor, hitting on 16 of 17 free-shot attempts the first
half, performed like a title contender.
Baylor was in front 34-28 at the intermission and led by the same six-point
margin two minutes deep in the second half. But from that point the Aggies
took command.
During the next four minutes and 58 seconds the Aggies scored 16 points
while limited the Bruins to two free shots. Baylor got only one field goal in their
first 16 possessions in the second half and trailed by 25 points by games end.
Bennie LenoxBennie Lenox, the big bomberbig bomber from Clear Creek, paced the Aggies with 2424
pointspoints. 20 of them in the second half. Ken NormanKen Norman was next with 11 points11 points
and Dickie StringfellowDickie Stringfellow followed with 1010 pointspoints.
By Jim Butler [Battalion Sports Editor]
A complacent squad of Aggie cagers took a 20 minute shock treatment from the
Baylor Bears. But the 2nd
half showed why the Cadets are riding atop the SWC as
the maroon scored 55 points for an 83-58 win.
A&M hit intermission facing a 34-28 deficit. A revived crew greeted the second
half tipoff with a flurry of buckets, grabbed the lead and ran the winning margin to
25 points before time ran out.
The rally was ignited by All-American candidate Bennie LenoxAll-American candidate Bennie Lenox and a talented
newcomer to Aggieland who was playing only his fourth game in G. Rollie White –
Ken NormanKen Norman. Lenox scored 20 of his 24 points24 points in the 2nd
half. NormanNorman dropped in
9 points in the final period and finished with 1111 to take runner-up honors in scoring.

13. STUDENTS SWAMP RETURNING PLAYERS
Approximately 3,000 students were at the 1:30 a.m. arrival.

15. Bill
Dick
Stringfellow
Texas A&M had to put on another Garrison finishGarrison finish Saturday night but
Ken NormanKen Norman powered them to a come-from-behind victory over
Arkansas, 72-64, to keep the Aggies unbeaten at the top of the SWCtop of the SWC
basketball standingsbasketball standings at 6-06-0.
Trailing 54-43 with 10 minutes to play, the Aggies called on the 6-66-6
NormanNorman, a junior, and he pumped in 12 of his 14 points in a stretch
that gave the Aggies a 61-59 lead.
NormanNorman drove down the middle for four of his goals and tapped in
the rest. It was A&M’s sixth SWC win without defeat and gave one-time
contender Arkansas a 3-3 record.
The Aggies and the Razorbacks were tied 35-35 at halftime and
when the visitors pulled away to that 11-point lead Coach Shelby
Metcalf sent his men into a full court press, out of the zone defense
they had played since the opening tipoff.
Scoring Ace Bennie LenoxBennie Lenox topped A&M with 20 points20 points. BillBill
RobinetteRobinette had 16 points16 points. Arkansas hit 47.5 per cent of its shots but
only 8 of 18 on free throws. The Aggies hit 41.3 per cent from the floor
and 12 of 22 on FTs.
Metcalf Gives Norman Credit
When the Aggies were 11 points behind Arkansas with 9:33 left in the game,
Coach Shelby Metcalf said he was very nervous. But Ken NormanKen Norman came to the
rescue, eased the coach’s tension and paid for his scholarship in about twopaid for his scholarship in about two
minutesminutes.
““Norman sparked the drive that put us ahead and deserves credit for theNorman sparked the drive that put us ahead and deserves credit for the
win. He paid for his scholarship in this one.”win. He paid for his scholarship in this one.”

16. Against Baylor, Ken NormanKen Norman continued to play
impressive ball. He connected on 6 of 11 shots
and totaled 19 points19 points. His sweeping hook shothook shot
is eye-catching and practically indefensibleis eye-catching and practically indefensible.
John BeasleyJohn Beasley and Paul TimminsPaul Timmins shared
game high-point honors with 20 apiece20 apiece. BeasleyBeasley
was the night’s leading rebounder with 10leading rebounder with 10.
Baylor’s scoring was well balanced as usual.
Hardy and Spencer Carlson each canned 16, to
rank behind Ed Horne’s 17. Tom Hatfield had 14.
A&M shot 43.3 per cent for the game,
compared to Baylor’s 46.7. The Bears
outrebounded the Aggies, 41-34. The Aggies
didn’t collect a single offensive rebound the
last seven minutes of play.
Foul trouble hurt the Cadets. DickieDickie
StringfellowStringfellow, Ken NormanKen Norman and GaswayGasway all
left via the fifth foul route. BeasleyBeasley was
saddled with four fouls. A&M was tremendous
from the foul linefoul line, meshing 25 of 2625 of 26
chanceschances.

17. The Aggies edged the TCU Horned Frogs 70-
66 Tuesday night pulling away in the last 3 minutes
of a double overtime period, bringing their firstfirst
outright SWC basketball title since 1923outright SWC basketball title since 1923.
Junior guard Paul TimminsPaul Timmins started the late
rally when he hit a field goal, breaking a 62-62 tie
with 3:51 left. Timmins was fouled on his scoring
drive and then added another point to the Aggie
cause, putting A&M in front 65-62.
A foul shot by John BeasleyJohn Beasley and two by DickDick
StringfellowStringfellow shoved the Cadet’s to a 68-62 lead
with 2:08 left. But TCU’s Gary Turner and Jim
Torbert scored to narrow the margin to 68-66.
Paul
Timmins
Tim
Timmerma
n

21. Bill
Robinett
John
Reynold
s
James Earl
Rudder
Statue
At A&M

22. 1964 SWC Basketball Champs [38 years later in 2001]1964 SWC Basketball Champs [38 years later in 2001]
Ken Norman, Gary SKen Norman, Gary Schmidtchmidt, David Stiles, Billy A, David Stiles, Billy Atkinsontkinson, C, Coachoach Metcalf,Metcalf,
Tim Timmerman, Bennie Lenox, Paul Timmins, John Reynolds, CecilTim Timmerman, Bennie Lenox, Paul Timmins, John Reynolds, Cecil
Ferguson, Bill Robinette, and Lynn Merritt.Ferguson, Bill Robinette, and Lynn Merritt.
Missing: Bill Gasway, John Beasley, and Dick SMissing: Bill Gasway, John Beasley, and Dick Stringfellowtringfellow..
Ken Norman
Janis Metcalf
Eddie Dominquez

23. Gary SGary Schmidtchmidt, Billy A, Billy Atkinsontkinson, Ken Norman, T, Ken Norman, Timim TTimmermanimmerman, C, Coachoach Metcalf,Metcalf,
Bennie Lenox, Bill Robinette, Paul Timmins, David Stiles, Cecil Ferguson,Bennie Lenox, Bill Robinette, Paul Timmins, David Stiles, Cecil Ferguson,
Lynn Merritt,Lynn Merritt, andand John RJohn Reynoldseynolds. Missing: Bill Gasway, John Beasley, and. Missing: Bill Gasway, John Beasley, and
Dick SDick Stringfellowtringfellow..
1964 SWC Basketball Champs [38 years later in 2001]1964 SWC Basketball Champs [38 years later in 2001]