Cooperstown To The Rescue
Baseball has been described as "a game of adjustments." Apparently, that also applies to the off-season, in this case the West Texas Sports Banquet.
The event's "original lineup" included Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez and Jay Novacek. Both are now unable to attend due to circumstances beyond their (or the RockHounds') control.
One Dallas Cowboys legend will replace another, with Ed "Too Tall" Jones taking Jay Novacek's place at the podium.
To find a new keynote speaker for the event, the RockHounds have turned to Cooperstown.
Baseball Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins will join "Too Tall" Jones to headline the 2015 West Texas Sports Banquet & Memorabilia Auction. The event will be held Thursday, February 5, at the Midland Country Club.
We would also like to thank the "Home Run" sponsors of the 2015 West Texas Sports Banquet & Memorabilia Auction:
- Basic Energy Services
- Donald W. Floyd, M.D. - Sports Medicine
- J&W Services & Equipment Company
- Petro Communications
- ProPetro
- Rusty Spur Gun Shoppe
- Standard Sales Company, L.P. an Anheuser-Busch Distributor
Ferguson Jenkins - Banquet Keynote Speaker
In his 19-year big league career, Ferguson Jenkins pitched for four clubs, including short stints with the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox, but his Hall of Fame credentials were earned in two "confines" that are anything but "friendly" to pitchers. Of his 284 wins in The Show, 167 came with the Chicago Cubs and 93 with the Texas Rangers.
A three-time All-Star in Chicago, "Fergie" won 20 or more games in six consecutive seasons for the Cubs (1967-72), winning the Cy Young Award in 1971 (24-13, 2.77) along the way.
After a 14-16 season in 1973, he was traded to the Rangers and turned in a record-setting year, going 25-12, with a 2.82 earned run average, and tossing twenty-nine complete games with six shutouts (and was NOT named to the American League All-Star Team).
The 25 wins, which constituted 30 percent of the Rangers' win total that season, would be a career best and remain a Rangers franchise record.
He is one of only 16 pitchers in big league history to have recorded 3,000 or more strikeouts, ranking 11th all-time with 3,192 whiffs. Along with Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling, "Fergie" is one of just four Major League pitchers to record more than 3,000 strikeouts while walking fewer than 1,000 batters.
The Rangers inducted him into their franchise Hall of Fame in 2004, and the Cubs retired his uniform number (# 31, jointly, with Maddux) five years later. Both honors came long after the native of Chatham, Ontario, reached the game's pinnacle. In 1991, he became the first Canadian ever enshrined in Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Ed "Too Tall" Jones - Special Guest & Speaker
By the time six-foot-nine-inch Ed Jones was selected by the Dallas Cowboys with the first selection of the 1974 NFL draft, he had already "acquired" his soon-to-be-legendary nickname, having been branded "Too Tall" by his teammates at Tennessee State University.
Nicknames are one thing; performance is another. A key component in the Cowboys' famed "Doomsday Defense," he would become one of the most dominant defensive players of his era. In many ways, his career "defines" the Dallas Cowboys. One of only three men to play in 15 seasons with the team (Bill Bates and Mark Tuinei are the others), he appeared in more games (224) and started more games (203) than any other player in club history. His career was also a "generational bridge," spanning from Bob Lilly to Troy Aikman.
The two-time Pro Bowler (1981 and 1982) appeared in 16 playoff games with the Cowboys, three of them Super Bowls, including a 27-10 win over Denver in Super Bowl XII (1978).
2015 Special Guests Also Include
| Ryan Christenson | 2015 RockHounds Manager |
| Tom Kayser | Texas League President |
| Aaron Nieckula | 2014 RockHounds Manager |
| Miles Prentice | RockHounds Co-Owner |
| Bob Richmond | RockHounds Co-Owner |
Texas League President Tom Kayser will make a special presentation involving the RockHounds. A great friend to the franchise and to this event, Tom is now entering his 24th season as the league's chief executive.
We're also pleased to welcome two RockHounds' managers. Aaron Nieckula, who led the club to the 2014 Texas League championship, will be joined by the man who will take over the reins in 2015, Ryan Christenson.
"Nuke" is embarking on a newly-created position with the Oakland A's (the RockHounds' Major League parent club), that of Minor League Field Coordinator. Aaron managed the 'Hounds for two seasons, including last year's remarkable run to the league title. In his new role, Aaron will work with A's farmhands in spring training and as a "rover" (visiting each of the full-season clubs) for the first half of the season before managing the Vermont Lake Monsters, Oakland's affiliate in the short season Single-A New York-Penn League (schedule begins after the June draft).
A former Major League outfielder, Ryan Christenson was named the 2014 California League Manager of the Year after guiding the (Advanced-A) Stockton Ports to an 85-55 record, the league's best mark by a margin of seven games. In just two seasons as a minor league manager with the A's, Ryan has put together an outstanding track record, taking both of his clubs to the postseason. In 2013, he led the (Single-A) Beloit Snappers to the Midwest League playoffs, and his club in Stockton dominated the second half pennant race, finishing with a 48-22 record en route to a berth in the postseason.
The Event
Since its inception in 1991, the West Texas Sports Banquet & Memorabilia Auction has raised nearly $450,000 for local children's charities in the Permian Basin.
The event has, for all intents and purposes, been held every year since 1991. The only exceptions were 2005 and 2011, when the event was rescheduled to coincide with the RockHounds' hosting of the Texas League All-Star Game.
It was among the first collective innovations made by owners Miles Prentice and Bob Richmond and general manager Monty Hoppel after Miles & Bob purchased the franchise.
The 2015 banquet will benefit the St. Ann's School Athletic Association, Casa de Amigos, the RockHounds Scholarship Fund and the Scott Seator Foundation.
Past Keynote Speakers have included:
| Ralph Backstrom | Montreal Canadiens |
| Gary Bender | National network sportscaster |
| Bill Buckner | Hall of Famer (former Midland Angel) |
| Bob Boone | Major League Baseball |
| Vince Cotroneo | Major League broadcaster |
| Ken Forsch | Major League Baseball |
| Joe Galloway | Author & Bronze Star winner |
| Whitey Herzog | Major League Baseball |
| Ken Hitchcock | (then) Dallas Stars head coach |
| Art Howe | (then) Oakland A's manager |
| Bowie Kuhn | Former Baseball Commissioner |
| Tommy John | Major League Baseball |
| Jay Johnstone | Major League Baseball |
| Bob Lilly | Dallas Cowboys |
| Sparky Lyle | New York Yankees reliever |
| Tug McGraw | Major League relief pitcher |
| Barry Melrose | National Hockey League / ESPN |
| Durwood Merrill | American League umpire |
| Keith Moreland | Philadelphia Phillies |
| Jim Morris | "The Rookie" (Disney film based on his life) |
| Buck O'Neil | Baseball Ambassador |
| Jethro Pugh | Dallas Cowboys |
| Bobby Richardson | 1960 World Series MVP (NY Yankees) |
| Greg Riddoch | Major League Baseball manager |
| Nolan Ryan | Texas Rangers / Hall of Famer |
| Lee Smith | 478 career saves (former Midland Cub) |
| Bill Valentine | Texas League Hall of Fame |
| Bobby Valentine | (then) Texas Rangers manager |
Past Community Achievement Award Winners
| Ted Battles | Midland Reporter-Telegram |
| Bobby Burns | City of Midland |
| Davis Corley | M I S D |
| Doc Dodson | Midland High School |
| Christy DuPriest | Scharbauer Sports Complex |
| Freddie & Virginia Ezell | Midland United Girls Softball |
| Gary Gaines | Odessa Permian High School |
| Kyle Huckba | Greater Midland Football League |
| Ron Jones | Midland College |
| Steve Jumper | Midland Junior Baseball Association |
| Ken Marks | Scharbauer Sports Complex |
| Greg McClendon | Midland Christian High School Football |
| Johnny Oldham | Jackalopes Youth Hockey |
| John Parchmann | Midland Lee High School Football |
| Delnor Poss | Midland College |
| Kevin Shelburne | Midland Soccer Association |
| Jack Stephenson | Midland High School Basketball |
| Chuck Swallow | City of Midland |
| Brad Swendig | COM Aquatics |
| Don Thorn | Ector County Coliseum |
| Lee Velarde | Midland Angels Groundskeeper |
| Randy Velarde | Lee High School & Major League Baseball |
| John Wilkins | Permian High Football / Trinity School |
| Bill Williams | Bill Williams Tire Centers |