Southland Conference

A total of 29 student-athletes makeup the 1960s All-Decade Team, including honorees from each of the five institutions that made up the league during its first six years. The all-decade team includes eight student-athletes from Arkansas State, seven each from Abilene Christian and Trinity, six from Lamar and one from Texas-Arlington.

 

“From the very early stages of the Southland’s formation, baseball was clearly a very competitive sport,” Southland commissioner Tom Burnett said. “These early teams, coaches and student-athletes set a high threshold for future programs in this sport, and as we have seen throughout our five decades, Southland baseball has always been played at a high competitive level.”

 

Trinity’s Houston Wheeler was named the coach of the decade after leading his teams to four conference titles. The conference decided its champion solely in a postseason tournament during the first five seasons and the Tigers claimed the first three championships, finishing as the league’s best team in 1964, 1965 and 1966 before closing the decade with a title in 1969. His 1969 club was the first Southland team to debut in the then NCAA University Division (now Division I) Championship regionals. He coached 18 all-conference players in the 1960s. Including his entire coaching career in the Southland (1964-72), Wheeler’s teams were 179-90 (66.2 win percentage). 

 

His players on the all-decade team include first baseman Audie Blevins, a two-time first-team all-conference selection in 1964 and 1965; catcher John Buleson, who earned all-conference honors in 1964; shortstop Jimmy Carter, who earned all-league honors in 1964 and 1965; shortstop Pat Cluney, a three-time all-conference selection from 1966-68; outfielder Troy Hinson, an all-conference pick in 1964; catcher Marvin Upshaw, a 1966 all-conference pick; and, pitcher Jim Wingate, an all-conference selection in 1966 whose 0.39 career earned-run average remains the Southland Conference record.

 

Upshaw also earned first-team all-conference honors in football and is one of four Southland Conference players selected in the first round of the National Football League draft, going to the Cleveland Browns in 1968. He had a nine-year NFL career with the Browns, Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Cardinals.

 

Among Arkansas State’s eight members of the all-decade team is pitcher William Bourg, who was the first four-time, first-team all-conference selection, earning honors from 1967-70. He was the conference pitcher of the year as a senior. Three other Arkansas State players on the all-decade team were three-time all-conference selections, including second baseman Bob Browning (1965-67), third baseman Jim Callway (1965-67) and outfielder Jim Mueller (1967-69).

 

Five other members of the all-decade team are two-time first-team all-conference selections, including Arkansas State third baseman George Glenn (1964, 1966), outfielder Wayne Pitcock (1968-69) and second baseman Dana Ryan (1967-68) alongside Trinity’s Blevins and Carter.

 

Many of these Arkansas State student-athletes were key to a successful run by the program that saw the team advance to the 1967 NCAA College Division playoffs, as well as the first-ever NCAA College Division World Series in 1968.

 

Also on the team is Jim Gilligan, an all-conference pitcher at Lamar in 1967, who went on to serve as the head coach at his alma mater, becoming the winningest coach in Southland Conference history with more than 1,200 victories.

 

The Southland Conference will continue to recognize all-decade teams in the near future.

 

 

Name, Team	Pos	1st-Team All-SLC	Superlatives
Joe Augienello, Lamar	C	1969
Audie Blevins, Trinity	1B	1964, 1965
William Bourg, Arkansas St.	P	1967, 1968, 1969, 1970	1970 Pitcher of the Year
Bob Browning, Arkansas St.	2B	1965, 1966, 1967
John Buleson, Trinity	C	1964
Jim Callaway, Arkansas St.	3B	1965, 1966, 1967
Jimmy Carter, Trinity	1B	1964, 1965
Pat Cluney, Trinity	1B	1966, 1967, 1968
Craig Collier, Abilene Christian	P	1969
Bill GIlbreth, Abiliene Christian	P	1968
Jim Gilligan, Lamar	P	1967	All-Time Winningest Southland baseball coach
George Glenn, Arkansas St.	3B	1964, 1966
Troy Hinson, Trinity	OF	1964
Tommy Knight, Abilene Christian	SS	1969
Paul Knoblauch, Lamar	OF	1969
Ron Lucas, Texas-Arlington	3B	1969
Jack Mercer, Lamar	SS	1968
Jim Mueller, Arkansas St.	OF	1967, 1968, 1969
Wayne Pitcock, Arkansas St.	OF	1968, 1969
Ronnie Potts, Lamar	C	1967
Walter Rockwall, Abilene Christian	OF	1964
Dana Ryan, Arkansas St.	2B	1967, 1968
Perry Scott, Abilene Christian	1B	1969
John Terry, Abilene Christian	P	1965
Marvin Upshaw, Trinity	C	1966	1968 1st Round NFL Draft Pick, Cleveland
Mile Ward, Abilene Christian	OF	1966
Bob Webb, Arkansas St.	C	1965
Jim Wingate, Trinity	P	1966	Southland Career ERA Leader (0.39)
Ike Wynn, Lamar	OF	1968

 

 

Coach of the Decade: Houston Wheeler, Trinity.