The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
2005 Longhorn Hall of Honor Inductees
10.27.2005 | Texas Athletics
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TONY DEGRATE (Football 1982-84)
Consensus all-American as a defensive tackle in 1984 and winner of the Lombardi Award, which is presented to college football's top lineman that same season. He spent a season with the Green Bay Packers in 1985 after being drafted in the fifth round of the NFL picks by Cincinnati. Degrate is a two-time all-Southwest Conference selection (1983 and 1984) and the all-time record holder for solo tackles in a season by a Longhorn with 123 (1984). He is tied for sixth as the all-time sack leader for a Longhorn defender with 27, including a team-leading 12 in his senior season of 1984. He ranks seventh in tackles in a single season with 147 (184), and recorded a school sixth-best single season mark of quarterback pressures with 38 (1984). Degrate led the team in tackles for loss during the unbeaten regular season of 1983 with 19, and again in 1984 with 17. He led the 1984 team in sacks with 12 and in forced fumbles with four. He was the recipient of the Houston Post SWC Most Valuable Player Trophy in 1984 and was chosen as a team captain his senior year. Degrate resides in Austin and works for a local business.
DIRON TALBERT (Football 1964-66)
An all-Southwest Conference selection as a junior defensive tackle in 1965 and a pre-season all-American choice in 1966, Diron was the youngest of the three Talbert brothers to play and letter at Texas. A three-year letterman (1964-1966), he was a tri-captain of the 1966 Longhorn team. A fifth-round draft choice of the Los Angeles Rams in 1966, he entered the NFL with the Rams in 1967 and played four seasons there before moving on to the Washington Redskins, where he would make his mark in the league. In a remarkable 10 year career at Washington (1971-80), Talbert was an all-pro selection, and competed in the Pro Bowl in 1975. He was captain for nine years and played in over 200 games. On the 70th anniversary of the Washington team, he was chosen as one of the 70 greatest players to have played with the Redskins. He also played in one Super Bowl with the Redskins in 1973. Following his pro career, he returned to the Texas City area where he has been in partnership with his brother Don, and manages business interests.
EDDIE PHILLIPS (Football 1969-71)
Considered one of the best Wishbone quarterbacks in the history of the formation, he led the 1970 Longhorns to an unbeaten regular season and a UPI National Championship. After serving as a back-up to James Street during the 1969 season, Phillips helped stretch the Longhorns' record-setting winning streak to 30 games before a loss to Notre Dame in the 1971 Cotton Bowl ended the run. But it was in that game, even in a losing cause, that Phillips recorded one of the greatest individual performances in Longhorn history. Rushing for 164 yards and throwing for 199 more, Phillips posted a total offense mark of 363 yards. His 164 rushing yards stand as the third best for a quarterback in NCAA bowl game history. Averaging 4.8 yards per carry, Phillips recorded 1,211 yards rushing in his three year career from 1969 through 1971, good for 30th on the all-time Texas total list. He led the 1970 National Champs in total offense with 695 yards passing and 666 rushing (over what was then a 10-game regular season). He was chosen captain of the 1971 team, but was hampered by injuries much of the season. Phillips authored one of the most famous plays in school history, when, with only 12 seconds remaining, he connected on a 45-yard scoring pass with end Cotton Speyrer for a come-from-behind victory over UCLA that preserved the 30-game win streak.
BROOKS KIESCHNICK (Baseball 1991-93)
A three-time all-American and twice winner of the Dick Howser Award as the nation's top collegiate baseball player, Kieschnick still ranks in the top 10 in eleven different hitting and pitching categories. The three-time Southwest Conference Player of the Year as a pitcher and designated hitter still leads the Longhorns in slugging percentage (.676), and is second in total home runs and third in total RBIs. He helped the Longhorns to back-to-back College World Series appearances in 1992 and 1993, and went on to a professional career that has included six years in the Major Leagues. The 10th pick of the 1993 draft by the Chicago Cubs, he spent time with Chicago, Cincinnati and Colorado before posting his best season with Milwaukee in 2003. He currently is in the 12th year of his professional career and is with the Class AAA Round Rock Express in the Houston Astros organization.
CHARLIE GORIN (Baseball, 1948-50)
A two-time all-Southwest Conference pitcher and a major contributor to one of the greatest eras in Longhorn baseball history, Gorin, a lefthander, was a starting pitcher on the 1949 and 1950 teams which won the first back-to-back College World Series championships in NCAA history. Earning all-SWC honors in 1948, Gorin posted a 7-1 record, and was 4-0 in league play on a team that went 20-2. In 1949, he was 6-3 overall and 3-1 in SWC competition on a team which went 23-7 and owned the College World Series. The following season, Gorin was unbeaten, posting six wins on the year and four in SWC play. In all, he won three games at the College World Series, including two clutch victories as the 'Horns came out of the losers' bracket to win the 1950 title. Following his Texas career, Gorin played professional baseball, finishing with two seasons in Milwaukee in the National League. He returned to Austin and became a teacher and high school coach, serving at Anderson and Lanier High Schools for many years, before moving into school administration.
MONTE LEE (Football 1957, 1959 & 60)
Lee was a two-way end who rose from obscure reserve to starter in the 1957 Oklahoma game after a Monday scrimmage. He was noted mainly for blocking and defense, but caught short TD passes against OU. He missed the 1958 season, but was all-Southwest Conference twice, as an end in 1957 and an offensive guard/linebacker in 1960. He caught only three passes in 1959, one of which was a 51-yard catch to set-up a TD against SMU. He made many tackles in an era were defensive stats were not kept. He played in the NFL with the St. Louis Cardinals (1961), Detroit Lions (1963-64) and the Baltimore Colts (1965). He coached two six-man state runner-up teams at Cotton Center while principal and superintendent. Lee is currently retired and farming in Calvert.
JIMMY VIRAMONTES (Basketball, 1951-52, Assistant Coach, 1957-63)
Called "one of the most colorful performers in school history" when he concluded his career as a guard on the Longhorn basketball team, Jimmy Viramontes would go on to a successful career in coaching in a long commitment to basketball at Texas. A playmaking guard from Las Cruces, N.M., the 5-7 Viramontes helped lead the Longhorns to a Southwest Conference championship in 1951. After graduating from Texas, he became a high school coach at Austin McCallum. His teams won two district championships in three years, and Viramontes returned to Texas as a freshman coach for the 1956-57 school year. In three seasons, he led the UT Frosh to a 30-6 record. Viramontes served as an assistant to Harold Bradley from 1960-63 and helped guide the Longhorns to two Southwest Conference championships (in 1960 and 1963). He took a head coaching job at what was then West Texas State in 1964, and eventually returned to Austin where he retired after many years as a high school principal at Reagan High School.
