The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Men's Hall of Honor to induct seven
10.27.2005 | Texas Athletics
-
-
-
- June 21, 2005:
Baseball star Brooks Kieschnick, former Lombardi Award winner Tony Degrate, ex-all-pro tackle Diron Talbert, and Eddie Phillips, who quarterbacked the Longhorns' last National Championship football team, will be inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor in ceremonies in connection with the Texas-Kansas football game the weekend of November 12.
The four current era inductees will be joined by three vintage era former Longhorns who not only were stars in their respective sports, but also later devoted their lives to educating young people. The three include former Longhorn coach and basketball player Jimmy Viramontes, baseball player Charlie Gorin and Darrell Royal's first two-time all-Southwest Conference football player, end/linebacker Monte Lee.
The new members will be inducted at a banquet at the Four Seasons Hotel on Friday night, November 11, and recognized at the Texas-Kansas game along with the new inductees into the UT Women's Athletics Hall of Honor, whose ceremony will be held earlier at a luncheon on Friday.
The current era inductees were chosen by a 50-person committee of their peers from a ballot of 16 nominees representing all Longhorn men's sports. The vintage honorees are picked by a special veterans committee, and must have lettered 40 years prior to consideration.
Kieschnick was a three-time all-American and twice winner of the Dick Howser Award as the nation's top collegiate baseball player. He has gone on to play 12 years of professional baseball, including six years in the Major Leagues, and finished the 2005 season in the Houston Astros organization.
Degrate was a consensus all-American and winner of the Lombardi Award as the nation's top lineman in 1984. Talbert, an all-Southwest Conference selection as a junior 1965, was tri-captain of the 1966 Longhorn team. His, brothers, Don and Charles, also starred for the Longhorns. Talbert went on to a remarkable 10-year career with the Washington Redskins of the NFL.
Phillips was considered by many to be one of the best Wishbone quarterbacks in the history of the formation. In 1970, he led Texas to an unbeaten regular season and a UPI (Coaches poll) National Championship.
Gorin, a two-time all-Southwest Conference pitcher, was a major contributor to one of the greatest eras in Longhorn baseball history. The left-hander was a starting pitcher on the 1949 and 1950 Longhorn teams, which won the first back-to-back College World Series championships in NCAA history. Following a stint in professional baseball, he returned to Austin and became a teacher and high school coach before moving into school administration.
Lee played on three of Royal's first four teams at Texas, earning all-SWC honors in 1959 and 1960, playing end on offense and end and linebacker on defense. He played five years in the NFL, and then became a coach and administrator in Cotton Center, TX.
Viramontes was a spark-plug guard in the early 1950s, but endeared himself as a popular assistant basketball coach from 1957 through 1963. After serving as head coach at then-West Texas State in Canyon, he returned to Austin where he retired after many years as a high school principal at Reagan High School.
Other Longhorn athletes on the elite 16-member current era ballot included swimmers Clay Britt (1980-83), William Paulus (1980-83), Kris Kirchner (1980-81); baseball player Scott Bryant (1987-89); tennis star Steve Denton (1976-79); NCAA track and field champion Patrik Boden (javelin, 1989-91); golfer Brandel Chamblee (1981-84); basketball players Lance Blanks (1989-90) and Joey Wright (1989-91) and football players Robert Brewer (1981-82); Tom Campbell (1968-69) and Gene Chilton (1982-85).
Tickets to the banquet, which is open to the public, are available through the offices of the T Association, 512/471-6864.
