The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
From Disch-Falk to the courtroom
04.26.2006 | Baseball
Former Longhorns left fielder and U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Johnny Sutton, was recently named chairman of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' Advisory Committee for U.S. Attorneys.
Sutton, a two-year letterwinner, batted .357 in 28 games for the 1983 National Champion Texas squad, which finished the season with 66 wins a program record that still stands today. That title marked the fourth of six national titles for the Longhorns and head coach Cliff Gustafson's second during his tenure on the Forty Acres.
When asked to describe what playing on a National Championship team meant to him, Sutton replied, "every year, Coach Gustafson preached to us that anything less than a National Championship wasn't good enough. We dedicated ourselves everyday to being the best team in the country and I feel very proud to be a part of that team...it was very special!"
The 1983 team led the nation in ERA (2.72) behind the pitching of notables Roger Clemens and Calvin Schiraldi, both of whom went on to successful pitching careers in the majors. The bond that Sutton formed with his fellow teammates was one of the most rewarding aspects of playing baseball at The University of Texas.
"When you spend that much time together on the baseball field day after day - practicing seven days a week for five or six hours back in those days, you get really close."
Sutton still keeps in touch with many of his former teammates in spite of the different paths they have all taken, both geographically and professionally.
A Houston, Texas, native, Sutton has baseball in his blood. His grandfather, Johnny Keane, was a major league manager for the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Yankees (Notably, Keane left the 1964 World Champion Cardinals to manage the Yankee team he defeated in the World Series). As a four-year All-Conference baseball player and two-sport MVP (baseball and soccer) at Kincaid High School, Sutton originally chose to play collegiate ball at SMU. After the Mustangs disbanded their baseball program following his freshman season, Sutton transferred to The University of Texas where he "was lucky enough to earn a scholarship."
He then quickly realized that the standard of play at UT was different than anything he had experienced before.
"The great thing about UT was that we would play 14 innings of intrasquad everyday. Those were very competitive days - I mean, we could split up the squad and either side could very well have been one of the top teams in the nation [by themselves]. The pitchers were definitely bringing it and the hitters were wanting to get a hit because a lot of times, how you performed in intrasquad determined whether you got to play during the week. So I learned very early on that playing for UT was a whole different ballgame. I remember getting a double off of one of the pitchers and during my next time up he threw a 90 mph fastball right at my head. After the game, we had some words and he said, 'hey, you're in Texas now, this stuff is for real.'"
In addition to a successful collegiate baseball career, Sutton also ensured himself a bright professional future when he graduated with a bachelor's degree in International Business (1983) and enrolled in The University of Texas School of Law. After being awarded his J.D. in 1987, Sutton began his legal career as a trial lawyer for the District Attorney's office. He firmly believes that playing baseball has had a tremendous impact on his professional career.
"It taught me a lot of great lessons about discipline, working hard and practicing. If you want to be the best, you have to work harder than everyone else. The patience and hard work that I learned [playing baseball] at UT transferred into my professional career because there are going to be a lot of times where things are hard and not going exactly the way you want. The key is to not give up and keep trying. Just work really hard to be prepared, because when your chance comes, you don't want to blow it."
Nominated in October 2001 by President George W. Bush to serve as United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Sutton represents the United States in criminal and civil matters within the district, plays a significant role in determining policies and programs for the department and in carrying out national goals set by the President and the Attorney General. Sutton now takes over as chair of the committee of which he has served as vice chair since 2002. Prior to becoming a United States Attorney, Sutton served as Associate Deputy Attorney General throughout 2001 and as Criminal Justice Policy Director to the Governor of Texas from 1995-2000.
Understandably busy these days balancing his new appointment along with his three young children (ages 4, 3 and 6 months), Sutton still stays apprised of the current baseball team's performance, even if he doesn't always get the chance to see them in person.
"Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to attend as many games this year as I would have liked even though I have season tickets. As a result, I follow it in the paper. A lot of times you don't know until later on in the season how we're going to do. It's all about developing that attitude that winners will find a way to win. From what I have seen of this team, they look good and I definitely think they will be competitors come June."
