Buryl Baty (1924-1954) was a decorated high school athlete, a talented Texas A&M University quarterback, and a successful high school football coach. In 1950, he took over as the head football coach at El Paso's Bowie High School.

Coach Baty (far left) with the 1954 Bowie Bears team
 
Football players hailed from teh Segundo Barrio and regularly face extreme (and sometimes violent) prejudice. Baty took a pioneering stand against the rampant bigotry of the era and inspired his athletes to reach for the best inside themselves.

Coach Baty pictured as 1953 Coach of the Year (Courtesy of El Paso Herald-Post) 
 
The team fought hard against all odds and won respect. They won important games.  But, just as the team was in a position to win a record third district title in 1954, an unthinkable tragedy turned their world upside down.  Forty-four years later, these players acknowledged their former coach's role in molding them into honorable and successful men by dedicating their high school stadium in his name. In 2013, Baty was inducted into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame.

R. Gaines Baty and his grandchildren at the Baty-Simmang Stadium 

 

This poignant memoir by son R. Gaines Baty is an account of an extraordinary man and a son's personal journey to know the father that was gone too soon. Coach Baty's life story is portrayed from the perspectives of nearly 100 individuals who knew him, documented facts, and news reports.  LEARN MORE. 
AGGIE ATHLETE

Burly Baty played on A&M's freshman team in 1942. He went off to war in Europe and then returned to A&M to letter during the 1946-48 seasons.

Aggie QB Buryl Baty passing
near Kyle Field, 1947
(Courtesy of Texas A&M Yearbook--The Longhorn)

He threw a touchdown to tie Texas 14-14 on Thanksgiving Day 1948 at UT's stadium. Tom Landry was playing fullback for UT.

Thanksgiving Day, 1948. Texas A&M Game at Memorial Stadium, Austin
(Courtesy of Texas A&M Yearbook--
Aggieland)

 
R. GAINES BATY, Coach Baty's son, founded and directs an executive search firm in Dallas, serving high-growth and Fortune 500 companies. He was an accomplished athlete in high school and college, receiving All-Southwest Conference and All-Era honors. In 2011, he was inducted into the Garland, Texas, Sports Hall of Fame.
EMAIL: gbaty@rgba.com