Texas A and M University - Aggieland Yearbook (College Station, TX)

Page 14 text:

Twelfth Man — n., 1. Aggies united in support of their team. 2. the Aggie kickoff team. 10 Traditions

Page 13 text:

Yell practice — Whoop! On the night before a home game, Aggies of all ages, shapes and degrees of sobriety, begin trickling into Kyle Field around 11:30. A drum cadence, faint at first pounds louder and louder until the band marches in with a guard of junior corps members. They are greeted with whoops. Midnight yell practice has be- gun. Five men in maroon-and-white-em- broidered overalls lead the crowd through yells. Hump it. “The Aggie War Hymn” is sung. Goosebumps. A junior yell leader recounts the per¬ ils and triumphs of Rock the Good Ag (and his sometime counterpart Rox¬ anne). Pushups. A senior yell leader tells another Rock (grode) story. Lights out. All practice their kissing tech¬ niques for the next day’s game. As the stadium lights up again, the music begins and “The Spirit of Aggie- land” fills the air as it has for years. Aggie spirit is pledged by all. The yell leaders lead their final yells, beat the hell. . . and another yell prac¬ tice is over. Top: Duke E. Childs, Class of ’53 senior yell leader, paid a surprise visit to yell practice and resumed his former role for the night. He is the father of 1982-83 yell leader Charlie Childs. Above: Juniors trade places with their dates and make them push. Traditions 9

Page 15 text:

Above: Twelfth Man Kickoff Team members Tom Be- vans, a junior psychology major from Houston, and Tom Bumgardner, a senior mechanical engineering major from Crosby, watch from the sidelines. Twelfth Man stands tall The Aggie tradition of the Twelfth Man began January 2, 1922. On that day, Coach Dana X. Bible called King Gill down from the stands to join the game against national champion Centre College. SWC Champion Texas A M had sus¬ tained so many injuries during the first half that Gill, a reserve, who had left the football team after the regular season to play basket¬ ball, was needed. He gladly volunteered and suited in the uniform of an injured player. He was never called into the game, but was the last man left on the bench when the game was over with the Aggies winning 22 to 14. Gill’s willingness to play was taken as the symbol of all Aggie fans, supporting their team, even to the point of entering the game. Today the student body, known as the Twelfth Man, continues this tradition by standing up, ready for duty, throughout all football games. This year, the Twelfth Man was given new meaning when Coach Jackie Sherrill started s a special kickoff squad. The squad was made f up of students who were not on the football team, but were willing to make an effort for Texas A M. Traditions 11