Sorry this is so long but the Brooks Wallace story is such a good one....
Plano Senior High will honor the memory and achievements of Brooks Wallace and retire Jersey # 22 on Thursday night 2/5 at the pre-season kickoff banquet.
In 2004, when the College Baseball Foundation was formed, one of its top goals was to establish the Brooks Wallace National Player of the Year Award. A national panel of college coaches, college baseball writers, sports information directors and former player of the year winners select each year’s candidates for the award. Much like the Heisman is to NCAA football, the Wallace Award starts the season with its annual watch list. A final winner is eventually selected after the field is narrowed from dozens of pre-season nominees to eight semifinalists, three finalists, and finally, one winner.
The award is an enduring honor and tribute to the memory of Brooks Wallace, who was a three year letterman at Plano Senior High from 1974-76 and then played shortstop at Texas Tech for four years. After leading Tech to their first ever Southwest Conference Tournament, Wallace joined the Ranger organization for two years prior to returning to Tech to help coach the Red Raiders. Former Tech coach, Gary Ashby said of Brooks, “He was a very good baseball player, but he was an exceptional person. Most guys want their sons to grow up to be like them, but I want them to grow up to be like Brooks.” Rommie Maxey, Brook’s high school coach at Plano said of him, “He was not only a great young man as a player, but also a great young person and leader. He was certainly an example for others in the way that he loved life and what he put into the game of baseball and the game of life.”
All the records in the world could not supplant those two complements.
As the compliments suggest, Brooks was more than a great baseball player. Though he had a +90 fastball and the quickness of a cat at shortstop, when many people talk of him, they talk of the outstanding person he was. Kay Wallace Roberts would say of her son, “He was the type of man any parent would be proud of. From the time he was little he got along with people of all ages. He kept everybody laughing. He was very caring about his family and friends.” Shortly after Brooks’ passing in 1985, at the age of 27, Brooks’ younger brother Larry, wondered why his parents made Brooks cart Larry all over the place in high school. His mom told Larry they never asked Brooks to do that, he was a willing volunteer every time; he just wanted to be able to spend more time with his younger brother. She also said that their family received countless letters of condolences with words of support, saying that Brooks had impacted people’s lives in so many ways.
Gary Ashby sums it up well, “We as parents would like our kids to have role models that are more than just athletes. We would like their role models to have a little more substance to them than just their athletic ability. Brooks had plenty of substance.” He was not the kind of player who would earn national honors, but he was precisely the kind of person who should have an award named after him.” Brooks loved both the game of baseball and the game of life. He had a passion for both!
Past winners of the Wallace Award
2008 Buster Posey - Florida State
2007 David Price - Vanderbilt
2006 Brad Lincoln - Houston
2005 Alex Gordon - Nebraska
2004 Kurt Suzuki - Cal State Fullerton
Original Post
loves catchers!