SPORTS
A Mother’s Day to remember
It was a happy Mother’s Day for Bowie resident Jan Browning and her family.
Her daughter Tiffany Egenbeacher surprised Browning and her mom with the autograph of Browning’s father, Bobbie Brashear, which was collected more than 70 years ago when he played basketball at Rice University.
“When I originally started looking, it’s because I wanted to surprise my own mother. I was disappointed when I couldn’t find it so it was kind of funny when my daughter found it to give to me,” Browning said.
What culminated on May 10 was a couple of months of good fortune and coincidences.
Back in 2005 Browning’s mother, Verna Mae Brashear, gifted her a book about famous University of California, Los Angeles men’s basketball coach John Wooden called, “The Wizard of Westwood.” Her mother gave it to her because it referenced Verna Mae’s brother, Hollis Johnson, who personally knew Wooden.
Browning admits to never reading the book, but its significance would come out during April of this year once she and her mother started going through her father’s things.
Bobbie passed away in 2017. He was a part of the Jackrabbit basketball program’s first state title in 1951 before playing at Arlington State College and Rice University.
That led to him coaching for some time at local schools Bowie, Saint Jo, Montague and Bellevue, as well as Kincaid in Houston.
While at Rice, the 1953-54 team won the South Western Conference tie-breaker against Texas to qualify for the NCAA playoffs, the equivalent of today’s Sweet Sixteen round in the tournament. During his time at Rice, a 16-year-old boy named Dwight Chapin sent Brashear a letter asking to send him his autograph.
Browning was curious what happened to the young Chapin and to see if he still had her father’s autograph. After looking online, she found out Chapin was a prominent autograph collector of that time period. Research also found he co-authored the book Verna Mae had given her 15 years before.
Her family helped her track down Chapin who is still alive and lives in California. He informed her he had to downsize his autograph collection during the years and sold his 1950s’ college collection.
While tickled at the connection they shared, he was not sure where the autograph would be now. Browning looked on eBay, but came up empty.
Thankfully her daughter picked up the search and was able to find it and surprise both her mother and grandmother on Mother’s Day.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
Saint Jo hosted its own volleyball tournament Sept. 10-12.
In its first match, the Lady Panthers bested Sam Rayburn in a b est-of-three match 2-1 (25-11, 23-25, 25-14.) In the opener, senior Tatum Morman staked the Lady Panthers to a 4-0 lead with help from Kamron Skidmore and Olivia Johnson kills. The Lady Rebels would come back and tie the game at seven.
Savannah Hill’s kill broke serve and allowed Abby Carter to string together seven points. An ace and a Hill kill helped keep the drive alive. Hill later rolled off six points in a row, helped by two aces, to go up 23-10. Sam Rayburn broke serve but Saint Jo finished the game with a single Morman point.
Sam Rayburn came right out of the gate firing in the second game leading 4-0. A single Carter point, thrown down by a Hill block, and Hill’s four-point skein put the Lady Panthers up 8-6. Sam Rayburn tied the game at eight.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Forestburg’s volleyball team gave visiting Chico a solid test Sept. 8, but the Lady Dragons rebounded from a third-set loss to pull out the 3-1 win (25-23, 25-19, 25-27, 25-19).
The Lady Longhorns got out to a quick start with aces from freshmen Madi Wadsworth and Lacie Shotwell staking the squad to a 4-1 lead in game one. Wadsworth later broke a 4-all tie with a kill.
Addy Conway rolled off four straight points, helped by a Wadsworth kill to give Forestburg an 11-9 lead. Chico took a 16-14 lead but a Brenna Briles ace and Jocelyn Rich’s two points forced Chico into a timeout down 17-19.
The respite worked as it would be Forestburg’s last lead of game one, the Lady ‘Horns not having another serving point.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
After splitting the first two games with Vernon Northside, Bowie’s volleyball team turned things out and wound with a 3-1 match win (25-17, 15-25, 25-17, 25-17).
Molly Enlow used two aces amidst a four-point string to give the Lady Rabbits a 5-1 lead in game one. Senior KP Rutherford’s pair of points extended the lead to 8-3.
Northside cut the deficit to 10-11 before Rutherford’s kill broke serve.
Bella Culwell’s point, aided by an Ellie Mowery kill, put Bowie up 13-10. Northside tied the game at 13 before Rutherford came through with another pair for a 17-14 lead. Lillie Maddox also had a deuce for a 20-15 lead and force a Lady INdian timeout.
Northside broke serve but a Sophie Maddox block and Lillie Maddox three-point string gave the squad game point at 24-16. The squads exchanged side outs to end the game.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
-
NEWS3 years agoSuspect indicted, jailed in Tia Hutson murder
-
NEWS4 years ago2 hurt, 1 jailed after shooting incident north of Nocona
-
NEWS4 years agoWreck takes the life of BHS teen, 16
-
NEWS3 years agoSO investigating possible murder/suicide
-
NEWS3 years agoMurder unsolved – 1 year later Tia Hutson’s family angry, frustrated with no arrest
-
Show us something good9 years agoCountry music star children perform in Bowie
-
100th Birthday4 years agoLooking back at the 1958 Centennial edition of The Bowie News
-
NEWS3 years ago
Sheriff’s office called out to infant’s death