bleedCrimson.net is pleased to announce the debut of a new regular feature called Aggie History With Walter Hines. Walter is the son of Jerry Hines, former football and basketball head coach and athletic director at New Mexico A&M (now NMSU) from 1929-40, and 1946-47. Walter's mother, Nona led the women's sports program at New Mexico A&M from 1933-40. We're very excited to be able to have Walter share his unique perspective and knowledge of Aggie history with bleedCrimson.net and our readers.
Pecos Uvalde Finley -- a cowboy hero in a Louis L'Amour novel? Not quite, but close. Pecos Finley was a hero alright, and he was straight off the eastern New Mexico cowboy country. Finley's brief shining life reflects both the glory and the tragedy of many young NM A&M athletes and students before and during WW II.
There are precious few still around who remember Finley as a star Aggie basketball player in the mid-and late-'30s. Mention Pecos and the old eyes sparkle, then squint, and close. They see him on the Williams Gym floor racing down court leading the potent fast break on a team that won three Border Conference Championships and a trip to the NIT in Madison Square Garden in 1939. They see the fluid, Cousy-like one handers, and the running, the constant running. They remember a handsome young man, his cowboy charm, humility and sportsmanship. Slowly, as the old eyes open, they are sad. Now they remember Bataan and Finley and his New Mexico compadres, and their cruel fate at the hands of the Japanese in WW II.
