It is about We not Me

October 8, 2021, was the fifty year celebration of the "Miracle Bisons", the 1971 David Lipscomb College baseball team that finished NAIA National Runner-up with a record of 44 wins and 15 loses. As I prepared to attend the gathering , I had been reflecting on that special year for several days. In the hours leading up to the celebration, I came to the realization that I would be unable to attend.  I had just had surgery that morning and just wasn't in position to go. But that did not keep me from reflecting on that championship year. In doing so, my mind drifted back to the final championship game. The following narrative is my remembrance.

We were playing in the 1971 NAIA Baseball College World Series in Phoenix, Arizona. Our team was hot, demonstrated by four straight come-from-behind victories, after losing our first game 13-4 to Lewis College. Finally we had reached the national championship game. As a senior and co-captain of the team, I had really started hitting the ball, going 4 for 7 with a game winning rbi in one of the two previous games. We would lose 9-8 in ten innings to Linfield College out of Oregon in that final game. Because of our come-from-behind victories, in the Nashville community and press we were dubbed "The Miracle Bisons." 

In hindsight, was there a decision made in this championship game that proved to be a wrong one? As mentioned earlier, I had been seeing the ball really well. My second at-bat during the game, I hit the ball hard toward the shortstop. Jim Minnick, who was not a fast runner, was on first base and was easily forced out at second. I could see that there was no way for me to be thrown out at first so I coasted across first base, safe. Jim had stopped running because he was easily out at second base. 

Coach Davis, our first base coach, told Coach Dugan that we were loafing on the base paths. Coach Dugan abruptly decided to take Jim and me out of the game. We were not loafing and I am not sure what Coach Davis saw. I was safe at first. But regardless of our feelings about the matter, we both saw our careers come to an end while sitting on the bench. How does one handle a situation like this?

We lost the game and our team finished National Runner-up. We returned to the motel and had a team meeting. Coach Dugan asked the seniors if they had anything to say since this was their last game. What was I to say? I was hurt and disappointed in Coach Davis, a man I had played with during my freshman and sophomore seasons. Well, included below in an article written by Jeff Hanna, sports writer for the Nashville Tennessean, are some of my comments at that meeting. The article was in the  Sunday Magazine Special Edition of the newspaper, June 20,1971:

The championship game had ended, and Coach Dugan's team is second. Choosing his words carefully, Dugan explains that this group of  players has an excellent future ahead of it. Each of them has shown that he is willing to give the extra amount that makes the difference.

He asks the seniors if they have anything to say since their careers have ended. Mark Massey, co-captain from Tyler, Texas, and one of the 3 seniors who played under Dugan four years, speaks up. Massey has been removed from the championship game for failing to hustle on a ground ball. "I just want to say, it's been a pleasure for me to play with all of you," Massey says softly. "Some of you might criticize Coach Dugan for taking me out of the game, but you shouldn't, I don't."

"He has always done what is best for the team because his job is to win games...Coach Dugan has always worked to make this team a winner."  

I definitely think you don't take two of your better hitters out of such a high stakes game. I believe we had a good chance to win if that had not happened. But Coach Dugan was only going on what Coach Davis told him. We were in the middle innings, down 6-2, so maybe Coach Dugan was trying to jump-start the other players. I never talked to him or Coach Davis about the decision. I was not loafing. I never loafed while playing for Coach Dugan, especially in a national championship game.

But what good would it have done to a great, memorable season for me to be critical. Coach Dugan had supported me and given me many chances when I was not performing up to speed and I was simply not going to turn my back on him now. He had been one of the main influences in my life. I was not going to ruin things after a wonderful season. The team was more important than me. It would have been wrong of me to challenge his decisions since the game and season were over.

In summary, I believe there is much to be gained by learning to do the next right thing even when you feel you have been treated unfairly. Leaders must strive to do the right thing regardless of the circumstances. I loved that man and I loved our team. He taught me about hard work, setting goals, and overcoming tough situations. He showed us how to build a program. He would tell you the truth as he saw it. I really believe that Coach Dugan did what he thought was best for the team.  So, I will leave it at that, even though I was not loafing. 

Maybe the framed phrase that hung on the office wall behind his desk gives insight into what Coach Dugan was like. Here's what it said: "Things may come to those who wait, but only things left behind by those who hustle." He was a hustler. Thanks, Coach, for all of the lessons and memories. 

In conclusion, the lesson taught that eventful day in Phoenix, Arizona, would resurface many more times in the next fifty years. Sometimes in your life as a leader you can be right about a matter, but endure wrong for the better good of unity. It takes wisdom. My parents instilled this principle in me and set the example of it by the lives that they lived day in and day out. It is always about WE and not ME.  

 Remember, I believe we are all leaders regardless of our position.