In this episode, Brian Beckcom speaks with Coach R.C. Slocum.
Coach Slocum is the winningest football coach in Texas A&M and Southwest Conference history as well as a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
Watch this episode on YouTube
In the podcast, Brian and Coach Slocum discuss:
- Whether we will play college football this fall
- How Coach Slocum went from growing up in the projects of Orange, Texas, shining shoes and delivering newspapers, to becoming one of the most famous college football coaches of all time
- His advice to would-be coaches, and how to become a great coach;
- How to be a good coach and a good person, with a focus on character, learning, and persistence.
- “Coach Slocum on a Mobile”
- The “most improved” players Coach Slocum worked with at A&M
- Leadership, commitment, and integrity
- What he’s most proud of as a coach: relationships and shared experiences.
- The biggest game he coached in
- His legacy
- And other topics
Coach R.C. Slocum grew up in the projects of Orange, Texas. He worked his way through high school shining shoes and delivering newspapers before he received a scholarship to play football at McNeese State; he was the first person in his family to attend college. He also worked his way through the coaching ranks, and by the time he was finished with his career, he was the winningest coach in both Texas A&M history and Southwest Conference history and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
Read the show notes!
[00:00:00] Brian Beckcom: Hey everybody. Brian Beckham here. And I have got coach RC Slocum, coach Slocum, as the winningest coach in ANM football history. He lost only 12 home games in 14 years. He's a member of the college football hall of fame, and he's won so many honors. I mean, I could sit here and talk to him for talk, talk about your honors for 15 minutes coach.
But before we do that, how you doing man?
Coach RC Slocum: I'm doing good. I'm in Carmel, California, a little vacation. Uh, got my youngest son and his family coming in tomorrow and then playing a little golf, got Fred Colwell and one of the old players, his wife, or out here, and a lot of anguish out here. We had an Aggie party about three or four days ago.
So, uh, it's 63 right now. So, uh, I, uh, I know what it is from Texas too, so I'm glad [00:01:00] I'm here for right now.
Brian Beckcom: Yeah, I'm in, I'm in Beaver Creek right now. So it's about 60 degrees out here. And our friends in Houston or, or in college station, or are struggling a little bit with the coronavirus. Is your family doing okay?
Coach RC Slocum: Everybody's doing well. Yeah. I, uh, you know, I tell people I'm still tough enough all those years, growing up in orange, Texas and coaching 30 seasons, a and M I've been in a lot of Texas sun and I'm still tough enough to do it. I don't have to do it right now. I'm taking a couple of weeks here to got to enjoy some cool weather and, uh, Play a little golf and the airplane is good.
Brian Beckcom: Well, great coach will. Well, I gotta, I gotta ask you this right out of the red, out of the Gates. Cause I know a lot of people are probably thinking about it. You think we're going to play college football this year
Coach RC Slocum: I've said right from the start of all of this, that there were a whole lot of things that had to be worked out for that to happen.
There's still a lot of things to be worked down. And, uh, as I look across the country and I [00:02:00] get, I get some. Some emails and articles everyday that I read for various people around the country, athletics directors, conference commissioners. And I think everybody has the same concern. No, one's saying it right now.
We're not going to do it. I talked to some of them recently. They said it's just so hard to plan when you don't know. Everything changes every day or so it changes it. You don't, you don't know what's out there. You can say, okay, September 1st, we're going to be okay. You know, whatever, but. No one knows that no one knows what the answers are.
All these questions. There's so many things like I know how it works, you know, just from practicing, you bring a bunch of kids in which a lot of them right now have come in to campuses, but they've actually, they started off doing some, all season type work, but a lot of them have had to cancel it because they were having high numbers of costumes at work.
Uh, propping up. So now say you get somehow get through training camp and football's a [00:03:00] sport where you can't, uh, you can't practice social, social, distancing, and practice is football. And when you're going to tackle somebody, you get pretty close to be planning.
Yeah.
Coach RC Slocum: A lot of issues. I like that just with the game itself, but then say you get through all of that.
You get on the plane to go play all over and they go play Alabama or whatever. She arrived on the plane across your country. You get off, you get on buses to go to the hotel and you stay in a hotel. Then someone said a couple of guys, she coached, man. I don't feel well. They're positive. So now you brought that whole team on a plane together.
They've been on buses together. You don't need it when they're in town, you can't ask kids. I know care. I spent my life. I was a kid college kids around them, my whole life. They're not going to stay, go stay by themselves in a room at night after practice. So they, you got three or four guys living in an apartment [00:04:00] together.
Each of them has X number of friends that they interact with. So your odds go up dramatically running across somebody. That, uh, that is positive and just so many issues. So, you know, everybody is doing the best they can. I saw him coaches, Arizona state, uh, Sean, who coached at a and M and one time I talked to him yesterday.
It just starts. They thought they were well, we're going back. They went for quite a while that they weren't working out at all. All the coaches were working at home, so they brought their kids back in and, and uh, then it's okay, we'll go back to office. You work well now they've gone back the other way.
Now, all these things started popping up and, uh, the last time I heard a yesterday, should they still we'll meet back on the 29th? Yeah, it kind of where we are there, but they, they, it was like a false start. They brought players in numbers, [00:05:00] started going up, got scattered around, stop meeting, you know, go back home coaches, work from home.
And so, uh, that that's, uh, that's where we are with that as far as I can shift. So if you asked me whether we going to have it or not, You see right now to where they waiting to launch several leagues, the big 10 and the pack 12 have said, they're not going to play non-conference games. That impacts us.
You know, we were to play Colorado and Fresno said, they're not going to play. So in school B if it is played, it will be different from any C's that any of us have ever seen.
Brian Beckcom: Yeah, no doubt, no doubt about that coach. And you know, there's a lot of, you know, one of the things you said there at the very beginning, I think is.
Uh, really important for people to understand and that's that we just don't know. No, there's just so much about this virus. It's just, we just don't have our hands around it. And so it's kind of hard to predict right now. You [00:06:00] know what it's going to look like in the fall for, for example, my, my kids are playing sports and Houston and a couple of Houston school districts came out yesterday and said, No sports and no school in the fall already.
And then we've got a course, you know, the NBA players there, they're doing this, this bubble thing. I'm sure you've seen this coach where they're being super strict about, you know, who can be there, who they can interact with. And, you know, within the first couple of days, coach, I think I saw that a couple of players inadvertently got out of the bubble.
And so now they have to go back into quarantine for a little bit. And you know what I've been telling my kids coach and. No, my business, same deal. We had to, everybody's been working remote for gosh, four months now. And you know, we've, we've had to change a lot of things, but what I've been telling my kids and people that work for me are we just gotta be mentally flexible.
We gotta, we got to, this is something we've never dealt with before. And so we just have to, we have to do what we need to do. And I think coach, you would agree with this. The number one [00:07:00] priority needs to be that health and safety of the players. And the coaches. So
Coach RC Slocum: I think it's one of the big philosophies have I've fallen about.
And I've heard people say if a college campus is not safe for the students to come back, the regular students would come back and go to classes. You gotta be very careful your attorney to be very careful about bringing those players back into an atmosphere where there's a, there's a big statement being made that it's not safe for the regular students to come back on campus and go to class, but you're going to bring these players and athletes back in and put them in an environment where they're together.
They have to be together. They're practicing. And, uh, so then there was some big, I saw an article, a attorney in Florida. We could go real about all the issues about liability and how it works. [00:08:00] And wherever you say, Hey, I need you to come back, report back on this date. We're going to put you back in here and we'll start practicing.
So all of a sudden you got a young guy, maybe 19 years old, 20 years old, and you're. Pretty much telling him he has to come back. Now. I'm sure the school attorneys are or coach or the coaches have to say, tell a guy we'd like him to come back if he wants to come back. But the reservations don't come back.
Brian Beckcom: I hear by the way, sign this all, you know, with the 15 pages of small print we want you that's right. Coach. As somebody who's been. A mentor and somebody who's been in charge of young people for a very, very long time. I would think that you, as a, as a former head coach would have a kind of a unique perspective on making sure that you take care of the health and safety of your players.
So, you know, w [00:09:00] we all, we all want to see college football. I mean, I think there's that nobody wants college football to get canceled. We all want to see it, and we want to do the best we can, uh, to play sports because. You know, sports is a big part of our society. It's something that we really need it, it takes our minds off of things.
Um, but you know, interestingly,
Coach RC Slocum: I was involved in two different circumstances. I way the nine 11 game at a and M the tragedy in New York and, uh, catastrophe, uh, uh, national. National issue. And then we had the bonfire at all with the bonfire film, both of those cases, there was some talk about canceling those games, canceling or postponing.
And in both cases, I said, you know, I really, I weighed in heavily in both cases of saying, I really think we'd be better served [00:10:00] to have the games. And, uh, bring Aggie family together and we draw strength from each other rather than be all scattered all somewhere. So if, if we can, but the safety, as you say, has to be the top priority.
We should not in any way do this unless we use the best science that we can use and determined that it is. Safe. And that's where I don't know how we're going to do that. I don't think we have that capability right now to, to know everything that we're dealing with. And she'd say, this seems like. This, uh, this virus kind of bounces around and there's not a clear, I'm not seeing a clear statement about exactly who it affects and how it affects.
We've seen some young people recently that, uh, had serious consequences from having, having the virus. We know what affects older people. But we've seen a younger LAN recently being [00:11:00] negatively. Uh, Oh, it's just, but I, one thing I'll say and dealing with, we did this, I have choir practice with the team and we'd say it's not the bad things that happened to you, their court, but it's how you react to them.
And we can choose as a nation, as a state, as a university. Uh, we, we can choose our reaction and say, we're going to stay positive. We're going to be smart. You gotta go by the science, try to get all different. We can. And then one error or whatever were restrictions come up. We should go them. We don't care how restless you get or how anxious you have to get out and get around and get back with people.
You can say, you know what, right now with Kate do it, or however long it takes, I'm committed. I wear my, I don't have no mask on right now by myself, but I'm out of here. We were at mass. We go to the golf course. We're where I'm asked to we get there and get separated. Uh, the restaurants here in Carmel right now are all outdoor seating only [00:12:00] and space shady, no indoor dining.
And so that's, if that's what they think we should do. That's why,
Brian Beckcom: yeah. Me, me to coach and you know, for me personally, and you'll, you'll you'll know this name when I mentioned it to you. One of my, uh, teammates on a college basketball at Texas a and M college basketball team back in 1991 was a guy named David Edwards.
And I'm sure you remember, David. Yeah. David passed away about three months ago. Dave was a starting point guard. I think he was 49 when he passed away. He was from the Bronx and he passed away COVID and, uh, that really, uh, that really hit home to me. Well, coach, uh, it's great to see it before we get started.
I gotta tell you something. So my dad, who is probably one of the. Biggest acnes I have ever met in my life. I mean, this is not only a big Aggie, but also a huge Aggie football fan. This is how big of an Aggie football fan. My dad is back in the [00:13:00] seventies. I think he was a major in the air, of course, upstate New York.
And this was before ESPN and smartphones and the internet. And you couldn't get the a and M football game. Sometimes you would get the box or maybe the next day we are too, but his sister. Lived in Waco at the time. And so she, he would call his sister long distance and she would hold the phone up against the radio though.
My dad could listen to Dan and football games. There's no telling how big as long distance bill was, but I remember I was five or six years old and I could just hear in the other room Maggie's come on Aggies, come on. And
for a very, very long time. And, um, talking to my dad the other day, cause he was real excited. You were coming on the podcast and he said, tell her, I want you to tell coach Slocum that he is one of the top two Aggies that I have ever known. And so coach, it's a huge honor to [00:14:00] have you on, on the podcast. And I know there's a lot of people listening right now.
Uh, that think the same thing. So
Coach RC Slocum: let me take that as a huge compliment because I have very, very high regard for your great man. A great idea. And I, I consider that a great offer.
Brian Beckcom: I'm sure my dad's sentiments are shared by thousands of other, uh, Aggies, uh, coach you're. You're just, you know, every time I, I see and I think about you, I'm just, I'm proud to call a and M my Alma mater.
You're just a great representative for the school, but. Well, let's talk real quick coach, because I think you have a really interesting history about how you became a coach. And I know there'll be a lot of people listening to the podcast, including, uh, people that are coaches now, maybe high school, eighth grade coaches, middle school coaches, or maybe just kids that are interested in becoming a coach.
Tell us a little bit, if you don't mind about your path to becoming a coach, like how did [00:15:00] you become a college football coach?
Coach RC Slocum: Well, I can tell you that I'll give you a step by step. I, I, uh, lived in Texas, grew up in a uneducated, poor family, good people, hard working. My dad worked hard, worked in the ship yard, worked in the plants.
We lived in the projects because that's where a lot of people back then lived and just rows of duplexes, all kinds of people there. I start off when I shine shoes early on. Uh, through newspapers, start off selling newspapers, right? This ride down at court. The local paper was orange leader. Orange leader walked in there.
Brian Beckcom: Yeah
Coach RC Slocum: know, I got did that well enough though. They let get around. So I had a route. Learn a lot about human nature. I'd go to someone to collect. So I had a whole lot of exposure knocking on doors. I came to collect the leader. Okay. You own? And, [00:16:00] uh, occasionally I want to say, Hey, we'll come back next, next month.
Well, I go by next month and the place. So I learned a lot. Uh, there were occasions Christmas. I'll never forget where people would call me in golden. That gave me a little, like a little pair of socks or something for Christmas show for being a good paper boy
going through. And you say, well, what's that have to do with being a coach? What happens some with great, uh, I I've never played like little league football or anything, but I was working. And it was a good feeling, the work that was great experience, man, the feeling of accomplishment of having that money in my pocket without I still have a Shaun box at the house and my office and I had it in my office the whole time I coach they won't tell those kids.
This is where I came from. Know, and you see me here as time college coach in your lane, but it wasn't always that way. So anyway, coach called me overcoat, Frank moats, put his arm around me. Actually I come, [00:17:00] you're not out for football. I was going to be eclipse. That's why I will go to, I just, I never had played, I've been busy working at Easter, you know, I think you
Brian Beckcom: could play.
And you're a big guy too, especially back then. You were pretty big guy, right?
Coach RC Slocum: Well, as a little skinny kid in long arms and I could catch, I didn't, you know, on a PE classes I could catch. And I don't think he saw that say well on to talk about folks. And to be honest, they kind of try to discourage me a little bit, you know, about, they didn't know anything about it.
That's who I really want to do it. And I, I. So anyway, long story short, I go out, man. He was a great coach, great guy. And then all the way through coach Bob Woodruff was all my coaches all the way through junior high. We're demanding people. Uh, they wish me to be more than I could probably have been on my own, but they were always, always, yeah, they, they hugged me and, but, uh, get the high school and they just kept polishing old me and Polish a little bit.
A deer [00:18:00] that time, there was a family that the opposite side of the town to start family start high school in orange now at Wistar and start a family. I got to know, uh, one of them, the father through his daughter. So we'll have a girl's at junior high kind of role match thing. I go to their house. And I've told people I spoke at the guy's fear away, passed away.
I said, you know, I don't know. I pressed the girls that much, but to that light. Yeah. So one point in there about junior high and I grade or so 10th grade, he should smoke my boy. I gotta take you up to ag. I got to take you up. We'll go up to Texas game. And then he was taking the only Kirby, all hunting trips.
We went through. Uh, a and M and had the on fire. And it's, it's where the core building is now in that area, over there, close, close to theirs where the bonfire was and then [00:19:00] went to a and M Texas game. And then we would also, that's the first college campus I'd ever been on in my life. No one in my family had ever gone to college, but through the polishing of those coaches, I got better at football and learn it.
Just learn so much about life. And I got scholarships to go to college. It'd be the first, my family to go to college. I went to college. I had the same kind of coach. I fought all coaches reluctant when I got out and found out they were all like, we're good. We're great, man. To mainly guy, I never had a coach beautifully.
I never had a coach curse me or shake me or grab me. Or they were all demanding guys that are greatly respected. So when I got to college, the only other thing I ever thought about doing was being an attorney. Really appealed to me in college. I ended up in college. I was selected to be in the blue Kean, OSH national honor fraternity.
And I think we had about 10 or [00:20:00] 15 members at school. And I bet half of those went to law school. And one of them became a district judge in Lake Charles. So that kind of appealed to me, but the coaching thing, I said, you know, if I could, if I could someday play the role and another young man's life that my coach has played in my life had nothing to do with money at all.
But that appealed to me so much that I went in to coach and then coach two years at Lake Charles high school, quit my job. Hello, everything I had to move to Manhattan. The answer is to be a graduate assistant. I didn't even know what they're going to pay. Yeah. And I'll say this at this time. Um, I I'm concerned nowadays that you would have young guys, so they read some of the salaries and the papers.
I'm going to go be a coach, be a coach. None of us will you. When you talk to barrel roll or Frank crawls or spike dykes, or who, none of those guys went into coaching for the money. Yeah. They went in it for [00:21:00] similar reasons to what I did. They loved the game so much. They love being around young, me and helping lead on me.
And a lot of the guys just ahead of me had military backgrounds like your dad. They came out of world war two and the Korean war. So there was discipline and leading man and teaching men to grow up and be better than they can be. It. All of that really appealed to me as a kid. Cause it, it helped me. And then I, I coached that way.
I, you know, I thought it was good for guys to play a demanding sport like football and, but they had to be rules gang. You had to do things a certain way and. It's so rewarding to me now that I have my players come back and say, coach, I didn't totally understand you. That's like Bucky registered. Yeah. I didn't totally understand why I was playing, but now I get it.
I got it now. And I'm so thankful.
Brian Beckcom: Isn't that awesome? Isn't that awesome.
Coach RC Slocum: I get calls every day. I get [00:22:00] text messages from kids and say, coach, man. I appreciate you so much what you did and, and said, Hey, we're going to do things the right way. And, uh, you know, you may not like our rules, but you're going to find out the rest of your life.
They're going to be rules for sure. And wherever you go, you go where for example, you go to bed. No, I don't like to write. I don't like to wear this red and yellow outfit. I don't really like that. So, you know what, that's fine. Why don't you get, you can go down to water, burger and go where's your wine went away.
This is what you wear. You work here. That's a simplistic illustration, but it's like, this is how we do things. We get off that bus. I want you to dress one time. I had a deal, no, in those days and this, you know, it, it's more prominent now, but the, and off the bus, you, when you were traveling, you put your music on listening.
You usually can all of that, but we got off the bus and shuts off. I want you looking look in like your dress, [00:23:00] look like yourself. You're on a business trip. You're a young businessman going on a trip. We walked through that hotel lobby and our alumni there. Someday I will be calls or I'm not trying to ship.
They will hire you. And I will opinion of you and what kind of person you are. So, yeah. All of those things. I just was coaching, not just football, not doing sexes, no. Like coaching, nail and Polish, like my coaches did to me. And I'm very proud of the guys. You mentioned Bucky. I bring him out to Carville every year.
There's a coach's class. You got Terman. Bring him out here and successful businessman. Got kids, successful father and husband and Richmond. Well, Greg there's so many of those guys. I I'm, I hear from them every day, Ty Warren, a week ago, we've been having, uh, a deal Cadillac. What you're doing right now, ever Sunday night, we've had a devotional type call with a [00:24:00] speaker over this whole Coby deal.
We've done it every Sunday night. I spoke one night. Red Caldwell. And my players was out here with me. He spoke one night last week. Tyler Warren was the speaker and I introduced him and tile first round draft show us local kid grew up poor the whole thing and lost a child, uh, tragically, a little daughter drowned this past year, but they gave a great testimony last Sunday night.
And. Those kinds of guys. And when they come up a big old bear hug, put the arm around she'd coach, man. I love you, coach. You meant so much to me. So that's why I coach. And so, uh, fast forward I went through, I came to a and M tumor Bellard in 1972. The way I did, I came home, I said, Kansas state got elevated, hired full time at Kansas state.
So I came home for Christmas and I went over and visited university of Houston. I had a high school coach. Mine was assistant there. He gets me off the side. They were getting ready for bogey. And he [00:25:00] said, Hey, as soon as this game's over, we're going up to a and M hammer. Bellard has got the a and M job.
Yeah, we're going to go with it. That was mailed and Robert should have been hurt. And I said, dang, man, I'd love to go with you. I'd love to go. I love and give him a call and use us as a reference. So I'm driving home to orange and you know, a lot of people would have taken time, you know, Christmas. And I'm saying, man, if I call up there, No way I will get through to him.
I said, I'm going to go. So I came home, got home that night, got up and makes more than three 30. And I drove the old one Oh five drill, the hole college station. I say, shit on the steps and the boring way, about 45 minutes and coach large assistant came in and she says, can I help you? And I said, yeah, you're not actually going to bar.
She's well, that is not a good day. It's his first day on the job. And he's got a full schedule with media. I've got coaches here at NBA. I said, well, I know all that, but if I can [00:26:00] just, she said, does he know you as well? Not really. I wrote him a letter not long ago.
Come on in. So she let me come in. I could tell she was pulled out a little bit, but I went in and I sat there and sat there a little while when people started to come in. Uh, one of them came, brought me a cup of coffee. So around noon, uh, one of the secretaries came and said, you know, we know you've been here all morning.
There's a place across the street there. The MSC, you go there and get some lunch. I said, no, it's okay. I'm fine. I was afraid Emory coming through,
Brian Beckcom: miss a chance yet
Coach RC Slocum: I missed my chance. So I stayed there about one 45. Uh, his assistant came out and she's look, coach for Lord knows that you've been here all day and he's got a little short window of four o'clock today.
If you will wait till then he'll see you, but just for a minute, that's perfect. So I wanted at four o'clock and just started telling him all the reasons why he should hire
Brian Beckcom: me. That is, that is coach. I was going [00:27:00] to ask you about that story because I've heard that before. So.
Coach RC Slocum: The
Brian Beckcom: people that are listening.
It's not like coach Slocum got hired immediately at every single job. He got a lot of people have the similar stories like coach Slocum showed up at 7:00 AM and just wouldn't leave until coach Bellard interviewed him. What an is, inspirational story.
Coach RC Slocum: I tell young people when I talk to them, you got to keep turning over stones.
Keep looking Cheryl, most of last opportunities just don't come to you. To the people who's willing to get up early and stay late, knock on doors and turn over stones or do whatever you have to go to go, try to make it turn out. Like you want it
Brian Beckcom: to it's exactly right coach. I remember the day I left for college, I was going down to play on the basketball team and my dad gave me a book called.
Don't quit. And it was just a picture book of athletic, like athletic achievements were in football, basketball, the Olympics, you name it where somebody could have stopped, but they pressed on him. I still have this [00:28:00] book in my office. My dad had a little note on it that said don't ever quit persistence wins.
And I think that story you told is just a perfect example of how, if you're persistent, if you don't quit, good things will happen. I'll tell you a quick, funny story coach about. Ty Warren and Eric England. When I showed up to play basketball, I was what they didn't call it this back then, but now they call it a preferred walk on.
So we're going to have to try out for the team. I was on the team. I go over to net, him Steed, and these two big black guys walk in and they, they look at me and I was about 180 pounds, about six, 180 pounds, real skinny. And it was Taiwan and Eric England. And they looked at me and they go, Hey, how you doing, man?
Are you the new kicker for the football team?
You talked, you talked earlier about, uh, you know, uh, other than my dad, that person that probably had the most [00:29:00] influence on my life was my. High school, basketball coach. I remember when I was in eighth grade, I was playing football. I was playing baseball, kind of like everybody in Texas did we got this new coach, Clayton Brooks.
And he came down to watch the eighth graders who were coming in. And I was the only one that could shoot a lay up with his left hand and his right hand. And he walked over to me, coach Brooks did and said, I want you to play basketball for me. I think you could be really good. And those two words literally changed the course of my athletic career.
It changed the course of my professional career. Uh, just those two little words from coach Rex. And I actually talked to coach Brooks three or four weeks ago cause he was getting inducted into the Texas high school coaches hall of fame. So you're right, man. Coaches have, you know, anybody that's played sports before, particularly for a really good coach knows what an incredible influence.
That a coach can have on young people. Um, [00:30:00] so coach tell us about, so Emory Bellard coach blurred eventually hires you. What was your trajectory as a coach after that?
Coach RC Slocum: Well, first of all, I came up with Emory. We had a quarterback named Lynn, Vicky, Mike Montgomery in the backfield. We were good. We went into Norman Beto.
Uh, wait, we were good. But we had thrown, we had a little reputation throwing the ball around freshmen goats, but I worked on the bar street too. So I came to Emory. He hired me as the receiver coach and we on a whistle
Brian Beckcom: it's for the younger folks on the podcast. It used to be when you were a freshman, you could not play on the varsity team in college, right?
Coach RC Slocum: That's correct. That changed the season of 1972 was when that changed. I came in with Emory. And we still had a freshman team. We had, we had a freshman coaches. [00:31:00] Uh, we played a freshmen schedule that year, but it was the first year that freshman were eligible to play. So Bubba bean, who I recruited as a true freshman that year.
But. We came in. I was receiver coach and I used to call it the stock bond coach. We didn't throw the ball bear bucks
in Richmond
Brian Beckcom: to, it was the coach that said one time you could, there's three things that could happen when you pass the ball. And two of them are bad.
Coach RC Slocum: Well, you, they credit their role with that. Yeah. He had worked for Daryl. So that was kind of philosophy. Wasn't fun. Yeah. But, but we were good. Emory was a great guy.
Never really got the credit that he deserved in my opinion, at a and M we got there, our facilities, so, so far behind and, uh, Yeah, we didn't have a whole lot, you know, [00:32:00] Bryan college station. Wasn't a Mecca at that time. There wasn't a whole lot. Cause I remember like the ASW root beer stand and a couple other places about the only restaurants there.
So, but we, we did and I'll say this and this is something I, I think it's pertinent at this time to say this that we got there, there was one scholarship, black player. Uh, on the team, Jerry Ana Ray, and I had one walk on black player, they might group. And so we, you know, there were some bunch of really good players around the state then, and I can remember this sound would sound really out of whack today, but at this time, at the, at those times it was a pertinent question.
One of the systems that one of our early. Staff meetings before we went out for CRE our staff was stumble January the second, 1972. And so in that meeting, someone [00:33:00] says, coach, how many black players do you think we can shine? And everyone said, we'll sign all that we can stand are good people and good players.
No, y'all let me worry about that. Cause it's the right thing. It's what outside man. My players are here and I was Walker, Bubba being Carl roaches, Pat Thomas, Jackie Williams, and some really great players that went on. Well, at the time they were seniors, we were, the coach was conference and played a bunch of bowl games.
It'll be fence 74. We you're number two in the nation, 75, number one 76, number three in the nation. But I admired every and I got to talk at his. And his funeral. That's one of those things that I said, I always admired him as a man, because he said, it's the right thing to do. You know, we don't recruit guys that are good people and good players, and we did that and they added greatly to our success.
Brian Beckcom: What would [00:34:00] you tell coach? What would you tell young people nowadays that are looking to be a coach that like want to get into. Coaching, whether it be high school or college, what kind of things? W w what advice would you give them about how to go about. Becoming a coach.
Coach RC Slocum: I think the domain I've said this to a lot of young people and it really helped me will, it will.
The best things happen. I worked in high school for a really good high school coach. He left after the first year I was. Coach at Lake Charles high and the head coach, Johnny Adams left to go to Northwestern state as a college coach assistant coach in college. And, uh, so I, I started off working for a guy that was, uh, that was a really good coach.
We played by the year, our students. So we played in the state championship in the state of Louisiana. So we had a good program. So I learned I was okay, this is how you coach. I go to Kansas state. Vince Gibson had been the D coordinator at. [00:35:00] Tennessee with Doug Dickey in a real good program at coach at Florida state bill Peterson and work with Bobby Bowden at South Georgia junior college.
He was a good coach. Not a company at a and M I worked for him, coached over the national championship team at Texas and attended the wish phone. And then I moved over to defense. The one year I went to work for Bellevue Robertson, who to this day of all the coaches I work with are far work for me. I would say he was best coach.
I'm a young guy. Learning the right way to do things. I tell her young period, don't worry so much about the money, whether it's coaching or whatever industries go somewhere, where you can learn from someone that knows what they're doing. Go to a good company, go to a reputable law firm. Go wherever you are.
Don't pay me more to go. Don't worry about that. If you're good. And [00:36:00] learned the right way to do things. The money would come actually go find a place to say that I don't want to coach. I don't know a whole lot. I don't know anything. Just be honest. Yeah.
I'll show up early and stay late. I'll work hard and do a good job. I'll be loyal and do all those things. You know, still the persistence, the character traits of honesty and loyalty into the guy you're working for and supporting him. Uh, all of those things that hasn't changed, people are dying to find people.
I talked to the ag use corporate leaders and other places too. So it's hard to get guys who don't work. You get some really bright kids coming out of college, but I had got to tell generation, you know, I come here, I'm the first one here and I'm the last one to leave, but you can't get them to come to work.
They will leave soon as they get there. And then it will, no, we don't want to promote them. So I think learning those old fashioned deals of [00:37:00] being true to the people who sign your check. Give them a good day. It's work. Don't show up today. You get, they're looking for another job coach. I'm going to do a great job at where I am right now.
I'm going to do a great job. If you do that, that other job will come to you. They'll be seeking you out, but your reputation will spread, but don't go in there and they get there and be looking at where are you going to go next? Yup.
Brian Beckcom: And coach that, that, that is awesome because you know, as a business owner, as somebody who's in charge of hiring people, sometimes I know.
That if somebody has gone through any kind of sporting program or something like that, the chances are pretty good that they've learned some life lessons that apply to any sort of job. But like you're talking about, I remember the first lawyer job I had. I, you know, and I learned this from sports. I said, I'm gonna beat a, uh, boss into the office and I'm going to stay until he leaves because I'm going to show him how hard I want them.
Want to work and that that's, [00:38:00] you don't necessarily learn that by going to class, you learn that through extracurricular activity or sports or having mentors like you coach. I got it. I got it. Quick quote. I want to read for you and I want, I want to, cause I think this is the perfect time for this and I want to see if you remember said this.
Okay. So here's the quote coach. Okay. I wouldn't trade winning another game or two for my reputation. As a person I've said from day one, I'm going to do things the way they should be done. There were those that said, if you don't cheat, you're pretty naive. You can't win that way. Well, we're going to find out that's the way we're going to do it.
I'm going to be able to walk away, look myself in the mirror and say, we did it the right way. Who said that?
Coach RC Slocum: Well, that's something that I get credit for
Brian Beckcom: sure. Yeah.
Coach RC Slocum: That's you coach. I deal with the coaches and I was so good. [00:39:00] I never had a coach who taught me how to cheat or be a bad person. Everyone on my head was trying to Polish up and teach me the right things.
And so I have to say that I'm a, I'm a believer, a Christian. And always operated on the premise and still do that someday. I'm going to have to talk to the real head coach. I wanted to have good answers. When he set up, put you in a position, I gave you 125 young men down there every year to be under your leadership.
And let's talk about what you did with them, what you told to. So I wanted to have good answers for that. And, uh, and so now she, those guys I could look one day Bucky was on the golf course. We'll be at pebble beach. Yeah. We're on the, uh, the 18th hole and the caddy came up to us. And he should see a house.
She has a house down there. Thank God. [00:40:00] They sent him money and they put him, they put him into the house. So Bucky came back over to me right after that, he came to me on the golf cart and she said, coach, I appreciate so much how you did things. You told us, you know, I used to tell them I don't want, I don't want some day for the knocked on the door and guy comes up and you walked out glacier there, they come to get, they come to get daddy.
It is . Where are they taking that? Well, I take any bounce out. I told shuffled storage. Right? Well, you know, they would, uh, they would understand. And, uh, we, we had another thing that. Story. All my players can tell you about Billy Bob. You know, so ever, ever Friday afternoon, we'd normally take them to a movie on Friday night, just spindle all week.
We take them out and relax and watch a movie. But ever year, first [00:41:00] game of the year, they were home game. We're going to booby. I said, Hey, I'll tell you about open. That's been out there all week, working hard. Getting up early, going to work, work hard and money. What he'd really liked to do is come home Friday night and just put his feet up and sit back and watch TV and take it easy.
But it's why whole school watch a movie. So they go out to the movie and then all of a sudden, here's this bunch of football players in the booth. And they're talking, laughing and loud and everything. Right? Excellent. She's punching they bit about, I can't hear him. I can't even want to send those kids are so loud.
I see if you're talking so loud and laughing so loudly that Billy Bob's wife can here, you're out of it, respect to other people. And I said something recently, I put a bill on Twitter that all this stuff that's going on right now. There's a simple rule that would, that would go a long way towards solving.
And that is what I was brought up [00:42:00] with the golden rule, treat other people like you'd like to be treated. I don't care. Great. Black, Brown, green treat other people like you'd like to be treated. And if you do that, if we all did that, Uh, the world would be a better place.
Brian Beckcom: Yeah. Coach. And, you know, in some ways you and I, and other people that have played sports or coached have a little bit of an advantage, I think, or like my dad who's in the military because we're around people, all different races from all different walks of life.
And so, you know, at least for me personally, it enabled me to learn very, very early. That doesn't matter where you're from. Doesn't matter what the color your skin is, what the color of your hair is or any of that stuff. What matters is the content of your character? And I think it's really cool that, that, uh, in sports, you get to learn that really, really early well, coach, I gotta tell you, I was planning on surprising you.
During the podcast with a special guest, he couldn't make it, but [00:43:00] RC on a mobile was going to be on. And he had a copy
Coach RC Slocum: a couple of days ago. I had, I had a girl, we were talking about some stuff. Somehow they came up on the internet. Well, my Gulf coast office.
Brian Beckcom: So this over people don't know this story back. When, when coach was the head coach, there was this guy that would call on him to a sports radio in Houston claiming to be RC on a mobile.
And he sounded just like RC. And he was really funny, ended up getting his own slot and a coach. his name's Hunter. Shurtleff, he's a lawyer in college station, but anyway, coach Hunter wanted me to tell ya. Uh, how much he looked up to you, how much he wished he could have been on the call. And he also wanted to ask me, he said, one time he was listening to a speech that you gave.
And he [00:44:00] said, this is what you said. He what she said to your players. You said your
Coach RC Slocum: character
Brian Beckcom: is not shown when you were in a group and everybody is watching you a man's character is what he does when no one is watching. And coach Slocum, a RC on a mobile slash Hunter. Wanted to lead me, wanted me to let you know that that that's always stuck with him like that.
That's always been in his mind. So talk about that a little bit.
Coach RC Slocum: Yeah, I will. Before we go to that, I wanted to mention a follow up on the deal about the different skin colors narrow and so well, that was a kid in Sunday school. We would sing the song. Jesus loves the little children to the world. Red and yellow, black, and white, they are precious in his sight.
So this past, and I used to tell our team that all the time. And so, you know, we're not going to have it. This is my, this is what I believe. We're not going to have, we may have problems and we're not going to have those kinds of problems. I believe everybody in this room has [00:45:00] equal value, equal work. So this past, uh, The January, my wife, I'm going to call it football selection committed.
So they brought the committed to new Orleans for the national championship game. My wife wanted to go down to this art gallery gallery. She had met a lady in Houston one day. We were at MD Anderson. My brother was having surgery done. And she met this lady who has art gallery. It was telling her some stories about this artist.
So the day of the game, she's wanting to go down that streets, go be packed now. And she said, it's only 2.3 miles. Me walking down that street, but then the LSU fans and the claims and bam that's all day. But anyway,
cause she said, I'll go mom herself. So no, we'll go. So I went down there and I walked in and he started looking around everything. And one of [00:46:00] the neatest things, there was a painting. This artist painted. New Orleans artists there. And it was a vertical Campbell painting, but it was, it was faces red, yellow, black, white, and sat on the two boards and said red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight.
So I bought that painting. He brought it home. It's hanging in my house. Now.
Brian Beckcom: I love that. So anyway,
Coach RC Slocum: and then, then what's your next shot? I kind of lost track of what year.
Brian Beckcom: So Hunter, Hunter, Hunter was telling me, he goes, man, I wish I could be on the call, but please tell coach Logan, because I was telling Hunter, I was like, yeah, my dad was saying and his opinion.
And I think in a lot of our opinions, coach Slocum is one of the best Aggies of all time bar, none. And Hunter said, yeah, man, I totally agree with that. Just make sure and ask coach about the quote about your character, really? Uh, your character is what you're doing when nobody's [00:47:00] watching.
Coach RC Slocum: Yeah. I mean, and that's a, it's a basic fundamental, and it goes back to my upbringing.
If you believe in that concept of that all seeing, yeah. That's up there looking down on you, your mom and dad may not be there, but that
just little simple things, like a lot of time. No, you'll pull into a parking place. They got all the last, well, you see people pulling there and they, they just couldn't cross the line, get out of the car there a hurry. Yeah. Well like Scott comes along and would like to have a place to park, but you'd take it up to, by the way you parked.
No one saw you do that. Yeah. And I'm getting out of the car key, tell you how many times got out. And I looked, I couldn't leave my car parked like that. It's just not the right thing to do it. Put it in there where I've taken only my specs, you know? So I think operate under that deal, that whatever you're doing, uh, I, I got [00:48:00] told me a story.
I think this may be what hundred talking about this service given to me by someone else. So it's not original me, but it's just like, when you look at kid, if you can picture going out to a farm pot and you pick up a pebble or you throw it over the far side, it goes plop and little circles start coming out and then assemble four over here, throwing that side little circle, start coming out.
So as you continue to do that, it's like you and your life what's happening sooner or later, we've all watched it. I watched a bunch of those little circles. He can get bigger didn't they, they start overlapping. Yep. So after a while, as you go through life, whatever, whatever those things are, you are what you are.
And so your reputation, you, we all have the ability and we all get to make our reputation. So you may go into the cell level and across the street from a and M [00:49:00] there are some little guys and they're working. You go in there and you can be rude to him. You made the Manning or how come you don't have this out here, just go in there and treat him like, you'd like to be treated.
So you throw around a little stolen and then you go and the janitor's coming through, sweeping up. They all have their lives. They have problems with their kids. They have all the different issues that we all have and they're coming through there. So you can just be. Be rude or whatever, or he can be kind of, I'll tell you a quick story.
I'm a close friends. One of the big things in my life when I was close friends with president George H w Bush. So when I, he and I hit it off and we, we were close friends. He took me up to pine Balla New Jersey
country. Yeah. We say a table, president myself, and two other gentlemen, friends of his who came in were [00:50:00] all, we stayed there on property and we were having breakfast. So it came there and just Lou elderly, black lady came over to wait. Yeah. And we've been told about our game and who's going to play and everything.
He stopped everything. He was doing everything we were talking about. He turned his attention to complete mirror. How are you doing today? You know, just pleasant thing. Oh, I'm doing good, but she's probably nervous
Brian Beckcom: former president of the free world.
Coach RC Slocum: Yeah. Yeah. And so then at some point she, as she came back over there, he said, you have a grandson of someone that would like a golf ball, you know?
Oh yeah. So he takes a golf ball yet something in his pocket and autographed it and gave it to her to give to her grandchildren. It's always thought years ago, the former leader of the free world shooting an area and he, his friends and his golf game and all that, a big place, shit time out. This lady came over and he made her feel very [00:51:00] special that always and never.
Three other people beside him. So he wasn't totally by himself. They're sold out, but I saw it. I never forgot it. It was a great example of treating others. Like you'd like to be treated.
Brian Beckcom: That's a wonderful story. The way my dad used to tell me that that story was, he said, it's not how you treat the judge.
It's how you treat the janitor. You need to treat everybody the same, no matter what position they are and treat them as human beings. Well, well, coach, let me ask you a couple, uh, and I, I apologize ahead of time. You know, asking coaches who their favorite, this or that. It is probably similar to asking a parent who their favorite child.
So, so, but I do want to ask you about some of, uh, some of your experiences as a football coach. And in particular, I want to ask you if you can give us one or two examples of some players that you coached, [00:52:00] that when they first came. Under your coaching, whether it's a and M or, or any other coaching jobs, you didn't really know how good they were going to be.
And then they ended up being really, really good players. So like, who are the one or two examples of players that you coached that were the big time, big time overachievers. And why, why, why do you think they were successful?
Coach RC Slocum: Well, you know, first of all, at the, at the level that a and M is you, you, you don't do that without having talent.
Yeah. Yeah. There's a, there's a certain level that you have to have to be able to play it that late. Now, some guys, I think Terrence Murphy was at chapel Hill little school outside of Tyler and my coach was recruiting their area. He was a quarterback on a team. Didn't want a game she senior year. So my coach had pardon me down and you got assistance all [00:53:00] over.
We're looking, you know, evaluate, they all, each have areas. So, so I had a high school coach call me, he says, says, or C you know, understanding, you know, y'all how come y'all out recruitment kid over at chapel Hill. And I said, well, out of reality, three, I don't know. I don't, I don't know anything about it.
Yeah. Coach the crude side area. Uh, apparently did think he was what we're looking for. We've got some other quarterbacks committed human nature. I think that kids really good athletes play somewhere. And that's about tell him, I'll do it, man. Enough for you to call. I will go myself and get the tape in and look at Charlotte, we got to tape, I watched it and I could see why we did recruit him as a quarterback chic, but she didn't have it block.
And four, if you'd be running around bike or run to get pass, you know, but he was, he was avoiding the rush for a long time. So yeah, long story short. I, I, I reach out to him. Shit. I'd like to go and he wasn't being recruited. Yeah, Steven Halston, people [00:54:00] like that, you know, and I think Baylor amount of talk to him.
So, but not another big time, five star recruit. I went over at the sheet and what talked to him and he said, coach, where are you going to play me? And I said, I don't know. I said, you're a real good athlete. And Everly I've checked on your grades. I've checked when you character, everything checks out. And you have to trust me, I'll find a place for you.
You've got athletes. You got that later. She came in, started as a true freshman and caught two touchdown passes against the number one team in the nation would be Oklahoma. So he's example, Reggie Brown came from Austin, uh, uh, all the high school, maybe Austin high or some bad football team, but you look at it for sure.
I like he wasn't highly recruited, but I just liked what I saw came in and made all American started first round draft choice. So most of the guys [00:55:00] were, I'd say they were, I never paid any attention to five star, four star, all that. Other than I told my coach, that's the indicator use somebody who thinks they're good and damn sure don't want to overlook or not.
I started evaluating God, but. I don't want to ever take a guy because somebody should, he was five stars. I want us to look at him, say in our books, he's somebody we think we can coach. He's got the character. He's got the analytical built. I mean, I used to tell them. We should never recruit a guy. We don't think he could someday play in the national football league.
We shouldn't the truth. And so it gets back to what I'm telling you about the talent. You know, the mango Bryant was a Garrison.
Brian Beckcom: I remember him that guy could put a hit on somebody like you wouldn't believe
Coach RC Slocum: he could play. So we. My, I tried to look in their athletic ability and I had a fight coach. We had a shadow of [00:56:00] our meeting room doors, best Tennessee, but shit.
If he came from, he gave play big factors. My recruiting, I wanted to know. Yeah. You look at air Wallace. You look at all those guys.
Brian Beckcom: What about Johnny Holland? Johnny Holland was quarterback in high school. Right? Ended up being an all American linebacker,
Coach RC Slocum: make it raw. I told her, I used to kid about chasing rabbits down there.
Hempstead. I went back to the fun days. I rode with Johnny his senior year. They had Johnny holiday upstairs and we wrote it convertible. Rode all over town. I had all the kids from the elementary school, junior high, all out occurred with him there.
Brian Beckcom: You know, I've talked to a couple, uh I've I've, I've talked to a couple of Marine Corps officers on the podcast, a coach that went to combat and, you know, a couple of them said when they went to OCS, [00:57:00] There were no infantry slots.
So they just said, well, I'll be a pilot for a little bit if I need to, because I want to being an infantry man. But the point is, is like you, you start seeing these parallels with sports and business and the military where. Hey, you don't necessarily have to play the same position you played in high school in college.
You can play a different position. You, you, you can figure out a way to get it done. Well, those are great stories, coach. So
Coach RC Slocum: I got another good one for you. That backdrop, that picture you have there.
Brian Beckcom: Yeah, yeah, yeah. This picture . Where are you? Where'd that come from?
Coach RC Slocum: That's my first game as a head coach,
Brian Beckcom: I thought that was I'm so glad you said that.
So for people that are listening on the podcast that are not watching on YouTube, I've got a backdrop with coach slope. And when he looks like he's about 30 years old, he's got all his hair. Look at that.
Coach RC Slocum: Yeah, I was, I was fired up. We hadn't beaten LSU all the time. That was my first grade there. And I liked there were six or seven in the nation, something like that.
So [00:58:00] within probably a minute and a half, I remember long it takes to do the
Brian Beckcom: coin toss
Coach RC Slocum: one in Altona field, but they kicked off we deferred, they, they, uh, they want to toss, they deferred. So they kicked off to us. Larry Horton, ready back about 90 yards.
Brian Beckcom: I remember that.
Coach RC Slocum: Well, he is a head coach yard touchdown against sell that shoe.
And we beat them out like 28 to 13 or something like that.
Brian Beckcom: And you kinda, you kinda owned LSU for a little while they're at, or, and M football did that. And then they kind of turned the tables recently, but
Coach RC Slocum: we've beat them. Six out of seven tries to the point that they dropped that they broke the contract.
I just said, we're not going to play it. Uh, let the attorneys work on it for a while. They were arguing. We were saying they owed us for two years. They were saying, well, the contract will say contract. So the penalty was anyway. [00:59:00] I don't even know what they sell. They didn't play a sheet.
Brian Beckcom: Well, coach, let me ask, I've got a couple more questions about, uh, about some of the games you coached and, and some of the players, and then maybe one or two questions about.
Some advice, you can give everybody during these difficult times. So, so coach, in terms of the players, you coach, who were the, who were a couple, two or three of the players that really stand out in your mind for their leadership abilities and like, what was it about the particular players that you have in mind that made them such good leaders?
Coach RC Slocum: I wanted to ever hold a that I recruited not tell the, I wanted to see a young man in his home. I want to see I E reacted, interacted with his parents or had one pair. I want, she, I reacted to that one parent and I tell them I got three things that are important to me. Number [01:00:00] one. I don't want your son to be a good person.
If I didn't think he was a good person. I wouldn't. Yep. And I'll probably, well, shoot. I'll do everything I can. Keep him going in the same direction. You go, number two, I want him to record. It's not important. Getting an education is I'm not saying he has to read it. Yes. He has to understand that. Getting a degree is important.
Yeah. And that way we can eliminate a whole lot conflict. Cause I'll expect it. He goes to class and does his work does all that. And number three and I promise you it's in that order. I want to burn it up with being really good. And I promise you I'll keep it like that. So I had to face a deal at one point there towards the end, we had a deal world on the week of the game I had about nine guys had a study session, a departmental, a session had there.
So he gave a shit [01:01:00] coach. You know, we got to st. Starts at what time is it? Well, it was. Not even halfway through practice, you know, that's well, I told all you guys to me, that was a test. Going back to some of the earlier things you asked about, it was a test for me. I'd gone in those holes, told their families.
I would always put academics. Number one, when the kids heard me say that. So now they're coming to me and said, coach, we got this thing we really needed to go to. This is our test. So, do you keep them there to practice football? Or you say, no, I told you that I would put academics first. You guys come and get whatever you get it and hustle over there and get what you get.
You know, so I think those kinds of things I had another example goes into your leadership thing. I like I had a young man came in through our summer camp or receiver from Katie and, uh, Came in and ended a week. You [01:02:00] liked him a lot as receiver. So his dad came on the day to pick him up. So they called me aside and they said, coach, he wants to, he wants to commit to AML.
Yes. All. That's great. That's great. We love to have, but you got to understand what commitment means to me. And I don't want to get to say commitment means I'm committing you one of my scholarships and you're giving me your word that I can count on. You need to keep looking at it. I won't be your coach.
I'll take your scholarship. I'll see you. So we got a deal. It was the old shake. Your head. We got it right here in front of your dad. We got a deal. So anyway, fast forward through the summer. First game of the year, Saturday morning, the dad calls me these would be here. Did you hear what happened last night?
I said, Oh, I didn't. I, you know, we were busy getting married again. Well, he told me son initially towards me up last night, he's out for the season. He said, I just want to know how that affects the situation. [01:03:00] I said it doesn't affect you in a bit. I gave you my word. Did I, your son had a scholarship. Go get your son unhealthy, get him well.
And, uh, we'll, we'll stay in touch with, see his fall, but don't worry one second about that. So let's show you how it works. If you practice integrity, there's the superintendent of schools in Katy. I can't tell you his name, but that summer he spoke at the convention, a Texas school, super dense convention.
She got up and told that story about having integrity and about keeping you whistle. Now, if you do the right thing, it just month. I got ever school superintendent in Texas heard the story about how coach Slocum is a man of integrity. You can trust him. He say it all the young man came back and he was never really the caliber player that he probably would have been had he not been injured, but he came back and got his degree.
So, uh, I just think you [01:04:00] good it putting in position sometime and leadership. We're gonna have to say, am I going to look for a short term without a doubt that day, it would've been better for me to say, well, you know, we made that deal based on yourself being healthy and night, get someone else that would have been a short term, probably better thing for us to do, but in the big picture, We did the right thing because the word spread, we were able to, you know, you just, I wouldn't do it.
I'd do it exactly the same way. No one outcome. I do exactly the same way again. Right. That makes all, I make sure
Brian Beckcom: that no doubt about that. And I bet you that young man today, Will act the same way when he gives his word to somebody that you acted when you gave your word to him. Coach, let me ask you, cause I'm really curious to hear this.
You coached and a ton of huge football games like that. Like you said, the nine [01:05:00] 11 game, uh, uh, division championship games, bowl games, you name it. What, what game to you? What was the biggest game you ever coached in like in your own mind?
Coach RC Slocum: My own mind, without a doubt was the bond party. Yeah, we had had so much.
So much heartache over that period of time. I could not. And then they were ranked I think, six or something and they were playing a good opponent.
Brian Beckcom: And for people, coach, not, not to interrupt you, but for people that didn't follow Aggie sports back then the anim bonfire collapsed and killed 12 students, including a friend of mine, Chris Breen, who I was in the Corps with.
And then we had to play a football game. Right. Pretty much right after that happened. So that that's what coach is talking about right now.
Coach RC Slocum: Yeah. So that game, because there was serious talk about not playing that game and I, it was not my [01:06:00] decision to make, but I did get a chance to weigh in on it. And I asked, I felt strongly that.
My players and the students are, they are, they would be better off to stay there and stay for the game. And ever families just common us draw street from each other. And we did that, but that being said, there was no way I could envision us not winning that game. It was never, I never thought that I'd ever have.
I felt more pressure in other way to put this. I felt more pressure. To win that game. Any game I ever coached, included the big 12 championship championship
Brian Beckcom: and, you know, coach, I think all Aggies felt like that. And I think he, even if you were to ask and I have tons of Longhorn buddies and I'm sure you do too, even they would say that game ended the way it should have.
Coach RC Slocum: Yeah, they were good. They were good. Uh, there, the week [01:07:00] Mike was a friend and we talked several times during that week, the longboard band that day, tribute to those fallen Aggies. And they would just, it was way it should be. That was. That was probably the most fortunate ship that day and that game. And there wasn't a history of the series.
Brian Beckcom: Okay. Which I know I've, I've, I've taken up a lot of your time. I have three more questions for you. I really, really appreciate your time a lot. So, so first of my last three questions, what are you most proud of as a coach?
Coach RC Slocum: I tell young coaches this, that, you know, we want Hunter to college football hall of fame. We won some championships. I was winning this coats and sours conference history and history. All of that as time goes on, kind of runs together. And I really I'm sincere when I say this, the [01:08:00] relationships for those players.
Uh, that I've had over the year, players and coaches. Great. I asked some great coaches I worked with and coaches are work for me and coaches I worked for and those relationships and getting ready for something together with those teams, getting ready to go play a game and. So sad times when you lost, I had a disappointing loss and then the exhilarating wins and just that shared experience of, and sometimes even having to go bury a, uh, a player or a teammate like Rodney Thomas.
Awesome. God, Claire. Yeah, so sad, you know, that, that, uh, uh, uh, I had the little kicker gland played for forward that just collapsed. Passed away and just had, you know, those things where I don't care, what, whether it's black, white, whatever that hurt [01:09:00] at those funerals and BA cause we had so much, uh, shared experiences together feelings for each other, you know, and then, you know, the happy ones I've been to some great weddings.
I didn't mention in terms of the players, Larry kale. You probably do partner over there, you know?
Brian Beckcom: Yeah. And I'm good. I'm good friends with a Milstead family and would lie. I remember that very, very well.
Coach RC Slocum: Lord. I think about, I come out here and I, this was just touching thing. Fred Colwell who's out here now comes out with Bucky, Fred, uh, my son and myself come down here, but Larry.
Okay, but what was Bucky? Fred and Larry. And so, uh, Larry, uh, Fred a year or two ago had a renowned artists here paint a picture of us on the semblance Hola come and at me, he hit the ball and I buck you there that, and then he painted on the green at Larry waiting on the brain for us [01:10:00] to. The couple down here.
Yeah. I got that. Hang in my house, especially, but just those kinds of things that, that's what adds. Happiness and quality to my life to a great extent what you're talking about to athletics. So, you know, spike dykes, I loved you. was your good friend? Yeah. There's so many guys. John Robinson. I worked for Southern Cal and I saw him.
He was at LSU this past year as a consultant. So him and his wife down at the national championship game and all those graphs, you know what I worked in, that's a great experiences. I worked for Jackie there. We have some fun times together, uh, inscriptions to see not a Kansas state, all those shared experiences with the players from coaches and the little, not my whole, I had many chances.
After a and M the, by the next morning at nine o'clock, I had two major college [01:11:00] offers and I had to think long and hard about that. And I just said, you know, how about coach? I've been an Aggie too long. I can't just switch hats that quick. You're almost gone. You know, it was about the money I was where I wanted to be.
And I reflect on that and I'm really happy that I did it the way I did it. I had changed your North tournaments, wanted me to go Oakland Raiders with him. And, uh, I didn't do that. And then, like I said, two major colleges and I will say in the state of Texas, I contact her that more. So we'll pay you more nuggets.
We're paying. If you'll cook coach I'm flattered, but I'm still thankful for I'm still associated with them. But I have a position there on campus, a part time position. And my both my boys, I got two Aggie granddaughters. Now three groggy granddaughters [01:12:00] graduated this semester. And, uh, so God is good and life was good.
Brian Beckcom: Two more questions, coach. So, second to last question, is this an I, and I'll give you my answer to this question before I hear your answer. The question is what do you want your legacy to be as a coach and human being? And to me, from my perspective, and I think I'm speaking for thousands of Aggies, your legacy will be number one.
A man of character and a man of integrity and number two, a damn damn good football coach. But what do you want? What, like, if you could write your own legacy, what would you want people to remember coach RC Slocum for,
Coach RC Slocum: well, I think Cooper will soak it up. First and foremost to say he was a good guy. He was a good English, a good man.
You know, I don't know if you saw the movie saving private Ryan and into that thing, never say, [01:13:00] you know, getting to come home and I guess question and I bet a good man. Yeah. You know what? I never have forgotten that, you know, and that's something that. That we should ask ourselves, you know, and that would be to me, I'd like to say, yeah, he was a good man.
And I took pride in being a good coach. I love coaching. And I took pride in that. And uh, so a good father, good husband, and you know, but that comes onto the good man. If you're doing that, the good man takes care of all those sex, but. And the relationships with the players still comes over there. And I think, but I've been so blessed.
Uh, I I'm 75 years old now. And, uh, a great, well I'm doing, I'm having more fun. I've hit that guy. You're probably better than I've ever hit it. Yes. That's not that everything evolves around that, but it's not. I walked [01:14:00] yesterday at Cyprus golf course yesterday, and I'm thankful to be able to do that.
Brian Beckcom: Yeah, beautiful course in locking that course at 75 is pretty damn good coach.
Coach RC Slocum: Well, you know, I got to talk some football too. I was guest of the old Arkansas quarterback, bill Montgomery, who was a quarterback in a shootout between, uh, between Arkansas and Texas back in 65. And he invited me out there and. We are good day. Talk a little football.
Brian Beckcom: I tell Bucky if you run into him, by the way, last time we played, I beat him back two strokes.
So he's
Coach RC Slocum: good.
Brian Beckcom: I was so proud of that. I told my dad, I was like, yeah, I beat Bucky Richardson by two strokes. Of course I had to make like, Seven 10 foot putts and chip.
Coach RC Slocum: I play with it a lot. He can play it.
Brian Beckcom: He's a good player for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Good athlete in general and good guy. Well, coach, I have one final question for you.
I have to ask you this. I've asked some of the Marine Corps officers [01:15:00] I've had. Congressmen. I've had some other, uh, other people that I've had. I think you're the perfect person to ask this question too. We're we're going through very troubling times right now with the virus, with the protests, with all the political stuff.
And it's just kind of hard times for people right now. And so I want to ask you as a coach, give us some coaching, like coaches up, tell us, uh, something positive. Give us something that as a country we can think about from a more
Coach RC Slocum: positive perspective.
Brian Beckcom: And, and, and kind of how we can get through all this stuff together.
Coach RC Slocum: Well, I mean, I'd love to talk for a couple hours on this topic, but I'll try to try and keep it within your timeframe. Uh, I used to talk with a team, you know, teams have problems too, but where we all be running it more so that more doing this or that or whatever all the issues are. So I used to talk to the team about when you get in situations like that.
[01:16:00] You should ask yourself, am I adding to the problem, or am I part of the solution? Am I helping with a solution or my end of the problem? So every people get on Facebook and get on Twitter and people go to the barbershop. I go to the, where, wherever they go. And. All of those conversations, we should ask ourselves with my comments and what I'm saying.
Am I helping things to be better? That we were like, Oh, I'm not going to change the world. You're not, but we can, our little world in our little circle of friends or people that we run into everyday, we can do our part to be part of the solution and not add to the problem. And it starts off with the thing of treating people.
Like you'd like to be treated. You know, I, I heard, uh, Saul sometime ago. I heard the statement or read or something, try to talk without being offensive and try to listen without [01:17:00] being defensive. Yep. Yeah. And I think right now with all the school at home, it's important that we talk, we try not to be offensive and we try to listen without being, trying to talk without being offensive, offensive, and try to listen without being defensive.
So we all need some of that. And, uh, gosh, I feel so strongly about America. In my perspective, I told you earlier in this interview, Grew up in a really poor family and really poor neighborhood and all those things. And when I was inducted a few years ago and into the Horatio Alger association of distinguished Americans in Washington, DC, one of the things I said that night, I'm so thankful that I was, yeah, we never told that it was someone else's fault that I lived, where I lived and it, we were poor.
Yeah. I was taught and I was so blessed because I lived in [01:18:00] America, a place where if you were willing to get an education and learn how to work, you could feel the sky's the limit. My dad would say, you know, someday showing you you'd be aware of the other side of town. If you work hard and do a good job, learn to treat people with respect, take pride in your work, get an education.
You know, you pretty much do what you want to do. Yup. And I believe it. I believe it for all people. And I say this I've been in those homes. I'm never solid black and white. I'd go into so many homes that reminded me so much. I'm out. Now, one thing that I have not mentioned, I had a good Christian Hall and we have plates.
It had a belief we didn't know, we knew know were really poor because we were got still. Yeah, we didn't have a lot of material things, but we had each other and we had, you know, we never, we never be molded. The fact before we were, there was no pity. There was no self pity whatsoever. There was no indignation with anyone else.
We [01:19:00] didn't blame anybody else. We just said, Hey, we've got it. We gotta get outta here. And I'll never forget. My dad in the first grade would go work. His job, come home at night and he'd go up to the school cafeteria to study so he could get his GED. And uh, later, fast forward, many years, I'm an, a and M. And uh, they asked me one day they came the handler program there where the janitorial people campus could go do just what my dad did that study for their GED.
They give them some comp time to do that. So they came to me and said, would you talk to those people who will give them their diplomas? I said, I'd love to, I'd love to say I didn't tell him why. I said I'd love to do that. So I called my mother and my dad was deceased. I said, could you have any kind of certificate in, she got a C can you send that to me?
I need it. So that day when I spoke to them, I told his parents and had their kids with them. I said, what you've done is so important. And these were all, these were mostly Hispanic and black people. [01:20:00] Yeah. What you're doing is exactly what my dad did and it sent the message to me about how important education is.
And you're saying you kids right now, what your folks had done? I pulled out my certificate. I said, my dad did same thing. They'll see me up here as big head coach in Texas. Yeah. My dad was right where your parents are right now. Kids get ready study. School's important. You got the may that message. I would say, I don't think we do enough.
Uh, and our cities. I, I fault pro athletes who have a great voice and a lot of them have a whole lot of money. Yeah. I fault them for not doing more. Going back in Celeste. A lot of these things, we keep blaming the way about a lot of these things. We can handle ourselves. We can go in here and make things better.
And, and so I, I wish that they would take a more [01:21:00] proactive role in going in, particularly in our cities where we have so many problems and said, let's, let's be part of the solution. There's no way I have to the problem. Let's go in here and look for solutions anyway. I like to say, I can talk to you for a while on this topic.
I know we're running out of time. Well,
Brian Beckcom: ladies and gentlemen, right there is why coach locum is in the college football hall of fame. As the winningest coach in Southwest conference history, uh, won the big 12 championship is because he's such an inspirational guy, but most important coach. You made me proud to be an Aggie because you're a man of integrity and you're a man of character.
And I really, really, really appreciate you coming on the show. These are hard times for people and looking at your smile and face and hearing your voice and your words. It going to reach a lot of people. So you're, you know, even when you retire coach, you're still influencing people all over the place.
Well,
Coach RC Slocum: he'll coach it now. It's still coaching. [01:22:00] So anyway, coach, we'll, we'll get through this same. We'll be fine. We live in the greatest country on the face of the earth and we've seen tough times before and we'll get through this. We'll be fine. Just keep the fight.
Brian Beckcom: Gay gum and amen.
