Oct. 21, 2004

By JOHN WERNER

During his trips back to Waco, Richard Tinsley often looked at the pictures of Baylor's greatest athletes hanging on the wall at the lettermen's lounge. But the former basketball player never thought he'd join them.

Now 66, the long-time Houston resident was surprised when he found out recently that he'll be inducted with this year's class into the Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame. Especially since it's been 43 years since he last played basketball for the Bears.

"I've still got to pinch myself to see if it's true," Tinsley said. "Obviously, I was delighted when I heard the news because there are so many great athletes in Baylor's Hall of Fame."

Tinsley was a 6-foot-4 forward for the Bears during the final years of legendary Baylor basketball coach Bill Henderson's 19-year run.

Though the Bears never won a Southwest Conference title during Tinsley's three years on the varsity from 1958-61, they were a competitive team that pulled off several upsets of nationally-ranked teams.

Tinsley had his finest year as a senior in 1960-61 when he led the Bears with 12.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. But Henderson's teams were never about individuals.

"I was really fortunate to play for Mr. Bill," Tinsley said. "He had a very definite style of playing offense and defense. We ran patterned plays that gave everybody equal opportunity to shoot the ball. We were a half-court minded team that would pass the ball a number of times before taking a shot. It was a much different offense than the one I played with in high school."

Former Baylor basketball coach Bill Menefee described Tinsley as a great competitor with skills to match.

"The fat lady never sang as far as Richard was concerned," said Menefee, who was an assistant coach under Henderson during Tinsley's era. "He was one of the all-time great competitors. If he was playing today, they'd call him a power forward because he could drive hard to the basket and rebound. He was a very good team player."

Growing up in Houston, Tinsley starred for a Lamar High School team that featured a running offense. As a senior, Tinsley was the leading scorer in the city with a 20-point average.

"I learned a lot of my moves from my brother, Willard, who was two years older than me," Tinsley said. "I was a 6-4 center in high school, but I would step outside and shoot from around the circle. Even though I was counted on to score, I really enjoyed rebounding and playing defense."

Tinsley was heavily recruited by Southwest Conference schools like Texas, SMU and Rice. But Tinsley was impressed by Henderson's knowledge of the game and signed with Baylor in 1957.

After a year on the freshman team, Tinsley moved into Baylor's starting lineup as a sophomore with veterans like Carroll Dawson, Bob Turner and Gene McCarley.

The 1958-59 Baylor squad only finished 11-13, but pulled off upsets of 20th-ranked Oklahoma State and No. 19 Texas A&M at Arena Marrs Gymnasium.

Typically, those games were low-scoring affairs. The Bears beat Hank Iba's Oklahoma State squad, 43-37, and knocked off A&M, 56-49.

"It was a big deal to beat Oklahoma State because Hank Iba was such a famous coach," Tinsley said. "Most games back then were low scoring because we didn't have a shot clock or the three-point line. Teams could freeze the ball if they wanted.

"I really felt we had a homecourt advantage at Arena Marrs," Tinsley said. "It only held about 2,000 people and there would be fans sitting all the way down to the edge of the court. I thought we lost some of our homecourt advantage when we moved to the Heart O' Texas Coliseum in 1960 because it was much bigger."

Playing college basketball was a thrill for a guy who hadn't traveled much. But it wasn't all fun. After dropping a 65-56 decision at Georgia Tech, the Bears took a bus trip to Auburn for a game two nights later.

"It was snowing outside and the heater went out on the bus," Tinsley said. "We were cold by the time we got there, and we started the game an hour late. We got whipped pretty bad (71-60). But back then our games weren't on TV, so it didn't matter that much that we started late."

History repeated itself the following year when Baylor knocked off Oklahoma State, 53-50, in Stillwater. Dawson hit Tinsley for the key basket in the final minutes.

"We were down by a point when he saw me breaking toward the basket and hit me for the game-winner," Tinsley said. "Their fans were shocked."

With Dawson leading the way, the Bears finished 12-12 in 1959-60. The highlights included wins over Texas Tech and TCU in the SWC preseason tournament and a home win over Texas.

Tinsley described the Bears as a close-knit unit that had nicknames for everybody. His teammates called him "Pogo" because of his jumping ability. They called Dawson "Pigeon" because he walked pigeon-toed.

"We had a lot of fun together," Tinsley said.

During his first two years on the Baylor varsity, Tinsley was a steady scorer who was counted on mostly as a rebounder and defender. But he stepped into a lead scoring role as a senior since he was the lone returning starter.

The Bears finished just 4-20 in Henderson's final year before Menefee took over the head coaching duties the following year.

The highlight of the season was Baylor's wins over Oklahoma City and New York University in the All-College Tournament in Oklahoma City.

"I was the captain of that team, but we had no height and very little experience since I was the only returning starter," Tinsley said. "It was a very tough year."

After his senior year, Tinsley received a letter from the Boston Celtics asking if he'd be interested in trying out for the team.

"Things were a lot different back then," Tinsley said. "The Celtics said they'd give you a job in the off-season to supplement your income if you made the team. If I had gotten that letter today, I would have definitely tried out. But I had already received my science degree from Baylor and I thought my best bet would be to go on to physical therapy school in Dallas."

After finishing school, Tinsley returned to Houston and raised two daughters with his wife, Emily. Emily and daughter Robyn are also Baylor graduates, while daughter Allison graduated from Rice.

Tinsley continues to run a health care company and still loves basketball.

"I kept playing basketball in amateur leagues until I was 50," Tinsley said. "I just loved my days at Baylor. Everything about it was a great adventure."