The room was filled with a deep orange color Thursday night at Hollytree Country Club as the Longhorns celebrated all things Texas.
The Texas Exes Tyler-Smith County Chapter 2024 Scholarship Dinner featured Texas All-America and World Series Champion Keith Moreland, honored Nick Pessina, heard from Inside Texas’ Justin Wells and awarded scholarships to future and current Longhorns players.
Pessina, a local attorney, was recognized as a 2024 Outstanding Texas Lawyer.
He joins past recipients such as Noni and Jimmy Smith (2012), Linda and Dan Toney (2013), Bruce Bullock (2014), John C. Oberg III (2015), Chesley and Ted W. Walters (2016), Margaret and James I. Perkins (2017), Kay and Paul Latta (2018), Angie and Mike Russell (2019), Kevin Eltife (2021), James C. Wynn III (2022) and Tom Perkins (2023).
“I fell in love with the Longhorns when James Brown was the quarterback,” Pessina said, “and my ultimate goal was to go to the University of Texas Law School.”
He achieved that goal and graduated from law school in 2012.
Additionally, current Chapter President, Dr. Jerry Schwartzbach, was presented with a commemorative plaque in recognition of his achievements by next Chapter President, Tim Miller.
Moreland, who played both baseball and football at the University of Texas, said how much he cherished his time in Austin and how he hoped “God would allow me to do it again.”
“I was a country boy who grew up on a dairy farm in a little town called Princeton,” said Moreland, a three-time All-American for the Longhorns and baseball coach Cliff Gustafson, “and I learned to milk cows by the time I was 5. Then my dad sold the farm and we moved to Carrollton.”
He was a four-sport star at R.L. Turner High School and was scouted by coach Darrell Royal to the University of Texas. He initially played on the freshman team, but had three interceptions, scored a touchdown and kicked the game-winning point, which earned him a promotion to the varsity team. Moreland was promoted and ended up playing. He was part of the team that played in the 1973 Cotton Bowl, where the Longhorns beat Alabama.
“Sure, Alan Lowry went out of bounds, but the refs didn’t call it and we won (17-13),” Moreland said.
Moreland’s career batting average was .388. He led the University of Texas to the NCAA College World Series three times (1972-1975) and was co-captain of the team that won the national championship in 1975 with a 56-6 record. That season, he batted .410. Moreland was on the football team in 1972 and 1974.
He recorded 25 hits over a three-year period, the second-most in College World Series history, and was selected to the 1970s CWS All-Decade Team.
He was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009, the Texas Longhorns Hall of Fame in 1985, and had his Longhorns jersey number 3 retired in 2010.
Moreland added the first time he was ejected from an MLB game, which he said took place at the old Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
“I’ve always wanted to emulate Coach Gus’s ability to calmly communicate his ideas,” Moreland said. “It was over 100 degrees that day and the grass at Busch Stadium was 115-120 degrees. Umpire Eric Gregg was behind the plate and I was the catcher. Eric was a big guy. He’s my friend and I can say that because I’m fat now.”
Moreland said Gregg missed some calls.
“Eric said, ‘If you don’t shut up, I’ll bite your head off,'” Moreland recalled. “I said, ‘Then you’ll have more brains in your stomach than in your head.’ I was thrown right off.”
“I was upset because not only did I miss the rest of the game, I was fined $450.”
“When Raymond Claborn was playing the same position as me and I had to tackle a guy named Tyler Rhodes (Earl Campbell),” Moreland said of why he decided to stay in baseball.
He played 12 seasons in major league baseball, helping the Philadelphia Phillies win a World Series title in 1980 and the Chicago Cubs win a division title in 1984.
Moreland, 70, added that this is his first time back to Hollytree since playing in the Eisenhower International Golf Classic with friend Orville Moody, a Sulphur Springs native who won the 1969 U.S. Open at Champions Golf Club in Houston.
“The course is just as beautiful as ever and the people are just as friendly,” said Moreland, whose wife is from Sulphur Springs.
Moreland, 70, said he will miss calling games for the Longhorns Network, which ended when Texas joined the SEC.
“I haven’t been asked (to join the SEC Network), but I would still like to call the games,” Moreland said, adding that he will be in Waco to call the Little League Regional Tournament.
He said the Longhorns Network will stream the games, but details were unclear. He said Longhorns fans should subscribe to ESPN+ and SEC Network+ because not all Texas games will be broadcast on the SEC Network because there are 15 other schools in the conference.
During the Q&A, Moreland said he always looks forward to the game in Dallas (vs. Oklahoma). Moreland said he’s already got tickets for this season’s game against Michigan.
Wells said he is looking forward to reviving the rivalry with Texas A&M University.
“When you have a 77% chance of beating the other team in a series, you’ve got to put them back on the schedule,” Wells said, much to the delight of Longhorns fans.
The 2024 Texas Exes scholarship recipients were Addie Sartor, Julian Tabri, Cameron Ames, Lydia Payne, Jack Bergfeld, David Wells and Rebecca Katz.
Recipients of the Returning Student Scholarship were Josafat Covarrubias, Brantley Hooper, Haley Karr and Charles Lu.
John Mark Grant, who will graduate from the University of Texas in 2024, also spoke about his time at Forty Acres.
The chapter is committed to fostering alumni’s lifelong connections to the university, strengthening educational and community engagement and providing networking and professional development opportunities, said Noni Smith, who serves as scholarship dinner chair with her husband, Jimmy Smith.
Smith added, “Not only will the gathering celebrate the achievements of our graduates, it will also raise important funds to support local students attending The University of Texas at Austin.”
She noted that the chapter’s scholarship program emphasizes academic achievement, leadership qualities and community involvement to benefit Tyler-Smith County students who are accepted into the University of Texas. The initiative aims to reduce financial barriers to higher education and encourage academic achievement among local high school students.
“This year, the chapter is proud to have awarded over $17,000 in scholarships,” Smith said.
For more information about the Texas Exes, email SmithCtyTexasExes@gmail.com or find them on Facebook.
