Robert Henry

Dr. Robert Henry was a coach at Schreiner College from 1982 to 1994, and was the prime mover behind the formation of the school’s varsity baseball team.  “Schreiner University baseball exists largely because of the efforts of Bob Henry,” Dr. John Huddleston said. “Henry convinced the administration that baseball was a viable sport for Schreiner. He fielded the first team, procured the materials for a baseball field, and laid out and physically built much of the field which I personally believe should carry his name. He brought collegiate baseball to the Texas Hill Country.” Huddleston, who is a professor of history and dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Schreiner, nominated Henry for the Athletic Hall of Honor. He also worked for Henry. “For five years I was fortunate enough to be his assistant coach, and during that time I watched Coach Henry build and nurture the baseball program. His contribution to what was then Schreiner College was huge,” Huddleston said.
 

Before Henry became a Schreiner art instructor and sports coach, he taught and coached at other schools on the high school and college level. He also worked as a special scout for some professional ball clubs, including the Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs. He played baseball in high school and college.  “I had a chance to play professionally, but probably would have stayed in the minor leagues,” Henry said.  He came to Schreiner in what he smilingly refers to as “the pioneer days,” when Schreiner was changing from a two-year to a four-year institution. Part of that change involved becoming eligible to join the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.  “To join NAIA, we needed another men’s sport,” Henry said. “Baseball was the most economical to add. In those days, we had more bills than money.”

While the basics of the baseball program were being put together, Henry worked on the art department curriculum and coached women’s basketball and soccer. He was the first coach of the soccer team.  “We won our first match and that’s it,” he said. “I always say I was the soccer bus driver. The only thing I knew about soccer was how to spell it.”

Henry coached the baseball team without pay for its first year, and put more than $5,000 of his own money into the program in its first half decade. Local companies helped by donating some of the building supplies and volunteers —including Schreiner alumni, faculty, staff and students—helped build dugouts and stands and set up the field.  “Texas Ranger manager Bobby Valentine, a friend of mine, donated the special infield dirt mix and the infield grass—just like the Rangers had on their field,” Henry recalls.  Virtually everything the team needed came through volunteers and donations of money, time and sweat. Henry said it was “a lot like a barn-raising. Everyone pitched in.”  Henry and his teams maintained the playing field.  “A lot of times before a game, the team would be practicing and I would be on the riding lawnmower,” he remembered. “They had bets as to who could hit me as I mowed around the field. I had to keep one eye on the grass and the other on home plate.”

In Henry’s time at Schreiner, his baseball teams won 255 games went on to post-season play-offs eight times. They were NAIA District 4 champions three times.  Both current Schreiner head baseball coach Joe Castillo and JV head coach Rodney Holland played for Henry, and were team captains. Sixteen Schreiner players coached by Henry were named to all-conference teams, and one of his players, David Hulse, was an NAIA All-American. Five players were drafted by professional clubs. Hulse went on to play in the majors for the Texas Rangers.

Henry went on to become an ordained youth minister. He stays in touch with many of his former players.  His former volunteer assistant coach, John Huddleston, would like to see the Schreiner baseball field named for Henry, as the moving force behind all the donations and organization that made Schreiner baseball possible.  “If I had my choice,” said Henry, “I’d call it Pioneer Field. Schreiner’s come so far, and I’m proud of how far they’ve come. But I’m also proud to have been on that first wagon train.”

Charles H. Johnston, Jr.

Schreiner honored Charles H. Johnston, Jr. ’32 as a Distinguished Alumni in 1990 for his important contributions to Kerrville and Kerr County as a business leader and volunteer. This year, the University honors him for his football career by inducting him posthumously into the Athletic Hall of Honor.  Johnston was nominated by his daughter Betsy Johnston Rhoden.  “I nominated my father for the Athletic Hall of Honor because he was absolutely the best father in the entire world and I just knew that being selected would have meant so much to him,” Rhoden said. “I am so grateful to the committee for selecting him for this wonderful honor.”

 

Johnston was a quarterback for Tivy High School before coming to Schreiner Institute in 1930, where he played for Coach H. C. “Bully” Gilstrap, who was inducted into Schreiner’s Athletic Hall of Honor in 2004.  Johnston played quarterback for Schreiner for two years. After one game, a local sports reporter wrote of him: “The consistent work of Johnston at quarter, a most valuable aid to the team the entire season, was particularly outstanding.” After leaving Schreiner, Johnston went on to play for The University of Texas Longhorns, lettering for two years.  He also was an excellent student and a member of the Phi Theta Kappa National Honor Society for Junior Colleges.

In later years, his service to the community led to his being named Outstanding Citizen of the Year by the Kerrville Chamber of Commerce, as well as becoming a Schreiner distinguished alumnus.  “One of his proudest moments came when he was named an Alumnus of the Year by Schreiner College,” Rhodan said. “It was an honor he treasured, but knowing him as I well as I did, I suspect that an award honoring his beloved football days would bring a bigger smile to his face.”