STRUCK ON THE DIAMOND: REMEMBERING JODY RAMSEY by Rene Torres, Bronc Center Fielder (1966-69)

Jody Ramsey

Although his life was cut short by tragedy, former Pan American University centerfielder Jody Ramsey symbolized the best of baseball and life, capturing our imagination with his exploits on and off the field.

Recruited from San Jacinto College by Coach Al Ogletree, who coached from 1968-1997, Freeport's Ramsey was among the finest athletes and human beings to ever compete as a Bronc since Edinburg Junior College established its first baseball team in 1927.

Unfortunately, Jody left us before his time.

The 1973 Bronc season was scheduled to begin Friday, February 23, but rain forced the game to be postponed until Saturday.

Jody, who'd been hired that summer as a construction worker on the new ball park, was working along with teammate Tommy Simpson from McAllen to get the field ready when the pair picked up an irrigation pipe, accidentally striking a power line.

Ramsey was killed instantly, while Simpson, who was taken to the hospital and treated for burns, survived, but with emotional scars.

Coach Alfred Ogletree

As Coach Ogletree told the McAllen Monitor:

"He was the American kid.  He put his heart and soul into this team.  Having to call his parents and tell them he had died was the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

(I’d be remiss if I did not mention that Tommy was an exceptional athlete at McAllen High School, earning All-District honors in baseball, eventually a second-team selection to the Rio Grande Valley All- Millenium squad. 

Simpson was inducted into the UTRGV Hall of Fame in 2015 following Jody in 2013.)

UTRGV had this to say about Jody Ramsey: “While he was very impressive on the field, Ramsey was equally outstanding in his character and standards of living.”

Ramsey was a proponent of the Pan American University chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, twice elected as president.  

In his honor, the university will reinstate the Jody Ramsey Memorial Award, given to a Bronc senior baseball player “who best follows the standards set by the late Jody Ramsey.”

His name will forever be etched in Bronc baseball history.  He will never be forgotten, especially by his teammates, and the legions of friends he left behind.

So, if you want to keep Jody’s dream alive, play catch with your kid!

As I always say:  "Once a Bronc, always a Bronc!!"

NOTE: On February 24, 2023, will mark the 50th anniversary of his death. On February 17, 2023, UTRGV will retire his number 6 jersey before a home game against Houston Christian (formerly Houston Baptist)

Excerpts were taken from the McAllen monitor, Pan Am baseball programs, USPS stamp collection publication and research by Piky Rodriguez.