Roll Call Tribute

Guy Wallace
March 7, 1929 ~ July 20, 2020 (age 91)

Guy “Rooster” Elmer Wallace, Jr., 91, of Riviera passed away at his home July 20. He was born on March 7, 1929 in Dallas, Texas to Guy E Wallace, Sr. and Edna Wallace. He has been reunited with his wife, Teddy Marie (Hubert) Wallace, who preceded him in death 20 years ago.

He was a devoted Christian, husband, father, Texas Aggie, engineer, and rancher. He was a fierce competitor. He loved to compete at almost anything with or against his family, friends, and especially his brother-in-laws. He bled maroon and never wore the color orange.

Guy (Class of 1951) graduated from Texas A&M College (TAMC) with an architectural engineering degree, the first in his family to graduate from college. He was a member of the Texas Aggie Corps of Cadets, as well as a member of the Texas Aggie baseball and basketball teams.

While at TAMC, he was on the 1948 freshman baseball team (freshmen could not play varsity in those days) and a Baseball Letterman in 1949, 1950, and 1951. He was the Consensus All-Southwest Conference (SWC) Shortstop in 1949, 1950, and 1951 and American Baseball Coaches Association All-American Shortstop in 1951. Guy’s skills at playing shortstop were instrumental in convincing Wally Moon to play in the outfield, and Wally learned so well he went on to a 12-year professional baseball career. In 1951, Guy was a Team Captain of the Southwest Conference (SWC) Co-Champion Aggies, which became the first of only five Aggie baseball teams to play in the College World Series in Omaha. After completing his eligibility, he was an Assistant Baseball Coach in 1952 and the Freshman Baseball Coach in 1953. He was also on the TAMC Freshman Basketball team. He was elected into the Texas A&M University (TAMU) Hall of Fame in 1992. He made many lifetime friends during his time at TAMC, friends his children came to know as uncles.

He married Teddy Marie before he graduated. She encouraged him to convert to Catholicism. Later in life, a Catholic priest once asked Guy, “Since you are Catholic, I am sure you will be rooting for Notre Dame in their game against TAMU this week?” He promptly replied, “No, Father. I was an AGGIE before I was a Catholic.”

Upon graduation he served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. When his duty in the army was complete, he was employed as an engineer by Celanese Corporation in Bishop, Texas until he retired. He was an active member of Our Lady of Consolation Catholic Church in Vattmann, Texas.

Guy had a tremendous influence on his six children, four of whom received degrees from TAMU, and six of the eleven grandchildren received degrees from TAMU as well. He coached many Little League Baseball teams in the Kingsville area and was a great influence on many kids in the community, both on and off the field. He never gave up on his players and he expected them to never quit. Guy was not a quitter.

Guy was preceded in death by his parents, Guy, Sr. and Edna Wallace Watson, his sister, Betty Eisenberg, and his beloved wife, Teddy Marie. He is survived by his six children, Anthony (Tonya) Wallace, David (Cindy) Wallace, Becky (David) Pavelka, John (Debbie) Wallace, Sam Wallace, and Greg Wallace, 11 grandchildren, and 19 great grandchildren.

Due to Covid-19, a private rosary and funeral will take place on July 24 and 25, respectively. A celebration of his life for extended family and friends will be forthcoming at a later date. Burial will be at Our Lady of Consolation Church’s Cemetery in Vattmann, Texas.

Memorial donations may be made to Our Lady of Consolation Catholic Church (204 Palm Avenue, Riviera, Texas 78379).

Services are entrusted to Turcotte-Piper Mortuary, 205 General Cavazos Blvd. Kingsville, Texas 78363.

PRIVATE SERVICE
Our Lady of Consolaltion Catholic Church
Hwy. 628
Riviera, TX 78379

© 2020 Turcotte-Piper Mortuary. All Rights Reserved.

Guy "Rooster" Wallace, one of the greatest baseball players in Texas A&M history and a member of the school's Athletics Hall of Fame, has died, according to his family.

 
Wallace lettered for the Aggie baseball team from 1949-51 under coaches Marty Karow and Beau Bell and was the consensus All-Southwest Conference (SWC) shortstop in all three seasons.
 
As a senior, Wallace was a Team Captain and earned All-America shortstop honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association after leading the team in batting average (.333), hits (42), at-bats (126), runs (40), home runs (4) and runs batted in (25). He tied for the team lead in games played (32) with future NFL Hall of Famer Yale Lary and Joe Ecrette.
 
Wallace helped lead the 1951 Aggies to a 21-11 record, which set a school record for victories, and to a share of the SWC Championship, as well as the program's first-ever trip to the NCAA playoffs and the College World Series. After completing his eligibility, Wallace served as an assistant coach for the Aggies in 1952 and was a freshman baseball coach in 1953.

An ardent supporter of Texas A&M Athletics, Wallace was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992 and was a longtime active member of the Lettermen's Association.


WE LOST A GOOD AG TODAY -- GUY WALLACE '51

My Dad, Guy Wallace '51 passed away of natural causes yesterday afternoon. He was a great Dad, a great Ag, a good husband and a good man. He has been reunited with my Mom (Teddy Wallace) as she preceded him in death twenty years ago.

He was a Baseball Letterman in 1949, 1950 and 1951. He was the Consensus All-SWC Shortstop in 1949, 1950 and 1951 and ABCA All-American Shortstop in 1951. He was a Team Captain of the SWC Co-Champion Aggies in 1951 that became the first Aggie team to play in the College World Series in Omaha. After completing his eligibility, he was an Assistant Baseball Coach in 1952 and the Freshman Baseball Coach in 1953. He was also on the TAMU Freshman Basketball team. He was elected into the TAMU Hall of Fame in 1992.

My Dad was All-Aggie and big supporter of the TAMU. He had a tremendous influence on six his kids, of which four received degrees from TAMU. He coached Little League teams in the Kingsville area as we grew up and helped influence kids in so many ways, both on and off the field. He worked his entire professional career as an Architectural Engineer at Celanese Corporation in Bishop, Texas.

What he remembers most about TAMU, is he met my Mom, Teddy (Hubert) Wallace, while playing there with my Uncle, Dr. Pat Hubert (All SWC '49, '50 & '51 and All-American pitcher ‘51--and Aggie Hall of Famer) (wife Goldie). While as an assistant coach, he got to coach my Uncle, Dr. T. F. “Booger” Hubert (wife DeAnn). Can't leave out my other Uncle, Merle Muckleroy (Texas A&I University All-American football '56) (wife Georgie) and huge Aggie fan and season ticket holder.

With the current COVID conditions, we are planning on having an extremely small (siblings and their families only) funeral service Saturday at Our Lady of Consolation Catholic Church (Riviera, TX) with a planned Celebration of Life some time in the future when there is more certainty of health concerns regarding COVID.

Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.