Sam's Kingdom of Sports for May 11, 2008

• By SAM KING
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: May 11, 2008 - Page: 9C - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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They can take away Alex Box Stadium, but they can’t have the memories of so many good times experienced by so many fans in the home of LSU baseball.

Like vacating that “aromatic,” home to rodeos, horse shows and a circus called LSU basketball, leaving old Alex Box Stadium will be as nostalgic as Tiger basketball ending its life in the “cow barn.” It just won’t smell as much.

Most fans have heard stories about, or experienced life at Alex Box Stadium at one time or another — a few as far back as the days when basketball coach Harry Rabenhorst posed as a baseball coach in practice as he deftly cast his flies to a can near first base.

For others, their memories are of the great days of the Skip Bertman era or the recent days of Paul Mainieri and the resurgence of LSU baseball.

There are memories of heart-breaking losses and pulsating victories, heroes and goats, chumps and, yes, champions.
Most memorable, for many, though, are those things in which they participated.

One of my favorite stories of antics in Alex Box Stadium was told by A.E. “Hots” Aull, a member of an antagonizing bunch of fans who sat near the visitors’ dugout. They gave opposing coaches and players, and more than an occasional umpire, heck from the word go — and seemingly never let up.

I’m sure, somewhere along the way, they should have been credited with a victory or two because of the distractions they caused, no matter whether rattling coaches, players or, an occasional umpire.

It seems LSU was playing Ole Miss in the Rebels last game under coach Jake Gibbs, a former star baseball and football player at Ole Miss. Gibbs, not incidentally, was one of the last Rebels to “avoid” tackling LSU star Billy Cannon on his fabled 89-yard punt return in 1959.

During Gibbs’ career as Ole Miss’ baseball coach, which ran from 1972-90, Aull and gang gave Gibb unmitigated heck every time he would come out of the dugout.

“Get him Jake!” one group would scream.

“Catch him Jake!” another would immediately boom.

Back and forth it would go … “Get him Jake!” … “Catch him Jake!” … game after game … season after season.

The heckling never seemed to stop.