5 Questions: From Abilene to Wrigley: A Fan’s Return to Baseball and the Heart of a Community

We trace Terry’s path from Little League dust to a summer wood-bat revival, and how a small-town team brought a community back together. Along the way, we swap heartbreaks, hat collections, marathon games, and a father–son golf memory that sticks forever.

• Abilene roots and early baseball influence
• High school dynasty lessons and details
• Stepping away from playing and shifting to golf
• The Flying Bison launch and community lift
• Kids, autographs and summer-league pathways
• Big memories: state tournament, A&M–LSU, Rangers 2023
• The 15-inning classic and shared fandom
• Rituals: arrive early, buy caps, chase ice cream helmets
• The 100-game challenge and scorekeeping as connection
• Sports as common ground across differences

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome & Terry’s Intro
• 1:05 Growing Up Texas, Early Baseball Roots
• 2:25 Little League, Family Influence, Softball Days
• 4:05 High School Dynasty & Learning the Game
• 6:30 Stepping Away, Golf Years, Finding Baseball Again
• 7:55 Abilene Flying Bison Arrive
• 10:10 Community Impact & Keeping Teams Alive
• 12:20 Youth Engagement, Autographs, and Role Models
• 13:50 Summer Leagues, Draft Dreams, Quality of Play
• 15:10 Five Questions Start: Falling in Love with Baseball
• 18:00 Vivid Baseball Memories: State Tournament Upset
• 20:30 College Heartbreaks and LSU’s Rise
• 22:10 Rangers’ 2023 Redemption & AL Storylines
• 23:50 Epic 15-Inning Marathon & Shared Moments

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

My favorite favorite sports memory has nothing to do with baseball. And it's it's one of your favorite sports I know, just and I think I know from past conversations, it involves golf.

SPEAKER_00: 0:10

Golf of our fastest stuff and I know.

SPEAKER_01: 0:13

Okay, let's go.

SPEAKER_00: 0:25

All right, all right, and welcome everybody to another Dana Hat Chronicles Podcast, DHC Podcast. My name is Ed, also known as the Dana Hat. Um, so we are doing five questions again, guys. Uh uh this is seemed to be taking off, and it's been a lot of fun uh with a lot of people that have been interested in coming on, and I love that it makes me feel good inside. So today on this podcast, we have my good friend Terry McCutcheon. Terry, um, how you doing? First of all, how you doing, my friend?

SPEAKER_01: 0:51

Oh, I'm wonderful. Much better than I deserve, man. Man, it's going great.

SPEAKER_00: 0:55

I love that. Love to hear that. All right, Terry. Um, before we continue, before we do our five questions, I want you to tell us a little bit about yourself. Uh, so the floor is yours, my friend.

SPEAKER_01: 1:05

All right, very good. Appreciate that, Ed. My name is Terry McCutcheon, as uh Ed uh said in the introduction. Um, I was born and raised in Texas, lived here all my life in Abilene, Texas, exactly about a couple hours to the west of Dallas Fort Worth area. I was in the education, teacher, administrator, all that for my career. We moved around a little bit during that, but I retired about four or five years ago and moved back home, if you will. We got a summer baseball league team in 2024, the Abilene Flying Bison became a huge fan. Uh, do everything I can to help there, including a member of the booster club. Um, so that's that's been very beneficial, very fun. And it was through 2024 is where I actually um really re-lug my love again for baseball. And I'm sure we'll talk about that in a little bit.

SPEAKER_00: 1:57

So I you know what it's funny how people say it's like, you know, as adults, sometimes like we lose sight of baseball, we lose sight of our what we really grew up in uh and the love that we have for the sport. And somehow, one way or another, there's something there's that you know that uh that one moment that just it brings us back. But we will talk about that on our questions, my friend. So as a matter of fact, very first question is, and I would love to know because everybody's different. Um, when did you fall in love with uh with baseball?

SPEAKER_01: 2:30

Well, I fell in love with it as a kid when you know, at my age here where I where we are, uh little league baseball was the first organized sport that you could play. Okay before foot football and basketball came down that way. And we didn't even have soccer here in town until I was in junior high.

SPEAKER_00: 2:48

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_01: 2:49

Really, for real. I know that blows your mind, Ed, but uh yeah, soccer for youth wasn't even here, and so you know, I played little league baseball starting about eight years old, and that was always the favorite in my family. My grandparents, you know, were big baseball fans and had my uncles and dad had played baseball on into fast pitch softball, which was pretty big in our area for a while for adults before the slow pitch softball took over, you know, the tournaments and stuff like that. So, I mean, I I had traveled around my dad and uncle uh all over the West Texas as chasing foul balls at fast pitch softball tournaments. So I did, yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 3:27

Matter of fact, I went to that's insanity, man.

SPEAKER_01: 3:30

I remember one tournament, uh, you know, normally they give you a Coke or a snow cone for a foul ball. Well, this little tournament, they gave you a nickel for every foul ball you returned. That's funny. It was an all-night tournament, and so I think I was the only kid there chasing foul balls. So I got rich that weekend. I think I made$1.50 or something like that. But anyway, I thought I was king of the world, rich.

SPEAKER_00: 3:51

You're like, oh yeah, this is my life right here. This is what it's all about.

SPEAKER_01: 3:56

Yeah, but that's that's that's where my love began. You know, I I couldn't play. Uh when they started throwing curveballs, um, I yeah, you were we were we were out. I was out. I I realized too late that I needed glasses, um, so I couldn't see well. That might have held on a couple years, let me play a little longer. But my my contemporaries in school were very, very good. Um, so you know, I kind of hung around the sport through high school. Uh, we had an excellent coach. Um, my senior year, my high school won a state baseball championship. I was a manager on that team. Um, and so that was kind of the culmination of a mini dynasty, if you will, here in Abilene at Cooper High School. Um, Coach Andy Malone was the coach of that team. He's a you know, was a great coach in the state of Texas. So, anyway, through him, I learned the intricacies of the game, you know, and then through those guys that played the hard work and all that stuff. And so because of that learning, I was a big fan for several years through then in college. Um, and then through adulthood, when I was raising my own kids, um, they chose different paths, neither one of them were baseball or softball players. We played golf a lot, so we turned into a golf and music family. But um, no, like I say, when I came back here uh and the team started in 24, uh, that's when I re-refound my love of the game.

SPEAKER_00: 5:15

So this is not in five questions, but I gotta ask because obviously, you know, that team. I wanted I want to get your feeling from a fan's perspective when you have a brand new team that's coming into town when there's never been a uh like because this is collegiate woodbat, right? This is some uh summer.

SPEAKER_01: 5:31

Exactly, exactly. Summer summer collegiate woodbat.

SPEAKER_00: 5:33

Summer collegiate woodbat. So, like what was that that moment, right? Like, you know, for you when finding out and then getting involved uh with this with this team that did what did for you as a fan?

SPEAKER_01: 5:45

Well, as a fan, my wife and I had kind of discussed, you know, we're at a different part of life. We had an independent minor league team here in the 1990s, 1955 to 98, 99, called the Abilene Prairie Dogs. And they were very popular, and the league just folded, it just you know, it didn't didn't last. And um, so we were newlyweds and had a and a baby. Our first child was born in the first year, and so we, I mean, we didn't have enough money to get season tickets or anything, but we would go as much as we could. Then um moved, like I say, we moved away, bounced around, and so Abilene itself had had ball. They they had another iteration of the prairie dogs who came, I think, in 2012 and lasted a half a season um in a different league, and but those were independent minor league teams. So when when this team was announced, and they had been trying, um, Scott Kirk, a wonderful guy, um, had been trying to get baseball in Abilene for a few years that was in place when we moved back. And a matter of fact, they announced they were gonna have a team in 23, and it just didn't work out. So, you know, that the little setback the wheels were greased already, you know, and it was in the back of my mind, hey, we're this is gonna be fun. And uh, you know, then when they when it was came to fruition, it was Abilene. We got a name, we're naming the team, and we've got a league, the Mid-America League, and all that came to pass. Then I was like, I want to do everything I can to help. Um, I work, you know, even though I'm retired in education, I do have a job with a a signage company, and we make some signs, and so I'd reached out to the team and said, Hey, we would like to help if you need it, if you know, we'll give you a price. Um, but you know, other than that, I would like to volunteer and help and do anything I can to help. And so much so I probably get in the way sometimes of them. But uh no, I the I don't I don't know if I answered your question, but no, you most certainly did. It was you did whatever we can do to help support the team, to if just a little bit help it stay, you know, we don't we don't want this thing to go away because the city needs it, the kids love it, the family loves it, families love it. It's just needed here in town, in my opinion. And it's a wonderful night during the summer when there's not a lot going on.

SPEAKER_00: 7:53

So you know, it's funny you say that, and again, you know, we're we're veering a little bit off because we've never really had an inter interaction, you know, uh on a podcast, but like the the not only the economical um part of the all of this of having a team in a in the town such as Abilene, right? Because I'm sure it's Abilene's not as a bigger town as the other towns, right? But it's um that but that need, right? Because it does bring jobs, it does bring the economic you know development and help and all of that. Um, but what it actually does to like you say, like you said something that uh you know that it resonates with me, family need the families need it here, like they they like it, they love it because you get to go do something other than just being at home watching TV or the tablets or things like that.

SPEAKER_01: 8:41

Sure, absolutely, yeah. It you know, it's a it's a relatively cheap, inexpensive evening for a family of however many. You know, the kids are welcome, and those college students that are playing the game are so uh welcoming and so encouraging to those kids. Yeah, they'll high five them all autographs, whatever, and of course the the players, then they might as well. The the little leaguers that are here in town, they don't know the difference between um Aaron Judge and Samson Pugh, who's a one of our players from last summer. They just know they're a ball player that's on that field, and I'll take their autograph anytime and whatever. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00: 9:25

Also, you never know, right? Because a lot of you're right. A lot of these kids started in in, you know, for example, one of the ones that I I I know that are is near and dear to me, um, the Northwoods League, right? Because a lot of people went to a lot of major leaguers play there.

SPEAKER_01: 9:41

Sure. Yeah, those kids, those guys have to play somewhere in the summer. And uh we've you know in the league already had two or three guys drafted. Um, and I I anticipate others because there's have been some high quality baseball players come through, not just Abilene, but the whole league, you know. So that's fun to see.

SPEAKER_00: 9:57

Nice. I love it, absolutely love it, absolutely love it. So all right, my friend. Um, okay, so that's question number one. On to question number two.

SPEAKER_01: 10:06

Yeah, it sounds like this might turn into 10 questions instead of five.

SPEAKER_00: 10:09

I know, you mentioned exactly right. So officially, question number two. Officially, yes. Uh all right, tell me. Um, obviously, you have uh is a two-part for you because you you know, younger, you left, you know, you didn't you didn't follow baseballs for too much, and then you came back. So I want to get your um sports memories for you, some of your favorite sports memories.

SPEAKER_01: 10:31

Oh wow. Uh that's gosh, there's so many of them at my age, yeah. Um, and there's probably some that I've forgotten even, but the most vivid memories tied to sports. I'll I'll start with baseball specifically, and then I'm gonna end with a non-baseball. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00: 10:49

This is your podcast, my friend.

SPEAKER_01: 10:51

Uh in high school, that team I told you about, yeah. My my senior year, like I say, I was a uh manager and an athletic trainer on the team and made the state tournament. And the state tournament then was played at Dishfolk Field on the University of Texas campus.

SPEAKER_00: 11:06

That's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01: 11:08

And that team happened that year through the playoffs to go through several pitchers who ended up pitching in the major leagues, you know, David Nead and I Butch Henry, I think. And I mean, there's several players. Um Willie Ainsley was drafted in the first round. But anyway, the final or the semifinal game was against a team in Houston that Brian Bohanan was the pitcher, and he was a first-round draft pick. Um, and you know, they were supposed to beat us. And I'll tell you that team that I played on, or that I had played on, strike that, I did not play. The team that I was, you know, I remember I was I was our high school team was one of the best accumulations of of talent back then, before all the money started being spent on travel ball and college ball and stuff like that. Absolutely. Every I think every one of those starters and a lot of the kids on the bench ended up playing college ball somewhere. Many of them played, you know, up to double A, triple A. But they just battled and that team won one to nothing, but it was saved. Uh that Bohanan kid, the pitcher, also batted, of course, they do in high school. Well, he he hit a ball in the gap, and our center fielder made a diving catch going away from home plate, you know, to save. There was a runner on base, so he saved no runs, um, saved that inning, and then he hit a uh solo home run. Uh, so it was a 1-0 game, and so that's one of my vivid memories there of baseball.

SPEAKER_00: 12:37

That's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01: 12:38

Um, then trying to think, um, in college, I I was a big fan. I went to AM for a few years. I didn't graduate there, but I went to AM and I spent a lot more time following the baseball team than I did studying. That's why I didn't graduate from there. But uh we've all been there. That was back in the Mark Johnson era. And if you look it up, uh, our friend uh Eric Prophet, his with his hometown Wichita State team won the national championship. I believe it was in 1989. Well, the 89 Texas AM team was number one all year long. They only lost like seven games. But in the at the time they had uh they didn't have the super regionals, they had one regional, six teams in each regional. LSU was in our region as a number two seed. And uh LSU ended up beating AM two games on a Sunday to go to the College World Series that year and knock AM out. But they were led by uh Ben McDonald, and that that was the team, and it ended up kind of jump starting LSU into their greatness back in 1989. But uh that's one of my heart-sinking memories. Oh, I've been there. It was plenty of those. Um, I do remember a player on that team, uh, John Byington, hit two ninth inning home runs against the University of Texas that year to beat them. That was awesome. Um since then, it took of course 2023 World Series for the Rangers. You know, you had the heartbreak of 11 and you know, those teams, but finally getting over the hump in 2023. Um, that's why I I enjoy what's going on in the American League with the Blue Jays, you know, even though they hadn't won it in a while, and the Mariners. Uh either one would make me get static.

SPEAKER_00: 14:20

Obviously, uh it's you already know I'm a Cleveland fan, right? So like I wanted to, I wanted Cleveland make it obviously that didn't. But the fact that we have new two new teams that have not been there in such a long time, uh, in the Blue Jays and the Mariners, the Mariners have never been to the World Series, right? So you kind of feel for both teams, you know, like I don't want to root against them, any of them, just because it's a great story already, as it is. Sure, you just want good baseball.

SPEAKER_01: 14:45

Yeah, I know either fan base is gonna be happy, and you know, my friend Patrick Larson, our friend there, yes, sir, he'll be ecstatic for the Blue Jays, and I'll be happy for him. Um, but then you know, the either one of those fan bases, but even on the National League side, it's gonna be great with the two best teams from the National League, too.

SPEAKER_00: 15:03

The Brewers and you have the best the best team all year, right? In the Milwaukee Brewers, absolutely, absolutely creating those memories and watching those memories. It's been like it was a I was actually having a conversation with uh a uh a fellow friend of ours, uh Eric Profit, right? And um that night, the game where um the um the Mariners and the Tigers went full 15 innings, right? Yes, we went live because it was like we might as well go do something, right?

SPEAKER_01: 15:27

I went back and listened a little a little bit today.

SPEAKER_00: 15:30

So we were there and we were watching it and we were experiencing it, all of us for the first time together, because it was such a great moment. And there's like these are two really good teams that are battling, right? Like, I mean, they're pulling the their bullpen, they're pulling their starting pitchers and all of that, and it was such a cool experience. As like, I think I'm will eventually add that as you know, what is one of my favorite memories, right?

SPEAKER_01: 15:55

Yeah, that's all I bet that I bet that was cool. Yeah, we had we had gone to a high school football game, uh, as we do every Friday night here in Texas, but um getting back, we were kind of following along with it on our phone and you know, still going we get home. And my um my son-in-law and I honestly we got to cheer rooting for hey, let's just get the record. If we we're gonna watch baseball uh this late, I know we get the record, whatever. And I know nobody else wanted it, but uh we it was close.

SPEAKER_00: 16:23

We it got pretty close. So yeah, so it was awesome. It was awesome.

SPEAKER_01: 16:25

Yeah, all right, but I told I sorry, I was gonna finish the question.

SPEAKER_00: 16:28

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 16:29

My favorite, favorite sports memory has nothing to do with baseball, and it's it's one of your favorite sports. I know, just I think I know from past conversations. It involves golf. Oh, of course. How could I not? But um, my like I told you earlier, my my son went the golf route, and and he played in high school, and I was fortunate enough to be the quote, and I'm gonna do that in air quotes, but I mean the coach uh of that team, you know, man. I mean, I drove them around and tried to keep them out of trouble. But um, anyway, that's how it goes, usually goes. We we would they were they as a team, I'm gonna say we, but uh were able to qualify for the state tournament, which is had never happened in school history. They through that year they had set several school records in their score, and uh that was fun because it it really was a bunch of kids who didn't play golf when they were little. My son had probably played the longest. Now they ended up being very good golfers, don't get me wrong. Yeah, some several of them played in college, uh, and that was no that was nothing on me, that was all their hard work and stuff. But um, that was a fun group. We it was really rainy on the in the regional tournament, and we overcame the weather and just battled, and they had a playoff that they had to to beat the other team to qualify, and so they were able to do that, and that was a fun experience to experience that with those kids and to see them experience that.

SPEAKER_00: 17:47

So not only that, I think you're hiding it. It's like, you know what? You're an experience with your son.

SPEAKER_01: 17:52

Oh, most definitely, yeah. That's what made it, and you know, yeah, and he and I have those memories forever, and you will always have those golfers. I don't I don't know. We're we're nuts, we can still go back and talk about it. If a round comes up, we can both go back shot for shot and yeah, you know, kind of replay that round in our minds.

SPEAKER_00: 18:09

But that's cool though. I like that. Like, listen, again, this podcast is obviously for a lot of fans, so baseball, but at the same time, if you want to come on the podcast and you want to talk about you know how you fell in love with golf or how you fell in love with football, please do you know, contact me because these are the these are the things that like and we're you know, like we're not getting political, but like there's so much stuff going on in the world that at the very least we can escape and and and do it in a way in which sports just does it like no one, nothing else.

SPEAKER_01: 18:39

Most definitely, and it may fit in under another question, but that's what I love about you know going to the baseball games in the summer. You'd asked me a little bit earlier, is we've got fans in our booster club, but just fans that come in general that you become friends with just because of the game, and they're all different political persuasions and opinions and all that stuff, all walks of life, but when it comes through the gate, we're all Appling Flying Bison fans, and we just love on each other and enjoy the games together, and that uh is what's cool. I love that. I just wish it was more of that throughout the world, you know. And then we could, when we have differences of opinions, we could then hey, let's just talk about this a little bit, see where you come from, see where I come from, let's pick up a consensus.

SPEAKER_00: 19:21

But absolutely, and let's just and if we want to fight, let's fight about sports because there's nothing wrong about fighting about sports, because that's just the best part of yeah at the end of the day, you know, it's funny because on on the DSE uh sports show, it's like obviously a lot of us have different opinions when it comes to sports. We argue about it and everything, and then all of a sudden we forget about it. Once it's done, it's like, all right, guys, you know, love you guys, gotta go. See you later. Exactly. You know what I mean? Exactly. Uh so it's it's always fun stuff. All right, my friend. Look at that. Question number three. Number three. All right, all right. Tell me about some of your traditions, some of your rituals as a fan of sports. Okay, that you have that you have.

SPEAKER_01: 20:00

Sure. Um, one, I like to get to a game early. I like that as close to gate opening time as I can for several reasons. If it's baseball, a lot of times, you know, there's a a handout or whatever. Absolutely. I don't care what it is, if it's free, you gotta get have one.

SPEAKER_00: 20:19

It's a giveaways free.

SPEAKER_01: 20:20

It's a giveaway, whether I need it one or whatever, but you know, gotta have one.

SPEAKER_00: 20:24

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01: 20:25

But um no, I love getting there early and scoping out my seat, getting set up, and then scoping out the concessions, the different views, things along those lines. Um so that's kind of a tradition. Um things that I I collect caps thanks to people like the Dad Hat Chronicles and those kind of people. It's rubbed off. So so usually at every game I go to, I'll buy a cap. Okay. First of all. It may be one, it may be three or four, but we'll see. It'll depend, yeah. Thanks, thanks, Tulsa Drillers. But yeah, right. Anyway, I'll buy at least one of those. Concessions-wise, I I'm gonna try to buy an ice cream helmet. Of course. You know, I've got that. And um if I don't, yeah, exactly. Thanks to them, you know, and like I need another collection. Um, but I I like to try out the signature food. It's not necessarily a hot dog and a beer or a hot dog coke or anything, whatever there's so if they have a signature item, yeah. I I like to try that out. And uh so at some point in time in the game, so we don't we don't eat previous meal, whatever it is before going to the game. Um, that's not the most economical way to go to the game. It is not, but you know, it is what it is, it's our journey.

SPEAKER_00: 21:49

But this is it's the ration rationale goes out the window when it comes to sports. Yes, you're right. You're right.

SPEAKER_01: 21:54

Um, and then my wife and I really kind of knew for us is going to the games together. You know, the summer we had a hundred-game challenge within it to ourselves that yeah, game 100 was in Chicago at Wrigley Field. That's cool. Congratulations. Thank you very much. Uh, we ended up going to, I don't know, 102 or three total, but you know, game 100 was in uh at Wrigley. But throughout that journey, we wanted to one keep the books. I mean, but my wife is the one that actually keeps the books. She she doesn't want my chicken scratch on there, she wants to do it her neat way with her sharpened pencils and all that stuff. So that's that's awesome. That's her.