Texas A&M Coach Dancing Mike Sherman, 2009

Texas A&M Football Coach Mike Sherman shakes his groove thang in this cartoon by Dale Smith. The theme of the cartoon is related to his Aggie football team's performance on the field during the 2009 season. For every victory or consecutive victories (step forward) there was a loss (step back). Coach Sherman and the Aggie nation were ready for a different dance.  Created by DaleSmithArt; All rights reserved. 2009

Dale and Janet Smith; Visions of Marriage, 1985

Drawn just before the 1985 football season and published in The Battalion Newspaper, This cartoon featured me--Dale Smith wearing my "I believe in Jackie T-shirt (very popular at the time) and Janet Hager who later became my wife. It was a present day scene of a vision of my future. Or so I thought. 
The Texas A&M football team was preparing to play Alabama in the opening game of the 1985 season. The game was to be nationally televised. It pitted A&M, coached by Jackie Sherrill a former Alabama linebacker, against The University of Alabama. The widely anticipated contest was planned a few years before when legendary Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and Alabama signed a contract with A&M and Sherrill to play a home and home contest.
The large screen television displayed the event. The calender on the wall had the days crossed off leading up to the game. The tropical plant in the background traveled with me for more than ten years through high school and college. The ottoman was made for me by my late grandmother and given to me when I was very young. I'm sitting in my favorite chair with a cold beverage. A bowl of cotton representing the often dreamed of Cotton Bowl where our Aggies hadn't participated in more than eighteen years. My future wife (who never really got football as Legendary NFL Coach John Madden never really got golf...in his own words) was talking with her mother by telephone. Frustrated, she had hit me three times with an iron skillet and all I could say was Football! Football! Football! That is almost entirely true. Never hit me that many times, but yes, I was hard headed and loved Aggie football to the point she couldn't change the train of thought. She finally gave up. Twenty-four years later Jackie signed it for me! Created by DaleSmithArt; All rights reserved.

Texas A&M Safety-- Jeff Fuller 1983

Aggie safety, Jeff Fuller signing autographs for fans at Kyle Field, 1983. Photo taken by Dale Smith

Aggie Safety Jeff Fuller 1983

Jeff Fuller, always smiling and in good spirits but as soon as the game began he put on a different helmet. I had the privilege of speaking with Jeff many times during the 1981 season while working for the Texas A&M Sports Information Department. Here, Fuller signs an autograph for an endearing fan.

Santa Sherman and hornless bevo, 2009

Coach Mike Sherman of Texas A&M University becomes Santa for a day in December 2009 in this cartoon by Dale Smith. Although the Aggies were outscored by the Longhorns of Texas that year, this cartoon featured a longhorn with both horns sawed off pulling Santa's sleigh. In the sleigh are sports gifts Santa Sherman's ready to deliver to Aggieland as well as fireworks to celebrate the upcoming New Year and a Bowl Banner from the 2009 Independence Bowl where the Aggie football team played the Georgia Bulldogs. There are also the sawed off horns from the steer and many other sports related gifts. The longhorn sits ungracefully sipping hot tea and giving the half hook'em and half Gig'Em sign while waving the white flag surrendering. Created by Dale Smith Art; All Rights reserved. Dec. 2009

Aggie Coach Metcalf makes his Aggies stick together! 1985

Late Aggie basketball Coach Shelby Metcalf explains to his assistant coaches John Thornton and Randy Knowles how he plans on keeping his team together and not lose any more close games.

Coach Metcalf was always complimentary of my cartoons of him. He called the Battalion Newspaper one afternoon where I was working and asked to meet with me. I was so excited I hopped on my bike and rode straight there. When I was introduced to Coach he treated me like he had known me for years. He had such a warm and generous personality. He asked to buy the cartoon that was published in the school newspaper a few days before but I refused to sell it and gave it to him. It is the only original I had ever given away. I ran into him years later and asked about the drawing. He said he had loaned it to a writer along with photos, documents and momentos to put into a book. But that person stole everything and vanished. Coach Metcalf was was very upset about that. Also in this cartoon is the late Don Marberry--one of the most exciting players ever to wear the maroon and white.

Created by Dale Smith Art; all rights reserved.

Coach Mike Leach and Coach Mike Sherman, No Tricks no Tweets! 2009

First cartoon of Mike Leach. Too bad he got fired. I would have had lots of fun with this funny character. Lots of material with this guy. Here Leach is dressed in his favorite costume trick or tweeting. Bet his former players are tweeting there butts off now. I've never seen Coach Sherman as excited as he was after the Aggie's first win in Lubbock since 1993.

Created by Dale Smith Art; all rights reserved.