This is a story I wasn t looking forward to writing.
I wish I could report that former Texas A&I All-American Johnny Bailey, who finished his career in 1989 as college football s most prolific running back, is settling into his 40s as a productive citizen and enjoying life.
But as the adage goes, life is what it is and not always what we want it to be.
The sad truth is that Bailey, who played six seasons in the NFL, is in a Texas prison hospital fighting an uphill battle against a killer disease.
Bailey was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in April, while serving a nine-month sentence for a burglary in Harris County, and is currently a patient at Young Medical Facility in Dickinson.
It goes to show you how fragile life can be, said former A&I center Ed LaTouf, who played four seasons with Bailey. You just never know.
Warren High School assistant coach Richard Cundiff was defensive coordinator at A&I when Bailey, a 1986 Houston Yates graduate, played for the Javelinas.
I was saddened to hear about Johnny, Cundiff said. But he was always a fighter and I know he ll battle this thing. He was always in a class of his own.
Bailey, who helped lead Yates to the Class 5A state title in 1985, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
Ten years later, Bailey is in the fight of his life.
Upset with rumors that have made the rounds on the Internet, Bailey s family has been guarded in sharing information on his condition.
He s been dead and buried I don t know how many times, said Bailey s mother, Ruby Ford, who lives in Houston. Yes, he s very ill and it s heartbreaking, but he s fighting and hasn t given up.
Bailey, 43, is scheduled to be released from jail on July 23, but his mother said Monday night he could be transferred to a nursing home or a hospital in Houston before then.
He needs to get out so all his friends can visit him, Ford said. I hope the state lets him out early. It s not like he killed or raped anybody. Seeing his friends would be the best medicine for him. It has touched my heart to see so many people reach out to him.
Ford said her son, who played at 5-foot-8 and 180 pounds as a pro, has lost about 40 pounds since he got sick. Chemotherapy treatments have left him weakened physically, Ford said, but his spirit is good.
He ll say I m tired Mama, but I tell him to hang in there, said Ford, 67. He just says he wants to get well, and I have faith that he will. I m just asking people to keep Johnny in their prayers.
With only immediate family allowed to visit Bailey, his former college teammates have set up a network to keep up with how he s doing and offer their support with letters and cards.
Former A&I head coach Ron Harms, who also has sent a card, gets updates on Bailey through the Javelinas pipeline.
Johnny s eyes lit up when I told him Coach Harms had sent him a card, Ford said. Johnny loves it and appreciates it. I appreciate it, too. All the A&I people have been great. I have some great memories of those days in Kingsville.
Texas A&I was renamed Texas A&M-Kingsville in 1993.
Fittingly, LaTouf and former A&I offensive lineman Moses Horn have been largely responsible for rallying support for him. I say fittingly because LaTouf and Horn helped spring Bailey loose time and again during his career.
God bless offensive linemen. They re big guys with big hearts.
We all want to be there for him and make his life as comfortable as possible, said LaTouf, a four-year starter. Johnny is fighting this thing and not giving up. We want to help him in any way that we can.
Ford, fighting ovarian cancer herself, said her son remains determined to get well.
He had chemotherapy Friday and was in bad pain Saturday, but I called over there today and they said he was doing good, Ford said Monday night. They said he was walking around and feeling better.
Harms, a man not given to hyperbole, was succinct when describing how he felt when he learned of Bailey s illness.
It s difficult to say anything, Harms said. I was saddened, just like you expect to be. What s so impressive to me is how Johnny s teammates have rallied around him. It s kind of a brotherhood. I ve been very impressed with the closeness of the group.
I think they all hark back on how much they depended on him when they played together. Johnny had that aura about him. People looked to him to pull them out of tough situations, and now they want to do the same for him.
More than 20 years after his final game at A&I, Bailey remains one of the most honored players in college football history.
A four-time Little All-American, Bailey won the Harlon Hill Trophy as the best player in NCAA Division II his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. And, really, he should have won it as a freshman when he led the nation with 2,011 yards. Bailey was only the third back in college history to rush for 2,000 yards.
Johnny was the kind of weapon that kept you in the game, LaTouf said. No matter how bad the score was, you always knew you had an opportunity to win as long as Johnny was in there.
Besides rushing for 6,320 yards to break the college career record held by Tony Dorsett, Bailey had 7,803 all-purpose yards and scored 70 touchdowns in four regular seasons. He led the nation in rushing every season but his last, when he finished second, and averaged 7.1 yards per carry during his career.
Bailey was so good as a freshman in 1986 that he rushed for at least 200 yards in each of his first four games. He went on to set 50 Division II records.
Bailey combined with fullback Heath Sherman to give A&I one of the most prolific tandems in college football history during their three seasons in the same backfield.
Those two sure made it easy to call plays, Harms said, chuckling.
Cundiff, who later was head coach at A&M-Kingsville, put Bailey in the same category as Baylor All-American linebacker Mike
Singletary and A&I Little All-American defensive end John Randle as a college player.
I was at Baylor when Singletary played and coached Randle at A&I, and our defense went up against Bailey in practice every day, Cundiff said. I had the opportunity to see three of the best who ever played football. Johnny could have played for any team in the country and played well.
The thing that separated Johnny from everybody else was his vision and his ability to make people miss. He could anticipate and accelerate, and see things before they happened. All the great running backs have that quality.
Taken in the ninth round by Chicago in the 1990 NFL draft, Bailey played two seasons with the Bears, two with the Phoenix Cardinals and two with the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams. He made the Pro Bowl as a kick returner in 1992.
While Bailey wasn t particularly fast, he had outstanding quickness and balance.
He didn t need a big hole, LaTouf said. He made my job as an offensive lineman easy. All he needed was a sliver to get through. I consider it an honor to have blocked for him.
LaTouf and other Javelinas who played with Bailey will have a reunion in San Antonio next month.
We re hoping that somehow we can get Johnny down there, LaTouf said.
I wouldn t count out Bailey.
