The Baylor University Tragedy (1927)
The most widely known “Immortal Ten” refers to ten student-athletes from Baylor University who died in a tragic accident on January 22, 1927.
The Incident: The Baylor basketball team was traveling by bus from Waco to Austin to play at the University of Texas. In Round Rock, Texas, amid heavy rain and poor visibility, an International-Great Northern Railroad train collided with the team’s bus at a crossing.
The Sacrifice: One of the most famous figures of the tragedy was James Clyde “Abe” Kelley. Upon seeing the train just before impact, Kelley pushed his teammate, Weir Washam, out of the bus window to safety, sacrificing his own life in the process.
The Impact on Safety: The disaster was the worst of its kind in Texas at the time and led directly to the state’s first railroad overpass legislation. The first such overpass, the Mays Street Bridge, was built at the site of the crash in 1935.
Legacy: The names of the ten fallen students are Jack Castellaw, Sam Dillow, Merle Dudley, Ivey Foster Jr., Robert Hailey, Robert Hannah, James Clyde Kelley, Willis Murray, James Walker, and William Winchester. Their story is retold every year at the Freshman Mass Meeting during Baylor’s Homecoming to instill a sense of community and care for one another. A bronze monument dedicated to them stands on the Baylor campus.