The Baylor Line

06/19/2026

James Seaton Lester, a hero of the Battle of San Jacinto; one of the original delegates who witnessed the creation of the Republic of Texas; a successful lawyer, businessman, and legislator; and a generous civic benefactor, may well be the founder of yet another famous (or infamous) Texas institution, an “accomplishment” you most certainly will not find in any official Baylor University history.

It's assumed by some writers and historians that Lester could have been the financier of La Grange's notorious Chicken Ranch — the inspiration for the musical and film "The Best Little Wh******se in Texas." As a Baylor trustee familiar with Waco's legalized prostitution district, and as a hotel owner familiar with the outgrowth of demand in La Grange, Lester makes a logical suspect as the original investor of the brothel. Read more at

Original trustee James Seaton Lester's story doesn't end at Baylor — he's credited with financing La Grange's infamous Chicken Ranch.

06/18/2026

Christian Contemporary Music (CCM) is a multi-million dollar genre that millions of Americans listen to every day. However, few people may know that a record label founded in Waco, Texas, by a Baylor University graduate helped spark the genre's success.

Jarrell McCracken, a sportscaster and ministry student at Baylor in the ‘50s, was working in radio to help pay his way through graduate school. When McCracken was presented with the idea to combine his passion for sports with his love of the church on the radio to reach youth across Waco, he was inspired to record “The Game of Life” – a fictional football match between God and the Devil.

People found McCracken so entertaining that many asked to purchase copies of “The Game of Life.” The only problem was McCracken had just one record. He scraped together the money to make 100 copies and, given the popularity, quickly realized there was a need for Christian music in the market.

That need led him to create WORD Records. While the company initially found its home in McCracken’s apartment, it soon outgrew the space and eventually moved into its headquarters on West Waco Drive.

The label began to draw musicians from all over, both Christian artists and secular artists who wanted to begin producing Christian music. Outside of the records, WORD sold sheet music, Christian books, and educational resources. The label enjoyed rapid growth and recruited many students from the Baylor School of Music.

Eventually, WORD Records moved to Nashville and was acquired by Curb Records in 2016. However, its history remains rooted in Waco, and its impact has been far-reaching, as Christian Contemporary Music continues to dominate charts today.

06/17/2026

With the entry of the United States into World War II, many students and faculty members enlisted or were drafted. In total, more than 4,000 Baylor men and women served in all branches of the armed forces during the war.

The Baylor Wings Club — tasked with maintaining liaison among Bears at war — gathered press clippings, photos, and letters to keep track of all who have served. By the war’s end, 123 men and two women from the Waco campus had lost their lives in military service.

Long before the final tally was known, the Wings Club had prepared a plan for those who had lost their life in service. Rather than a single monument to commemorate the entire group, a lamppost would be erected in remembrance of each of the fallen. A dedication ceremony for the lamps was held in Waco Hall on October 25, 1946 as part of Baylor’s first postwar Homecoming activities.

Pictured is Ross Hogg, who served in World War II and died in service in November 1942. He was a Technician Fourth Grade. Hogg and his twin brother, Royce, attended Baylor, where they were nicknamed "War Tax" and "Blanket Tax" by the football coach, Frank Bridges. Hogg served as the manager of the football team and went on to graduate in 1927.

06/17/2026

A day in the life of a local pastor might include one-on-one counseling with congregants, preparing a sermon, leading staff meetings, and now... consulting on AI? Pope Leo XIV's Magnifica Humanitas — his first encyclical, published for the public on May 25 — focuses on the dangers of artificial intelligence and the threat AI poses to human dignity. But Pope Leo is just one of many faith leaders across denominations and traditions stepping in to provide ethical and moral frameworks surrounding the growth and use of AI as the technology rapidly develops. Read more about faith leaders, AI, and the role Baylor plays at

Faith leaders are filling the gap in developing ethics surrounding the use of artificial intelligence within their congregations.

06/15/2026

Dr. Elizabeth Palacios spent 40 years of her career at Baylor. During that time, she learned what it takes to succeed as a Hispanic woman within the predominantly white Baylor faculty. But for each person she encountered who held her back or questioned her efforts, one question kept coming to mind. “There are a lot of gatekeepers, and if they're telling me that I can't do this … what are they telling our students?” Palacios asked. Read more about how Baylor is responding to the Texas DEI crackdown at

Dr. Elizabeth Palacios calls Baylor to love our differences — not in the name of DEI, but in the name of Christianity.

06/14/2026

Many are aware that the Bears played at Floyd Casey Stadium before McLane, but did you know they once played on natural grass as well? In this 1972 Classic article, Don Castello shares Baylor's fight to stay competitive in the Southwest Conference with the installation of AstroTurf.

Read more at https://baylorline.com/the-abcs-of-astroturf/

06/13/2026

Beehives and Bears were all the rage in the 60s

06/11/2026

Have you ever wondered what happened to Baylor’s abandoned campus in Independence after the University moved to Waco?

First, the Union Baptist Association attempted to found the Carey Crane Male and Female Colleges on the empty campus, but enrollment remained low, and the colleges were eventually disbanded.

Afterward, the Board of Trustees sold the land and buildings to T.C. Clay, a local who had previously been a creditor of the University. Clay then gave the land and the buildings to a Catholic priest, Father Martin Hugh, who used them to establish an orphanage for young Black boys.

Father Hugh was described as better resembling a farmer than a clergyman. He wore rustic clothing and had an impressive trademark beard so long it hid his clerical collar. He was known to be a bit impulsive and strongly believed that most problems would work themselves out and that it was best to avoid addressing them – a philosophy that got him into trouble then and now.

The orphanage was originally established in Kansas after the Diocese of Leavenworth established the Holy Ephiany Parish for the Black Catholics of that area, under the pastorship of Father Hugh. He opened the orphanage shortly after and named it Guardian Angels.

While Father Hugh was spiritually invested in the orphanage, he struggled to show the same level of investment in its finances. That is why many of his fellow priests were relieved when he moved himself and his orphanage away from Kansas to the very site of the original university campus in Independence.

The orphanage held approximately 35 boys, and Father Hugh was the only recorded staff member. Before he passed, Father Hugh transferred the property to his sister, and eventually, the buildings collapsed and were reused for their materials. While it is known that the orphanage existed, there is little record of what the boys’ daily life was like.

The story of Independence did not end when Baylor left. Now, when Baylor Bears visit the site of the original university, they can also pause to remember the story of the rather unconventional Father Hugh.

06/11/2026

If the asteroid had never arrived, some species might have persisted longer than anyone imagined. Baylor geosciences professor Dr. Daniel Peppe and his team spent over a decade studying how ecosystems change over time and what really caused the dinosaurs to die out. “By looking at these extinction events in the past, it helps us contextualize what's happening today, and what could happen today,” Peppe said. Their research began in 2011, when the first fossils they collected revealed a surprising find: the dinosaurs were younger than scientists had previously believed. Read more now at https://baylorline.com/digging-into-the-past/.

06/10/2026

Baylor's Yell Leaders were founded in 1920 when the student body voted in members to lead cheers at football games. The Yell Leaders remained a male-only organization until Diadeloso 1968, when two coed cheerleaders were voted in, and later on a third joined after an amendment by the Yell Leader Commission. The 1960s also introduced the Bear Claw and "Sic'em, Bears", which became a permanent tradition once former head coach Grant Teaff joined the Baylor Family.