Mother of All Longhorn Mamas Turns 100

By Lynn Freehill in Features on December 15, 2011 at 4:07 pm | 2 Comments

When it comes to Longhorn bona fides, few mamas could top the credentials of Jane Cameron Koy, BA ’32, Life Member.

Jane married one of the greatest athletes of UT’s early years—Ernie Koy, ’29, a star in both UT football and baseball.

The Longhorn became a teammate of Babe Ruth’s on the Brooklyn Dodgers and hit a three-run homer on his first Major League at-bat.

Jane and Ernie went on to produce three Longhorns, including two national football champions, Ernie Jr., BA ’66, and Ted, BJ ’73.

Ernie played on the 1963 National Championship team, and Ted on the 1969 one. Both went on to play in the NFL.

Meanwhile, the Koys’ daughter, the late Margaret Koy Kistler, BS ’67, became one of the first female sportswriters in Texas, working for the Abilene Caller-Times.

Jane Cameron was born in Pennsylvania in 1911 but came to Texas as a child when her father, a wildcatter, came down hoping to strike oil.

Jane and Ernie celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in 2006, one year before Ernie—by then UT’s oldest living letterman—passed away at 97.

In March, the Koy family established the Austin County Chapter/Jane Cameron Koy Endowed Scholarship through the Texas Exes, allowing their matriarch to send even more Longhorn blood coursing through the University.

“She is the rock of our family,” her daughter-in-law, Valerie Koy, says.

Happy 100th birthday today to a rock of the Longhorn family, too.

Photo: From left, Ted Koy, Jane Koy, Darrell Royal, and Ernie Koy on the day Ted signed to play for the Longhorns. Photo courtesy Valerie Koy.

Tags: Ernie Koy, Jane Koy, Koy family, Longhorn sports families