The Origin Story
A 127-year family tradition, a hospital in Memphis, and the covenant that started it all.
"Tennessee birth will be on Texas soil."El Campo Leader-News, May 6, 1995
On August 17, 1995, I was born at Baptist Memorial Hospital East in Memphis, Tennessee—on the same birthday as Davy Crockett, the legendary Tennessee Senator and folk hero who died defending the Alamo in the fight for Texas independence.
But here's the thing: my parents placed Texas soil beneath the hospital bed so I would technically be born on Texas ground. Not just any soil—dirt taken from West Columbia, the birthplace of the Republic of Texas and its first capital.
This wasn't some quirky idea my parents invented. My father's family has done this for over 127 years—longer than Texas has been a state in most people's living memory.
My grandfather Bill grew up dirt poor in west Texas, served in WWII, met my grandmother Helen at Hardin-Simmons, and eventually founded and owned banks in El Campo. He made sure his grandchildren would be born Texans, regardless of where the hospital happened to be.
My family has held the same four season tickets to Longhorn football for over 40 years. Longer than I've been alive. Every Thanksgiving, we'd drive down from Memphis to watch the Longhorns play and have dinner with my grandad Bill and grandma Helen.
I was in the stands when Ricky Williams broke the rushing record against A&M. Some of my earliest memories are burnt orange.
My first baseball team was the Bartlett Blaze, out of Bartlett, Tennessee. When we got a dachshund puppy a few years later, we named him after the team.
Blaze the dog was stubborn, loyal, and had more heart than dogs twice his size. He'd chase after anything that moved and never quit—even when the odds were stacked against him.
That's the spirit behind this company.
I grew up in Memphis—which means the Titans and Grizzlies are in my blood too. The year the Titans came to Tennessee, I was all in. Eddie George. Steve McNair. One yard short.
Memphis taught me that loyalty runs deep, that underdogs can have their day, and that sometimes the best stories come from places you least expect.
High school ball in Texas isn't just a sport—it's a way of life. Playing for Boerne Champion taught me what it meant to prepare, compete, and leave everything on the field.
Sports aren't all touchdowns and highlight reels. Sometimes you're on the sideline, watching your teammates play without you. That teaches you something no stat sheet captures—grit, perspective, and what it means to come back.
"You know you ain't the first to do this—but they've ALL been from Texas."
The Doctor at Baptist Memorial Hospital East, Memphis, 1995
"I have said that Texas is a state of mind, but I think it is more than that. It is a mystique closely approximating a religion... Texas has a tight cohesiveness perhaps stronger than any other section of America. Rich, poor, Panhandle, Gulf, city, country, Texas is the obsession, the proper study, and the passionate possession of all Texans."John Steinbeck
A commitment to never let each other stop dreaming beyond the horizon—regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or birth soil. It's how you choose to treat the best and worst of us. A home. A family. A philosophy.
Blaze was more than a pet. He was stubborn, fiercely loyal, and had an outsized personality for such a small frame. He'd go after anything—squirrels, tennis balls, the mailman—with total commitment.
When I started this company, there was never any question about the name. I wanted something that captured that spirit: cover the sports that get ignored, go after the stories no one else will, and never quit just because the odds are long.
Born to Blaze the Path Less Beaten.
College baseball, FCS football, Group of Five programs—real analytics for the sports and teams that matter to you.