Who Says you Can’t Find a Diamond in Texas?

If you show up at any college football practice on any given morning in October, it’s a safe bet you’re going to see the usual suspects. Coaches and players take center stage, you’ve got the all-important supporting cast of athletic trainers, strength coaches and the like, and then there’s another group.

They know the players. They know which small town in Texas they came from, they know their height and weight, and they know their name, because as soon as that wide receiver heads back for another rep after connecting for TD, they let them know it. 

Perhaps one of them knows them so well because to open his career at Southwest Texas State back in 1968, he was known as Frankie. 

A few weeks went by after that exchange and “Frankie” was named the back-up quarterback, as a freshman. 

“He said, ‘Don’t you have a nickname or something I can call you; I keep calling you Frankie?’ I said well yeah I kinda do, it’s Diamond Jim.”

So, that’s the name that’s proudly displayed on his 2023 bowl ring. Stay tuned for that story…

First, we need to explain small town Texas to anyone not familiar.

“When you’re in a small town, before something happens, they know about it in the barber shop,” James Duncan explained. “So, the barber shop was next door to the jewelers. We weren’t poor, but we didn’t have a lot of money, and my dad one day decided, I’m going to go to the jeweler and buy my wife a diamond. 

“So, he went in there and bought him a diamond then got him a haircut.”

Naturally, the story spread far and wide in that small Texas town. James’ dad, Eddie, bought his wife a diamond and he became known as Diamond Ed.

“And they called me Little Diamond,” James said. “So, playing football in high school it was Diamond Jim. Told the coaches here my nickname and that’s what it was.” 

Back to the story we promised…

It was on one of those October mornings that Duncan was on the sidelines of UFCU Stadium watching the Bobcats practice. Texas State was coming off a 38-17 victory over Sun Belt opponent Troy to open conference play and prepping for a date at home against Arkansas State, which it also won.

“Well coach Kinne surprised me,” Duncan said with a flood of emotion across his face when talking about accepting his bowl ring from the 2023 First Responder Bowl. “I was talking to him out there, just he and I, and he pulls it out of his pocket and goes ‘this is for you.’”

The Bobcats had never won a bowl game before, let alone been to one since making the jump to FBS ahead of the 2012 season. And for a guy who helped guide Southwest Texas State to the Lone Star Conference Championship in 1971, he was grateful. 

“I said ‘Oh my gosh, you gotta be kidding. I’m just blown away.’”

And in true Diamond Jim fashion, he had one of the most Diamond Jim responses.

So how did James Duncan become a Bobcat? You have to head back to south Texas for that answer. 

Duncan grew up in a small town of about 1,000 people. In place of stop signs and stop lights, they had a single flashing yellow light. The once seventh string quarterback at SWT wasn’t a football standout at his high school either, and it’s probably best for the Bobcats that wasn’t the case.

“You know, you always dream when you are a kid of where am I going to go and can I get out of here,” Duncan said about leaving home. “And the greatest thing that happened to me was that I was a much better basketball player in high school.”

Benjamin Franklin once said (yes, we promise this is going somewhere), “In this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.”

And apparently Duncan on the basketball court.

“My sophomore, junior and senior year when they picked the all-district team, they wrote my name and just picked four other guys.” 

It also worked out that Duncan’s high school coach played basketball at Southwest Texas, and so set forth the 50-plus year journey of Diamond Jim, who was awarded the last half scholarship in basketball and the last half scholarship in football, and SWT/TXST. 

In 1971, Duncan led the Bobcats to a Lone Star Conference Championship after an 8-1-1 regular season record. Trailing, 24-14, with nine minutes to play in the final game of the season against Texas A&I, a nine-play, 82-yard drive set the Bobcats up for a touchdown and a successful two-point conversion off a Duncan pass, and with 23-seconds to play, Duncan rushed for a six-yard TD to secure the victory in front of a crowd of 17,000 at Javelina Stadium in Kingsville. 

“Conference championship season we had a great team,” Duncan said. “This was back in the old days and all coaches wanted to do was run the ball. And I’m goin’, why run the ball, you just beat everybody up. Let’s stand back there and throw it and you know air it out and get some yards down the field.”

It worked out for both Duncan and his favorite receiver, Johnny Parker. Parker still holds career records for receiving yards and receptions and is third in career receiving TDs. Beyond that, you can find his name on numerous top 10 lists.

Duncan led the Bobcats in passing yards and total offense in 1970 and 1971 and was named all-conference both seasons. Following the 1971 season, he added all-region and all-America accolades to his name. His name is still in the football record book in the top 10 for career passing attempts and passing yards.

“Fifty-three years ago, that’s a long time,” he said remembering his time on the gridiron. “Now these guys play 12 games, 13 games, so they’re records to be proud of. “

In 1989, Duncan was inducted into the school’s Hall of Honor, and went on to become president of the “T” Association. 

“I didn’t even know we had a Hall of Honor back then, and I was the first guy under 40 years old to get in,” Duncan said. “Now I’ve been president of the “T” Association, which facilitates the Hall of Honor, and it’s been an unbelievable honor.” 

Gameday in San Marcos looks a bit different than it did during Duncan’s time on the field. The most obvious difference, Southwest Texas State is simply Texas State. The university and athletics department have embraced its roots, and the community knows the SWT mark when they see it. 

“He [GJ Kinne] had a cap on that had SWT on the side of it and I said, ‘hey I like that cap with that SWT, but it’s Texas State’ and he said, ‘I know that.’” 

So, what does a standout Southwest Texas State Bobcat think of the transition?

“A lot of people ask me do you like the name change, and I said no, I don’t like it. I love it.

“You know there’s Michigan State, there’s Colorado State, Ohio State and we got Texas State. That’s huge. Just off the charts. Think of all the colleges that are in Texas. Texas is full of colleges that play football, and we got the name Texas State, nobody else did.” 

If you stick around long enough after a Texas State football practice, you’ll catch a guy running bleachers. To be exact, running 2,404 up and walking 2,404 down with a modest 400 push-outs in the meantime. 

“It’s not bad for a guy who’s going to be 75 in a couple months,” Duncan joked. “I started running bleachers in fifth grade because there was nothing to do. We had a black and white TV. There were three channels and nothing on TV worth watching.” 

Duncan briefly laughed when asked if he’d ever invited any coaches to join him.

“You know, you have the coaches show at Chimy’s and people are like, ‘We’re going to come over there and run with you on the bleachers’ and I’m like, you’re not going to come over there. Nobody ever comes over.” 

To most, Homecoming means returning to the place where it all began. But for some, like Diamond Jim, they never left. 

“It’s a good life in San Marcos, Texas, and I enjoy the heck out of it.”

They say Diamonds are a rare find in Texas, but Texas State found its Diamond, and he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.