Story Behind Col. Hanzel's Dynamic Duo Of Paxton and Pope
The year is 1977 and Ricky Pope and Robert Paxton are two of the best skeet shooters in the world as they were both named to the All-America skeet teams seven times and they played a large role in establishing Trinity as a powerhouse in the trap and skeet sporting world. However, Coach Tom Hanzel dropped them from the team prior to the university’s 1977 shooting season. Paxton and Pope both had one year of eligibility remaining in the ACUI collegiate championship and were capable of competing with Trinity’s team but the coach Col. Tom Hanzel said that he didn’t need them on the team that year. Hanzel came to the conclusion that his options in shooting power on the team were enhanced by a couple new talented gunslingers.
Coach Hanzel was also bothered by the fact that Pope and Paxton were involved with another shooting group named the Cosmic Cowboys and Hanzel said that he told them to either shoot with Trinity all the time or not shoot for the school at all. Both chose to leave for the Cowboys. Both Paxton and Pope had competed with both teams but had generally shot in open meets with the Cowboys. This created situations where Pope and Paxton sometimes shot against Trinity. Hanzel suggested the he was at previous times, simply supporting the opposition by paying Pope’s and Paxton’s way to meets and for practice which was an obvious conflict of interest.
In the end of the big ordeal, Pope still wanted to compete in some events with the Trinity team and thought Hanzel was “too harsh” and consequently the coach allowed them to continue practicing with the team as an acknowledgement of the vast amount of publicity they generated for the school. With that said, ultimately because the duo was not allowed to be reinstated on the Trinity Trap and Skeet team, just what Coach Hanzel had wished wouldn’t happen, happened. Trinity’s trap and skeet team competed in 1977 for the National Championships, which they had dominated under Coach Hanzel since 1970. However, two of the most prominent shooters for Hanzel in that of Ricky Pope and Robert Paxton were going to be shooting against Trinity in this Championship event. Hanzel seemed optimistic though as his team was composed of a good amount of younger talent that also included Carla Brundage who was in her freshman year at the time. Trinity’s team would go on to win the overall National Championship in 1977 even when competing against two of their former greats.