A member of four national championship teams, Willborn was a six-time All-America who achieved his success probably more with his glove than his bat. There is no argument Willborn could hit. His .580 average (170-for-293) in 13 national championships is verification. But it was on defense Willborn came almost legendary. Some say he was one of the greatest—if not the greatest—defensive left fielders ever to play slow pitch. Time and time again Willborn would climb the left field wall and turn a home run into an out. For 26 years, Willborn played for some of the top teams in the country, including Ray Carpenter, C.C. Brick, Nelson’s Painting, Campbell’s Carpets, Howard’s Furniture-Western Steer and Broken Drum. Between 1981-1985, Willborn averaged .562, hit 358 homers and drove in 851 runs for Howard’s. He also played in two ASA Winston Slow Pitch All-Star Series and batted .444 in 1982 and .500 in 1983. Nicknamed “Link,” “The Rooster,” and “The Texas Tornado,” Willborn was less than 6-feet tall and weighed less than 200 pounds, but he proved he was a “David” playing with “Goliath’s and was equal to the task. Willborn was born October 1, 1950.
