Johnny Morris and Billy Westmorland were close friends who were brought even closer on the day of April 3, 1974. If not for Billy, there may not have been much of a future for Bass Pro Shops and its owner, Johnny Morris.

Although today’s Friday Finale, Johnny Morris’ Angel, does provide a couple historical photographs, it’s more about an article I found in the Tulsa Daily World that was printed on Thursday April 4, 1974.  The events of that day could have forever shaped the history of bass fishing and the way we buy tackle.

The week of April 1, 1974 was the third event on the BASSMaster Trail, held on now-famed Beaver Lake in Arkansas.  The tournament would be the breakout event for a new angler by the name of Tommy Martin, who would win on his third attempt.

But Beaver wasn’t good to all who showed up.  The weather that week was miserable at best and presented blizzard conditions at times, winds in excess of 60 mph by some sources, and a lot of rain.  It wasn’t the best time for a tournament let alone be on the water for any reason.

On the first day of the event, April 3rd, tragedy nearly struck.  As boaters were beaching their boats in semi-protected coves to wait out the weather, others tried to make it back to weigh-in.  Unfortunately, two boats capsized.  One sunk to the bottom while one stayed swamped.

The boat that sunk was owned by Johnny Morris of Springfield, Missouri.  He and his partner, Robert Craddock of Florence, Kansas, were placed in a precarious position.  All that remained on the surface was their six-gallon gas tank.  For 30 minutes they hung on to the gas tank in 49-degree water.  Towards the end it was either Craddock or Morris who tried to scratch some final words into the tank with their car keys.

Then, out of nowhere, comes a boat through the heavy swells.  In the boat was Billy Westmorland and his partner, Fred Dobson of Broaddus, Texas.  They saw the red gas tank bobbing in the distance and if not for the quick thinking of Westmorland, things would have ended much differently.

Westmorland and Dodson fished Morris and Craddock out of the water and took them safely back to the marina.

I have read reports about this instance throughout my life.  I’ve read about it in Bassmaster Magazine and on the wall of Johnny Morris’ mock-up of his dad’s liquor store inside Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, Missouri.  In fact, he has a dedication to Billy Westmorland for saving his life on that wall.

Just think if Billy hadn’t been there.  Bass Pro Shops was in its second year of operation at the time and people were just starting to feel good about mail order tackle purchases.  Then in 1978 Morris changed the face of boat sales by selling factory direct fully loaded boat packages.  The changes that Morris brought to the fishing and hunting industry are too many to list off.  All because of one man, Billy Westmorland.

But that’s not all this short column I found mentioned about that miserable day on Beaver Lake.  The second boat that capsized, which I’d never heard about, was owned by Glin Wells of Greenbrier, Tennessee.  His partner for the day was 30-year-old Jimmy Houston of Tahlequah, Oklahoma.  Both anglers had bags of fish that would contend at the time the boat was swamped, Houston with an estimated 25 pounds and Wells with at least 20 pounds.  But here they are bobbing around the lake, swamped and no way to go anywhere.

Unlike Morris and Craddock, several boats passed Wells and Houston without stopping.  There was no report how they got back to the ramp, but Houston let the reporter know how upset he was no one stopped for them.

For those of you who’d like to read the full account from the paper, it’s posted below.

Tulsa Daily World Thursday April 4, 1974.