Just finished up with this year's class of the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame. I had some challenges this year, more than any other. Two of the inductees are deceased, which meant I wouldn't be photographing them. Fortunately, my work ethic paid off with extensive research and time, and I persevered and completed the assignment. These 9 gentlemen are worthy of this honor. The talents ranged from book authors, collegiate and professional athletes, NFL greats, Coaching Legends, University Football Coaches, to prominent business men in their communities. I have a history with two of the inductees. First, Kliff Kingsbury, the head football coach at Texas Tech. I coached against him as a player when I coached at Alamo Heights HS back in the mid to late 1990s. His team beat mine on a last second, botched fake punt. He then went on to Texas Tech University to break all the passing records, some of which still stand today. I played some ball at Tech, so we swapped stories about some of the same coaching staff members. The second inductee with a past history is Coach Phil Danaher. I coached against his 1996 Calallen team (also with Alamo Heights) in a playoff game. Of course his team won. The coolest thing about Coach Danaher, is that he is the winningest High School football coach in Texas High School Football history. Wow!!! I mean he surpassed Gordon Wood, and G. A. Moore. Now that's a feat. Anyway, I always look forward to doing this job because I'm a football fan, and I played the game for 13 years. I'm looking forward to the ceremony on May 5, 2018 in Waco. The odd thing about this is, my wife is too, and she's not even a sports fan. It's probably because she loves to go to the Fixer Upper/Chip and Joanna Gaines Magnolia Market. Looking forward to next year's class being announced in the Fall.
Congratulations to these fine gentlemen.....
From the 1950's and before - Bobby Cavazos - Kingsville HS
1960's - Brad Dusek - Temple HS
1970's - Ken Washington - Port Arthur Lincoln HS
1980's - Tommy Jeter - Deer Park HS (Houston)
1990's - Kliff Kingsbury - New Braunfels HS
2000's - Jonathan Gray - Aledo HS
The Two Coaches are:
Bob Shelton - Hays HS
Phil Danaher - Calallen HS
And the Contributor to the Game - Bruce Hardy - Texas Stadium Manager