Football - Offense

[PatsCowboy]

Jackie Hathorn was a PE Coach at Groves Elementary 4th and 5th grade school on Cleveland back the late 70's. Is this the same Jackie?

Yes

 

[pngfanatic]

Torino,

Where did Charlie Wallace wind up going to college? He was running buddies with Cary Byrd & Ronnie Waldo. Any ideas where they went or what happened to them.

Having to play Galena Park in bi-district back then was brutal. Even after Kenny Wallace (??) went down to a knee injury, that Galena Park team was loaded.

 

[pngfanatic]

Galena Park was indeed loaded in 1961. We lost to them twice that year - 26-2 in a non-district game and 13-0 in bidistrict. They ended up losing 21-14 to Wichita Falls in the 4A championship game. An interesting side note - Howard Twilley was on the GP team, but not considered one of their star players. He later set pass receiving records at Tulsa and played for the Miami Dolphins.

 

[PatsCowboy]

The Wichita Falls QB (as I recall they actually used a single wing) was a Texas legend - Larry Shields.

Phenomenal athlete, who committed to Oklahoma, but was diagnosed with Leukemia and never played. OU did, however, honor his scholarship. I believe Lamar Hunt later drafted him as he was always prone to do with Texas HS kids.

Texas HS football is full of tragedies, but I personally think he and Gene Mayes are the two biggest. Never knew Shields, but Gene was a great guy, who passed last year. He will forever be the greatest HS OL I ever saw. That Galena Park/Garland championship game in Rice Stadium was one of the best ever. If you ever meet Larry Davis, you can walk up, introduce yourself, and ask him, "Mr Davis did you catch that ball". 58 years later he'll just look at you and reply, "Damn sure did". Many consider that the single most controversial call in Texas HS football history.

 

[pngfanatic]

Did Larry Shields survive leukemia? I found this from the Daily Oklahoman in 1965 - "Larry Shields of Wichita Falls, Texas, starting safety on the University of Oklahoma football team last year, will not return to school next fall." And I see his name on the roster for a minor league professional football team -1967 Wichita Falls Kings (TFL).

 

[PatsCowboy]

I never knew him personally just his reputation from friends on the High Plains & in Fort Worth. My son had a couple of pledge brothers from Fort Worth. I'll ask him to try to find out.

 

[Torino]

Did Larry Shields survive leukemia? I found this from the Daily Oklahoman in 1965 - "Larry Shields of Wichita Falls, Texas, starting safety on the University of Oklahoma football team last year, will not return to school next fall." And I see his name on the roster for a minor league professional football team -1967 Wichita Falls Kings (TFL).

He survived and became a commercial pilot. He must have been misdiagnosed because no one survived leukemia back then. Seems Like Old Times – Texas Monthly

 

[PatsCowboy]

Thanks. I never knew him and he was several years older than I, but I heard lots of stories. Basically, he was Bill Bradley before anyone knew who Bill Bradley was.

 

[PatsCowboy]

Thank you, that is a great article. I think that Pasadena team mentioned was the one of the infamous Bert Koane (sp).

I can't believe that John Lagrone became a judge. He was boarder line dirty at SMU and the sloppiest dressed player on the field. NEVER had his jersey tucked in.

Surprised anyone associated with PNG would dare post anything with Gene Mayfield's name and accomplishments in it. I thought the mere mention of his name in midcounty would get you shot if not worse.

 

[IndianFan]

…Or R-U-N-O-F-T.

 

[Torino]

Thank you, that is a great article. I think that Pasadena team mentioned was the one of the infamous Bert Koane (sp).

I can't believe that John Lagrone became a judge. He was boarder line dirty at SMU and the sloppiest dressed player on the field. NEVER had his jersey tucked in.

Surprised anyone associated with PNG would dare post anything with Gene Mayfield's name and accomplishments in it. I thought the mere mention of his name in midcounty would get you shot if not worse.

I lived in Borger for 4+ years and knew Judge Lagrone. SMU Law graduate. His daughter and mine were close friends. He kept a low profile in the community. He was only about 5'10", maybe 190 or so. But, Golly, even at age 50 he would have run through most people.

 

[PatsCowboy]

I don't remember, but there were two Borger players on that SMU team that won the SWC, AND they did it with Inez Perez as a QB. Peruna was taller than he was. I thought Lagrone was about 250/260 playing NT.

Wasn't Lagrone on that SMU team that beat #5 Navy in Dallas on Friday night before #1 OU lost to #2 Texas on Saturday afternoon?

Are you familiar with the Mayfield/PNG situation? That one still burns me. My dad went to his grave cussing people over that.

 

[Torino]

I don't remember, but there were two Borger players on that SMU team that won the SWC, AND they did it with Inez Perez as a QB. Peruna was taller than he was. I thought Lagrone was about 250/260 playing NT.

Wasn't Lagrone on that SMU team that beat #5 Navy in Dallas on Friday night before #1 OU lost to #2 Texas on Saturday afternoon?

Are you familiar with the Mayfield/PNG situation? That one still burns me. My dad went to his grave cussing people over that.

LaGrone was a freshman in fall 1963 (SMU over Navy). His induction info in the TEXAS PANHANDLE SPORTS HALL OF FAME says he played at 190 in HS. Wiki says he played CFL at 235, but he wasn't that heavy when I knew him.

Only know Mayfield coached at Borger, Permian, and WTSU. Won state at Permian.

 

[PatsCowboy]

Gene Mayfield was the architect that built MOJO and Permian into the Friday Night Lights Dynasty. His foundation was still being used decades later when Faircloth wandered through Ector County. He was one of the alltime greatest HS coaches anywhere and the best of his era. Just look at some of the teams he beat and who their coaches were.

 

[Torino]

Gene Mayfield was the architect that built MOJO and Permian into the Friday Night Lights Dynasty. His foundation was still being used decades later when Faircloth wandered through Ector County. He was one of the alltime greatest HS coaches anywhere and the best of his era. Just look at some of the teams he beat and who their coaches were.

I know who Gene Mayfield was. I know who Permian beat--Spike Dykes and Merrill Green , for example.

BTW, lived several years in Borger. Heard much criticism of Mayfield for not defeating Wichita Falls in 1958 and 1961, and not winning a state championship--particularly 1958, when the bi-district game was played in Borger before 14,000 spectators.

He was also criticized for not exercising more control over his players the night before the state championship game. Seems there was a lot of the "intestinal flu" bug that hit the team on game day. But, according to rumor, PN-G might know about those kind of coincidences.

I don't know you, and I don't know your dad. I suppose Mayfield was considered for a coaching job here.

Don't believe its necessary to beat up on BF. Don't believe he "wandered through" Ector County.

Mojo had departed from Permian when BF arrived in 2006. Permian went from 1995 through 2006 without winning a district championship, so whatever foundation Coach Mayfield established was long gone. BF helped, at least temporarily, to re-establish the program when in 2007 and 2008 the team averaged about 45 points per game his last 2 years as OC and won 2 outright district championships. Panthers lost 27-24 to Allen in the third round, in 2008 and Allen won the SC. Permian hasn't won an outright district championship since then.

And, like many coaches, Mayfield eventually lost his fire. After leaving WT he coached 6 years at Levelland and won 22 games--no playoffs.

The Faircloth detractors/haters have their pound of flesh. He's been banished to a bad situation. Can't we let it go?

 

[Torino]

Gene Mayfield was the architect that built MOJO and Permian into the Friday Night Lights Dynasty. His foundation was still being used decades later when Faircloth wandered through Ector County. He was one of the alltime greatest HS coaches anywhere and the best of his era. Just look at some of the teams he beat and who their coaches were.

BTW, was Mayfield the coach who introduced steroids into the daily diet of Permian players?

 

[Torino]

Thank you, that is a great article. I think that Pasadena team mentioned was the one of the infamous Bert Koane (sp).

I can't believe that John Lagrone became a judge. He was boarder line dirty at SMU and the sloppiest dressed player on the field. NEVER had his jersey tucked in.

Surprised anyone associated with PNG would dare post anything with Gene Mayfield's name and accomplishments in it. I thought the mere mention of his name in midcounty would get you shot if not worse.

BTW, my daughter says he graduated from Baylor Law, rather than SMU. He was stocky, stronger than most guys but nothing extraordinary, until you saw him in shorts and looked at his knees...

 

[Torino]

The Wichita Falls QB (as I recall they actually used a single wing) was a Texas legend - Larry Shields.

Phenomenal athlete, who committed to Oklahoma, but was diagnosed with Leukemia and never played. OU did, however, honor his scholarship. I believe Lamar Hunt later drafted him as he was always prone to do with Texas HS kids.

Texas HS football is full of tragedies, but I personally think he and Gene Mayes are the two biggest. Never knew Shields, but Gene was a great guy, who passed last year. He will forever be the greatest HS OL I ever saw. That Galena Park/Garland championship game in Rice Stadium was one of the best ever. If you ever meet Larry Davis, you can walk up, introduce yourself, and ask him, "Mr Davis did you catch that ball". 58 years later he'll just look at you and reply, "Damn sure did". Many consider that the single most controversial call in Texas HS football history.

Gene Mayes of Garland, a TCU recruit, was injured in a car accident. His pregnant wife (I think she was pregnant; if not the son was just a newborn) were also injured. Abe Martin, TCU Head FB Coach and AD visited the Mayes family in the hospital (baby in ICU) and promised the family that the baby would receive a scholarship to TCU . Doable at the time, because there were no annual scholarship limits. Became a point of contention with Jim Wacker 18 year later with the scholarship limitations. I Wacker told me the boy received an academic scholarship.

Gene Mayes, the best HS lineman in Texas in 1964, started 1 game in 3 years at TCU. Never recovered from his injuries.

 

[bandkid]

Torino’s right. We all have our opinions on the Faircloth situation, but it’s all moot at this point. We got a great hire out of the deal and there’s a ton of potential moving forward. It’s time to focus on the future.

 

[PatsCowboy]

Gene lost his wife in baby in that accident. He went back home to Garland and coached Garland for many years. We lost him last year.

I have no opinions on the Faircloth tenure. I have no clue why he left or as some seem to think was run off, if that was indeed the case. My opinion rests on the fact that Phil Danaher applied. I don't care if he used it as leverage to get something out of Calallen, when a legend applies, or shows an interest, you go balls to the wall to get them - see also Nick Saban.

As for people in Borger being upset with Mayfield, find one high school where some of the fans are not unhappy with the coach. I sat with Gary Joseph's father and some friends at the Katy/Manvel playoff game and there were people complaining about the Katy OC and wanting Gary to fire him.
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Gene Mayfield was the architect of the Permian dynasty. Yes, there were a few lapses - Jack Mildren & Cooper come to mind, but they were the force in West Texas.

As for the steroid accusation, I had a few fraternity brothers that played for him. None used roids; if they had, Joe Bob Bizzell just might have been a little bigger. However, your steroid accusation set me off, so I shall bid you a FOND farewell and invite you to ignore any more posts I make if I do.