Former BH sprinter Dan Hooks races up grid win chart

[HillGuy]

Former BH sprinter races up grid win chart

By Dave Rogers

Published January 18, 2009

Dan Hooks is 70 years old and living his dream.

The longtime West Orange-Stark football coach decided early on he wanted to be a football coach.

“I went out for football in the sixth grade because at Barbers Hill, if you were a sixth-grader, you could play on the seventh-grade team because they didn’t have enough people,†he recalled recently.

“I was a little bitty guy. I weighed probably 80 pounds. I got in for maybe 10 plays, but I loved it. I came home after the first day of practice and told my mom I wanted to be a coach.

“She wanted me to be a dentist, but that’s how stupid I was.â€

Dentistry’s loss was definitely football’s gain.

Hooks, who was honored along with teammates on the 1956 state champion track team at Saturday night’s Barbers Hill Sports Hall of Honor induction, now ranks No. 16 on the list of winningest high school football coaches in Texas football history.

His 28 WO-S teams have put together a cumulative record of 261 wins, 65 losses and two ties, including back-to-back Class 4A titles in 1986 and 1987.

That averages out to 9.3 wins per season.

“People are always asking me, ‘When are you going to retire? When are you going to retire?’†said Hooks, head coach at WO-S since 1981.

“It’s not long off, but it’s not going to be right now. I’d like to go one more. But I feel that way every year. You look at the young players coming and you get excited.

“I have no timeline, but it’s not going to be forever.â€

Hooks was a 158-pound running back and cornerback for Gordon Kelley’s football dynasty at Barbers Hill.

“He was a great motivator,†Hooks recalled. “We loved him and played hard for him. He taught me a lot, not necessarily about football, but how to handle people. That’s been really beneficial to me.â€

Of course, growing up in Barbers Hill is high on the coach’s list of memories.

“It was a great place to grow up and do athletics,†Hooks said. “It was a good town, small, and we won in everything: football, basketball and track. I really enjoyed my stay there.â€

The 1956 track team finished first at district, second at regionals and first at state. Hooks joined Hollis Naquin, Donnie Myers and Gordon Speer on a quartet that set a state record (42.9 seconds) in the 440-yard relay.

Speer won the state 100-yard dash in 9.8 and the 220-yard dash in 21.7.

“I was a part of that relay team that won it,†he said. “Of course, Gordon Speer was the fastest guy in the state and that didn’t hurt.

“One of the biggest thrills in my life was standing up on that podium in Memorial Stadium and getting that gold medal in track. It’s still a memory. And I appreciate them recognizing an old guy like me.â€

Besides his relay mates, other track team members recognized as Highlight Honorees Saturday night were Charles Sager and Walter “Skinny†Whitener.

Carvelynne Leonard Graff, a four-year varsity basketball player (1961-65) and an outstanding track runner who set state and UIL records in the hurdles and sprints, was also a Highlight Honoree.

Graff and the 1956 tracksters were among the first class of inductees to the Barbers Hill Sports Hall of Honor in 2000.

Inducted Saturday night were baseball standout Jeff Peterson (1980-82) and Jeff Northcutt (2000-03), a baseball and football standout.

From Barbers Hill, Hooks went on to play football at Del Mar Junior College in Corpus Christi and finished up at Sam Houston State. He was an assistant coach for nine years at Channelview, spent six years as an assistant at Lamar University, a year at Beaumont French and joined the WO-S staff as an assistant in 1977.

“The secret for winning football games is to have good players and good assistant coaches,†he said, “and I’ve had both.

“I’ve been very fortunate in that respect. Players aren’t enough. You’ve got to have the right chemistry with the coaching staff and the players. If you’ve got that, you’ve got a chance.â€

[KFDM COOP]

Great Article

[td]

Well deserved. Congratulations, Coach!

[BHFAN]

I wish he would have stayed  ;D ;D ;D Congrats

[td]

I wish he would have stayed  ;D ;D ;D Congrats

We are taking care of him for yall.