Former SMU Stars Inducted Into Texas H.S. Hall of Fame

[50's PONY]

5/2/04 Dykes honors colleagues at HOF banquet
By CHAD CONINE Tribune-Herald staff writer
Former Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes once said that a football coach loses 10 percent of his friends every year.

But Dykes, a common thread for at least half of the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame Class of 2004, still seems to have plenty of good company.

The inductees gathered for a press conference and autograph session at the Texas Sports Hall of Fame before a banquet in their honor Saturday night at the Ferrell Center. The group included Mike Kinsey, who played for Dykes at Texas Tech; Milton Rathbone, Dykes’ coach at Angelo State; Eddie Wolski, whom Dykes coached at Coahoma and coached with at Midland Lee; and Charlie Johnston, a fellow member of the West Texas coaching fraternity.

Also honored in this year's class by the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame were former John Tyler and Baylor tight end Ronnie Lee, Houston Worthing and Oakland Raiders wide receiver Cliff Branch, 1950s Highland Park standout Ed Bernet and Sid Halliday, who led Woodrow Wilson to the 1939 state championship game and later played at SMU with Doak Walker.

In a family reunion-like setting, the Hall's new members shared memories of their days on the football field and how not all of the days seemed like building blocks of a noteworthy career.

"I went 0-10 that first year (at Childress) and we only scored three touchdowns," said Johnston, who coached the Bobcats from 1967-2001, setting a record for wins at one school with 315. "I didn't think I'd be here in the year 2004."

Dykes said he never coached against Johnston when both were high school football coaches in West Texas, but, as a college coach, he recruited players from Childress for almost 20 years during Johnston's tenure.

"He's one of the real, real neat guys in the business and I guess as good a coach as there ever was anywhere," Dykes said. "I don't know anybody that's ever done better in one place than he has."

While most of the Class of 2004 had high school football championship game credentials, they didn't spend a lot of time comparing titles. Mike Kinsey, for example, was a member of the Brownwood team that won the school's seventh and most recent state title in 1981. But Dykes recalled his unique personality.

"He loved to hunt, loved to fish," said Dykes about Kinsey. "When we'd get him to practice, he was great. There's never been as good a fundamental effort player that I ever coached. He was tough as an acre of garlic. Just absolutely unbelievable."

Sid Halliday, who was inducted posthumously, was represented by his son, Mike Halliday, at the ceremonies.

Halliday, an All-City tight end in Dallas in 1939 and an All-Southwest Conference selection at SMU in 1947 after his military service, died in 1964. Mike Halliday was 5 years old when he lost his father, but remembered his dad as much as a quality man as a football player.

"You've heard of Roger Staubach and the type of person he was," Mike Halliday said. "That's the type of personality my father had. Real respected, real honored."

Mike Halliday named his son after his father. Sid Halliday, the 20-year-old grandson of the Class of 2004 inductee, played soccer last season for The University of the Ozarks. He is transferring to play kicker for the football team at Arkansas-Monticello, where his grandfather played in 1943-44 when the school was named Arkansas A&M.

Sid Halliday attended the ceremonies and gained a greater grasp of his namesake's accomplishments.

"I didn't really know the story for a long time," Sid Halliday said. "When I was about 10, my dad would explain what granddad had done, who he's known, who he'd played for. It was a really nice honor to be named after him."

For the Halliday family, and the rest of the Class of 2004, induction into the high school football shrine is the beginning of a lasting tribute.

"It's a great honor," Mike Halliday said. "(Sid Halliday's) legacy is living on and is going to live on forever in the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame."

Chad Conine can be reached at 757-5711 or at cconine@wacotrib.com.
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[Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex]

On a totally random side note, Ed Bernet is one heck of a banjo player.

[Sid1947]

It was quite an outstanding banquet. The thrill of a lifetime. I was so very proud to be able to accept the award in behalf of my father. Everyone in Waco was so nice to our family. Sid's wife is 81 years old now and attended the banquet although an invalid with severe alzheimers and dementia, I know she cherished the moment. It was so good to be surrounded by many of "The Legends of the Game" A special tribute during the acceptance speech was given to former Mustang players. Red Maley, Gil Johnson, Bill & Hershel Forester, Jack Halliday, Doak Walker, Coaches, Matty Bell, Rusty Russell, Macadoo Keaton and the entire 1947 Southwest Conference Champion Mustangs.