This year’s Pat Gerald Memorial Legacy Award recipient is the West family, whose impact can be felt in Stamford, Brownwood and around the state of Texas.
The three West brothers – Kenneth, Donald and Royce, who are deceased – all played for Coach Gordon Wood at Stamford.
Kenneth was a senior when Wood arrived in Stamford in 1951. Kenneth then went to Hardin-Simmons, where he played for Sammy Baugh. After a brief stint in the Army, Kenneth rejoined Wood at Brownwood in 1963, where he was an assistant coach on six of Wood’s seven state championships at Brownwood.
Donald also played for Wood at Stamford and later settled in Snyder, where he helped start the Snyder Hall of Fame.
Royce played at Stamford on the 1955 and 1956 teams that won 35 straight games and back-to-back state championships. He then played football at Baylor and played in the Gator Bowl as a senior. He was drafted in the 1961 AFL Draft by the Denver Broncos and played one season there. Royce then went to a 35-year coaching career including stops at Terrell, Kerens, Waskom, Winona, and Ft. Worth. He was also a decorated track and field coach, having coached multiple state champions.
Kenneth’s son Glen West played for Wood, too. He was an all-state linebacker on Brownwood’s 1978 state championship football team and then played football at Angelo State. Glen spent 34 years as a high school football coach, including 20 years as the head coach at Brenham. He led Brenham to the state final three times plus one trip to the state semifinals. He is past president of the Texas High School Coaches Association and is a member of their Hall of Honor. For the last eight years, Glen has served as the assistant executive director of the Texas High School Coaches Association.
