Hays, Curly

Curly Hays Hays was probably the best-known football and basketball referee in the history of the Abilene chapter, working middle school, high school, and college games up until the time of his death. Hays officiated football and basketball  for over 50 years. He...

Harrison, Chuck

Chuck Harrison Harrison played football and baseball at Abilene High.  He was a two-sport star at Texas Tech, playing defensive end in front of E.J. Holub.  But Harrison is considered Tech’s first star in baseball.  In 1962, he not only hit .440 but he sported a 1.020...
Dykes, Spike

Dykes, Spike

Spike Dykes Dykes, a native of Ballinger, was a long-time high school and college coach in Texas.  He spent the last 13 years of his career as the head football coach at Texas Tech, winning 82 games as the school’s second winningest football coach.  He led the Red...
Briles, Art

Briles, Art

Art Briles Briles was a star athlete at Rule High School, quarterback his team to the Class B state finals in 1973 and leading the track team to a state championship in 1974.  After head coaching stops at Hamlin and Georgetown, Briles engineered the “Decade of...

Allen, Randy

Randy Allen Abilene Cooper has played in only two state championship football games in school history, and Allen was involved in both.  He played on the Cougars’ teams that reached the state finals in football in 1967 and baseball in 1968, and he then coached Cooper...