Estacado High School in Lubbock, Texas, is still the only school to win a state championship in football in the school’s first year of UIL competition.
That was 55 years ago in 1968, and this Band of Brothers just had their yearly reunion.
The Band of Brothers was made up of a truly diverse group of young men and women (including the cheerleaders).
Coach Jimmy Keeling, head coach of this 1968 team, is now 89 years old; and Lubbock KLBK Matt Stell in his Band of Brothers Report lets the players and Coach Keeling explain how this “experiment in integration” occurred.
I am thankful to say that my husband of 58 years, Coach Wayne Garner (who passed away almost two years ago), was one of the football coaches of the Estacado Matadors from the school’s opening. He, I, and our oldest child were blessed to have lived right there in the midst of this integrated community where skin color was unimportant but where a person’s character was what mattered.
The thing that thrills my heart is to see the type of successful citizens these men and women have become – many of whom are leaders in the community, deacons/elders in their churches, loving husbands and wives, and citizens who love America.
As you watch this video, you will see the joy, the love, and the respect that they continue to have for one another.
This 6:31 minute YouTube video is a keeper which memorializes Lubbock’s very successful experiment to bring all races together where “sports, unity, and love” reigned supreme – and they still do!
6:31 MINUTE YOU TUBE VIDEO: