The high school sports scene in Odessa saw a tremendous amount of growth and change during the 1960s.
By this point, Odessa High School was not the only show in town. On the east side of town, Permian High School opened its doors for the first time in 1959. The school started to grow quickly, adding both the Permian Fieldhouse and a swimming pool in 1966.
Just two years earlier, Ector High School opened its doors as well as the three high schools shared W.T. Barrett Stadium for football games.
A fourth high school, Blackshear, was also around but became a middle school in 1966 before eventually becoming an elementary school in 1983.
Desegregation was also taking root across the country, including in Odessa.
Ector and Blackshear were the segregated schools and the students there began the process of being integrated into Odessa High and Permian.
One of the other events — among many others — that impacted the outlook of life in Odessa was the oil bust of the 1960s. This followed the boom of the 1950s as the Basin continued its transformation in many different ways.
Still, the 1960s were filled with plenty of accomplishments for local Ector County ISD schools. Here’s a look back at some of the notable events:
>> 1960: The Permian football team won its first district title in program history in just the second season of varsity play. Led by head coach Ted Dawson, the Panthers finished 8-3 overall and defeated Odessa High for the first time in program history that same season. The Panthers fell to El Paso Ysleta 31-21 in the bi-district round of the playoffs.
>> November 20, 1964: The Odessa High football team clinched a district title and wrapped up the regular season in impressive fashion with a 13-0 shutout victory over crosstown rival Permian in front of a crowd of 10,000 people at W.T. Barrett Stadium.
The Bronchos defense stepped up in the victory, holding the Panthers to just 114 yards of total offense and five interceptions in the victory.
Odessa High had also defeated Permian the previous year but the 1964 battle marked the last time that the Bronchos would defeat the Panthers for the next 33 years.
>> 1965: Under the leadership of head coach Gene Mayfield, the Permian football team won its first state championship in program history. The Panthers finished 12-1 that season and defeated San Antonio Lee 11-6 in the championship game.
It was Mayfield’s first year in charge of the Permian program after arriving from a previous stint at Borger High School.
There were several players on that team who had many notable achievements after leading the Panthers program.
Mike Conaway was a tackle on the team and went on to serve in the United States Army and served as a representative of Texas’ 11th Congressional District from 2005 until 2021.
Glen Halsell went on to play football at the University of Texas and opened his own law firm in Odessa. Mike Campbell was the quarterback on that team and played baseball at the University of Arkansas and Pan American University.
>> May 14, 1966: The Permian baseball team clinched an outright District 2-4A baseball title thanks to Big Spring’s 3-0 victory over Abilene Cooper on May 12. Two days later, the Panthers would add an exclamation point in a 12-1 victory in the regular season finale over Odessa High. David Byerly closed out the regular season with three hits and drove in five runs while third baseman Charles Lacy finished with the best batting average in the district at .447.
>> May 1966: Permian offensive lineman Glen Halsell was selected to the North Team for the all-star game hosted by the Texas High School Coaches Association in August.
>> May 6, 1967: Johnny Gentry set the pace for the Ector Eagles to win the Class 3A State Track and Field Championships in Austin. Gentry set a state-meet record of 21.3 seconds in the 220-yard while also running a 9.5 to win the 100-yard dash. Gentry earned 20 of the Eagles’ 54 points in the meet and was recently selected to be a part of the inaugural class of the Odessa Athletics Hall of Fame.
>> 1960s: The Mojo Chant became the rallying cry for Permian High School that is still well-known to this day. There are many differing stories as to how the chant actually started but one of the more common ones date back to 1967 during a game against Abilene Cooper. The fans quickly picked up on the chant and the rest, as they say, is history.
>> 1968: Permian returned to the state championship for the second time in program history. The Panthers finished 11-4 before falling 17-11 in the state championship game to Austin Reagan.
>> 1969: This year marked the final time that Permian and Odessa High would play Ector in football. The Panthers defeated Ector 57-3 while the Bronchos won 22-6 in their respective matchups.
