It was a night of memories, all of them good.
With family, friends and fans in attendance, four individuals and two legendary teams were inducted into the Odessa Athletics Hall of Fame Thursday in a ceremony at the Odessa Marriott Hotel and Convention Center.
Permian football players Glen Halsell and Lloyd Hill, Odessa High track star Kerry Evans and longtime Odessa College rodeo coach Jim Watkins headlined the second class of the Hall.
Also honored was the Odessa High 1946 state championship team and Permian’s 1989 undefeated state and national championship team coached by Gary Gaines.
Byron Taylor, son of Glen “Jug” Taylor spoke on behalf of the 1946 OHS squad, his father one of the captains of the undefeated Bronchos’ team that edged San Antonio Jefferson for the crown.
Emotional throughout his time at the microphone, Taylor reminisced about the discipline his father instilled in him and that “he used to take me out to the backyard after Pop Warner games, with my pads still on and show me some fundamentals.”
Bradley Gaines, son of the late coach, Jeff Garrett and Alan Wyles spoke about the 1989 Panthers’ squad.
Gary Gaines died in August after battling Alzheimer’s and Bradley Gaines talked to his teammates while accepting for his father.
“This 1989 team is special; these guys were special to my dad,” Bradley Gaines said. “My dad felt very lucky to have coached with the coaches and I would like to thank you for always keeping him in your life.
“The letters and emails, he valued them. What my dad said, when accepting the award as national champions from ESPN, was that ‘I’m accepting this with humility and class,’ so, I’m accepting this with humility and class.”
Garrett, one of the captains of the 1989 team, and Wyles spoke about the process and what it took to get to where the 1989 team was able to run the table, including the disappointing loss in the state semifinals the previous season with the team that would later be immortalized in “Friday Night Lights.”
The conditioning, the off-season workouts, the practices made Friday nights easier they said.
Evans was a track star at Odessa High, where she still holds the high jump record and was a two-time state qualifier in the 200 and anchored the 400-meter relay.
Playing all the sports she could growing up, she gravitated toward running after flying around a cinder track at Barrett Stadium, competing in the 220-yard dash and the 440-yard relay in sixth grade.
She talked about her love of track and struggles in the classroom, saying it “took a whole team to get me graduated and to college.
“I knew then that I wanted to go to the next level, I didn’t want to go to class,” she added, eliciting a roar of laughter from the audience.
Evans went to Eastern Oklahoma, Wayland Baptist and finally, Missouri Baptist University, where she graduated.
She still holds the 200-meter record at Wayland Baptist at 23.58 seconds.
Hill is the most prolific wide receiver in Permian history and was a member of the 1989 state and national championship squad as well.
He pointed out the numerous relatives and coaches that had helped him throughout his career, having each stand and be recognized before telling little anecdotal stories about them.
Hill talked of wanting to be a running back, how he was going to be the next Earl Campbell, the next Tony Dorsett until a casual remark from a unknown coach suggested a move to wide receiver.
“I still don’t know who it was,” Hill said, to laughter.
It was the right decision as Hill dominated on the outside while the late Chris Comer patrolled between the tackles for the Panthers during that championship season.
Hill used that season as a springboard to Texas Tech University and a few years of professional football.
Halsell was a member of the first Permian state championship team in 1965 before playing at the University of Texas where he was a member of the 1969 national championship squad.
He had plenty of support from former Panthers’ teammates, all wearing Halsell’s No. 67 on buttons.
A lawyer for the past 50 years, Halsell gave the shortest speech of the night, three lines lasting about 30 seconds.
“We got together and told everyone that we had to keep Glen focused and get him on and off quickly,” Billy Dale, a longtime friend and teammate both at Permian and Texas, said with a chuckle and a smile.
“He did a good job.”
Watkins earned a standing ovation on his way to the stage after his story was presented to the crowd.
“What an honor,” he said. “I was surprised when they called me; just to be nominated was great.”
A humble, hard-working man, Watkins is the reason that Odessa College has a rodeo program, starting it in his backyard arena in 1983 before becoming the full-time coach in 1984.
He retired from teaching at Crockett Middle School in 1989, the same year the Wranglers won the NIRA National Championship.
Watkins wasn’t finished with the rodeo team, though, revealing that his wife, Katherine Casey, told him “You’ll never quit because you get new kids to play with each year.”
Watkins continued with the OC program through 2009, retiring after 25 years at the helm and being named the NIRA Coach of the Year.
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