Texas Sports

When it comes to sports, Texas more than earns its bragging rights. The Lone Star State has produced championship teams and legendary athletes not only in football, baseball, and basketball, but in dozens of other sports as well. Texas Sports celebrates more than a century of achievements in a day-by-day record of the people and events—both unforgettable and little-known—that have made Texas a powerhouse in the world of sports. Chad S. Conine packs a wealth of sports facts and stories into 366 days. He ranges from firsts such as UT's first football game (an 1893 win against Dallas University Football Club) to peak moments such as Earl Campbell running through defenders, Nolan Ryan throwing heat past baffled batters, and Babe Didrickson Zaharias winning the Western Open golf championship for the fourth time. Conine covers more than twenty-five sports and all levels from high school to professional, reminding us that if Texas had never seen a pigskin or a backboard, its sports legacy would still be secure. With a winning combination of victories and heartbreaks, men's and women's sports, and all regions of the state, Texas Sports is a must-read for all sports fans and trivia buffs.

In the 1960s and 1970s, America experienced a sports revolution. New professional sports franchises and leagues were established, new stadiums were built, football and basketball grew in popularity, and the proliferation of television enabled people across the country to support their favorite teams and athletes from the comfort of their homes. At the same time, the civil rights and feminist movements were reshaping the nation, broadening the boundaries of social and political participation. The Sports Revolution tells how these forces came together in the Lone Star State. Tracing events from the end of Jim Crow to the 1980s, Frank Guridy chronicles the unlikely alliances that integrated professional and collegiate sports and launched women’s tennis. He explores the new forms of inclusion and exclusion that emerged during the era, including the role the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders played in defining womanhood in the age of second-wave feminism. Guridy explains how the sexual revolution, desegregation, and changing demographics played out both on and off the field as he recounts how the Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers and how Mexican American fans and their support for the Spurs fostered a revival of professional basketball in San Antonio. Guridy argues that the catalysts for these changes were undone by the same forces of commercialization that set them in motion and reveals that, for better and for worse, Texas was at the center of America’s expanding political, economic, and emotional investments in sport.

“What difference does it make?”, the corner-stone quote of Hillary Clinton preparing for an election. That same statement can be applied today when coaches want instant gratification bypassing basic fundamentals of the sport they are coaching. Learning the fundamentals of any sport is a long process and doesn’t happen over-night. High school coaches that stay in high school, teach basic fundamentals helping everyone understand that there is no shortcut to success is what this book is about. Is there any sports fan who didn’t have a high school coach that make a difference in their life? This book covers all sports in the Texas Panhandle/Plains region governed by the UIL. There is a section for each sport showing the history of high school state championships between this area and other regions. What makes this book different is the legendary coaches are nominated by their peers and is about high school coaches only.

The longest field goal in the history of football was kicked in Texas. But did you know it was love that first led a Swedish soccer player to Texas, where he still lives more than thirty years after his record-setting 69-yard field goal? That story is just one of dozens of unusual and behind-the- scenes stories veteran sports writer and broadcaster Al Pickett has compiled in more than twenty years of covering sports in Texas. Did you know that a tragedy on that same day that Ove Johansson kicked his record field goal changed University of Houston coach Art Briles' life forever? Did you know the greatest high school football coach in Texas history never played high school football himself? Or a case of déjà vu helped a Texan win the Masters golf championship? After each chapter of The Greatest Texas Sports Stories You've Never Heard, sports fans in the Lone Star State are certain to say, "I didn't know that." AL PICKETT writes for Dave Campbell's Texas Football, Red Raider Sports, and Total Texas Baseball magazines, and he hosts a daily radio show in Abilene. He is also the author of Team of the Century: The Greatest High School Football Team in Texas (State House Press, 2004) and Wishbone Wisdom, Emory Bellard: Texas Football Visionary as Told to Al Pickett (State House Press, 2010).

Oak Cliff and the Missing Pieces is the first book written about the area's history in over three decades. It not only captures the beginnings of the early settlement, it takes the reader beyond a century and a half of growth and tracks how the community has evolved. The book is unique in that it captures the history of West Dallas in conjunction with its Oak Cliff neighbor and how the two transformed together over time into what we see today. The collection of historical accounts and hundreds of photos identify individuals and places of prominence finally memorialized in one anthology. The narrative also takes readers through facts and stories that have been ignored or concealed, revealing an authentic depiction of how the community was, at times, abused and neglected. Readers will enjoy this introspective examination of the area south and west of the Trinity and will once and for all put together the missing pieces of the storied land that has long been misunderstood. All proceeds from the sale of Oak Cliff and the Missing Pieces will go to benefit non-profit organizations in Oak Cliff and West Dallas.

Everybody knows that Texans take their sports seriously. Whether it's a high school football clash on Friday night, a college baseball game on Saturday afternoon, or a pro basketball matchup on Sunday morning, sports is serious business in the Lone Star State. How serious? Ask Don Meredith to comment on former Dallas Cowboys Coach Tom Landry: "He's a perfectionist. If he was married to Racquel Welch, he'd expect her to cook." Or talk to golf pro Lee Trevino about the tour: "You can make a lot of money in this game. Just ask my ex-wives. Both of them are so rich that neither of their husbands work." And if you're still not convinced, read what former Texas Rangers manager Whitey Herzog had to say in 1973: "We need just two players to be a contender. Just Babe Ruth and Sandy Koufax." These quotes and hundreds more are included in this collection of classic Texas sports quotes. More than ten years in the making, ". . . 'Til the Fat Lady Sings" features approximately four hundred quotes from more than a hundred different sources. Coaches, sports writers, athletes, broadcasters, fans, politicians, actors, and team owners all speak out with wit and wisdom about the games and the names of Texas sports. This book is a must have for everyone who plays and enjoys the game of life.