December, 1970
A 10-year old boy with a pencil, single piece of paper, and a lot of nerve walked down 6th street in Two Harbors, Minnesota towards Agate Bay. He walked in the door of the local, small town newspaper, short story about a hockey team in hand. Glancing at the printing press in the back office, he placed the story containing impressive penmanship on the counter.
“I saw other sports stories in your newspaper and was wondering if you’d publish this one about our hockey team in the Chronicle.”
“Let’s have a look, young man. But first, what is your name?”
“My name is Tommy Smith.”
“OK, Tommy. This story looks pretty good. I’ll see what we can do.”
Tommy walked out the door, most likely turned right to buy a candy bar at either Falk’s Rexall Drug Store or Helgeson’s Ben Franklin. Then, the interminable wait for Tuesday.
Will they publish the story?
What will it look like in the newspaper?
Will everyone see it?
As I wrote in the “My Background” section of my blog: I wrote my first sports story for the Two Harbors Chronicle in approximately 1970, motivated solely by wanting to see my name in the newspaper.
It worked.
I was inspired to write a few more stories during the next several years, then–for some unknown reason, put the pencil down for almost five decades. Perhaps it was the longest case of “writer’s block” in modern history, a lack of clarity over my career path, or a desire to earn more money than my perception of a newspaper reporter’s income back in those days.
MY FIRST PUBLISHED STORY
This story–along with a few others, pictured below, sat snuggled in a scrapbook since Nixon was President.
I remain puzzled by my need to underline my name in each of the stories. I envision the following from the elementary school psychologist:
Mr. and Mrs. Smith,
Your son seems to have an abnormal need for attention and recognition. I suspect he feels overshadowed by the athletic successes of his older brothers–Steve and Larry.
Most kids compensate by asking parents to attend one of his hockey games. Tommy feels compelled to tell the entire town about his hockey games.
This psychosis is worth monitoring in future years as it could devolve into socially unacceptable behaviors.
Regards,
Doctor X
Newspapers Were King
The Two Harbors Chronicle and Times, known locally as “The Chronicle,” served a community whose population would never exceed 5,000. Local news. Local sports. Local advertisements. Information worth paying for—nobody gave it a second thought—the newspaper was invaluable.
You knew the newsmakers and the reporters. They were accessible and accountable. You trusted them. From emanation of the story to delivery on your doorstep, it was personal.
In some ways, the newspaper was Two Harbors. The newspaper captured the weekly events and, therefore, the history of the town. Without it, what record of the town persists?
Local newspapers even provided a moral compass.
“If you do something good, everyone might see your name in the paper.”
“If you do something bad, everyone might see your name in the paper.”
Make a choice, young citizen.
The Tools of the Trade: Newspaper Routes
The honorable first job for many small town boys and girls was to roll out of bed at 5:00 am, then walk the city sidewalks, streets, and alleys on your newspaper delivery route.
What was the shortest way from “Point A” to “Point B” in a small town back in 1970? Ask the kid delivering newspapers. “Walk through Mr. Davis’ back yard, then take the path between the Barthell and Nordskog houses, then avoid Ekstrom’s dog by walking two-doors down through Stanko’s yard, then walk to the left of the big pine tree and be sure to stay clear of Mrs. Gulan’s garden.”
My brother had a newspaper route for the Duluth News Tribune. Published daily in Duluth, distributed throughout northern Minnesota including our hometown of Two Harbors. On days he was sick, I substituted. I quickly learned that I preferred writing or reading stories over walking through snowbanks to deliver them. But it was nice to receive a few dollars for doing his route.
An added bonus occurred while shadowing him on the route one morning. He stopped in front the the soda machine in front of the Standard Oil gas station, dropped the satchel of newspapers on the ground, then got on his knees, reached his arm up the chute where a properly paid-for can of pop usually emerges, then grabbed a can of Coca-Cola. He laughed, then corrupted his younger brother by encouraging me to do it.
With no local law enforcement officers in sight, I complied.
Free can of Rooti Root Beer! It was a great way to start the day though decades later, the guilt of committing grand larceny still haunts me.
Thankfully, our names didn’t appear in the newspaper the next day.
The Allure of Texas
As a youngster, I didn’t envision my North Star to Lone Star migration. But even from a thousand miles away, Texas always had an allure.
Every New Years Day, my brothers and I were planted on the couch to watch the Cotton Bowl. Texas A&M versus Alabama in 1968. Texas versus Tennessee in ’69. Joe Thesiman and Notre Dame against the Longhorns of Texas in 1970—followed by a rematch in ’71.
Lyndsey Nelson was behind the microphone at the Cotton Bowl for CBS for 26 years—we probably saw every game. I saw more of the ferris wheel at the Texas State Fairgrounds than Minnesota’s.
While my brothers fought over the sports page, or whose turn it was to walk over to the television to change the channel, I was probably sitting on the floor with the Rand McNally Road Atlas trying to identify exactly where the Cotton Bowl was located.
Where is Texas A&M? Where do the Longhorns play? Baylor? SMU? TCU? Texas Tech? The Astrodome?
I found them all.
As fans of the Minnesota Gophers, if we wanted to watch good college football, we’d have to tune into games featuring teams from the SWC, Big 8, Pac 10 or—once a year, the Big 10 matchup between Ohio State and Michigan.
We watched Jim Bertelsen and Roosevelt Leaks. We never missed Earl Campbell, though plenty of Southwest Conference defenders did–or wish they did. Then there were the small town names we’d hear about: Campbell, from Tyler. Billy Sims from Hooks. Eric Dickerson from Sealy. Cotton Speyrer from Port Arthur. James Street from Longview.
One of my earliest sports memories dates to December 31, 1968—the “Ice Bowl” between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys always had great uniforms. Bob Hayes was a favorite player. We’d see the Cowboys games in the Cotton Bowl, later in Texas Stadium.
Then there was December 29, 1975–one of only two NFL games I attended at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. Drew Pearson’s push-off against Nate Wright was the greatest heist in NFL history until the no-call in the Saints-Rams NFC Championship game in January of 2019. I saw the whiskey bottle fly from the south end zone bleachers before striking referee Armen Terzian in the head.
I should have felt much more remorse.
Sadly, Dallas has an inescapable association with a dark day in history.
November 22, 1963.
On Monday, November 7, 1960, at 3:40 am. I was born in Two Harbors, Minnesota. Twenty-six hours later, polls opened on the East Coast and on Tuesday, November 8, 1960, John F. Kennedy was elected as the 35th President of the United States of America.
JFK and I had a connection. Nobody else knew that. Just me and JFK.
We were a news-watching family. Walter Cronkite was in our house nightly. Several of the biggest stories of the ‘60s involved JFK. The Cuban Missile Crisis. Vietnam War. Civil Rights.
Imaginations were captured by his words: “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.” While rockets launched from Florida, “Mission Control” was in Texas. The Gemini and Apollo missions were mesmerizing.
JFK was even succeeded as President by a Texan—LBJ.
While I studied the map for the location of the Cotton Bowl, my attention surely drifted to the west side of downtown Dallas—a small plot of land known as Dealey Plaza.
Road Trip With a Detour
Maps are fun to look at while sitting in the living room watching the Cotton Bowl. They are more fun when you are actually planning a trip. My first of several cross-country baseball road trips occurred in late May of 1994.
The plan was:
- Drive from Minneapolis to Kansas City to see the Royals.
- Then drive across Missouri to St Louis see the Gateway Arch and the Cardinals. For some reason, I regularly dreamt of attending a baseball game at the old Busch Stadium. This trip would make that a reality.
- From St. Louis, I would drive across southern Illinois before making a pit stop at my brother’s house in Indianapolis. There was no better place to be on Memorial Day weekend in that era than Indianapolis. We would be present to watch Al Unser Jr win one of the great American sporting events—the Indianapolis 500.
- The next morning, I would drive to Chicago for my first of several visits to see the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
A perfect trip.
As I studied maps to plan the detailed route, I pondered if the trip could be even more perfect.
How?
A thousand mile detour to Dallas. My first trip to Texas.
Dealey Plaza. JFK. Lee Harvey Oswald. Jackie. The grassy knoll. The 6th Floor of the Texas Schoolbook Depository. Abraham Zapruder. Jack Ruby. The Texas Theater. Parkland Hospital. LBJ. “Life” magazine. The Warren Commission. Conspiracies. Castro. The USSR. J. Edgar Hoover. The mob.
A few quick calculations for budget and timeline deemed it viable. The first leg of the trip would be Minneapolis to Dallas, departing on Saturday, May 21.
The only disappointment was that the Texas Rangers would be in Seattle to face the Mariners.
Oh well. Texas, here I come.
The decision on where to stay in Dallas was easy. Irving. Near Texas Stadium. I’d watched countless Dallas Cowboys football games in the 3 pm Central time slot on CBS. Visiting teams always wore their home uniforms.
There was just something about the visual dynamics of that stadium that made the uniforms and helmets of NFL teams look better than anywhere else.
I stayed at a luxurious Motel 6 at the intersection of Loop 12 and E State Hwy 356. Little did I know when booking my reservation that I had chosen a hotel next door to the greatest restaurant on planet Earth—the Waffle House. I ate there two or three times on my quick visit to DFW, each time opting for a seat at the counter where I could watch short-order cooks work their magic with vats of waffle batter, sizzling slabs of bacon, shredded potatoes turning crispy golden brown, eggs whipped into a scrambled delight in stainless steel bowls, and ten or 20 toasters popping white bread into the air like popcorn. I didn’t even have to pay for a ticket to watch this symphony.
Pure joy.
The Motel 6 and Waffle House are still there...
The reaction when I first arrived at Dealey Plaza was quite different.
Surreal is the only word to describe it. It was such a big story, yet the area seemed small.
The feeling would resurface during my first visit to JFK’s grave at Arlington Cemetery, and in the parking lot of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, the Mission Control room in Houston, Gettysburg National Military Park, and Cape Canaveral in Florida. That emotional jolt may have only been surpassed while walking along Omaha Beach in France, the 9/11 site in New York City and the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps in Poland.
The Sixth Floor Museum is outstanding. The detour was a good decision.
As I departed, I probably wondered if I’d ever return. Little did I know that my brother would move to Flower Mound a few months later, or that I’d move to Dallas 18 years later when my employer–Thryv, asked me and my wife to relocate from Denver, where I had lived for 17 years. We settled in north Fort Worth, a field goal’s distance from Keller.
Road Trip '94: Ticket Stubs and Pictures
From Bleachers to Press Boxes
Friday nights in Texas. Hop in your car. Drive in any direction. Look at the skyline. Follow the lights to a Texas cultural experience. From $70 million monuments to high school football, to humble grass fields—upon whose roots legends have been made.
Game night traditions connecting past with present. College recruiters with an eye on the future. Everything you’ve heard about football in Texas is probably true. If anything, the stories are probably understated.
Childhood in Minnesota. Nearing retirement years in Texas. For a sports fan, it’s the best of both worlds.
Minnesota has the greatest high school state tournament—hockey.
Texas has the second greatest high school state tournament—football.
Or, is it the other way around?
A strong case could be made, either way. Perhaps the annual “Hockey Hair Video” pushes Minnesota over the top. The 2016 video even mentions “Friday Night Lights” in Texas.
Regardless, sports fans in 48 other states don’t know what they are missing.
After moving to DFW from Denver in late 2012, I’d sit in the bleachers at high school football games almost every Friday night—usually in Keller or Southlake. Between plays, I’d check stats and game results on the SportsDayHS mobile app, produced by the Dallas Morning News.
In July of 2019, I saw a solicitation on Twitter which changed the way I’d view high school football in Texas.
The Dallas Morning News was hiring “Friday night freelancers for the the 2019 season.” A subsequent form letter/email indicated they were seeing “college students and others with experience covering high school football.”
I was decades removed from college and had never covered a high school football game. Heck, I had never received an assignment by a newspaper to cover any sporting event.
As a 10-year old, I assumed I wasn’t too young to knock on the door of a small town newspaper. As a soon-to-be 60 year-old, I had the nerve to assume my clear lack of credentials wouldn’t preclude me from joining the team of one of the most prominent newspapers in the United States.
After exchanging a few emails, one of which included one of the few things I had written—the story about my visit to Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke University, I was invited to attend two training sessions at the Dallas Morning News headquarters in downtown Dallas.
Between my parked car and the Dallas Morning News headquarters stood the Dallas Municipal Building. In November of 1963, the building was home to the Dallas Police Department. It’s where Lee Harvey Oswald was jailed for two days before he was shot by Jack Ruby. I’ve parked in that ramp several times since, always envisioning the events of that day.
Upon entering the Dallas Morning News headquarters for the first time, I was escorted to an auditorium where 20-30 other candidates—almost all looking to be several decades younger than me, were anxiously awaiting the start of training. Before arriving, it was made clear that we had to demonstrate competency with their statistic-tracking system and writing a coherent game recap before we’d advance to the second session. Another similarly sized group would go through this same process the following night.
During this three hour session, the job was described to us, we were taught how to use their stat-tracking system while watching a state championship game featuring Kyler Murray from his days with Allen High School, given advice regarding the type of stories they want us to write, then given 10 minutes to write a story, recapping the game we watched.
It was all a bit stressful, but interesting. I had my first glimpse behind the curtain of how the newspaper provides coverage.
Then, I waited several days to see if I’d be invited for the second session. I was. The session was very similar to the first including some much needed repetition with the stats system along with additional tips about writing proper stories.
Once again, several days elapsed before learning that I would be part of their team for the 2019 high school football season.
Fortunately, they gave me an opportunity to prove I could do this. My first assignment was to travel to Mineral Wells for their game against Carrollton Ranchview.
I was surprised at how nervous I was for that game—and several thereafter. The weight of representing Dallas Morning News was proving heavy. Truth be told, I’m nervous before every game but the anxiety dissipates after attaining a solid internet connection in the press box.
The Game Day Experience
Anticipation begins on Sunday evening. Typically, between 5:00-7:00 pm an email arrives from writer and SportsDayHS editor, Greg Riddle, with my assignment for the following Friday. I’ve told him I’ll travel anywhere—correspondingly, he has sent me everywhere. I’ve loved every assignment.
On Monday or Tuesday, it is our responsibility to contact each school for updated rosters and ask the home team to provide me with press box pass for the forthcoming game.
If the schools send the rosters—and they almost always do, I’ll compare them against the rosters we have in our system on Wednesday or Thursday night. If changes are needed, I’ll send the updates to the guys at the DMN.
On game day, my goal is to arrive at each venue at least an hour before the game. I carry a small, yet extremely powerful piece of rectangular paper to each game. The Dallas Morning News business card is always met with a welcoming smile from the local hosts. Instant “street cred.” I did nothing to earn it. The reception always reminds me of the stature of the newspaper I represent.
I like to take a few pictures while at each stadium. Find a spot in the press box. Set up. Get connected to the internet. A final check of the rosters. Maybe grab something to eat—some of the schools go all out with press box vittles. Pizza and barbeque are the most common offerings. Honestly, I usually pass but there have been a few exceptions.
Once the opening kickoff happens, we are nonstop busy recording every play into the system:
- Run or Pass?
- Who carried the ball?
- Who caught the ball?
- Who passed the ball?
- What yard line did the play end up on?
- Was there a penalty? If yes, on which team? What yard line was the ball placed on?
- Was there a fumble? An interception?
- Who was the punter? How far did the punt go? Who returned the punt? What yard line did the punt (or kick return) end up on?
- Was there a touchdown on the play? Field goal? How much time remains in the quarter when the scoring play happened.
- Did they kick the extra point or go for a two-point conversion?
- Between plays, review the previous few plays to ensure I’ve entered everthing correctly. If not, quickly make corrections.
The software the Dallas Morning News provides is very efficient. As I enter each play, their website and mobile app are immediately updated with our play-by-play data.
This is the era of the no-huddle offense. You have to maintain your focus and work quickly. It’s easy to make a mistake, but the software also makes it easy to identify them—and corrections are typically easy to make. The team back at the DMN headquarters monitors our data entry and will notify us if they see abnormalities. Their assistance has been invaluable.
This process can be quite stressful. After all, I’m representing the Dallas Morning News. Nobody knows me. Everybody knows the DMN. My work on stats and the story is a direct reflection on the Dallas Morning News. You want your work to be as close to perfect as possible. I’ve certainly had a few challenging evenings but the more games I cover, the easier everything becomes.
Some press boxes are further from the field than others. Binoculars are a must. During warmups, I immediately look at the jerseys—are the numbers easy to read? If not, this can make the job much more difficult.
As a fan attending games, I never looked forward to the 28-minute halftimes when each band would perform. As a stringer, those 28 minutes are invaluable as they provide time to write components of the story based on the action in the first half. Some of those notes make it into the final story. Some are updated. Some are deleted.
After each game, they’d like for us to complete our 4-5 paragraph story within 10-15 minutes. Initially, this seemed impossible but, like anything else, it becomes easier with more experience. When the writing is done, I call the sports desk at the Dallas Morning News to inform them that the story is ready for them to review. After a brief discussion, my work is done for the evening.
I throw my computer, binoculars, power strip, mi-fi and notepads into my computer bag, take a picture of the vacated field, then leave the press box.
Turn Out the Lights - The Game is Over
By the time I get to my car, the story I wrote is published on the SportsDayHS website and mobile app for all to see. Some components of the game stories and statistics are published in the actual newspaper.
After the drive home, I’m usually wide awake so I hop online to review the other box scores and stories on the Dallas Morning News site, and watch the high school football shows broadcast by Fox Sports Southwest. Bedtime has occurred as late as 2:00 am on multiple occasions.
My primary contracts at the the Dallas Morning News have been:
- Greg Riddle–SportsDay Writer and Editor. Greg determines the weekly assignments for all the stringers and writers–and covers prominent games himself.
- Joshua Friemel, Lead Web Producer–their jack of all trades from a systems and training perspective. Josh has been on the receiving end of a majority of my post-game calls to the sports desk.
- Tommy Magelssen, Assistant Sports Editor who also helped with our initial training–and has kept me on track multiple times with my game night stats.
The Dallas Morning News has a talented staff of writers covering high school sports, and beyond. Names like Joseph Hoyt, Callie Caplan, Randy Jennings, Tess DeMeyer–folks I’ve not personally met, but regularly read.
Other staffers. Other stringers. Working hard to support of high school sports in the fourth largest metro area in the USA. Keeping newspapers alive in a digital age.
It’s important work and the Dallas Morning News team does it exceptionally well.
While I have immense respect to the Dallas Morning News for their commitment to coverage of high school football, credit must also be given to Fox Sports Southwest for their five straight hours of nonstop coverage every Friday night as they send their armada of sideline reporters to featured games across Texas. Greg Tepper’s enthusiasm for the game propels those shows along with Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.
I can’t imagine media outlets in other states—including Minnesota with high school hockey, dedicating so many resources to covering high school sports.
Sports fans in Texas are the winners.
Published Online
Click on the pictures below to see the output of the data that "stringers" enter during each game. Dallas Morning News subscribers view this via the DMN website and mobile app.
Published in the Printed Newspaper and/or ePaper
When you write something that could be printed in the Dallas Morning News, it truly feels like the eyes of Texas are upon you.
I’m no “hotshot” by any means – just one of more than 60 “stringers” who cover high school games in the Dallas/Fort Worth area from late August until December.
I’m at the bottom of the journalistic food chain—and couldn’t be happier with the small role I’ve played.
It’s an honor to be part of this team–and it’s a lot of fun.
My Game Assignments
2019 – 12 Games
Carrolton Ranchview at Mineral Wells
South Garland at Dallas Molina
Kaufman at Corsicana
Trinity Christian-Addison at Parish Episcopal
Terrell at Corsicana
Frisco Wakeland at Little Elm
Coppell at Flower Mound Marcus
Dallas Conrad at Red Oak
Carrolton Creekview at Carollton RL Turner at Standridge Stadium
PLAYOFFS
Bullard Brook Hill vs Trinity Christian-Cedar Hill
Trinity Christian-Cedar Hill at Fort Worth Southwest Christian
Amarillo vs Colleyville Heritage
2020 – 20 Games
Venus at Sanger
Parish Episcopal at Argyle Liberty Christian
Arlington Martin at Temple
Anna at Melissa
Red Oak vs Mansfield Legacy
Midlothian Heritage at Stephenville, at Tarleton State University
Duncanville at Waco Midway
North Forney at Corsicana
Dallas Molina at Dallas Woodrow Wilson
Colleyville Heritage at Burleson Centennial
Garland Lakeview at Garland (Cancelled due to Covid-19)
Dallas Hillcrest at Dallas Spruce, in Seagoville
PLAYOFFS
Celina vs Sweetwater, at Tarleton State University in Stephenville
Tuscola Jim Ned vs Pilot Point, at Tarleton State University in Stephenville
Parish Episcopal vs Midland Christian, in Abilene
Fort Worth Lake Country Christian vs , in Abilene
Hillcrest at Aledo
Argyle vs Canyon, in Abilene
Red Oak vs El Paso Del Valle, in Big Spring
Grapevine vs Canutillo, in Big Spring
Lubbock Coronado vs Red Oak, in Wichita Falls
Newspapers -"Read all about it!"
As the internet emerged, consumers became accustomed to free information. Years later, they should be realizing that “free” comes with a cost. Soon, we’ll be reliant upon a handful of “news” sources controlled by a few individuals with names like Bezos, Zuckerberg, and Dorsey. Will they truly care about the daily events in Minnesota cities like Two Harbors, Duluth, and Bemidji, or Texas towns like Mineral Wells, Corsicana, and Aledo?
Probably not.
The Dallas Morning News will–for as long as it can. People like Riddle, Friemel, and Magelssen are grinding every day to provide the type of coverage every city deserves–and needs. Their reach goes well beyond the Dallas city limits. The newspaper sends reporters–and ordinary stringers like me, to small towns where that business card opens doors.
News can’t be properly conveyed via meme or 144-character tweets. Support your local newspaper. Pay for a subscription, or two, or three.
The 4th Quarter...of my life
I turned 60 in November. I’ve long heard about the importance of continuing to learn and try new things as we get older. The mental and emotional benefits offered by this opportunity have clearly been gratifying.
Last fall, time spent in press boxes led me to think more about writing. I doubt I would have started this blog in April of 2020 without the practice of writing simple 3-5 paragraph stories about high school football games in the Texas autumn of 2019.
A 10-year old boy walking down 6th Street in Two Harbors can no longer drop off his story at The Chronicle. The final edition of that newspaper printed on May 22, 2020.
The stories are out there. The newspaper isn’t. That’s a bad equation for any town.
As a youngster, a motivator for writing stories was to see my name on the pages of the Two Harbors Chronicle. Fifty years later, it’s an honor–a privilege–and a bit of a surreal experience, to be able to write stories so other kids can see their names…
…on the pages of the Dallas Morning News.
Overtime- The Football Fields of Texas
The onset of Covid led to the creation of my blog site, and numerous mental health road trips for me and my wife, Vickie. Most were day trips–some required overnight stays. From Longview to Marfa, Harlingen to Wheeler, we covered a lot of ground this summer.
As we visited every corner of the state, Vickie started to endure an aggravating obsession–I became compelled to stop and take pictures of nearly every high school football field we passed. I’m only sorry I didn’t start this obsession with the first trip.
I have an understanding and forgiving wife. Bless her heart.
As I’ve learned more about Texas football history, I studied maps and thought, “I wonder what the football field in Brock, or Cuero or Lampasas looks like.”
Per the pictures below, those questions–and many more, were answered this summer.
Of the 72 football fields pictured below, 41 were visited during our road trips this year. I previously visited many while on assignments with the Dallas News. Other pictures were taken in previous years. Single football fields in Colorado and Oklahoma are included, along with my hometown of Two Harbors, Minnesota.–one of the coldest–yet most beautiful, towns on planet Earth.
Texas Roads Driven
Abilene Shotwell Stadium
Aledo
Allen
Alpine
Argyle
Argyle Liberty Christian
Aubrey
Bedford - Pennington Field
Blanco
Bonham
Booker, Oklahoma
Bowie
Brock
Brownwood
In June of 1902, Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing–better known as 3M, originated in my hometown of Two Harbors, Minnesota. While driving through the legendary Texas football town of Brownwood, I thought it was amusing to see a rather large 3M plant.
The original 3M heaquarters still stands in Two Harbors–flanked below by pictures of the Brownwood plant.
First, my connection with JFK. Now, my connection with Brownwood. 🙂
Burleson
Canadian
Carrollton-Standridge Stadium
Celina
Cherokee
Comanche
Conifer, Colorado
Corsicana
Cuero
Eastland
Flower Mound Marcus
Fredericksburg
Frisco - Ford Center
GARLAND - WILLIAMS STADIUM
Gatesville
Gilmer
Gonzales
Grandview
Grapevine
Grapevine Faith Christian
Gunter
Henrietta
Iraan
Irion County
Kincaide Stadium-Dallas
Keller
Kerrville-TIVY Antlers
Little Elm
Llano
Longview
Lampasas
Mansfield - VERNON NEWSOME STADIUM
Marfa
Mason - it doesn't get better than this
McGregor
Melissa
Midland - Grande Communications stadium
Mineral Wells - my first assignment
New Deal
Odessa Permian - Ratliff Stadium
Palestine
Parish Episcopal
Pilot Point
Rankin
Reagan County-Big Lake
Red Oak
Refugio
San Angelo
San Saba
Sanger
Seagoville
Southlake Carroll
Southwest Christian
Springtown
Strawn
Population 660 Six-man football One of my Favorites
This very small town of Strawn goes all-out to honor their past champions.
Temple
Trinity Christian
Two Harbors, Minnesota - My Hometown
The field pictured to the right was the football field I played on from 1975-79. Its location was roughly the length of three football fields from Lake Superior. It has been replaced by the field in the pictures below.
Both fields were named after legendary coach, Chuck Halsted.
Picture credit: Brad Alm
Current Two Harbors High School coach, Tom Nelson, has developed an admirable culture around family and community involvement. They’ve also remained competitive on the field. While artificial turf dominates in Texas, I love the neatly manicured grass fields.
Tyler
Waco Midway
Wall
Weatherford
Wheeler
Witchita Falls - Memorial Stadium
Zephyr
AT&T Stadium
Abilene Christian University
Globe Life Park
Once upon a time as a football player: 1978 #12
I’ve always loved the vision in my head of you as a young child poring over every map, atlas or globe you could get your little, chocolate-covered hands on. Our shared love of travel, and the wonderful adventures we create are true blessings. I’m so happy to witness your boyhood dreams coming true. Nothing can stop you, even my occasional side trips to wineries and gift shops 😆. You are a brilliant writer and a rabid lover of sports. It’s wonderful to see the two mesh so beautifully. Cheers to our next adventure!
Thanks Wife–and thanks for putting up with my absences and my many hours of focusing on my writing. Couldn’t do any of this without your support.
Another fabulous story Tom. Love the way you weave the stories together. Congratulations! You’ve had a very impressive life continue to enjoy, love it and live it to the utmost. Take care, stay well.
Thank you for the kind words Joyce. Always good to hear from you. And, Happy Birthday!
Thomas,
It was probably your other brother that taught you how to get your arm stuck in a soda machine trying to grab a free can.
This is an amazing story. Hard to believe all of the stories and stadiums you have collected. Living in Southlake, Texas, where there is a tradition of great football, I take it for granted that it is the center of all north Texas HS football. But after viewing all of the stadiums in this story, it is amazing how big football is in little towns and big cities throughout the state.
Legendary author James Michener’s TEXAS book included Texas football from its earliest days. He told stories of how towns would recruit 30 year old players from other parts of the state or country for the local high school team by giving their fathers jobs in the community, while enrolling these men back into high school. I think your coverage was better, Thomas. Well done. I am proud of you!
Keep writing.
Larry
Tom, great story, great wrting… we have walked down similar paths.. taken similar road trips, huddled over similar maps ( mine were from the Standard station on 7th.. a home-run was when i found a Midwest USA!). i too had a paper route.. both morning and afternoon ( not at same time ).
i too was impressed with Texas football when i lived in Houston from 1981 – 1983.. i miss Houston. i miss the smell of the East Texas pines and the refineries.. the can-do attitude of the culture and business community… the people.
you tell a great story..
Ducko
Tom,
I finally got around to reading “Small Towns, Big Stories”! It’s another well written, engaging story! I enjoyed every word of it. I think The Dallas Morning News is lucky to have someone as devoted and knowledgeable to their craft as you are. Keep up the good work. Stay young at heart.