Wesley "Wes" Underwood (1961-2008)

[Gobbla2001]

The first HS football site I ever visited around 10 yrs ago was Collier-Sharp... Never knew who created it... figured it was someone in the area due to the wealth of information on area teams... Read this obit today and found out who it was... thanks for the info, Wes!
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POINT COMFORT - Wesley "Wes" Underwood, 47, passed away on Monday, Oct. 20, 2008. He was the son of Jeff and Faye Underwood of Point Comfort.
Wes was born on Aug. 13, 1961, in Carlsbad, N.M. He moved to Point Comfort at the age of 6. He graduated from Calhoun High School in 1979 and attended Victoria College and UHV. Wes created the Collier-Sharp Football Report, a website used by high school football coaches across Texas. He also edited tapes of high school games and players. He was a member of the Texas Sports Writer Association. He loved football and will be missed by the sports world that he reported on. Wes was an active volunteer of the Calhoun County Library serving on the board and also on the Regional Library Board. He was a historian for Dave Campbell's Texas Football Magazine.
Wes is survived by his parents; brother, Dennis (Bridgett) and nephew Randy of Malvern, Ark.; and a sister, Sandra, of West Hollywood, Calif.; his grandmother, Gladys Collier of Malvern, Ark.; his aunt, Sheri (Adrian) Parkyn and cousins of Lyman, Wyo.; uncle, Larry (Joan) Collier of Hot Springs, Ark.; and many great-uncles, aunts, and cousins.
There will be a memorial service on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008, with family visitation from 5-7 p.m. and a service at 7 p.m., at First Baptist Church of Point Comfort, his home church. The Rev. John Fisher will officiate.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Calhoun County Library or to the donor's choice.

http://obits.victoriaadvocate.com/V...sonID=119261041

[BwdLion_80]

What a sad note this is. Wes and I met on the internet about 7 or 8 years ago and we became good friends. I finally got to meet him at the Alamodome this year. He was a great guy and he will be missed by a lot of people. High school football lost a great fan of the game!

[big daddy russ]

Sad day for the Texas HS Football world. He helped me out more than anyone knows back when I was writing. Just a wealth of information and the only man I've ever known who had as much info on the game as WOS87. Great guy with a true love of the game and respect for the kids who played it.

[WOS87]

Originally posted by big daddy russ
Sad day for the Texas HS Football world. He helped me out more than anyone knows back when I was writing. Just a wealth of information and the only man I've ever known who had as much info on the game as WOS87. Great guy with a true love of the game and respect for the kids who played it.

Ditto to the above...

In my opinion he ranks up there with Joe Lee Smith in regards to his contributions to Texas High School Football History. His Collier-Sharp website was my favorite site for years before I got involved in the work myself

[44INAROW]

from today's Victoria Advocate..
Link to Article (http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/876/story/346691.html)


Underwood's generosity will be missed

October 29, 2008 - 10:48 p.m.
Bloomington last won a football district championship in 1941.

I know because Wes Underwood told me. Underwood knew high school football.

He was the creator of the Collier-Sharp Football Report, a Web site filled with information that has made my job and the jobs of other reporters around the state much easier.

Underwood was a historian for Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine and contributed to the publication in so many ways.

I don't remember exactly when I met Underwood, although I'm almost positive it would have been in the press box at Memorial Stadium for a high school playoff game.

We talked a number of times before I realized who he was or what he did. But over the years I began to appreciate Underwood's help and looked forward to seeing him at games.

Without fail, he would inform me of some little-known fact that would make my story more interesting and he never wanted credit for the information.

He would never hesitate to let me know when I made a mistake, but he did so in the most polite manner possible.

Underwood graduated from Calhoun High School and made no secret of his love for the Sandcrabs. He suffered with the football team throughout the years, which made its recent success so much sweeter.

The happiest I ever saw Underwood was after Calhoun defeated Beeville at Sandcrab Stadium in 2006 to clinch its first district championship since 1961.

After conducting interviews amidst the wild celebration on the field, I returned to the press box and Underwood was still there taking in the scene.

He stayed in the press box while I wrote my story and drove me to where my car was parked.

He joined me a week later in the press box at the Alamodome in San Antonio for Calhoun's bi-district playoff game against Uvalde and kept me updated on every record set by the Sandcrabs while they were rolling up 76 points.

There was much more to Underwood's life than football. He was close with his family. I wondered where he got the name for his Web site until his mother told me that Collier and Sharp were her's and her mother's maiden names.

Underwood was an active member of the First Baptist Church of Point Comfort. He loved books and volunteered at the Calhoun County Library, while serving on the regional library board.

Most of all Underwood was kind, sincere and a gracious friend, who unfailingly put others before himself.

I e-mailed Underwood a few times this season with questions, but the last time I saw him was at the Alamodome when Calhoun opened the season in the Texas Football Classic.

Underwood was in his element working with the Texas Football crew. He spent the weekend watching football and topped it off by celebrating the Sandcrabs' win over Mercedes.

Underwood's chance to enjoy more weekends was cut tragically short when he died last week at the age of 47.

The press box won't be the same without him.

Mike Forman is a sports writer for the Victoria Advocate. Contact him at 361-580-6588 or mforman@vicad.com, or comment on this column at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.

[big daddy russ]

Great article. Again, I can't say enough about the man.

[Antec]

This is a total sadfull shock to hear about Wesley

Ive known him 10 years plus through phone conversations and person to person lkunch eating meetings

I had just called him two weeks ago after he returned home from leaving for Hurricane Ike

We visiited 30 minutes on the phone and I complimented him on updating his website each week and all the usefull information on it

He was always full head of stats and high schoo football

I called his mom today and shared my condolences to his family

i already miss him and have hole in my soul about his absence


He had tons of friends and aquaitances and no enemies


Tons of coaches around the state admired him for what he did for the acrosss this several hours or work

I still cant believe it and will miss his visits here in Wharton while he passes through on the way to work and do things

Again he lived 47 years and did the things he loved

I could go on rambling about how great of a f riend he was-even though he was 90 minutes away in Point Confort


Dont know what else cand be added- I miss him very much and deepest condolences to his family

[Txbroadcaster]

in case I just missed it in articles..how did he die?

[44INAROW]

Originally posted by Txbroadcaster
in case I just missed it in articles..how did he die?

sorry TXB - I don't know. I was planning on asking Mike Forman at the game Friday night. Antec - sorry for your loss - losing a good friend is never an easy thing :(

[Antec]

They think he had a massive heartattack

That;s what his mom thought it was when I talked to her today

[Eagle 1]

Yea, I just heard about this today.
I use to visit his website a lot.
Texas HS Football lost a good one.
Condolences to his family and friends.

[Antec]

Hopefully the website will be left up even though it wont be updated

Full playoff history and scores etc


He had put countless hours of work into it over the past 10 plus years

He did it for love of the game and didn't make much money off of it

[charlesrixey]

must've missed this thread, because i was shocked when i went to the site this morning!

:(

rest in peace~!

and thanks for everything you did