Texas H.S. Football Hall of Fame Inductees

[Phantom Stang]

Sports

Welch is state football Hall inductee

Mike Welch, a standout for Sweetwater High School's on-ly state football championship team in 1985 who later earned all-Southwest Conference hon-ors at Baylor University, re-turned to Waco on May 7 to be inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame.

Welch, who was honored at a banquet which was held at Baylor's Ferrell Center, was one of seven former Texas high school stars who were recognized in different decades.

Inducted at the banquet were Aultman Smith, who played for Abilene High prior to the 1940s; George Stroh-meyer Jr., who played for Mc-Allen in the 1940s; Tommy Ford, who played for San Angelo in the 1950s; Larry Shields, who played for Wichi-ta Falls during the 1960s; Brad Shields, who played for Austin Westlake in the 1970s; Welch, representing the 1980s; and Lloyd Hill, who played for Odessa Permian in the 1990s.

The other inductees were retired coach Gene Mayfield, who won 156 games in a career that included stops at Little-field, Borger, Permian and Levelland and a state title at Permian; and sporting good salesman Frank Dickson.

Also recognized at the ban-quet were the 10 state championship coaches from this past season, plus this year's Tom Landry and Gordon Wood Award winners. The Tom Lan-dry award was given to Troup coach Andy Griffin, while the Gordon Wood award was given to the Cameron football team.

A press conference was also held May 7 at the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

Members of the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame are selected each year by a statewide committee made up of eight sportswriters, eight high school football coaches, and eight members of the Tex-as High School Football Hall of Fame board of directors.

Copyright © 2005 Sweetwater Reporter

[wildstangs]

Great players on that list. Anyone realize that Sweetwater is the last 4A team from West Texas to win a 4A state championship?