ODESSA ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME: 1946 OHS football team was one for the ages

[Jonnyeagle]

“When Jay called and said the ’46 team was going to be inducted, I got emotional,” Taylor said as he fought back tears. “They really deserve it.”

Over the years, the crowd that watched Odessa High win its first and only state football championship and the rosters for the Bronchos and San Antonio Jefferson have gotten smaller.

Taylor said during a phone call there are no surviving members from the state championship 1946 team. Taylor explained that College Football Hall of Famer Hayden Fry, who died in 2019, was the last surviving member of the ‘46 team.

Fry coached at SMU and North Texas before his 20-year run at the University of Iowa, where he won multiple championships, Big Ten titles and reached the Rose Bowl on three occasions. Fry saw 28 of his assistants become head coaches, including Bob Stoops, Bill Snyder, Bo Pelini and Bret Bielema.

“We should never forget that team,” Taylor said. “There are very few people that remember these guys. I don’t want Odessa to forget how great this team was and that they brought the first state championship title to Odessa.”

link: https://www.oaoa.com/local-news/odessa-athletics-hall-of-fame-1946-ohs-football-team-was-one-for-the-ages/

[UNTLifer]

CBS7 News Anchor Jay Hendricks mentioned in the article is an alum of North Texas as well.