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PONY FOOTBALL: THE STUFF LEGENDS ARE MADE OF
By: Brad Latham, Pony Express Writer
The year was 1948 and Panola County Junior College was just in its infancy. Panola was lacking enrollment and the board of trustees decided to authorize an athletic program in an attempt to increase the number of students.
Winlon Knowles was hired as athletic director. Knowles had earned a reputation as a winning football coach at White Oak High School. Bill Defee, from Carlisle High School, was hired to serve as the assistant football coach. Defee would also become the first Pony basketball and baseball coach.
On September 1, 1948, 55 athletes reported for the first day of football workouts. For two weeks the team worked out six to seven hours a day on a hardscrabble practice field west of the college classrooms. By the beginning of the season the squad was cut to 30 players. The Ponies played their home games at Carthage High School’s new brick stadium. When the team had to travel, they used a 42-seat Chevrolet bus.
After all the workouts on the rough practice field, it was time to start the season. The first game was on Thursday, September 16 at Paris. The Ponies went down in defeat 13-7. The first home game was against Henderson County Junior College on September 25. The first season saw the Ponies juggling wins and losses. It won half of its games during that first season.
In 1949, Knowles left Panola to accept a position at Tulane. The departure of Knowles led to the promotion of Defee as the head football coach. Defee had to bring in an assistant to help with the coaching load. He hired Solon Holt, a former Southwest Conference tackle at TCU. “Defee and Holt had most of the 1948 team return so they had veterans to work with,” said Bill O’Neal, PC history instructor and historian.
In 1949, the Ponies ran wild through their schedule, outscoring opponents 293-94. The only loss was against non-conference Wharton, 13-12. Panola won the eastern division of the Texas Junior College Athletic Conference with 8-1 record. After the Ponies finished the season, they went to Odessa to play the western division champions.
“A crowd of over 1500 watched the Ponies defeat Odessa, 14-7. This win won them the State Championship,” O’Neal said. When Panola returned to Carthage they challenged McNeese Junior College to a postseason game, the Gas Bowl. The Ponies rolled over McNeese 33-8. “After the Gas Bowl win, the Panola County Junior College football team had earned respect and had gained publicity for the college,” O’Neal said.
End Wendall Swann was named a junior college All-American. Swann, along with quarterback Bobby Rodgers, halfback Bill Amburg, tackle Mart Crawford and guard Jimmy Jones, were named to the All Conference Team. In 1950, Panola was suffering from funding problems but the football team still continued. The Ponies had another great season. Panola won 10 games and then they won the State Championship for the second year.
In the State Championship game they played at Odessa and ran away with the game, 33-7. Because of the tight finances there was not a second Gas Bowl. The spring of 1951 saw the end of the Pony football team. The college was in debt $40,000.
“That was a staggering amount in the 1950s,” O’Neal said. “Football was an expensive sport.”
Coaches Defee and Holt left that spring to coach at Amarillo High School. Although short-lived, the Panola football program proved to be outstanding. It will always be remembered as one of the building blocks of Panola College.
The two State Championship trophies are still on display in the Johnson Gym trophy case.
Hats Off! to Brad Latham of The Pony Express for this story.
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03/21/05
