4A-5 District Champions - 1962

Our 1962 football team managed to win the first district championship in Highlander history. The offense was not good, but the defense was excellent and we had a good little punter named Roby Morris who may still hold a record for his 94-yard punt against Carter Riverside.

The team managed to hold the opponents to an average 1-point deficit per game in establishing a 7-4 record for the season and 5-1 in the district, losing only to North Side and its remarkable QB, Raymond Davila who was subsequently named the outstanding 4A-5 back for that season. There were only 2 All District 1st team players named by both Ft. Worth newspapers, Sam Scott (FB) and Paul Shields (E) and those spots were named to the defensive all district squad. Bobby Keener (T) was named by one of the newspapers to a 1st team defensive tackle spot as well garnering an All State honorable mention honors.

Other Honorable mentions to the All District 4A-5 teams were Tom Koebernick (LB), Ted Harris (LB), Roby Morris (QB), Max Rhodes (E), and Steve Means (G). Highlights of the season were a 1-point victory over the perennial district power, Paschal and a 2-point victory over Arlington Heights. Lowlights were a 15-36 aerial blowout by North Side and an entirely ineffective bi-district match against Dallas Samuel, 0-7.

Lettermen from this team were: Sam Scott (Sr-3), Paul Shields (Sr-1), Ted Harris (Jr-1), Bobby Keener (Sr-2), Roby Morris (Jr-2), Max Rhodes (Sr-1), Steve Means (Sr-2), David Bane (Sr-1), Gene Cartwright (Sr-2), Sam Bartholomew (Sr-1), Phil Nixon (Sr-2), Tom Koebernick (Sr-2), Louis Miller (Sr-2), Steve Rose (Jr-1), Ray Avery (Jr-1), Jimmy Aitken (Sr-1), Bill Winkler (Sr-1), Leo Luebbehusen (Sr-1), Mike Latham (Sr-1), Scotty Locke (Sr-1), LeRoy Gast (Jr-1), Bob Ladd (Sr-2), and Bruce Butler (Sr-1).

The Cuban Missile Crisis played out during the 1962 season and a lot of the girls wanted to get married in a hurry. JFK’s Camelot had only one more year left and Vietnam was just glowing on the horizon.

January 14, 1963 - Football Banquet 

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Harold Taft

Harold wasn’t exactly a Highlander, but he did work in a studio located on our side of town and he was the best weatherman I have ever watched. You could always count on Harold giving an accurate, no non-sense weather report. Of course, as a youngster I never paid much attention to the weather. I just looked outside to determine what the weather was…never mind what it might be doing later. The only real problem with that approach was if you had a convertible with its top down and rain was forecast for later.

Harold Taft was a member of our parents’ “greatest generation” and had served, as did many of our parents, in the WWII armed forces. Harold was a weatherman for the Army Air Force in England.

“PM thunder” and the term “thundershowers” were particular peeves for Harold. Repeatedly he said, “there is no such thing as a thundershower, it’s a thunderstorm.” And as such any thunderstorm was something to be concerned about. Harold wasn’t cool in much the same way our parents weren’t cool…but you know, he was cool in his own way. He was a straight shooter and judging from some of the local memorials to him, others thought that way about him also.

Anyway, I was thinking about Harold recently as I was doing some writing about others of the “greatest generation” and found this picture that encapsulated my memories of him. Thought I would share it. I have been a lot of places and seen a lot of weathermen & weatherwomen. Harold was the best.

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