High School Sports

By CHRIS PARRY and HAROLD WILSON
Staff Writers

The year 1958 started with the fall of Sputnik 1 from outer space.

By the end of that same year, with Dwight Eisenhower still in the Oval Office, two Tyler high schools gained their own sort of space.

The launching of Sputnik kicked off a space race between the United States and Soviet Union, all while another rivalry was being born right in the Rose City with the construction of a new school.

After decades of attending school together under the same roof, white students at John Tyler and Robert E. Lee split off, giving the city three high schools counting the all-black Emmett Scott.

During the past half-century the schools have spread apart but managed to join up annually for several memorable moments together, producing a rivalry unique in its own right.

By the end of the 1950s, Tyler's population swelled past the 50,000 plateau. Along the same time, the city erected a third high school in 1958 in south Tyler -- Robert E. Lee, then a junior and senior high school.

Also in 1958, with no longer just one public high school for whites, the name for Tyler High school changed to John Tyler.

The first game ever played between the rivals, which JT won 24-6, attracted an estimated 11,000 to Rose Stadium. The teams met in the season opener for the first two years, then, starting in 1960, began playing annually as district opponents after Lee joined JT in Class 4A after two seasons in 3A.

While John Tyler remained at the same location downtown until the 1960s, the school retained all of Tyler High's history -- from the blue and white colors down to the storied football tradition, which already included one state championship season (1930) and three state quarterfinalist berths (1938, 1939, 1941), followed by another appearance in the state championship game (1955).

During the first two decades, JT captured eight of the 12 matchups, including the first five.

In 1965, JT moved to its present location on NNW Loop 323. That same year TISD began integrating faculties of John Tyler, Lee and Scott schools.

Just a few years later, students from Emmett Scott trickled into JT and Lee as segregation finally reached its end.

In 1970, to comply with desegregation orders, TISD closed Emmett J. Scott, among other schools.

In 1972, the confederate flag, Rebel cannon and everything else fans associated with Robert E. Lee high school and its football team changed forever.

Robert E. Lee became the Red Raiders, but the rivalry remained at a feverous pitch throughout the 1970s when the annual game was moved from the middle of district play to the season finale -- a trend that continued through 2004.

Alan Shumate, who has done public address announcing for Robert E. Lee since 1965, said he didn't enjoy the ugliness between the schools that sometimes flared up in the days preceding the game, but he liked the spirit both displayed for their teams.

"It was crazy that week with cars up and down the street flying rebel flags, or in John Tyler's case flying upside down shredded Rebel flags," Shumate said. "I kind of hated to see that go."

JT, at the time struggling to unite as a school just years into its desegregation stages, came together during the 1973 season in particular. That year, the most famous player to ever come through the city, the Tyler Rose himself Earl Campbell, led the Lions to a 15-0 undefeated season and a state championship -- the second in school history and first since the name change.

The 1973 Lions team produced a number of stars, including tight end/lineman Ronnie Lee, who later enjoyed a lengthy career in the NFL. Campbell went on to win the Heisman Trophy at Texas, and at least a share of the Most Valuable Player award his first three seasons with the Houston Oilers in the NFL -- the only player to ever achieve such a feat.

Lee, who played more than a dozen years in the NFL, mostly with the Miami Dolphins, was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame four years ago.

That Lion team, with Campbell carrying the offense and the defense allowing only six points per game, is arguably the greatest the state ever produced.

Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine concurred in its silver anniversary edition in 1984, naming the JT 1973 squad the greatest ever produced in state history up through that time.

JT compiled a 76-27-2 record during the decade, won 26 straight from 1973-74, and captured seven of the 10 meetings with Lee during the 70s. The most memorable games were arguably the 1971 Lee win (20-14) on a late Edwill Rollins TD reception and the 1972 affair won by JT (6-0).

After all the fireworks from the previous decade, an explosion of another sort brought the schools back to the same place.

A fire on Feb. 14, 1981 damaged nearly 90 percent of John Tyler High School. That forced JT students across town to the Lee campus for the remainder of the school year, as one school attended classes during the morning hours and the other in the afternoon.

The 1980s just happened to mark the first decade the two were on similar footing on the football field. The two split the 10 matchups from 1980-89, with each winning five times. They shared 5A status following the University Interscholastic League's creation of a new classification in 1982.

In the meantime, seven consecutive losing seasons prompted Lee to change head coaches, hiring David Gibson in 1981.

His first season ended in a 1-9 disaster, climaxed with a 20-6 loss to JT, but things looked a little brighter for the Red Raiders the following years as REL went 4-5-1 and 5-5, defeating the Lions both years.

Lee, though, didn't win a game in 1983. And although the Red Raiders rebounded the next two years, even finishing above .500 in 1985 for the first time sine 1972, Gibson was replaced the next year by Biff Peterson.

Under Peterson, Lee achieved something it had never done in school history -- make the playoffs. The Red Raiders went 8-2-1 under Peterson in 1987. Despite being blanked by JT, Lee earned a spot in the postseason, laying the groundwork for what was to follow -- the school's first ever playoff win in 1990 over North Garland.

For the first time ever, both schools made the playoffs the same year to start the 90s after a UIL rule change allowed three schools from each district to make the postseason.

In 1990, the two fought to the only tie in series history, a scoreless 0-0 finish.

With the series on solid ground, the stakes getting higher, and the threat of danger somewhat relevant, officials moved the game from Friday night to a Saturday afternoon matinee.

A new coach entered the scene the next year, Allen Wilson, and the Lions took off from there, finding stability after four coaches in as many seasons. Still, the first half of the decade proved far from a guaranteed win, with Lee winning the '91 and '93 games before JT went on a five-game streak.

"It's always going to be a tough ballgame," Wilson once told the Tyler Morning Telegraph. "You can throw the records out. They don't mean anything because these kids grow up with each other. Everybody always wants those bragging rights for at least 12 months."

A playoff spot or district title proved to be on the line several times as they played in daytime from 1991-2001.

Lee downed JT 36-7 in '93 with the final playoff berth up for grabs. JT clinched a playoff berth in '97 with a win over Lee, and both a postseason spot and district title with a double-overtime victory over the Red Raiders in '98.

The Red Raiders responded by blanking the Lions in '99, giving Lee their first ever district championship after four decades of existence.

For the most part the decade belonged to the Lions, who became a state power again during the 90s, ending the period with seven straight playoff appearances, highlighted by a state championship in 1994.

From 1994-2000, JT posted a 75-20 record, making the state semifinals and state quarterfinals once each, and winning the district championship three times during the span.

In this one decade, JT produced mind-boggling statistics -- 35 straight weeks of being ranked in the Associated Press Top 10 and 19 weeks at No. 1 (1994-98); 26 consecutive non-district wins (93-98); six wins over defending state champions, and four more over top-ranked teams.

Wilson, now the coach at Dallas Carter, offered his explanation for success before JT competed for a second state title in 2000.

"Championships come when kids dedicate themselves and make commitments," Wilson said. "As a coach, that's what you want to try to develop. If you're coming to a new school and they haven't had that kind of swagger, you're trying to develop that. If they have had it (and lost it), you're trying to recapture it."

The Lions lit up opponents for 27 straight wins from 1994-95. The 1994 team went 16-0 to set the school records for wins in a season.

During the memorable 1994 season, JT played in, and won, what many consider to be the "greatest high school football game ever played." In a battle of two of the top three teams in the state, JT jumped out to a 41-17 lead over Plano East in its regional contest with only 3:03 remaining.

Amazingly, Plano East scored four touchdowns, and recovered three onside kicks in a span of two minutes and 39 seconds to take the lead, only to see JT's Rod Dunn run back a kickoff 97 yards with 11 seconds left, which sent the Lions to the 48-44 victory.

Three weeks later, JT hoisted the championship trophy after defeating top-ranked Austin Westlake in the Houston Astrodome.

Afterward, JT received perhaps the sweetest treat of them all -- an ESPY award for Showstopper of the Year for the Plano East affair, the first high school honored with such a feat against mainly professional and some collegiate competition.

While JT dominated the region and often the state, the inner city battle often proved a cakewalk. JT defeated Lee by margins of 17 and 21 in '94 and '95, then turned it up another notch by routing the Red Raiders by a combined 83 points (42-7, 55-7) the next two years.

David Warren, a varsity standout from 1993-96, was named Texas High School football Player of the Year and USA Today Defensive Player of the Year in 1997.

Warren later played in three national championship games in college at Florida State and spent time with the Indianapolis Colts and Oakland Raiders in the NFL.

What seemed a strange thought at the time -- JT won six of the 10 meetings, and tied Lee once during the 90s -- things were about to change, and the all-time series was about to become a lot closer.

While John Tyler was thrilling fans and thoroughly dominating Lee, Mike Owens was attempting to bring Port Arthur Jefferson back to prominence. A state finalist in 1980, Jefferson hadn't advanced past the bi-district playoff round since 1982.

After a 6-4 season in 1995 and 14 years as head coach, Owens resigned and started looking for a new opportunity.

He chose Robert E. Lee, a school other coaches warned him was "a career killer."

Owens responded, "Maybe so, but maybe not," he said.

"What amazed me was we went 3-7 that first year, and the people around here are such good people, they actually were telling us what a great job we did," Owens said. "At 3-7 in Port Arthur, they would've been running you out of town on a rail."

Lee made a complete turnaround the following year to finish 7-5 and claim the school's second playoff victory.

"All we did was try to build in expectations to win," Owens said. "Not to play hard and hope we win. Losers make excuses for not winning, and I told them we aren't going to do that.

"We are going to prepare ourselves to win, and that's it."

It began a run of eight consecutive years for Lee to not only to make the playoffs, but achieve at least one playoff victory in all eight trips.

As the decade turned to the 00s, Lee was being counted with John Tyler now as a premier East Texas football program. The Red Raiders went 10-2 in 2000, but were now facing a new obstacle -- not being able to get past the playoff's second round.

Before going on a down cycle, JT managed to go 12-4 and advance to the state championship game in 2000, rolling to five straight victories after being stopped 6-0 in a classic mud game with its rival.

Lee was stopped in the area round five consecutive years before breaking through in 2002. The Red Raiders didn't stop there, going all the way to the state semifinals.

In 2003, a team loaded with Division I signees stormed through district and the playoffs before being thwarted in the state quarterfinals in triple overtime by The Woodlands.

In 2004, Lee started 3-3 with losses to Lufkin, Euless Trinity and Longview, but finished with nine straight wins and the biggest prize yet for the school.

Lee bulldozed through the first three rounds of the playoffs, outscoring opponents, 100-29, setting up a rematch against Euless Trinity in the state semifinals.

"Our kids wanted some of them big time," Owens said. "We were either going to beat them or die not doing it. And they (beat them)."

Lee followed it up with one final upset, defeating Spring Westfield to capture the school's first state championship.

"I just know that these guys did a great job," Owens said following the championship victory, "And I will remember every one of them from now on."

For Lee, the new millennium produced big-time standouts -- the likes of Green Bay Packers quarterback Matt Flynn and lineman Ciron Black, who last year helped LSU win the college national championship.

A JT pair, Tim Crowder and Aaron Ross, did likewise for the Texas Longhorns two years before. Crowder now plays on Sundays for the Denver Broncos, and Ross for the reigning Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

The Red Raiders have continued to be regular participants in the playoffs while also turning the tide in its yearly game with JT. Lee has won 10 of the past 11 meetings between the two rivals and is three victories away from evening up the all-time series.

One person who has seen the rivalry up close and personal for at least half of its history is JT head girls basketball coach Kenneth Bickham. His service at JT dates back to the mid-1980s, and he served as an assistant on the '94 championship team.

Since 1996, Bickham has worked each week at Rose Stadium as the chain crew coordinator, giving him a chance to "get right in the mix of coaches and feel the intensity of the game."

As for the best moments, Bickham remembers games like Orlando "Lumpy" Wickware's 78-yard kickoff return after reversing the field to give JT a 27-21 win in 1985; the 1998 double-overtime game won on a rainy day by JT, 34-28; and Jimmie Gamble's 70-yard run in the mud to give Lee a 6-0 win 2000.

"It's been so many great moments. It doesn't matter on what side of the ball they're on, you know some kid's going to make some," Bickham said. "No matter what their records are when you get to that game it's about pride."

While remaining an anticipated game -- the 2005 matchup drew more than 14,000 spectators -- the new millennium has brought about big changes. Lee is now the bigger school by around 500 students, with JT struggling to make the past two cutoffs to remain in Class 5A.

Now more than a quarter of the population of Lee -- historically a majority-white school -- is black. As for JT, where black was the majority most of the 1980s and 90s, the demographics are roughly split between blacks and Hispanics.

As success see-sawed back and forth the last two decades, the question has been asked, can the schools be good at once? Not since the 2000 season have both made the playoffs.

From 1958-89, when the teams met one Friday out of every year, the schools never made the playoffs in the same year.

However, since the UIL change in 1990, either JT or Lee has made the playoffs each season since, and both in the same season six times.

With Tyler's population now around 100,000, several questions linger, namely: how much longer will the present two schools exist, could a third high school join the fold, and could consolidation be in the future?

Regardless, both have had something to commemorate. If nothing else proves it, just take a look at the two banners hanging underneath the scoreboard at Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium.

"We've been to the top when Lee was rebuilding, Lee's been to the top and us rebuilding. Everything has its cycles, it's just part of the game," Bickham said. "Lee's won one and JT two in that time (since 1958). Football has been great between the two. This is the 50th year and it's been 50 great years and it will probably be 50 more great years."

No matter what happens down the road, the last half-century has been one to talk about -- a past to celebrate, a present to appreciate, and a future to anticipate.