The story of football legend Lawrence Elkins of Brownwood is recorded in a new book, “Lawrence Elkins”, by Brownwood native Ron Davis. Davis played with Elkins on the 1960 state championship team, graduated from BHS in 1962, one year behind Elkins, then went on to run track at Texas Tech. He now lives in Ft. Worth, retired from a career of more than 50 years in church music.
Lawrence Elkins has been called the greatest football player in Brownwood High School history. Few would argue with that. From an April 1961 article by Brownwood Bulletin Sports Editor Bill Stovall:
“An All-State football end in the fall, an all-district cager in the winter, a 1:57.4 half-miler in the spring, and a flame-throwing baseball hurler in the summer. That’s Lawrence Elkins of Brownwood High School, a schoolboy who just might be the best all-around athlete in Texas High School circles.”
Not only was Elkins an all-state pass receiver for the Lions, he also was a running back, defensive safety, punter, extra-point and field-goal kicker, and punt returner. He missed only one play on either side of the ball in the entire 1960 season, and that was when his chin strap broke. Author Ron Davis filled in for him on that one play. It is also said that Elkins did not drop a single pass that season.
In those days Brownwood was not known much for football. But a new coach came to town by the name of Gordon Wood, and produced the school’s first of seven state championships in his first season. Lawrence Elkins led the way on the field. According to Davis “We had the best coaches money could buy. But the leadership we had on that team was tremendous,” citing not only Elkins but also Lion greats Ben Elledge and Ronnie Moore. “If somebody on the other team wasn’t playing fair, they didn’t put up with that. It didn’t make it to the coaches and back, it just got taken care of on the field.”
After Brownwood High School, Elkins was recruited by over ten college football teams, but he took Coach Wood’s advice and chose Baylor. The book explains why. To say he had a successful college career would be a huge understatement. He set a long list of records at Baylor, as well as Southwest Conference records and NCAA records, including most passes caught in 1963 (70). Elkins was a two-time consensus All-American football player at Baylor (1963 and 1964). Other consensus All-American players in those two years were Dick Butkus and Gayle Sayers.
After college Elkins was drafted by both the National Football League and the American Football League. (In those days they were separate leagues and held their own drafts, competing for players.) He was the first overall player taken in the AFL draft by the Houston Oilers (one pick ahead of Joe Namath), and signed with them. In the NFL draft he was taken sixth overall, by the Green Bay Packers. Coach Vince Lombardi told Elkins he would be paired with a quarterback named Bart Starr. You’ll have to read the book to learn why Elkins chose the Oilers.
Elkins suffered a knee injury early in his professional career, probably shortening his career, but still had a good career, playing seven years for the Oilers, Steelers, and Bears.
But as great as Lawrence Elkins did in football, you have to wonder what might have been in baseball. As a high-school baseball player he could hit almost any pitch out of the park. In center field he could run down most any ball hit his way, and many times threw out a runner at home plate from the outfield. He also excelled on the mound, once striking out 17 batters in a seven-inning game. The Milwaukee Braves offered him $25,000 to sign with them. That was a lot of money back then, equivalent to about $250,000 today. Might he have missed out on a more lucrative career in baseball? “I don’t know, I might have, I might not. I don’t know if I was really that good or not,” said Elkins, humbly. “They were telling me if it worked out they were going to play me in the outfield with Hank Aaron.” Oh. My. Gosh. Again, you will have to read the book to learn why he turned that down for football.
But it’s hard to argue with his decision. In addition to all the records Elkins set in college, he is in eight different Halls of Fame, including the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame, the College Sports Hall of Fame, and of course the Gordon Wood Hall of Champions. To this day he is considered one of the greatest football players in Baylor’s history. Indeed, his picture adorns Baylor’s new McLane Stadium, in section 108.
When asked which was his favorite sport to play, Elkins said “In the summer I thought baseball was. I loved to play basketball in the winter. I didn’t like track all that much, but I ran it because Coach Snodgrass wanted me to. But football was my favorite sport.”
Again from the April 1961 Bill Stovall article, concerning Elkins’ future after high school: “Elkins is undecided on which sport he will play in college, but those who have seen him play football will tell you he’s too great a talent to waste on any other sport.”
Once Elkins’ playing days were over, he went to work for the engineering firm Brown and Root as a Safety Compliance Officer, and worked for them and other companies in Europe, Africa, and Saudi Arabia. He also got involved in the movie business, helping actor Robert Duvall in the production of the movie “Tender Mercies.” He worked on other movies and television shows also, getting to know actors like Wilford Brimley, Robert DeNiro, Tommy Lee Jones, Meryl Streep, Barbara Hershey, Glenn Close, and Matt Dillon.
Lawrence Elkins is retired now and lives in Clifton, Texas, not too far from Waco. He occasionally comes to Brownwood, and attends Brownwood Lions football games if played near Waco. And by the way, his birthday is today, July 28!
The book “Lawrence Elkins” by Ron Davis has the above stories and many, many more. It can be purchased at the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce, the Big Country Hall of Fame Museum in the Mall of Abilene, and from Amazon.