I don’t have an athletic bone in my entire body, but I’ve always liked sports. I can’t remember actually when I started getting involved. I know my dad was a great player at Texas A&I in football. He was an athlete, a heck of an athlete, and I’m sure he wanted me to be one. I wasn’t anywhere close. Although I tried, I never got to play football because I broke my collar bone three different times. (Great excuse for not playing). I never played basketball. I played a little baseball. I’m not exaggerating when I say I didn’t have an athletic bone in my entire body, but I loved sports. My favorite play by play man was a guy named Kern Tipps. My Dad said something like, “Do you think Kern Tipps played football in college”, or whatever he said. Anyway, I found out pretty quick that you didn’t have to play sports to broadcast sports. I loved listening to Tipps and the guy who followed him, Connie Alexander. I loved both of them and probably tried to sound like one or the other for a first few years when I started broadcasting.

I got started broadcasting in 1962 when I got to do a few things outside of football. I wasn’t good enough for football, or so they told me. I actually did some Golden Gloves and some Little League baseball and stuff like that. Then I got my chance in 1963 to do football. That first year, I thought if anybody who knew me in high school would wonder what the heck I’m doing calling football games. Now, I wasn’t the play by play man for Brownwood, I was the color man for Ken Schulze. I loved him, and he put up with me.

Then, after that season was over, I got a call from Howard Payne about the start of 1964. They were excited because they had a good basketball team. A real good basketball team and they were toying with the idea of broadcasting. Every once in a while they would broadcast a game – football, baseball – but they didn’t have a regular schedule. So, I jumped at the opportunity. I said, “I would LOVE to do some basketball games”. They said “Well, once we start we’re going to carry them.”

So, I started doing basketball in the winter of ’64 then picked up football the following season. I fell in love with Howard Payne athletically. I fell in love with the Brownwood Lions and I feel like one of the more honored, privileged broadcasters anywhere in America that I got to do the Brownwood Lions for 58 years and Howard Payne a year less.

I got to work with some great people, starting of course with Gordon Wood. People at Howard Payne that I got to work with starting with Guy Newman when he was president. Then I got to work with so many others like George Hine, a great coach named James Cameron, Bob Derryberry, Glen Whitis and I could go on and on. Then you go to Brownwood and start with Gordon and then Morris Southall and so many others.

I’m a very, very blessed person! I’ve had people ask me through the years, “How do you get into sportscasting”? Well, I just told you.

Until next time, so long everybody.

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‘Out of the Box’ with Dallas Huston is published each Monday morning at BrownwoodNews.com. Dallas was the radio voice of the Brownwood Lions and Howard Payne Yellow Jackets for more than 55 years. He currently is Pastor of Center City Baptist Church and hosts a Men’s Bible Study in Brownwood on Monday evenings. Your comments are welcome at [email protected].