Saturday, July 27th, 2024

Damon Hill, Sr.

Damon Hill, Sr. coached basketball from 1937 to 1950, and football and track from 1937 to 1953, at Dunbar High School. He was hired as the first athletic coach by Principal E.C. Struggs and the school board at Dunbar.

Hill's first team consisted of half of a dozen boys who were already playing together coached by Charles Sedberry on a voluntary basis. Early on he faced the challenge of getting his team members to the games, and finding teams to play. His team members had to go home after school to pick cotton during harvest season, and then would come back at 5 p.m. to practice until dark. At the time, black schools were not allowed to play white schools, so Dunbar was unable to play the other Lubbock high schools. However, Coach Hill was given the opportunity to speak at the Monday Night Quarterback Club where the coaches from Texas Tech and Lubbock High School had the opportunity to discuss the previous weekend’s games.

Dunbar had little money to put towards athletics at the time, but Hill’s teams were frequently given used uniforms and gear by Pete Cawthon from Texas Tech and Weldon Chapman from Lubbock High. The two coaches also let Hill and his team play their games in their football stadiums, bringing integrated crowds of as many as 3,000 fans. It is estimated that from 1937 to 1953, Hill coached 150 or more football games without a losing season. For basketball games, Hill held them on the outside back of Dunbar with the students standing around the court to see the game.

In addition to coaching, Hill also taught agriculture at Dunbar.
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