The Lubbock ISD Athletics Hall of Honor would like to congratulate the inductees of the class of 2024.
Congratulations to the Class of 2024
A huge thank you to the sponsors for this year’s event.
The Lubbock ISD Athletics Hall of Honor would like to congratulate the inductees of the class of 2024.
A huge thank you to the sponsors for this year’s event.
1963 Dunbar High School State Champion Boys Track Teams
Winning a State Championship in the great state of Texas, in any sport, is an achievement worthy of significant admiration and recognition. To do so in back-to-back years is on another level altogether. Coached by Lubbock ISD Hall of Honor member, Prenis Williams, the Dunbar Panthers accomplished that very feat by capturing the Prairie View Interscholastic League 2A State Track and Field crowns in both 1962 and 1963. Known as the PVIL, it staged championships in football, basketball, baseball and track, and at its peak it enrolled 500 schools in the state of Texas. The Panthers of 1962 and 1963 featured highly touted athletes that not only were recognized for their accomplishments locally and statewide, but even worldwide. During the 1962 Lubbock Indoor Amateur Invitational, with competitors from all classifications, James Jackson posted a time of 6.1 seconds in the 60-yard dash, which was one-tenth of a second from the world record at that time. Up to that time in history, that mark was considered the “fastest time ever by a schoolboy” and earned Jackson the Outstanding Performer Award. Standout performers like sprinters Julious Guy, Bert McWilliams, L.D. Birdow and James Jackson, along with shot putter Billy Mosley and a host of teammates blessed with superior athletic ability led the 1962 Panthers to the spotlight and gold medals. The 1962 Mile Relay Team set a state record with a time of 3:22.6 and Billy Mosley set a state record in the Shot Put with a throw of 53 feet 6 inches. During the year, James Jackson also set a District Meet record in the 100 Yard Dash at 9.7 seconds. Julious Guy was second at 9.9 seconds, which tied the old record. The Mile Relay and the 440 Yard Relay teams also set records at the District Meet. They ran times of 3:27.0 and 43.1 seconds respectively. At the State Track Meet, the 440 Yard Relay Team (James Jones, L.D. Birdow, Howard Jackson, and James Jackson) ran a state record of 42.6 seconds. James Jackson won the state 100 Yard Dash in a state record time of 9.7 seconds, which tied his earlier record, and Julious Guy won state in the 220 Yard Dash in a time of 21.6 seconds. The 1962 team scored 68 points at the state meet beating its nearest competitor by 40 points. With a few returning athletes and some new stars coming onto the team, the 1963 team was ready to defend the State Championship. James Jackson was back and won state again in the 100 Yard Dash in a time of 9.9 seconds. He also won state in the 220 Yard dash. The Relay Teams were loaded again with speed in Henry Planks, James Jones, Clarence Johnson, and James Jackson. Not to be out done by the 1962 team, the 1963 team put 70 points on the board to capture the state title. This was a record-setting group of star athletes that dominated the competition in their two-year reign over the state. Willie Haynes, James Ray Jackson, Howard Jackson, Michael Menefee, James Jones, L.V. Andrews and Coach Prenis Williams, were a part of both State Champion teams. This type of talent doesn’t come together that often in athletics, but it did with these teams at Dunbar High School.
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