My Dad: Plano's #1 Football Fan

Plano’s “Friday Night Lights” Keeper Retires

By DeAnn Daley Holcomb, Special to the Star Courier

Published: Thursday, March 4, 2010 11:04 AM CST

In the lore of Texas football, Smitty Minton is truly what the saying “Friday Night ights” is all about.

Minton has missed just one Plano Senior football game since 1959, and for more than 20 years, Minton has been the final person in Clark Stadium to turn out the stadium lights.

Minton’s love of football led him out of retirement in the mid-1980s to join the Plano ISD athletic department to supervise Clark Stadium and on Friday, coaches, co-workers, friends and family said farewell as the 86-year-old Minton retired from his duties of taking care of the field and stadium at Clark.

“I always like to close,” Minton said. “When the game is over, I go through the field because it was always important to me to put the field to sleep – that’s what I call it: you close down the stadium, lock it up and turn off the lights.

“Everyone leaves the stadium and everything is back to what it was before. You make sure all the kids have a ride home and then you turn out the lights – I will never forget it.”

Minton’s granddaughter, Sarah Minton, watched as her grandfather greeted and visited with folks who had come by the Clark Stadium Athletic office on Friday to say goodbye.

“Football is his second love and family is his first love,” Sarah said. “He taught me how much he loves football and he always talks about how the football field comes to life on Friday nights.

“Then, when it is over, my grandfather told me the field tells what happened during the game and then when you turn off the lights at the stadium, it can heal you in a sense that it is taken care of and what football means to a community on Friday night.”

Minton and his wife, Dorothy, moved from Dallas to Plano in 1954, after Minton retired from the Navy, having fought in World War II. The Mintons started going to Plano football games because, as he tells it, there wasn’t much to do in Plano on Friday nights.

“We would go to Rice Field and watch Plano play back then,” Minton said. “From 1954 to 1959 we would go to the Plano home games and then in 1959 we started going to all of the games, whether it was a home game or out of town, and I have only missed one Plano game since 1959.”

The Mintons had four children, Kathy, Danny, Gary and Terry. All three of the sons played football for the Wildcats. During a Plano playoff game in Wichita Falls in 1965, Minton’s oldest son, Danny, broke his neck during the game.

“Back then we didn’t have trainers, so they carried him off the field and laid him on the bench,” Minton said, “and when he nearly passed out that was when they got him in to an ambulance.

“He recovered from the injury and Danny was given the game ball from the first Wildcats championship that year.”

In 1966 and ‘67, Minton served as the Plano Wildcats’ Quarterback Club captain. It would be 20 years later when Minton would come out of retirement and go to work for the PISD, where he first worked on a school crew mowing and taking care of school grounds.

“I got tired of staying home by myself since my wife was still working, and one day I ran into John Clark and asked him if I could get a job at the school district,” Minton said. “John was here at the stadium and I later told him I wanted to work on the athletic fields, and he called me when the guy working the fields was hurt and I started working full time at the stadium in 1986. I would clean the stadium, make it shine, mow the yard and keep the field in good condition. I like to lay out athletic fields and I like to work outside.”

The athletic department was moved to Clark Stadium in 2003.

“We built a storage house for all of the equipment,” Minton said. “My day starts at six in the morning with a cup of coffee, and by 7 a.m. I am ready and open for business, and then the coaches come over and pick up the equipment they need for the day.”

PISD assistant athletic director Russ Schuler calls Minton a Plano legend.

“All of the coaches love him,” Schuler said. “Smitty had his system of going around, locking all of the doors, picking up the barricades, making sure all of the outside gates were locked and making sure everyone is out of the locker room and no one was left behind. And when it was quiet and he prepared to leave, then the last thing would be to turn the lights out.”

Minton said he is going to miss the stadium, the field and coaches and being a part of the football aura.

“I’ve seen some great players and great games at Clark and I will never forget,” he said.

Remembering won’t be too difficult for Minton as he has every Plano football program since the early 1970s along with plenty of Wildcat memorabilia. Minton even drives a maroon truck.

But Minton isn’t likely to be forgotten either.

He was given special recognition at the Plano ISD Hall of Honor banquet for being a devoted Wildcat fan for more than 50 years and the elevator at Clark Stadium is known as “Smitty’s Elevator.” At Minton’s retirement reception Friday, he was presented with a Wildcat football jersey with the number “1” on the back, along with a lifetime pass to any Plano athletic game.

“He missed his daughter’s first child being born because he was in line buying tickets to a Plano football game,” said Terry Minton, Smitty’s son. “Dad loves being around football, coaches and athletics. To my dad, taking care of the stadium is a passion just like it is a coach’s passion with football.”

Sarah wrote on her blog the day before her grandfather’s retirement party, “I never thought I would see the day he retired. He’s leaving his second love tomorrow, his permanent Friday night date. I hope they let him turn the lights out at Clark Stadium one last time.”

A Man of Integrity

Years ago while in high school I was given a book by Foy L. Smith entitled "The Days of Thy Youth". In one chapter of the book he tells the story of an old gospel preacher named Theophilus Brown Larimore.

T. B. Larimore was riding out west in a railway passenger car when outlaws came along side and halted the train. The robbers boarded the car and began demanding that the passengers drop their possessions into a bag; watches, jewelry, gold coins, wallets and anything else that could be exchanged for money. They came to Larimore and he placed a few crumpled dollars into the mouth of the sack. The outlaw asked if that was all he had and he told him it was.

As the thieves started to leave, the preacher called out to the leader who returned to him. "Sir", he told him apologetically, "I find that I have misrepresented the truth. When you asked me if that was all I had I told you it was, but then discovered I had put a one dollar bill in my vest pocket." Larimore extended his hand with the dollar bill toward the outlaw. The leader of the bandits was taken back and didn't know what to say to this. After a few moments he told his men to give the preacher back everything they had taken from him saying, "It is good to meet and honest man."

It used to be that a man's word meant something. Deals were finalized by handshakes. If someone said they'd do something, they did it. The grocery stores had counter checks without names or numbers, you filled those in. You could go into the corner store and if the clerk was busy, you'd put your money on the counter and leave yelling across the way, "Money's on the counter." Our parents left the front door unlocked 24 hours a day. You could leave your bike on the driveway, your car unlocked or your purse in the grocery basket and when you returned it would still be there untouched. Oh, there were exceptions, but they were few and far between in small town America where I grew up.

Today, however, it's a different story. We lock our doors and we have security systems installed for extra safety. Our cars have alarms and we are told never to leave valuables in plain view. Our sales slip is checked when we leave a store, our garages are locked and handshakes are just a greeting.

People fudge on their taxes, lie on their golf score and blame someone else whenever something goes wrong. We don't trust the president, politicians, lawyers, salesmen and often even preachers. We follow someones promise with "When I see it, I"ll believe it." We feel fortunate when the waiter forgets to put a charge on our check or the clerk inadvertently charges us too little.

Kathy and I were at a restaurant a couple of years ago in Plano. When I looked at the ticket I noticed that she had forgotten to charge us for one entire meal. I pointed this out and could tell the waitress was stunned. The manager came by and asked if something was wrong, so I explained to him the situation. He looked at me as if to say "You're complaining because your bill is too low?" It took 10 minutes to get it corrected and the manager told me he'd never had anyone do that before.

It's sad when honesty and integrity are so rare that it surprises people when it occurs. Yes , sometimes the truth hurts. Yes, sometimes being honest gets us into trouble. Yes, it's embarrassing at times to admit our weaknesses or faults. But to be viewed as a person of integrity and character far outweighs the negatives.

I hope someday that someone will be able to say about me, "It's good to meet an honest man."

God On Texas Ballot

One of the most controversial propositions in the 2010 Republican primary is Proposition #4. In fact it's bringing more attention than the Perry-Hutchinson Governors race. Proposition #4 states:

Public Acknowledgment of God - The use of the word "God," prayers and the Ten Commandments should be allowed at public gatherings and public educational institutions, as well as permitted on government buildings and property. - YES or NO

Go online and you'll get all types of reactions most positive but also several calling Texans, idiots, loons and a few names I can't print here. It's strange I didn't hear this kind of uproar when one person would take an entire school district to court and win a decision that would keep hundreds from saying a prayer publicly before a football game or graduation ceremony.

What's really sad to me is that this type of proposition has to be on the ballot at all. It will overwhelmingly pass on the GOP ballot. But that's as far as it will probably go. Why? There are actually two reasons. First, most Christians leave Christianity out of politics. It's rare even to see a politician really let his Christian faith be shown once in public office. Secondly, Christians do not stand up for Christ in public the way we should.

Why is the Muslim religion the fastest growing religion in the world today? Part of it is because they take it seriously. They honor God and do not allow anyone to desecrate his name. Christians go to movies and are entertained by shows that continually abuse the names of God and Jesus. Muslims pray at least five times a day. Christians pray on Sunday and sometimes at meal times. Muslims are required to give a certain percentage of everything they own, not just their income. Christians for the most part will give a percentage of whatever is left over.

To let the world know what we stand for shouldn't take a ballot. It doesn't take violence. It doesn't demand that we walk around with a "better than you" attitude. It simply takes standing up for Christ everywhere we turn. Christianity is still the largest religious group in the United States. For Christ to win we don't have to force it down people's throats, we just have to live it even in the face of verbal persecution.

If we don't like the movies that are being made, then don't go. I guarantee you that the face of movies would change if the Christians of this country stopped pouring our money into them at the box office. The law says we can't have a prayer over the loud speaker, but nothing says a fan can't start the Lord's prayer in the stands. I would wager (if I did anyway) if someone did start the Lord's Prayer in the stands basically the entire stadium would join in.

The strongest power in this country is that of God the Father and Jesus Christ being lived in the lives of individuals. If Christians would just live like Christians, let their faith be seen in actions and words then I believe we'd see a changed country.

Proposition #4 may never get passed the Republican agenda. But that doesn't mean that God is silenced. Only Christians have the power to silence the name of God.

Don't Knock It 'Til You Try It

What's the strangest food combination you've ever eaten? When growing up I learned to like liver and cooked carrots by dousing ketchup all over them. I like peanut butter on my waffles, crunchy of course. When I eat my peanut butter sandwiches I sometimes put the potato chips on the peanut butter in the sandwich.

My father-in-law liked onion on his apple pie and my mother loved a glass of buttermilk with cornbread crumbled inside. And who hasn't enjoyed a tasty Miracle Whip sandwich or a slice of pineapple dipped in horseradish sauce.

But my grandfather had one strange combination I had never heard of and have yet to try. He liked peanut butter and mashed potato sandwiches. Then I heard of people who have peanut butter and mayo sandwiches, pickles on their peanut butter sandwich and even ranch dressing and peanut butter.

My uncle used to make fun of his step-dad and the peanut butter and mashed potato sandwiches. Then one day my grandfather told him, "Don't knock, 'til you try it." So my uncle jumped off the deep end and tried it. And you know what? Right! He liked it!

I see people go through life always knocking what other people like before they've even tried it themselves. I hear people criticizing churches whose doors they have never entered. They judge people without even knowing them.

I'm reminded of the story of a man and woman who moved to a certain neighborhood. Whenever the couple would visit peoples homes the husband would always stay close by his wife. He would never let her leave his side even for a short time. After a few years the couple moved and the families they left behind began to criticize him. They would talk about how much of a chauvinist he was and how he acted so much like a tyrant to his sweet wife. Finally, a fellow neighbor who knew him better than everyone else spoke up. "What you don't know," he said, "is that his wife is a kleptomaniac. By keeping her by his side he was both protecting her as well as your belongings."

So before we become judgemental of people. Before we criticize this or that. Before we present ourselves as being disgusted over someone or something. Let's take the time to know what we're talking about.

Chances are it will change our entire view of things and we just may like it!

War Close To Home

Luis Draco formerly KBR IT and currently ITT recently died at the hands of cowardly terrorists. Cowards who lob mortars and rockets (aka Indirect Fire-IDF) into camps congested with unarmed civilians. I lost a friend this way in the Green Zone. I can’t think of anything else so cowardly! C3 Warhorse is located approximately 35-45 miles northeast of Baghdad on Baquba Airfield.

The above was information from a friend of Luis', Darick Knight. When Luis was killed his daughter, Nev, became an orphan. Nev's mother, Hope, passed away in 2003. Hope was my niece and Nev is my great-niece (grandniece). It is now up to the courts to determine where this little 12 year old girl will live.

It reminds us that the tragedies of grown-up wars too often end up being devastation for the innocent children who have no idea what's going on. It's also a reminder that each of us is only a phone call away from finding out someone we know is a victim.

We don't know where Nev will end up. We must trust in the wisdom of God to help those decision makers make the choice that is best for this little girl.

When you go to bed tonight, say a little prayer for Nev.

Next time you pick up the paper and see that someone has been killed in a war or accident, or that someone has died from a disease or sudden illness or for any reason for that matter, remember that somewhere someone is hurting because they have lost a loved one. Too often they are the tears of innocent children.

The Greatest College Bowl Game Ever...

If you had to choose one college football bowl game as the greatest one ever which one would you choose? Maybe it would be the 1963 Rose Bowl when Wisconsin almost made a great comeback to beat USC, scoring 23 points in the last 12 minutes to close in on a 30 point deficit. Then there was the 1979 Sugar Bowl where Alabama has a fantastic goal line stance keeping Penn State out of the end zone from first and goal at the 8 yard line and hanging on to a 14-7 victory. Then again it could be the triple overtime win in the 2006 Orange Bowl when Penn St. beat Florida State or even the 2006 Rose Bowl where Vince Young led Texas to a win over USC.

But as exciting as these games were as were many others there is one that stands out among all the others. In my opinion that honor goes to a game played on Thanksgiving Day in 1961 called the Mercy Bowl. On that day, Fresno State beat Bowling Green 36-6 before 33,000 fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

But it wasn't the game that made this one great. In my view it was why it was played. Today there are over 30 bowl games involving millions of dollars in proceeds to the schools. The teams are playing for the prestige of being a bowl winner and the top ones to be crowned national champions. But not the Mercy Bowl, this bowl had a much higher purpose in mind.

On October 29, 1960 a leftover WWII C-46 Arctic-Pacific charter taxied down the runway of the Toledo Express Airport. Whether the plane made if off the ground in zero visibility is uncertain, but before it left the airport the plane hit and broke apart killing 22 people, including 16 Cal-Poly football players, a manager and booster. It was the first plane crash of an American sports team.

The following year the Mercy Bowl was held to raise money for the medical costs, funeral expenses and families of those on the plane. In a act of kindness and love over $230,000 was raised, the equivalent of over $1.6 million dollars today. What a great game, one played not to honor self but to help those in need. Wouldn't it be great if every year there was at least one bowl game that was played for a cause! A game where the winners were not on the field, but in the hearts of the people. A game where something mattered more than just winning a trophy.

Jesus was a man of compassion. He was always thinking of others more than himself. One of my favorite verses is Mark 10:45, "For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many." Barnabas once sold a field and gave the money for the poor. Acts informs us how the early church would sell things from time to time and bring the money to the Apostles for those in need. People not only like to help but want to help when there is a need.

The Mercy Bowl is not in the record books as an official bowl game, but it is in the record books in my opinion as the greatest bowl game ever played, not because of the score, not because of the fantastic plays, not because of a fantastic finish, but because it was played out of love for our fellow man. "Carry each other's burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Gal. 6:2

The Story of the Two Suitcases

If you've ever sent your kids off to summer camp you know the apprehension that comes from releasing them to be basically on their own that first time. I remember the story of a mother who sent her daughter, Janie, off to camp for the first time and after the return home she was complaining to the mother of her daughter's best friend, Mindy.

"When Janie came home you should have seen her suitcase. Every piece of clothing came back filthy and smelly. It took me forever to get all the sand out of her bag and I had to air it out for two days because of mildew from wet towels. It was just terrible."

Mindy's mother listened to her friend then stood in silence a few moments before speaking.

"When Mindy came home", her mother said, " I opened her suitcase and nothing had been touched for the whole week!"

Now ask yourself which was worse, a little girl trying to keep clean ,but at the same time getting all her clothes filthy or a little girl staying dirty all week without trying to be clean? I think it's obvious that as parents we'd much rather have a dirty suitcase arrive back from camp than one untouched!

Sin and prayer in our lives is much the same way. We do wrong, then go and ask God for forgiveness. He forgives us. Then we do wrong and go back to Him again. Again and again and again we go through the process throwing our dirty laundry in and getting clean again.

Then there are those who continue in the wrongful ways of the world, never taking the time to repent and turn back to God. Eventually their lives become so dark that they forget that God is still there to cleanse them.

Which do you think God would rather see? The answer is obvious, He wants us all to keep coming back to him. And every time we do we can leave our dirty laundry with Him and He'll send us away clean. Peter wrote in his second letter 3:9 that "He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

So now let me ask you, "How does your suitcase look?"

The Journey of Charles Coghlan

Charles Coghlan was born in 1841 on Prince Edward Island to a poor Irish family. Neighbors helped him get a good education, but after school he decided that he wanted to be an actor.

Infuriated, his father disowned him and Charles left home to pursue his career. One day he visited a fortune teller who told him that he would be very famous but die in the prime of his career. His soul would never rest until it was buried on his home land of Prince Edward Island.

Charles did become a great popular actor of the late 1800's traveling the States entertaining audiences all over. In the late 1800's he came to Texas and ended up in Galveston. One night on stage he collapsed and died. He was buried on Galveston Island in a lead lined coffin in 1899. Then in 1900 a great hurricane engulfed Galveston Island killing thousands, destroying homes, ripping up trees and uncovering graves. One of those graves was that of Charles Coghlan. Charles' coffin was washed out into the Gulf of Mexico by the waves that overcame the island.

The coffin floated in the salty waters of the Gulf, making it's way around the Florida Keys and into the Atlantic Ocean. The coffin took an eight year journey from Galveston and up the Atlantic coast line, until one day in 1908 a ship saw a box floating in the waters of the Northern Atlantic. Bringing the box aboard the sailors noticed the plaque on the barnacle encrusted box with the name Charles Coghlan. The ship that found the coffin was just off the sandbar coast of Prince Edward Island. Charles Coghlan had come home and was buried not far from the small church where he had been christened as a baby.

Legend or fact this story does have a good point about the journey we all must take before we can truly rest. That journey is life itself. Life is full of ups and downs, twists and turns and can be very stressful at times. The one thing that a Christian has over the world is that he or she has a rest to look forward to in the future and no matter where life takes us we will eventually end up resting in the arms of God.

One nice thing to is that God takes care of us as we make this journey even though we may not know how to get there. "I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; " Is. 42:16

The People in My Church

If you're looking for a church home or just one to visit I thought I'd let you know what kind of people you can find when you come to Southern Hills. It always helps to know something about a group before you walk through the doors, so here are my observations.

When you come to my church you'll find several hypocrites. Then there is just about every sin represented that you can think of. We have liars, cheats, alcoholics, gossipers, complainers and short tempered people just to name a few. There are different viewpoints on just about anything you can think of and some very strongly opinionated folks that hang around. We have people who have been divorced and people who have been in prison. We have people whose marriages are struggling and who are having difficulty raising their children. If you come to my church you'll find a lot of imperfect people.

So if you are looking for a church to visit that is full of perfect Christians you probably should just pass us by. That's one thing you won't find here.

But if you decide to stop by what you will find are a lot of imperfect people who want their lives to be more like Jesus. You will find everyday people with everyday problems who know that the only solution is to turn their lives around to be like our Savior. They do not profess to be better than the people on the street, but do proclaim that they want to be better than they are now.

If you stop by you'll find people who will accept you and love you because they know we all have struggles in our lives. Nobody is perfect. Nobody is without fault. Nobody can stand up and say they have never failed their Lord. At my church there are people of all areas of life with all kinds of struggles who just want to do better.

So if you want to find a place where people are just like you. If you want a place where you can be loved and accepted no matter what has taken over your life. If you want a place where you will see people of various colors and races, people with suits and street clothes, people of all classes of life, people old and young and people of all education levels mingling together, worshiping together and loving each other for whose they are and not who they are then you might want to stop by and give us a try.

I remember the story of a man who had the opportunity to see what Hell was like. When he got there he saw a big long table with all sorts of food on it. Everyone sitting at the table were thin and starving. The reason was that they all had four foot spoons tied to their hands and they couldn't get the food to their mouths. The man said he didn't like this so asked to see what Heaven was like. When he got there it was the same scene except the people were well fed and happy. The difference was where in Hell they couldn't get the spoons to their mouths, in heaven they were feeding each other.

At my church you can be assured you will be well fed!

I Am Resolved...

As I stepped on the scales this morning the LED screen came on flickered a little then went blank. Maybe it needs a new battery I was thinking, but I stepped off and then on again. Nothing. But the battery isn't that old was my thinking so I tried it one more time. This time it worked but when it stopped on my weight I was positive it needed a new battery since the number was obviously inflated!

It's that time of year again. Everyone is making their New Year Resolutions. Mostly I see the same ones in some form or fashion: lose weight, get in shape, quit some bad habit. read the Bible daily, get organized, get out of debt, keep in touch with family, etc. The list goes on and on; same lists new year.

In reality they aren't really resolutions, but admirable goals. You see, a goal is something we want to achieve. It's something to shoot for and keep in our sights. If we don't reach it we'll try again. Every year I set goals, most of which are not kept to the one hundred percent level, but only in part. I can only remember keeping one New Year resolution in my life.

A resolution on the other hand is the way we approach our goals. We are looking for reSOLUTIONS to areas we feel we are lacking. We're trying to find a way to solve them and make ourselves a better individual. To be resolved means to make up your mind that you are going to be successful. To be resolute carries the meaning of being firm, stubborn, steadfast, tenacious and unwavering.

The reason we don't keep our resolutions is primarily because we don't have a resolute attitude. Many of us start out and then get the "loser's limp". You know what that is don't you? You've seen it. You watch a race and see an athlete who sees that he is going to lose usually in an embarrassing way so to save face he reaches back and grabs the back of his thigh as if he's pulled a muscle or maybe she starts hoping on one foot as if she turned an ankle. The crowd responds with empathy and the athlete doesn't look so bad for not fulfilling his or her goal. They were saved by the "loser's limp".

Paul wrote to the Corinthians "Do you not know that in a race, all the runners run but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize."

As you consider your goals, if they are worthy make them true resolutions. But make the first one to be like Jesus. Then, when you have achieved them you can be as Paul when he said in a letter to Timothy "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

As I sit here writing this and sipping on my cup of black coffee, I'm reminded of the only New Year resolution I really ever kept made some 30 years ago. No more sugar or cream in my coffee. Not a biggie, but it does show that anything we set our minds to can be accomplished and stuck with.

Have a great New Year. For me, I'm changing the battery out of my scales today.