He was a fine coach, although I don’t think he ever played football.
Mr. Jeffries was a fresh graduate out of a nearby Abilene college. He studied to become a teacher, and Mr. Jeffries taught us well in the fifth grade.
I still remember he told us to ask for a free Texas road map at a Hamlin service station, draw lines as he suggested, and make cards for Texas industries. The classroom game was see how fast you could place your cards in the correct square.
Today I’ve figured that Mr. Jeffrie’s contract also included coaching our grammar–elementary–school football team. And I’m pretty sure he never played on a football team. He was too small and wore glasses.
But what a great offensive coach.
We ran plays mostly from Knute Rockne’s Notre Dame box formation. Switched to Pop Warner’s Stanford double-wing formation for passes and extra points. We lined up in short punt formation for quick kicks.
Defense was always seven boys on the line, biggest kid–me–at linebacker, and the smallest but best athlete at safety. Little Brad was sure to tackle any fifth-grade opponent who got loose.
Later, I discovered that the great coaches wrote books and diagrammed their winning formations. Guessing Mr. Jeffries found their books at his college library.
And the small kid, Brad Rowland, was named to the Small College All-American backfield and went on to play for the Chicago Bears.
Mr. Jeffries went on to become a school principal. I think we were the only team he ever coached.
