Hanging with Joe Nick

Joe Nick Patoski, that is; the guy that has written biographies on Selena and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Willie, and the coffee table books Texas Mountains, Texas Coast, and Big Bend National Park; the guy who was a staff writer for Texas Monthly for 18 years, and more recently has written for the Texas Observer, National Geographic, People magazine, Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine, Field & Stream, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the Big Bend Sentinel, Southwest Spirit, American Way, the Austin Chronicle, Harp, TimeOut New York, and other publications. That Joe Nick.

Joe Nick is a football fan. So much so, that he was the curator of the recent exhibit "Texas High School Football: More than Just a Game" at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. The promotional material for the exhibit reads:

"[Football] is the bond that holds together communities, from small burgs barely able to field a six-man team to 5A suburban schools that faithfully fill 20,000 seat stadiums to cheer their hometown heroes. It is the soul of Texas towns.

It is the caravans of cars that drive 200 miles on a Friday night to support the home team, the endless post-game analyses in coffee shops, the local pride in past victories and legendary players. It’s also marching bands, drill teams, pep rallies, mascots, cheerleaders, twirlers, booster clubs, fans and fanatics. For at least a few hours every week in the fall, Texas high school football is the glue that transcends cultural, ethnic, and spiritual differences to define us all as Texan."

 I went to the exhibit to look for mention of Breckenridge, of course, and I was not disappointed. The "team of the century" was listed; Emory Bellard was honored; there was a giant blow-up of a Basil Clemons photo of Buckaroo Field on the occasion of the 1929 State Championship. And Joe Nick was there.

I don't know if he came every weekend to "his" exhibit, but this was the closing weekend, and he was there, talking to anyone who paused near him. The man does love to talk, and talk about Texas High School football history. For the entire time we were there - probably more than two hours - he had someone cornered.

I heard him talk about Jerry Tubbs, a Breckenridge boy... "well, he was from Throckmorton, originally, but you know the stories about Breckenridge recruiting players..." who went on to play for the Dallas Cowboys. I heard him talk about Gordon Woods, the Brownwood coach, and about Joe Don Meridith, and about Emory Bellard. The man does love to talk.

But as we were leaving, I interrupted him, stuck my hand out and said, "Breckenridge High School, Class of '58."

And just for a few seconds, his jaw dropped and he didn't have anything to say. Then we talked for a few minutes about Breckenridge football, and Jerry Tubbs, and Emory Bellard, and even Basil Clemons.