It was a Friday at lunch time; the year was 1973; the new school year was about to begin all over Texas; a “young Forney boy” was about to head off to Goliad, Texas, to probably teach Jr. High English Literature and Language, Journalism, and Remedial English……And then, the “call” from FISD Administration came; two interviews took place; some soul-searching, praying, and discussing ensued; the trip to Goliad was cancelled; the signing of some preliminary documents took place; the School Board ratified a new coaching/teaching contract at the Monday night meeting; Don Themer was off to Coaching School with Head Coach Richard Norwood and several men he did not know until that day!
One of the men was JOE JONES, JR., a little older than Themer and experienced as a successful basketball coach. His head was full of ideas and plans for the “putting onto the map” of Forney High School boys basketball and ultimately all basketball teams in the school district!
JOE JONES, JR. Head Basketball Coach
Coach Norwood made the initial introduction: “Coach Joe Jones, meet Don Themer, who will be heading up the girls programs from Jr. High through High School and will be helping with all levels of football, and especially with helping Coach Bill Davis with the 7th Grade Program. He will also be teaching High School English. He is a ‘Forney Boy,’ but Don is a ‘rookie’ in the education field.”
Coach Jones said, “Glad to meet you, Coach Themer. We will talk at length later after Coaching School.” And, we did talk from that point on through the end of the following two years; he never ran out of ideas or things to discuss. And, I was a little amazed that, with his superior age and experience levels, he was willing to “really” listen to me and work with my wishes and needs. I learned so much from this man—most of it good!
During football season, the main job of all coaches was to make our Varsity Football Team a winner, and we new coaches inherited the job of “scouting” upcoming opponents, which meant travelling to some other city to watch two teams play while we drew diagrams and took notes about tendencies, etc. Then we drove back to Jackrabbit Stadium to either celebrate the victory or lament the loss. Fortunately, the Jackrabbits were usually winners. We (new or lesser level coaches) also inherited the job of taking the game film(s) to the “film lab” in Dallas and then waiting for it to be developed so that we could have it back to the field house in time for the team meeting the next day (Saturday morning). Coaches Jones, Themer, and usually Segleski were the “scouters,” and this gave the first two time to talk over plans for basketball during “down” times.
Now, let me tell you a little about JOE JONES, JR. He was beginning his 2nd season as a Rabbits Coach and had come to Forney as one of the winningest coaches in the state! He had arrived with a stated goal in mind: To Build a Championship Basketball Program in Jackrabbit Country!
He was a Rains County native and had spent the past 14 years prior to coming to Forney at Winona (4 years), Brownsboro Central (4 years), and Brownsboro (6 years). (I guess he was a little more than “a little older” than I was!)
His record for the past fourteen years and the one at Forney was 521 victories and only 54 losses—a winning percentage of .906 (I took his word for that math, since he was a science teacher.)
Academically, he was “sound” with a B. S. from Texas College in Biology and an M. S. from Texas Southern University. I had studied science under some good instructors (Mr. Lucas at FHS and Dr. Nixon at ETSU) and could quickly tell from some early academic discussions that he was “way up there” as a Biology teacher!
Joe had a wife, Dorothy (also a teacher, 6th, in the District and also holding B. S. and M. Ed. degrees), and a son, Tony, and they were a great family!
Coach Norwood, who knew I liked all sports but “loved” basketball and baseball, had told me that I would enjoy working with “Joe,” because he “loved basketball and knew his stuff” and that he was a “teacher” just as much as he was a “coach.”
Well, I could talk about this man for ages, but I only have limited space left; so, let me share a few moments with you!
1. I felt ill at ease with Joe at first because he was a dapper and meticulous dresser and knew what to do in “classy” places. I felt like a little country boy with a big city man, especially when I learned he was fifteen or more years my senior. He did not look like it!
The first time we three scout coaches decided to eat after a long road trip to a game, we ate and then stopped to pay at the cashier’s desk, and I saw Jones bending over and rubbing his leg. I did not know what to think except that maybe he had lost his billfold! Nope! He pulled his wallet out of his sock, paid with a fifty dollar bill (in 1973), and calmly stuck the billfold back into his sock. I asked him in the car, “What gives with the wallet in the sock?” His answer was—”Themer, it makes an unsightly bulge in my back pocket. Look at Segleski’s and your physiques! Make a note!”
2. Later in the season, when Coach Segleski was unable to scout with us, Joe and I discussed where to eat in the city of Tyler or Kilgore. Before I could voice an opinion, he said, “Mike and you always get to choose the place, because you two outvote me. Tonight, I get to choose, and we are going to a place I go with my buddies in this area.” I quickly agreed and was shocked when we pulled up to a place that gave us a tie and ushered us to a table in the middle of the room. Then Joe mentioned that the place he had chosen usually had a dining room filled with about twentyto-one Black-to-White and hoped I did not mind. And then he laughed as he called some of his buddies over to sit at our table and said to me before they arrived, “Now, you see how I feel sometimes with you!” I never forgot the point he was making but also how he made me a part of his “circle” of buddies that night!
3. Coach Jones, early on, let me know that he was a science teacher first and then a basketball coach, but with only a scratch of difference between the importance of the two. I never forgot what he told me another time—“Sports are good for your health, and they also keep many ‘kids’ from dropping out of school/not attending college!”
4. One night, Coach Jones played a basketball team and beat them “unmercifully” in my book. I told him so after the game and asked if maybe he felt a little sorry for the other team and coach and for not letting his “subs” play a little more in the “blow-out.” His answer was a resounding, “NO!” “I let the boys who are the best and who have the best work-outs play the most. I also think if you ‘ease off’ on a competitor, you ‘dishonor’ him and give him the idea that if the going is rough, you should be given a break!” I said to him, “Sure, Joe, and how do you feel when someone is ‘beating the dog’ out of you?” His answer: “GREAT!” I said, “I don’t believe you!”
A week or so later, Forney Varsity Boys were down by 20 points before half and doing worse the 3rd quarter. The other team pulled back from its “full-court press” to help out our boys. Joe called time out and headed over to the other coach and talked to him rather forcefully. The other team began pressing again and continued the full game. After the game, I asked Joe on the way home what he had said to the other coach. He said, “Coach, I think you mean well, but you are belittling our team and not helping me teach them to break the press and to play hard not matter what. Press us!” Joe practiced what he preached!
5. One final thing! Joe Jones said, “Coach Themer, we need to do something extra here at Forney to bring basketball into the LIGHT. We are going to print a basketball brochure like colleges do so that we can ‘honor our program and our players.’ And, we are going to have a ‘college tournament’ in the FHS Gymnasium!” I said, “Sure, who are we going to invite, ‘Dr. J., Bob Cousy, and Meadowlark Lemon’ as guest Emcees?”
Well, we had a successful college tournament and produced a successful brochure. You didn’t tell “Joe” that he could not, or would not, be allowed to do something, or he would prove you wrong! I believe that the four teams, who played “winner vs. winner and loser vs. loser” were Eastfield and three East Texas teams (Texas College and TJC maybe and one more). Following my suggestion, we hired “Imwalle (not sure of the spelling) and McGee” to officiate the games. The crowds in the “full” gym loved the action and were amazed at the sizes of some of the visiting “stars” up close. They made me look rather short!
Coach Jones had a “third year in Forney” record of 23 victories and 8 losses—10 wins and 5 losses in District, 2nd place if I remember correctly. He resigned from teaching/coaching at the end of the 1974—1975 school year and moved on to Seagoville in D. I. S. D., and I have heard very little of him since (other than a rumor of his death); however, I have never forgotten this amazing man—and I still don’t keep my billfold in my sock; I bet Coach Segleski doesn’t either!
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