The 2017 Hall of Honor Inductees have been approved at the March meeting of the THSCA Board of Directors. The inductees will be honored at the THSCA Hall of Honor Luncheon sponsored by Balfour, in Houston on Wednesday, July 26, 2017 at the Hilton Hotel at 1:00 pm.
The luncheon is held in conjunction with the annual THSCA Coaching School and Convention which will take place July 23-26, 2017 in Houston. Tickets to the luncheon are $40 each and can be purchased from the THSCA Office or at the luncheon. Hall of Honor Inductees are:
James Cameron began his head coaching career in 1967 at McKinney HS where he took his initial team to the state finals with a record of 11-1-1. After a brief college coaching career, he returned to high school in 1976 at Rockwall HS, taking a program that had just moved from 3A to 4A and leading them to a six-year record of 48-14-1, culminating in a state semifinal appearance in 1981. His last two coaching stops were at Kilgore and Sulphur Springs where he amassed a 112-37 record. The last ten years of his coaching career, his teams qualified for the state playoffs every year and his cumulative record over 26 years as a head coach was 205-79-9. James Cameron died suddenly of a massive heart attack on April 1, 1995.
Don Clayton opened Cinco Ranch in 1999 and has developed a highly competitive athletic program with seven Top Ten finishes in the UIL Governor’s Cup. He has taken his teams to the playoffs eleven times including a trip to the semifinals in 2016. He is 89-21 in his last 10 years at Cinco Ranch and his career record is 151-104. Coach Clayton has served on the THSCA Board of Directors and was the coach of the South All-Stars in the 2011 THSCA All-Star Game. He is also an inductee into the University of Wyoming Hall of Fame.
Ernie Johnson’s first coaching position was at his alma mater, Dublin in 1955. In 1958 he then moved to Stephenville as head baseball, junior varsity football and junior varsity basketball coach for two years. In 1961 Coach Johnson became the very first head baseball coach and assistant football coach at Midland Lee and remained at Lee for the next 29 years until his retirement in 1990. In 1991 he began serving as a volunteer baseball coach and also worked the exhibits at the THSCA Convention and Coaching School for several years. He served as president of the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association in 1978-79 and was inducted into the THSBCA Hall of Fame in 1991.
Eddy Peach was the head football coach of the Lamar Vikings for 39 years. His coaching record is 310-123-6 and he was voted “Coach of the Decade” in 1970 & 1980. Coach Peach won the 1994 Denuis UIL Award and was chosen as the 1996 THSCA North All-Star Coach. He is a 14-time “District Coach of the Year” winner and has taken his team to the playoffs 18 times with a championship game appearance in 1990 and semifinal appearances in 2000 and 2003. His Vikings made 13 consecutive playoff appearances from 1988-2000. Peach is 10th on Texas’ all-time wins list.
Robert Vela began his varsity career at Edcouch-Elsa in 1993, and was promoted head coach in 1988. In 1989, the Yellowjackets were crowned district champions after a 25-year absence from post season play and advanced to the state quarterfinals. During Vela’s tenure his teams were district champions in 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993 and were in the state playoffs seven out of his nine years there. In 1998 he took over the reins at Edinburg High School, leading it to a playoff run that included a trip to the state semifinals in 1999. Vela served on the THSCA Football Advisory Committee in 1990 and served on the THSCA Board of Directors from 1995-98. He coached for more than 35 years and had a record of 135-74-3. Vela passed away in 2007 and in 2010 Edinburg CISD paid tribute by naming their fourth high school after him.
