by the late Ed Pittman
originally published November 12, 2002
A few days ago, on a Tuesday in October, I met with Tas Watson in his home on North Mount in Fairfield to gather a little information about an idea I had for writing an article about Fairfield’s first football team, of which he was an integral part. We visited for a couple of hours. It was a pleasant experience. He was like he always was, with me, and, I suppose, with everyone else, cheerful, pleasant and interesting, wearing a smile and a twinkle in his eye, a man who was easy to talk with and had something worthwhile to say.
Tas was a senior on that first football team, in 1937. Coach Emmett Chapman, a product of Trinity College of Waxahachie, now located in San Antonio, came aboard that spring and began putting the team together. Most of the boys had never seen a real football game. Their experience was limited to sand-lot football, if any, that more resembled “keepaway.” The team scrimmaged Teague before the season opener with Buffalo and made a trip to Waco to watch Baylor scrimmage.
Tas was one of the “experienced” players. He was elected team caption and as a backfield member led the team to its first touchdown. The half ended 6-0, Fairfield. In the third quarter Tas received a clip block and both bones in his right leg were broken. Buffalo won, 13-6. It nearly brought an end to Fairfield’s football season. Cool heads prevailed and the season was played, with Tas on the sidelines.
Members’ of the team included Tas Watson, Maclyn Compton, Winfred Rosser, Duane Emmons, Finis Horton, Billy Alderman, O’Neal Mobley, E. F. Emmons, Hugh Bonner, Jim Billy Bonner, Jack Robinson, Richard Williford, Wilbur Bailey, Joe Fred Fischer, Harry Manahan, Charles Nettles, Buddy Emmons, Billy Childs, and freshmen E. L. Glazener, Cannon Awalt, and Henry Steward. Three, Wilbur Bailey, Buddy Emmons and Billy Alderman lost their lives in WWII. Most, if not all, served. Less than a handful are alive today.
Tas attended Texas Tech and John Tarleton before entering military service March, 1941 at Randolph Field. He served in training at Connally Air Field at Waco and at Tuscon, Arizona, before landing in Scotland with the 91st Bomber Group. He served in North Ireland with a B-24 group conducting spy mission work, serving a total of three years and one month in “England”.
When the Battle of the Bulge in December, 1944 created an emergency need for front line officers, Tas took “60 day wonder” training and was promoted from Master Sergeant to Second Lt. He served in occupied Germany before coming home October, 1945. He married his wife, Geneva, in 1946 and they had three daughters, all born in Kingsville, Texas, where he was employed with Humble Oil & Refining Company in the Geophysical Department. He worked with Humble in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida.
Tas returned to Fairfield and became a successful businessman. For several years he owned and operated The Fairfield Recorder.
I wish I had made more notes that day and had dug deeper into the story of the Fairfield Eagles FIRST TEAM. “For that Black and Gold we love so well; and for the football team we’ll yell o yell o yell.”
