It took a year little longer than it was supposed to but former West Orange-Stark football coach Dan Ray Hooks was inducted into the Texas High School Hall of Fame May 1, 2021.
The announcement came in 2019 but the pandemic kept the ceremony from happening in May 2020. Hooks was recognized at the State Football Championships in December with the other members of the 2020 class.
They included Danny Amendola of the Woodlands representing the 2000s, Grand Prairie Dalworth’s Charley Taylor (1959 and before), Garland’s Chuck Dicus (1960s), Sealy’s Eric Dickerson (1970s), Midland Lee’s Tyrone Thurman (1980s), John Tyler’s David Warren (1990s), and coach Chad Morris of Allen joined Hooks as coaches who were selected.
Hooks coached at WOS from 1981-2010 and compiled a record of 277-71-2. Included were 12 District Championships, 19 playoff appearances and three Area Championships. He also had three straight finals from 1986-1988, winning back-to-back 4A State Championships in 1986 and 1987, and then advancing to the State finals in 2000 and the State 3A Semi-Finals in 2005.
In 2006 Mustang Stadium was renamed Dan R. Hooks Stadium. He’s also been inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Southeast Texas Coaches Association and the Greater Houston Football Coaches Association.
-Gary Stelly, KOGT-
Hooks is joined in the photo by Michael Thompson, Coach Mark Foreman, Coach Cornel Thompson, and Coach Toby Foreman.
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