Attention Texas writers ...

Webby has granted permission for me to do this (once!), so here goes.

I have just completed work on a reference guide for the UIL football playoffs and am trying to see if there is any interest. Some of you in the western part of the state have seen the 90-page rough version I slapped together last fall. The 374-page updated version has a lot more bells and whistles.

This book contains the playoff history for nearly 1,300 high schools. There are year-by-year playoff scores since 1920, a section on state championship games and separate sections on each classification (5A through six-man) as well as a section for schools that no longer play football or no longer exist.

The sections for each class have the number of and years for playoff appearances for each school, team-by-team playoff scores and rankings lists for most appearances; most consecutive appearances and playoff droughts (all-time and active streaks); most games played, wins, losses and ties (with times advanced/eliminated on tiebreakers before overtime was instituted); consecutive wins and losses (one school has lost 16 straight playoff games since 1949), and winning percentage.

There is also a section of overall rankings in these areas (roughly top 100 and ties) as well as a list for most games played without a win (there are two schools that are 0-11 and another that's 0-10-1).

The state championship section includes the score list that pretty much everyone has, but also includes lists of state champs sorted alphabetically and by number of titles. There are also rankings lists similar to those listed above (one school has lost seven times in the finals).

I realize that most sports staffs will have this type of information on file for the school(s) they cover, but few will have it for the opposing teams. And I'm sure we've all had a coach claim his team has just done something for the first time ever only to find out later that the school had done it back in 1938. The guide will make it easier to get this kind of stuff right.

If nothing else, you can use it to win a lot of bar bets.

I'm talking to a couple of printers right now, but the price is basically going to depend on how many books I have printed (the more there are, the lower per-unit price). It's costing me $420 to get 20 demo copies done at Kinkos, so there's a ballpark figure to work with. (And Webby says that I should make a donation if I sell a bunch in return for him allowing me to post this.)

My goal is to be ready to ship books by coaching school, which starts July 30, and I hope to be there to make deliveries/take orders.

If this is something you would be interested in purchasing, contact me by e-mail at swaller@oaoa.com (and please, no jokes about the corporate-assigned e-mal address; I'm just glad my name's not Fred Uecker).

Thanks for reading all this,
Sam Waller
Odessa American

 

That's a great idea.

I'd think you'd sell a ton of books at coaching school. I'd bet there would also be a lot of interest from fans if you got the word out.

 

Who the hell would read that? 374 pages? Who are you, Michener?
You would have to be a couple sandwiches short of a picnic in my book.

 

I know a lot of Texas high school football fans who'd read an encyclopedia from A-Z if it involved football, and I live in Michigan.

 

Seems like a life well-spent.

 

It's a reference book, not something you'd read from cover to cover.

And I think you're seriously underestimating how serious Texans take high school football.

 

I guess that makes Big Tobacco "idiot" businessmen.

 

Who said anything about reading it? It's not a fucking novel. I personally think it would be a really nice thing to have come playoff time.

 

Yes. Yes. and again I say Yes.

A lot of that used to be available on the collier-sharp website, but he's since quit, and while the historical playoff brackets can still be found, the rest I haven't seen since a book back in the early 90s I think.

Every newspaper in the state would want a copy. As would all reporters and most fans.

I wish someone would do this for baseball and basketball. A few phone calls nets a lot of the football info, but even some of the state's high school gurus can't anser jack about baseball and basketball half the time.

Good luck, and I'll look for it when it's done.

 

Damn good idea. Good luck.

 

I'm on the east coast now, but I tried to log onto collier-sharp. I guess now I know what happened.

 

http://www.tisd.net/~wesleyu/

Collier-Sharp is still up, but hasn't been updated since 2002. Coaches' records were what I found to be its main value.

Sam, just send out some order forms and we'll probably buy at least two copies.