Awards and Accomplishments
On top of setting the record for most wins in the twentieth century, Coach Wood has received numerous other awards and accomplishments. He coached four Texas All Star Teams: two in 1957 and 1958, and two at the Oil Bowl Classic in 1977 and 1985. His teams won in 1958 and 1977. Coach Wood also gained experience with professional football when he coached the summer camp for the Canadian League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1972-1974.
The Texas Sportswriters Association named Wood Coach of the Year three times: 1956, 1970, and 1978. The Texas High School Coaches Association named him their president in 1959 and inducted him into their Hall of Honor in 1967. Hardin-Simmons University presented Wood with the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1979 and inducted him into the Hall of Fame in 1996. In 1979, the National High School Athletic Coaches Association named him the National High School Football Coach of the Year and, in 1996, inducted him into their Hall of Fame . The American Football Coaches Association decided to honor Wood in 1983; the same year he was inducted into the Texas High School Coaches Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. In 1984, Wood was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame.
The Touchdown Club of Houston presented Wood with the Touchdowner of the Year Award in 1986. In 1999, the NCAA presented Wood with the Football Coaches of America Lifetime Achievement Award (Grant Teaff Award). In 1993, Martin Communications Publications named Coach Wood Co-Coach of the Century along with Coach Paul Tyson in their Tops in Texas. In 1999, the Dallas Morning News named Wood Coach of the Century. Wood liked the name so much, it became the title of his 2001 autobiography, Coach of the Century: an Autobiography by Gordon Wood. Of all the honors Coach Wood has received, his personal favorite was having Brownwood's football stadium named for him in 1980. Wood had been deeply involved in building the stadium.
Read more about this topic: Gordon Wood (American Football Coach)