Gordon Wood (American Football Coach) - Navy

Navy

Wood initially washed out of the Navy Officer's Candidacy School, but the Navy realized he had training skills, and Wood was made into a chief petty officer. He trained new recruits and traveled around the nation escorting men to training facilities. Wood was able to coach while in the Navy. In 1942, while he was waiting to be called up for duty, the Abilene school district hired Coach Wood on a day-to-day basis, and he was able to coach spring training for seventh and eighth graders. The following fall, while on furlough for a few weeks, Wood was asked to fill in as head football coach at Haskell High School where he is credited with one win. Wood also coached basketball in the Navy using new recruits to form teams. He would often convince men to play for him as they rolled in for training.

It was in the Navy that Wood met his wife Katharine. He was spending a night out in San Diego when the two met. Gordon and Katharine courted for two months before they married in January 1945. A few weeks later they were expecting their first child. Their daughter, Patricia Wood, was born in September 1945, just days before Gordon Wood received his discharge.