Prairie View Interscholastic League Coaches Association
"Remembering the Past With Pride"
Meet the coaches inducted to the PVILCA Hall of Fame and Honor for 2013
Brady Beauregard
Brady Beauregard was born in Call, Texas on April 25, 1920 and attended Call Elementary and Silsbee High School. From 1941-1944, he served in the U.S. Army and fought in World War II receiving many commendations for his dedication and bravery. The discipline and patriotism he learned in the Army never left him, and afterwards he entered Huston-Tillotson University in Austin.
Brady enjoyed teaching children and coached at Kirbyville High School from 1956-1967. His success as a coach can be directly attributed to his work ethic and natural ability to understand sports. In 1963, he guided Kirbyville to the PVIL 1-A state championship, defeating Smithville, 64-45, in the title game and his 1967 Kirbyville team was also a state finalist, losing to Mt. Enterprise, 61-39.
After retiring, Beauregard enjoyed fishing and other outdoor activities. He passed away March 19, 2001. Both he and his wife are deceased, survived by sons, Brady, Jr, and Bobby, daughter-in-law, Dionne, one grandson (Spanky), and two great grandson’s, Jacquoi and Mickey.
Alton Earl Bennett
Alton Bennett grew up in Camden in Polk County where he was born July 18, 1928. He attended Chester High School where he starred in football, basketball, baseball, and track. At Prairie View A&M, he majored in radio technology and played varsity basketball and was a member of the 1950 SWAC championship team.
He re-entered PV after serving in the U.S. Army and earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees. He taught for 35 years combined in elementary and high schools and, as a coach, teamed with Arthur Gillum and Harry Wright to coach basketball and football at A.W. Jackson High School in Rosenberg. As head basketball coach, Bennett was named Fort Bend County Coach of the Year in 1963 and received many other honors through the years from Lamar Consolidated ISD, St. Luke United Methodist Church and the City of Rosenberg for being an outstanding teacher, coach, servant/leader and citizen.
He was married for 54 years and he and wife, Delores, were the parents to four children. Coach Bennett passed away on January 16, 2013.
Billie Matthews
Billie Matthews was a Houston native who, in 1948, graduated from Phillis Wheatley High School where he excelled in football, basketball, and baseball and was voted Senior Class President. He attended Southern University and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Architectural Engineering, with honors. As a freshman quarterback, he led the Jaguars to a 12-0 record and a black college national championship. In his four years, the team was 37-4 with him as quarterback, and he was named a black college All-American as a senior.
In 1959, he became the first head football coach at Kashmere Gardens High School in Houston where his teams won numerous district and regional championships. He later became an assistant coach at the University of Kansas and UCLA. He was an assistant coach in the National Football League for 25 years, and earned a Super Bowl ring as part of the 1981 San Francisco 49ers team. He coached some of the greatest running backs in the history of the league, including O. J. Simpson, Barry Sanders, and Freeman McNeil. Matthews passed away on December 6, 2001.
Clarence Weatherspoon
Clarence Weatherspoon was born in Pineland on July 22, 1929 and graduated in 1948 from Bryant High School where he was a multi-sport star. Weatherspoon attended Jarvis Christian College and obtained a B. S. degree in Health, Physical Education, and Biology in 1953. He earned an M. S. degree in Biology and Physical Education at Prairie View A&M in 1968. He also has an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity degree from Faith Institute of Theology.
Weatherspoon played minor league baseball for the Minnesota Twins organization from 1955 to 1957 before returning to Pineland where he began a 39-year teaching and coaching career. He worked at Bryant High School (Pineland), Rowe High School (Jasper), Coronado, Estacado, and Roosevelt high schools in Lubbock, retiring in 1993. As a coach, Weatherspoon had a combined 589-171 record in both boys and girls basketball over a 19-year period.
He is the proud father of Stephon Weatherspoon and Niccole McKinley and the grandfather of five. He is also a retired Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) pastor within the Northwest Texas Conference.
Harry F. Wright
Harry Wright is a native of San Angelo, where he graduated from Blackshear High School in 1951. As a lineman, he was a member of the 1950 team, coached by Allie Thomas, which won the Class AA state football championship. At Prairie View A&M University, Wright was a member of the 1953 national championship football team.
He received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1956 and began coaching at Fairview High School in Linden where his teams won district titles in football and basketball. At A.W. Jackson High School in Rosenberg, his football and track teams also won district titles.
He has a masters’ degree from PV and an Administrative Certificate from Texas Southern. He was principal at B.F. Terry High School in Rosenberg from 1980-1991. He has received many educational and community honors. Now retired, he is a member of various organizations, including the YMCA Board and the Rosenberg Planning Commission. He has been married for 55 years to Ida Brown Wright and they are parents of three children and three grandchildren.