Prairie View Interscholastic League Coaches Association

Louis Dotson, 1939-2015: Former Austin Anderson great

The PVILCA is mourning the passing of life member and former Austin Anderson great Louis "Crack" Dotson on April 15. Dotson was inducted into the Hall of Honor last year.

Dotson was an all-around athlete at Anderson, participating in basketball, baseball, track, and football. In football, he was a starting lineman on offense and defense and played on the 1956 and 1957 state championship teams. He graduated from Anderson in 1958 and attended Huston-Tillotson College. Dotson began working as a machinist for IBM in Austin in 1967 and in 1971 became the company's first black manager in Austin.

He participated in many of IBM's sports activities and was a recipient of numerous golf and tennis awards. He was a long time member of the Capital City Golf Association and participated in local and statewide tournaments. He retired from IBM after 25 years. Dotson is survived by his wife Elijah Dotson, children Terri McClain, Felicia Overton (Darrell), Michael Dotson, Terrence Gregg, Sonya Dotson, Marvin Dotson, 15 grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren, and a host of relatives and friends.

Austin's Anderson high schools, "Linking the Past to Enrich the Future"

L.C. Anderson

In 1971, all-black L.C. Anderson High School in East Austin closed its doors because of desegregation and a new school bearing the same name was opened the next year in west Austin with Charles Akins, a graduate of the "original" Anderson, as the school's first principal.

Over the years, the two schools' shared the same name, but that was the extent of their relationship, until last month. On March 26th, the schools embraced to acknowledge their history during a program at the "new" Anderson. The program featured a keynote address from Raymond Whitley, Jr., national president of the L.C. Anderson Alumni Assn., remarks from Akins, and a Q&A session with the school's history students.

The day also included the debut of a new display at the school of "old" Anderson memorabilia. Watch a video on Anderson's early history.

PVIL mobile museum exhibits on display at UIL and in schools

Throughout Black History Month, memorabilia from the PVILCA are on display in the lobby of the University Interscholastic League (UIL) offices in Austin.

The PVILCA traveling exhibit, replete with historic artifacts that help tell the story of Prairie View Interscholastic League athletics, is currently on display at the UIL offices in Austin, but several schools have also expressed interest in having similar displays, as well as learn about the league's history.

Here are the dates and schools for the mobile museum display:

• Feb. 16th 7:30 a.m. Newton High School, history classes (all day)
• Feb. 17th 2:00 p.m. Kountze HS, general assembly (until end of school day)
• Feb. 18th 9:30 a.m. Kirbyville HS, history classes, display in cafeteria foyer (until end of lunch)
• Feb. 19th 9:00-11 a.m. Silsbee HS, general assembly
• Feb. 19th 2 p.m. Silsbee Middle School, general assembly (until end of school day)
• Feb. 20th 8:00-10 a.m. Jasper Middle School, history classes, display in foyer

All of the schools are inviting the public to come out and view the displays. Some of the local Hall of Fame recipients and nominees from the PVILCA will attend assemblies in their cities.

What most will learn from the displays and PVIL-era coaches and athletes on hand at the schools is that, in a different era, when Texas and the rest of the South was segregated, UIL membership was open only to public white schools and would remain so for more than 50 years after its inception in 1910.

However, in 1920, the Prairie View Interscholastic League (originally called the Texas Interscholastic League of Colored Schools) was formed to provide leadership and governance for the state's Negro high school students by mirroring the UIL. In 1964, the UIL integrated and opened its membership to PVIL schools, leading to the PVIL closing in 1970.

Like the UIL, the PVIL's honor roll reads like a Who's Who of national prep, college and professional greats such as U.S. Representative Barbara Jordan (Houston Wheatley H.S.), Texas Western basketball's David Lattin (Houston Worthing) who was featured in the book and hit movie "Glory Road," Charlie "Choo-Choo" Brackins (Dallas Lincoln) the first black quarterback drafted to the NFL (1955, 16th round), and Eldridge Dickey (Houston Washington) the first black quarterback drafted in the first round of the NFL (1968).

Many of the PVIL schools were closed during integration losing valuable information, records and trophies. What remains is being shared with the general public as American History. With their mobile memorabilia museums, the PVIL Coaches Association tells the stories of amazing student athletes and coaches through displays of lettermen's jackets, photos, trophies, and stories of the pride, dedication and success of student athletes and coaches from 1920-1970.

The PVILCA's permanent exhibit can be viewed year-round in Austin at the University of Texas Division of Diversity and Community Engagement Center located at 1009 E. 11 Street.

For more information about the mobile museum and if you'd like to schedule the display for your school contact Melody McClain-Edwards at (409) 454-9798.

Former Baytown Carver sprinter inducted to Lincoln (Mo.) University Hall of Fame

Former Baytown Carver High School track star and PVILCA Hall of Fame inductee (2011), Albert Wheatfall was recently inducted into the Lincoln University Hall of Fame .

In 1962, he was voted MVP of the Midwest Athletic Association for his accomplishments at Lincoln, located in Jefferson City, Mo. Wheatfall set school records in the 100-yard dash, 220-yard dash and as a member of the 440-yard relay team during his time with the Blue Tigers. (View a clip of the induction ceremony here .)

At Carver, Wheatfall was a member of the 1958 football state championship team as a running back. Also in 1958, he won the 100-yard dash and the 220-yard dash state championships and ran the anchor leg on the 440-yard relay team that also won the state title.

Read Warren Singleton's story about Wheatfall here.