Gary Keithley, former CISD athletic director and Jackets head football coach, was recently honored by his high school alma mater, which named him to the Alvin High School Athletic Hall of Honor.
Keithley was one of 12 named to the inaugural class of the new Hall of Honor established by the school’s athletic program.
Among his fellow honorees were 1971 AHS running back Kent Waldrep and baseball hall-of-famer Nolan Ryan, remembered for taking Alvin to the State 3A finals in 1965.
Ryan’s wife, Ruth Holdorff-Ryan, was also recognized with her doubles partner, Rachel Adams-Thompson, for capturing the state doubles tennis championship the same year.
“It was a nice deal,” Keithley said. “I got to see my old high school coach and four of the guys I played with. The main thing was all my kids were there. It was like a family reunion.”
He also shared honors with a son and a son-in-law by being named to the AHS football program’s All-Decades Teams, spanning the 1950s-1990s.
Keithley, who came to Cleburne in 1996 as offensive coordinator for the Jackets before taking over the program in 1998, was known in the Houston press as “Mr. Do Everything” in his role of quarterback for the Alvin Yellowjackets.
He was named an all-state quarterback his senior year after leading Alvin, 12-1, to the State Class 3A Semifinals in 1968.
His stats include 1,789 yards passing and 36 touchdowns, and he averaged 42.5 yards as a punter.
His 21 touchdown passes and the 1,789 yards he threw stand as school records.
Keithley played football for the Miners at the University of Texas at El Paso, and before his career in education, he played in the National Football League with the St. Louis Cardinals.
“I know Gary Keithley as a coach,” said Michael Bass, AHS head football coach. “He is a humble man, very honest, a man of integrity. He’s one of the top athletes to come out of Alvin High School, in my opinion.”
Also inducted as charter members of the AHS Hall of Honor were Jimmy Howard, Alex Esquivel, Katy Jameson-Garza, Bobbi Kacz, Harver Barber, Billy Roye and Andy Hilhouse.
Members of the 1922 AHS track team were honored posthumously for winning the school’s first state athletics championship.
Keithley has served as safety officer for CISD and is a member of the faculty at the District’s Phoenix Campus.
Cleburne
Related Photos
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Gary Keithley, center, former CISD athletic director and head coach of the Jackets football program from 1998-2002, was named to the inaugural class of the Alvin High School Athletic Hall of Honor. From left are his son, Gary Tom, and daughter, Amy Tubbs, Keithley, his wife, Rhonda, his son Eric Keithley and Eric’s wife, Nichelle. Lisa Magers/CISD
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Former athletic director named to Alvin hall of fame
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