Leta Andrews

Last updated
Leta Mae Rains Andrews
Personal information
Born (1937-07-07) July 7, 1937 (age 86)
Granbury, Texas, U.S.
Career information
High school Granbury High School
College Weatherford College
Texas Wesleyan University
Coaching career1962–2014
Career history
As coach:
1962-1965 Tolar High School
1965-1970 Gustine High School
1970-1976 Comanche High School
1976-1980Granbury High School
1980-1992 Calallen High School
1992-2014Granbury High School
Career highlights and awards
  • Texas State Championship (1990)
  • Walt Disney National Teacher of the Year (1993)
  • High School Basketball Hall of Fame (1995)
  • Texas Sports Hall of Fame (2007)
  • NHSCA National High School Coach of the Year (2007)
  • Morgan Wootten Lifetime Achievement Award (2008) [1]
  • 5× Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame finalist (2015, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2022) [2] [3] [4] [5]
Career coaching record
UIL 1,416–355 (.800)
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

Leta Mae Rains Andrews (born July 7, 1937) is a retired American high school basketball coach who holds the record for the most wins by a high school basketball coach. [6]

Contents

Biography

Andrews was born near Granbury and graduated from Granbury High School in 1955. She grew up with brothers Walter and George, and sister Shirley who also played and later coached girls basketball. [7]

Clyde Rains held Shirley back for one year in school so she and Leta could play basketball together for four years in high school. [8] Together, the Rains sisters led Granbury to the state championship game in 1954 and 1955, losing both years to Dimmitt. [9]

Coaching career

Andrews coached high school basketball for fifty-two years at five high schools in Texas from 1962 to 2014, [10] leading those teams to sixteen state Final Four appearances, and a state championship in 1990. Andrews served as Head coach of the McDonald's All-American Game West team in 2004, and the Gatorade All-America team in 2009. In 2007 she was named the NHSCA National High School Coach of the Year, and received the Morgan Wootten Lifetime Achievement Award. She was inducted into the High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995, the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010, and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. She is a three-time finalist for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2015, 2016, 2019). [11] [12] [2] [3] [4]

With her 1,218th win on December 9, 2005, Andrews became the nation's winningest high school girls’ coach, passing Bradley Central High School (Cleveland, Tennessee) coach Jim Smiddy. She became the winningest high school coach basketball coach (boys or girls) on December 7, 2010, with 1,334 wins, passing retired Dunbar High School coach Robert Hughes, Sr. [13]

Personal life

Andrews was married to her husband David Andrews (March 6, 1937 – March 28, 2018) for 62 years. [14] She and David raised three daughters who were each Texas All-State high school basketball players, all of whom played college basketball for Hall of Fame coach Jody Conradt at the University of Texas. [8] Daughter Linda Andrews Waggoner is a retired high school girls basketball coach who is also a member of the Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame (1999), [15] [8] [13] and the University of Texas Sports Hall of Fame (2003). [16] [17]

Narrated by NBA Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton, It's All in the Game: The Leta Andrews Story, is a documentary film that tells the story of Andrews' upbringing on the family farm outside of Granbury. [18]

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References

  1. ↑ "The Morgan Wootten Lifetime Achievement Award: Previous Winners". Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Basketball Hall of Fame announces class of 2015 finalists". Sports Illustrated. February 14, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Chiari, Mike (February 12, 2016). "2016 Basketball Hall of Fame Finalists Announced: Latest Comments and Reaction". Bleacher Report. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Ben Wallace, Chris Webber among 13 finalists for Hall of Fame". NBA.com. February 15, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Former Calallen coach Leta Andrews a finalist for Naismith Hall of Fame". 10 March 2021.
  6. ↑ "Leta Andrews retires with 1,416 wins". ESPN.com via the Associated Press. March 1, 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  7. ↑ "George Rains Killed in One-Car Accident on Friday". Hood County News-Tablet. Granbury, Texas. April 16, 1970. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 "Forty years after Title IX became law, Granbury's Leta Andrews continues to fight for equity in girls' sports". Dallas Morning News. June 16, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Girls Basketball State Archives School Search". uiltexas.org. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Record Book Result – Basketball, Girls". National Federation of State High School Associations. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  11. ↑ Osborne, Ryan (February 14, 2015). "Robert Hughes, Leta Andrews Naismith Hall of Fame finalists". Fort Worth Star-Telegram . Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  12. ↑ Hayward, Len (February 15, 2019). "Former Calallen girls' basketball coach Leta Andrews finalist for Basketball Hall of Fame". USA Today . Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  13. 1 2 "Leta Andrews". Texas Sports Hall of Fame Inductees: Lets Andrews. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  14. ↑ "David Andrews Obituary". wileyfuneralhome.com. March 29, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  15. ↑ "TABC Past Hall of Fame Inductees". Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Waggoner inducted UT Sports Hall of Fame". Hood County News. Granbury, Texas. November 18, 2003. p. 13. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Linda Andrews Waggoner". texassports.com. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  18. ↑ "It's All in the Game: The Leta Andrews Story". KCET.org. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
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