West Texas Rufneks

Last updated
West Texas Rufneks
Founded1966
Folded1970
League Texas Football League, Continental Football League
Based in Midland, Texas
ArenaMemorial Stadium (Midland, Texas)
Colors  
Championships0
Division titles0

The West Texas Rufneks were a professional American football team based in Midland, Texas. They began play as the Odessa-Midland Comets in the Texas Football League in 1966. In September 1968 the franchise was purchased by Dallas investor Alton Fairchild, who changed the team's name to the West Texas Rufneks. [1] When the Texas Football League merged with the Continental Football League for its 1969 season, the Rufneks became a member of the COFL's new Texas Division East. [2] The team announced plans to relocate after the 1969 season, but the move never happened and the Rufneks dissolved before the 1970 Texas Football League season.

Season-by-season

YearLeagueWLTFinishCoach
Odessa-Midland Comets1966 Texas Football League 1816thByron Townsend
Odessa-Midland Comets196731103rd, Western DivisionJim Daniel
Odessa-Midland Comets/West Texas Rufneks19685703rd, Western DivisionJim Daniel/Ted Dawson
West Texas Rufneks1969 Continental Football League 7402nd, Texas Division East Lou Rymkus

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odessa, Texas</span> City in Texas

Odessa is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Ector County with portions extending into Midland County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midland, Texas</span> City in Texas

Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Midland County with small portions extending into Martin County. The population was 132,524 as of the 2020 census. Located in the Permian Basin in West Texas, Midland is a major center for American oil and natural gas production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Continental Football League</span> Professional American football league (1965–1969)

The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to become the major force in professional football outside the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). It owed its name, at least in part, to the Continental League, a proposed third Major League Baseball organization that influenced MLB significantly, although they never played a game.

<i>Friday Night Lights</i> (film) 2004 film by Peter Berg

Friday Night Lights is a 2004 American sports drama film co-written and directed by Peter Berg. The film follows the coach and players of a high school football team in the Texas city of Odessa. The book on which it is based, Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream (1990) by H. G. Bissinger, followed the story of the 1988 Permian High School Panthers football team as they made a run towards the state championship. A television series of the same name premiered on October 3, 2006, on NBC. The film won the Best Sports Movie ESPY Award and was ranked number 37 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the Best High School Movies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Texas Roughnecks</span>

The West Texas Roughnecks were a professional indoor football team based in Odessa, Texas that plays in the Lone Star Football League. The team's nickname was a tribute to the oil industry, which has been the source of Odessa's wealth over the past century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ector County Coliseum</span> Arena in Odessa, Texas

The Ector County Coliseum is a 5,131 seat multi-purpose arena in Odessa, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lou Rymkus</span> American football player and coach (1919–1998)

Louis Joseph "the Battler" Rymkus was an American football player and coach in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL). Playing as a tackle for the Cleveland Browns in the AAFC and NFL in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Rymkus provided pass protection for quarterback Otto Graham as the team won five league championships. Following his playing career, Rymkus took a number of assistant coaching jobs before serving as the first head coach of the AFL's Houston Oilers in 1960. The team won the league's first championship, but Rymkus was fired by Oilers owner Bud Adams after a slow start in 1961.

<i>Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream</i> 1990 book by Buzz Bissinger

Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream is a 1990 non-fiction novel written by H. G. Bissinger, following the story of the 1988 Permian High School Panthers football team from Odessa, Texas, as they made a run towards the Texas state championship. While originally intended to be a Hoosiers-type chronicle of high school sports holding together a small town, it ends up as a critical commentary of town life in Odessa. It was later adapted into a short-lived 1993 television series, a 2004 feature film, and a second 2006–11 television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KHKX</span> Radio station in Odessa–Midland, Texas

KHKX, branded as "Kicks 99 Country", is a radio station that serves the Midland–Odessa metropolitan area with country music and live high school football for Odessa High School and Permian High School. They are a former affiliate for the Dallas Cowboys and broadcast the #1 rated country morning show in the Midland-Odessa area with Mike and Dana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KMCM</span> Radio station in Odessa, Texas

KMCM, branded as "KMCM 97 Gold", is a radio station that serves the Midland–Odessa metropolitan area with classic hits by broadcasting the Classic Hits satellite feed from Westwood One. Its studios are located at the West Texas Radio Group Building on Midkiff Road in Midland, south of Midland Park Mall, and its transmitter is located in Gardendale, Texas. Previously they provided the most live sports in West Texas with high school football for Odessa High School and Permian High School, rotating them each week with sister station KHKX, Central Hockey League games of the Odessa Jackalopes, the Indoor Football League Odessa Roughnecks, and NCAA Texas Tech Red Raiders football and basketball games, which they got from KCRS (AM), and Houston Texans football. During the 2007 season they let go of the Texans rights, in 2009 KFZX acquired the Odessa Jackalopes contract from them also transferring the Monday talk show Hockey Talk, and in 2010 the Roughnecks games were transferred fully to sister station KQRX, leaving only High School Football and Texas Tech sports on KMCM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Texas FC</span> Soccer club

West Texas FC is an American soccer team based in Midland, Texas, United States. Founded in 2008, the team plays in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Lone Star Conference of the South Region.

The 1969 COFL season was the fifth and final season of the Continental Football League (COFL). Following the season, nine of the league's remaining teams split from the league, with five forming the Trans-American Football League and four joining the Atlantic Coast Football League.

The Fort Worth Braves were a professional American football team based in Fort Worth, Texas. The team, first known as the Fort Worth Texans, was announced in 1967 as a member of the Texas Football League, and played their 1967 home games at Turnpike Stadium. The franchise was renamed as the Braves and moved its home games to Farrington Field for the 1968 season. In 1969 the Braves, along with the rest of the TFL, joined the Continental Football League as part of its new Texas Division.

The Tri-City Apollos were a professional American football team based in Midland, Michigan.

The Texas Football League (TFL) was a low-level American football minor league that operated in primarily in the United States from 1966 through 1968, and again between 1970 and 1971 as a new incarnation called the Trans-American Football League (TAFL).

Art Strahan is a former American football player who played defensive end/defensive tackle for the Houston Oilers, Atlanta Falcons, Orlando Panthers, and Alabama Hawks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Texas Desert Hawks</span> Professional indoor football team

The West Texas Desert Hawks were a professional indoor football team and an inaugural member of the relaunched Arena Football League. The Desert Hawks were based in Odessa, Texas, with home games at the Ector County Coliseum. The team played their first several seasons as the West Texas Warbirds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Hatley</span> American football player and rodeo performer (1930–2001)

Johnny Ray Hatley was an American football player and coach, and rodeo performer. He played college football at Baylor, Corpus Christi, Southwest Texas JC and Sul Ross and was selected in the 16th round of the 1953 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears. He played one season with the Bears before being traded to the Chicago Cardinals, where he played for two seasons. Hatley was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1956 but did not play. He then retired from football to become a rodeo performer, winning several competitions and placing thirteenth at the 1959 National Finals. Hatley returned to pro football in 1960, being signed by the Dallas Texans and later being traded to the Denver Broncos. In 1961, he briefly had a stint with the New York Titans. From 1966 to 1969, he was a player, coach, executive, and administrator in the Texas Football League (TFL) with the Odessa-Midland Comets and Fort Worth Texans/Braves. Hatley was inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2004.

References

  1. "Comets Get New Owner". The Odessa American. September 25, 1968.
  2. "TFL Aligns With Huge Continental". The Odessa American. Associated Press. January 26, 1969.