I attended grammar school in Longworth where several grades were held in one room. I recall that my third grade class consisted of only three kids, two boys and a girl. We got a lot of individual attention, that's for sure.

After grammar school and junior high, I entered Sweetwater High School with D. C. Andrews and Riley Cross, two of my closest friends from Longworth. We turned out for the basketball team. Before long, we were known as the Longworth Triple Threat, and the three of us took over the varsity team. Why not? We were in prime shape. We were always working out, running, and swimming. D. C., Riley, and I would run non-stop from Longworth to the swimming hole on the Barclay Ranch, which was about eight miles away. Sometimes we'd run from Sweetwater back to Longworth after school, but the coach didn't take too kindly to that. He gave us a station wagon so we'd be sure to make the practices on time. Sports were my whole life in those days. They were everything.

In addition to basketball, I also turned out for the baseball team and, at the suggestion of my coach, started running track. I was never much interested in track, but the basketball season was over and I needed something to do to keep in shape, so I took on the mile run. It seemed like a fair distance and with all the running I was doing, I felt I could do all right. I honestly didn't realize at the time how well I'd actually do.

In 1950, as a senior, I entered the Texas Interscholastic Track Meet as a mile runner and won it with a time of 4:38. Without really trying, I'd suddenly become the best high school miler in the state of Texas. In the meantime, I had also been chosen as one of the five best high school basketball players in the state, a rather heady experience for a boy of sixteen.