Return to PSHOF Home Page

Frontz Myatt

Frontz Myatt had a knack to get kids to believe in themselves. The Abilene native came to Palo Duro High School in 1959 to take over a woeful track squad. Over the next 24 years, he would coach 16 district championship teams, have a relay set a national record, and establish the Dons as the preeminent track team in the Panhandle.

The year before Myatt came, the Dons didn’t score a point at the district meet. In his first year, Palo Duro lost the district meet by 1⁄4 point. His 1969 440 - yard relay team set a then-national high school record of 41.2 seconds.

Before Myatt coached, he graduated at 17 and entered the Army during World War II.

After he was discharged, he attended McMurry to play football and run track. He was an exceptional sprinter with bests of 9.7 in the 100 yards, 21.3 in the 220, and 47.5 in the 440.

He gave up his Palo Duro track duties after the 1982 season and retired as a teacher two years later.

Myatt died in 2015 at age 89.