Garland Head
GARLAND HEAD - INDUCTEE #174
hall of fame fast fact:
Garland is remembered by former players as a calm coach, one who rarely, if ever, lost his relaxed demeanor. "I took a really bad shot and he said as calm as he could be 'Could you show a little bit better shot selection?'" said former player, Jim Boxwell.
Garland Head
Garland Head grew up on a farm near Clovis, N.M., and fell in love with sports during the days of the Depression. He was an outstanding all-around athlete for the Wildcats, earning all-state in football and basketball.
Head went on to Texas Tech in 1940 where he continued multi-sport success. He was All-Border Conference and named the league’s outstanding basketball player in 1943 before he enlisted in the Army.
He was a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne, and took part in combat in France, Belgium and Germany. After the war, he returned to Tech where he was again All-Border Conference in basketball and in football in 1946. He was inducted into the Texas Tech Hall of Honor in 1982.
Head had a 10-year career as a football assistant and head basketball coach at Spearman and Dumas, and took the 1953 Demons to the Class 3A state finals.
Head later went into farming near Spearman, and spent 34 years as a Hansford County commissioner until his death at age 69 in 1991.
