The Smith County Historical Society (SCHS) hosted an event last Thursday evening, September 3, 2026, bringing together prominent sports figures to explore the county's rich athletic history. Held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Historic Mayfair Building in Tyler, the free public event, titled “Reminiscing: A History of Sports in Smith County,” featured archival footage, historical photographs, and a panel discussion.
Bill Coates, the sports director at KTBB, emceed the event, sharing his insights and guiding discussions about influential moments in East Texas sports history. Coates, whose broadcast career spans over 40 years, drew from the SCHS sports archives and his own knowledge to entertain the audience. He highlighted Smith County's baseball history, noting its evolution from the 1800s, including facilities like Mike Carter Field, which was renamed in 1969, and players such as former MLB pitcher Josh Tomlin. Coates also detailed the county’s football history, citing the Texas Rose Festival college football games in 1935, 1938, and 1939 that featured the Texas A&M University Aggies. He specifically mentioned the 1939 game where the Aggies beat Villanova University a mile from the venue on Front Street, on their way to an undefeated season and a national championship. The significance of the 1947 interracial collegiate football game, the first of its kind in Texas played by Tyler Junior College, was also discussed. Coates recalled games involving his alma mater, John Tyler High School, and acknowledged local players such as Ronnie “Bo” Lee, Patrick Mahomes, and Pro and College Football Hall of Fame running back Earl Campbell, noting that “Nobody ever caught Earl.” Beyond baseball and football, Coates touched on other Smith County sports, including basketball, boxing, cheerleading, marching bands, drill teams, and auto racing.
Following Coates’s historical overview, he was joined by a panel for discussion. The panelists included Josh Tomlin, former MLB pitcher; Gary Baxter, former NFL cornerback; Henry Bell, president of the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce and a contributor to SPORTTyler and the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award; and Brent Horton, sports historian. The discussion provided a balance of personal anecdotes, championship and rivalry experiences, reflections on growing up in Tyler, challenges in professional sports, and what sports mean to them.
Josh Tomlin discussed his professional journey, which included playing for the Cleveland Guardians and Atlanta Braves and winning the 2021 World Series. Tomlin shared how baseball exposed him to different parts of the world and cultures, and the life lessons learned from his father about the game of failure and treating others. He also spoke about the evolution of pitching and the importance of mentoring young athletes.
Gary Baxter shared memories of playing high school games between Tyler High School and Robert E. Lee High School, emphasizing the importance of city bragging rights regardless of the rest of the season. Baxter, who played seven years in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns, also spoke about his time at Baylor University, football techniques, and community involvement to help young people. He emphasized how sports teach competitiveness, discipline, work ethic, and resilience, stating that these lessons define who a child is.
Amanda Herterich, executive director of the Smith County Historical Society, explained the event's purpose, saying, “Sports history is identity,” and emphasizing its intergenerational appeal. She noted the depth of the SCHS’s collections, which include photographic imagery of various sports from the 1890s to the present, describing them as “humbling and appealing.” Herterich stated that the SCHS hosts programs like this to engage the community with history in ways beyond what limited museum capacity allows. Bill Coates reinforced this sentiment, saying, “We don’t know where we’re going if we don’t know where we’ve been,” in the context of the county's rich sports history.
Historic sports photographs and memorabilia from the SCHS’s collection were displayed throughout the hall and available for purchase in a silent auction, with proceeds benefiting the nonprofit. The event also aimed to encourage public membership in the Smith County Historical Society to support the preservation of the county’s history.
