18 December 2021 | prestonhollowpeople.com
Sports
ANOTHER HONOR FOR LEGENDARY W.T. WHITE BASEBALL PATRIARCH Retired coach Shepherd is part of third DISD hall of fame class By Todd Jorgenson
MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS
People Newspapers
A
lmost eight years after his retirement, David Shepherd remains synonymous with the W.T. White High School baseball program. The school’s field is named after him, and his honors and accomplishments are detailed on signage on the bleachers. The latest recognition for the legacy of success during his 34-year tenure with the Longhorns will come in a virtual ceremony on Dec. 6, when Shepherd and nine others are inducted into the Dallas ISD Athletic Hall of Fame. “This has been a great place to work,” Shepherd said. “When I came here, it was a blessing. I couldn’t wait to come in the morning. You grow attached to the kids.” Shepherd grew up on a 50-acre farm northeast of Commerce. He landed his first job in Dallas ISD after a 15-minute interview with administrator Ewell Walker, the father of football star Doak Walker, and remained a teacher and coach in the district for more than 50 years. Shepherd started at Marsh Middle School before moving to WTW along with the school’s first ninth-grade class. He became the varsity baseball coach in 1980 and led the Longhorns to 32 consecutive playoff appearances. He won more than 650 games and 16
Four of David Shepherd’s all-state players at W.T. White eventually reached the major leagues. MLB Name Position Career Trey Beamon OF 1996-98 Notable: Made MLB debut at age 22 with Pirates
I was tough, and I think the kids appreciated that. David Shepherd
Calvin Murray OF 1999-2004 Notable: Drafted seventh overall by Giants in 1992 Jeremy Hill RHP 2002-03 Notable: Made 11 bullpen appearances for the Royals Bryan Holaday C 2012-21 Notable: Played for six teams, including Arizona in 2021
The baseball field at W.T. White High is named for retired coach David Shepherd. “Coach Shep” led the Longhorns for 34 years, earning his place in the Dallas ISD Athletic Hall of Fame. (PHOTO: CHRIS MCGATHEY) district titles before retiring in 2014 at age 71. “I’m an old country boy. Baseball has always been part of my life,” he said. “I don’t know what I would have done if I couldn’t coach baseball.” Shepherd, who also chaired the biology department at WTW, led the team to the Class 4A state quarterfinals in 1991. He was inducted into the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2009.
“I was tough, and I think the kids appreciated that,” said Shepherd, who emphasized discipline and fundamentals. “I taught them the right way to play. We played hard, but we played clean.” These days, Shepherd enjoys staying in touch with his hundreds of former players. He mentored four future Major League players and dozens more who went on to play in college.
Calvin Murray was taken in the first round of the MLB draft in 1989. Trey Beamon and Jeremy Hill each had brief big-league careers, and Bryan Holaday has been a journeyman catcher for multiple organizations for the last decade. “Once I started in that first season, it just took off from there,” Shepherd said. “The success of my kids has been a driving force for me. I’d like to think I played a little part in that.”
ESD Makes History, Although Season Ends Short of Goal Line Hockaday, St. Mark’s claim SPC volleyball titles at tournament By Todd Jorgenson
Their undefeated regular season included victories against traditional powerhouse programs from the After a year of reaching unprece- Houston area. Meanwhile, the Hockaday dented heights, Episcopal School of Dallas fell short of the summit at the School’s perfect season — and a late SPC football championship game. St. Mark’s School of Texas resurThe Eagles battled through in- gence — culminated in SPC volleyjuries but couldn’t answer a sec- ball championships. ond-quarter barrage by Houston The Daisies swept all three of Kinkaid during a 42-17 defeat on their matches at the conference Nov. 6. tournament, punctuated by an emKinkaid (9-2) avenged a regu- phatic win over Arlington Oakridge lar-season loss to previously unbeat- in the title match. en ESD (10-1), which was seeking It was a fitting conclusion to perits first SPC title since 2014 and its haps the best season in school hisfirst-ever in the large-school classi- tory, as Hockaday dropped just one fication. set against SPC opponents this sea“We were a little banged up, but son. In the process, Hockaday (29-7) this is one of the toughest and hard- earned its first championship since est-hitting teams I’ve ever been a 2008 and just its second overall. part of,” said ESD head coach RichThe Daisies were battle-tested by ard Williams. “They set a new bar an early-season tournament schedfor the ESD football program just ule that included wins over public by getting PCP_Dec2021x10Banner-Final.pdf here.” school programs such as Plano East, 1 11/4/2021 3:26:14 PM The Eagles still finished one of Richardson Pearce, and Mansfield the best seasons in program history. Legacy. Plus, they were unbeaten
People Newspapers
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
LEFT: With a title game loss to Houston Kinkaid, previously unbeaten ESD finished 10-1, one victory short of its first large-school classification SPC football championship. (PHOTO: CHRIS MCGATHEY) RIGHT: Hockaday capped a perfect season, sweeping their SPC tournament matches, including the title match with Arlington Oakridge. (PHOTO: ROB GRAHAM) during an abbreviated campaign in 2020. In the boys bracket, St. Mark’s earned its seventh SPC crown despite coming into the tournament as an underdog. The Lions were just 4-4 in regular-season league play but peaked at the right time. The biggest hurdle was a fourset victory over rival Greenhill in the
semifinals. The top-seeded Hornets had beaten St. Mark’s twice during the regular season and were hosting the tournament. That set the table for a five-set thriller in the championship match against Fort Worth Trinity Valley, which enabled the Lions to bring home the trophy for the first time since 2018.
Also, at the SPC fall meet, St. Mark’s successfully defended its SPC title in cross country, led by an individual runner-up finish from Sahil Dodda. In girls cross country, Hockaday’s Margaret Thompson was the individual gold medalist, followed by ESD’s Victoria Schmidt. The Daisies were second as a team.
