Roy M. NEEDHAM

 The following bio was taken from page 327 of the book entitled “Rusk County History” compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Gloria Riley

Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Rusk County TX Coordinator

 Roy and Mary Louise would never write the things that should be told about themselves, so I am ghost writing for them.  Roy M. Needham’s parents were Mich D. Needham and Annie Lowe Needham.  He was born and grew up at Laneville where he played basketball and helped win the county championship in 1919, his senior year, when he graduated in a class of four.  He enrolled in Sam Houston State and discovered football and acquired the nickname “Darkhorse,” which originated from his baseball pitching.  He earned ten varsity letters at Sam Houston State, graduated in 1923, and coached three years at Humble High School, where he won the county football title his last two seasons.

 In 1926 Roy became the first coach of Jeff Davis High School in Houston.  From then until 1945, he belonged to Houston’s “North Side.”  His football team won five city championships, and his 1940 team allowed only one touchdown in the state quarterfinals.  His basketball teams won six city championships and two state championships.  His track teams were consistent title contenders and in 1941 won the state championship.  He coached at Davis until 1942, when he became assistant principal after rejecting an offer to become Rice’s head basketball coach.  In 1945 he became athletic director for the Houston Schools.  He was the architect of Houston’s public school program of athletics and physical education.  He was installed into the Hall of Honor of the Texas High School Coaches Association.  His old friend, Governor John Connally, was speaker.

 You would have had to be at Davis during Roy’s time there to understand what this one man meant to an entire community.  He was its pride and its unquestioned leader.  He fed, out of his own pocket, those kids who otherwise would have gone hungry during the Great Depression.  He never let a poor community forget that regardless of one’s station he can compete and win.  At the “North Side,” “quitter” was a dirty word.

 The Mayor proclaimed March 23, 1968 “Roy Needham Day.”  The Texas Legislature, through a resolution presented by Representative Bill Swanson, resolved to pay him tribute for contributions to the youth of the city, area, and state.  It was indeed Roy’s day as evidenced by TV and radio programs, the scoreboard in the Astrodome with his picture, and 700-plus gathered that night to pay tribute to him, complete with a letter from another old friend, President Lyndon Johnson.

 Roy’s loves are Mary Louise, sports, Laneville, and his Charolais cattle.

Mary Louise Howze was born in her grandfather’s Victorian mansion that is now the center of downtown Houston.  Her great-grandfather settled in Houston in 1838.  Her uncle, Colonel Edward M. House, became a close friend and advisor of President Woodrow Wilson.  Sam Houston was a frequent guest of her family.  Her family is Texas History, and many papers, letters, and documents from this early Houston family have been donated to the Houston Public Library and to San Jacinto.  She is a beautiful lady whose laugh sounds like music.  Her love is Roy, sports, and Houston.

 Written by Beth Rowe