Calallen renames gym for legendary former coach Leta Andrews
Thirty years after her dominant run at Calallen came to a close, Leta Andrews was back in Corpus Christi on Friday as the district renamed the school's gymnasium after the legendary girls basketball coach, the winningest high school basketball coach — boys or girls — in history.
Joined by dozens of former players and more than 100 well-wishers who came to celebrate the dedication of the Leta Andrews Gymnasium, Andrews spoke of her time leading the Wildcats and her admiration of the hard work her players put in over more than a decade.
Andrews led Calallen to nine state tournaments and her crowning achievement, the 1990 state championship.
"This is very heartwarming," Andrews said of the gym dedication and reunion with so many of her former players and colleagues. "Truth be known, this was a hard-working group of young ladies. Hard work leads to prosperity. I wanted them to taste the fruits of success. It was a joyride."
Other prominent figures were among those at Calallen for the celebration, including a Coastal Bend high school coaching legend in his own right, Roy Williams, and retired United States track and field Olympian Amy Acuff, who played for Andrews at the school.
Andrews was played onto the floor by the Calallen band performing the fight song and she was introduced before a video highlighting the Wildcats’ 1990 state title run played on the video board.
The school also put together a video of former players offering thanks and congratulations to the coach before athletic director Steve Campbell listed her accomplishments and called all of her former players in the crowd onto the court, and the district gave her a plaque to honor the renaming of the gym.
She recalled when Calallen assistant coach Mary Lee Stockton asked her if she would consider coaching at the school.
"I said, 'Where is Corpus Christi?' She said, 'Get the road map out and we'll find Corpus Christi,' and said 'If you'll come, we'll win,’” Andrews said.
"I asked her if she could coach, and she said, 'No, but I can get those girls on the floor.’”
Andrews won 1,416 games in 52 seasons, including stops at Tolar, Gustine, Comanche, Calallen and two separate stints at Granbury, which she’d graduated from and led to two state tournaments as a player. She led the Wildcats from 1980 to 1992.
She has been a finalist for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame five times.
"These young ladies were not afraid of work," Andrews recalled, pointing to her former players. "To be successful, you have to work hard. You can't put something halfway into it. These young ladies went to work and I will always love them so much. These girls didn't know me, but they got to where they believed in me, and from that point we headed to Austin, Texas, to win a state championship."
Campbell called the honor long overdue. Calallen now has its football field (Phil Danaher), baseball field (Steve Campbell) and gymnasium (Leta Andrews) all named after legendary all-time head coaching wins leaders.
"It probably should have happened a long time ago," Campbell said. "She's the winningest coach in the United States; she deserves to be recognized. She is still an icon at Calallen even though she has been gone a long time. On top of being a great basketball coach, she is an even better person, and a great role model to girls. All coaches should use her as a model to go by because of her hard work and passion."
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Calallen renames gym for legendary former coach Leta Andrews
