Sugar Land Junior High Girls Basket Ball Team, 1962/3

This is another photo Linda Hagler Mosk (DHS '68) lent me. I'm not absolutely sure, but I think it's a picture of the 7th grade team in the 1962/3 school year. You see several members of DHS's Class of '68. The coach is Miss Swogetinsky. (Thank you to an anonymous girl in this picture for providing the correct spelling.)

I have one more story involving Coach Hightower, which is relevant to this picture. You see the second girl from the left on the front row. Her name was Julia Sowell. (She left after the 8th grade, so many of you probably don't know her.) You probably can't tell from the picture, but she was very athletic. During the 8th grade she set a school record for the girl's broad jump.

At the school's final Spring Assembly in the gym, Coach Hightower mentioned her accomplishment and asked her to stand for applause. Well, right after he asked her to stand, Tommy Chambers jumped up and took a bow, which brought audible snickers from the crowd. He sat down after he got his laugh, and when the swift arm of the law didn't nab him, he seemed to think he got away with a good stunt.

When the assembly was over and we were piling out the gym door and heading back to class, I could see Coach standing next to the door, eying the crowd very closely. Fortunately, I was toward the back, so I saw him eye-ball Tommy and give him the crooked finger indicating 'come here you little moron.' He had a very black look on his face, and Tommy seemed to gulp a couple of times as he moved over to where Coach Hightower was standing on the gym floor.

I got to the spot where they were standing just in time to see Coach put a very firm grip on Tommy's shoulder and wag the index finger of his free hand in Tommy's face. I heard him say as I walked past them, "Tommy, if you ever stand up for a girl broadjumper again, I'm going to make sure you can't sit down for a week." As far as I know, Tommy never stood up for a girl broadjumper again.