Joey Allen became synonymous with Ray High School long before he was inducted into the Texans’ athletic hall of fame in 1996.
“Joey is always going to be a Ray Texan,” said Ham Rogers, a 1967 Ray graduate who serves as executive director of the Ray Texan Torch Foundation, which provides organizational support for the Ray Athletic Hall of Fame. “He’s a very loyal person.”
Allen made the Texans’ varsity football team as a freshman when the school opened in 1950, and became a four-year starter under legendary coach Bill Stages. Allen, who later was an assistant coach at Ray, is believed to be the only player in Ray’s 76-year football history to start for four seasons.
A speedy running back and safety, Allen also ran track and played baseball for the
Texans. He went on to play running back at Baylor, and was a junior on the 1956 Bears team that upset second-ranked Tennessee in the 1957 Sugar Bowl.
Now 90, Allen will receive the Fighting Texans Lifetime Achievement award Sept. 10 when the Ray Athletic Hall of Fame inducts its Class of 2026 at the Omni Hotel.
Allen will share the spotlight with new Hall members Lorinda Bushong Hamilton (Class of 1983), James McMinn (1981), Mark Douglas Medina (1974) and Jason Pineda (1998).
Allen will join Corpus Christi attorney Ruben Bonilla as the only former Ray athletes to receive the Hall’s Lifetime Achievement Award. A 1964 graduate, Bonilla played football for the Texans and is one of Ray’s strongest supporters.
“Joey epitomizes the Texans’ spirit, so to speak,” Bonilla said. “He returned to Ray as an assistant coach in 1963, when I was a senior, and he was out there running with us. We were trying to keep up with him. He was running (pass) patterns and throwing passes.
“We basically had a peer we wanted to emulate. He had been a college star and been to the Sugar Bowl. Back then, it wasn’t so much about size. Bill Stages looked for heart, stamina and leadership. Joey Allen had the characteristics that Bill Stages looked for.”
Allen has found himself reflecting on those days at Ray more than usual in recent weeks.
“An award like this is something you never expect to get,” Allen said. “I’m honored. All the cascade of memories come back to your mind when you lay your head on your pillow at night. I’ve had great teammates, great friends, great mentors.
“I’ve been a student, I’ve been a coach, been a teacher, been an administrator. Football allowed me to get an education, and also to have a career. That’s pretty special when you think about that. All I ever wanted to be was a coach.”
Brenda Marshall, formerly CCISD executive athletic director of athletics, said Allen was a father figure to his players when he coached at Ray and King.
“He has a very calming voice,” Marshall said. “So he was able to talk to you. He was the kind of coach the kids could go to and share things with.”
Allen served in the Marine Corps after earning his degree from Baylor in 1958, and returned to Ray in 1963 when he joined Stages’ coaching staff. Allen was an assistant coach at his alma mater for nine seasons before becoming head coach at King in May 1972.
One of the greatest influences in Allen’s life was Stages, who went 115-49-3 in 15 seasons at Ray. He led the Texans to the state championship in Class 4A, then the UIL’s largest classification, in 1959 and the 4A final in 1956.
”He was a pretty amazing, intelligent coach,” Allen said. “He had a profound impact on my life.”
Stages died in 1981 at age 67.
Allen and the four new inductees will be honored at the Ray-Miller football game Sept. 11 at Buc Stadium.
Hamilton, who has been on the Ray faculty since 1999, will receive the Hall of Fame’s first Spirit Award. She will be introduced at the induction ceremony by her brother Howard Bushong, who played football and baseball for the Texans and is also in the Hall.
A standout basketball player at Ray, McMinn has been girls basketball coach at Flour Bluff High School since 1993. He also coached girls basketball at Incarnate Word for three years before going to Flour Bluff. McMinn has won nearly 800 games in 37 seasons.
Medina was a three-year baseball letterman and earned All-District and All-South Texas honors. He played at Blinn Junior College and UT-Arlington, and professionally in the Mexican League. Medina is currently an assistant baseball coach at Calallen High School.
Pineda was a football, baseball and wrestling athlete at Ray. He earned All-District, All-Metro and All-South Texas honors as a two-way tackle in football and played collegiately at Abilene Christian and Texas A&M-Kingsville.
David Flores is a San Antonio-based freelance writer who writes about Coastal Bend sports history.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Joey Allen, who played on Ray’s first football team, to be honored
