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Touchdowns & Turnbuckles:
World Championship Athletes from West Texas State

In 1960, a football coach was passed over for promotion at Texas Tech, and subsequently recruited as the new head coach at West Texas State in Canyon, Texas. This focused, determined, hard-nosed but softhearted ex-Marine was named Joe Kerbel, and WTSU (now West Texas A&M) was changed forever.

Success on the football field came with wide-ranging recruiting that integrated WTSU, top-tier football talent went from WTSU to pro football, and connections with the Funk family in Amarillo created a conduit from the football field to the wrestling ring for many WT players.

Delve into the players and personalities connected with WT football under Coach Kerbel and his successor, Coach Gene Mayfield.

Web book $19
Paperback $32 (pre-order; ships fall, 2025)
Combo (web + paperback) $32