Texas High School Coaches Association names Jack Stallard to Hall of Honor

HOUSTON – Longview News-Journal Sports Editor Jack Stallard was inducted into the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor with the 2026 class of four East Texans who have made extraordinary contributions to high school athletics.

Induction ceremonies were held July 19 in Houston July 19 during the THSCA Coaching School and Convention.

In addition to the Hall of Honor, Stallard received the Putt Powell Award, which recognizes a sportswriter for their work in sports coverage for the state of Texas. Each THSCA region nominates a sportswriter at their February Regional Meeting and the award recipient is chosen from the eight nominees at the Spring THSCA Board of Directors meeting. The honor has been awarded since 1958.

Stallard is a Kilgore resident. He is just the fourth writer from East Texas to earn the award. He joins Steve Sinclair of the Tyler Morning Telegraph (1979), Van Thomas of the Polk County Enterprise (1999) and Pat Turner of the Jacksonville Daily Progress (2000).

Stallard, 60, starts his 41st year in August as a sports writer in Texas. He and his wife, Rachel, have been married since 1998. They have one son, Kyle, and a brand new (married in April) daughter-in-law, Olivia.

A Tennessee native, Stallard relocated to East Texas in the 1980s. He started as a correspondent for the Kilgore News Herald in 1986 while attending Kilgore College. He was the sports editor of the Kilgore News Herald from 1987-1990. He spent time at the Lufkin Daily News before returning to become the assistant sports editor at the News Herald in 1987. He eventually was elevated to the sports editor’s post in 2006, although he has also served in a news capacity and contributes to various other media, especially in football season, having written for Dave Campbell’s Texas Football and appeared as a guest on numerous news programs and podcasts.

He was named Sportswriter of the Year by the Texas Girls Coaches Association in 2004 and 2021 and was the American Southwest Conference’s Outstanding Media Service winner in 2014.

Stallard was inducted into the East Texas Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2020 (contributor for coverage of sports in East Texas), the Kilgore College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2023 (contributor for coverage of KC athletics since 1986) and the Region XIV/Texas Eastern Conference 2024 Legends Class (for coverage of the conference since 1986).

Also, he is one of three media advisory board members for the entire 20 years of the Texas Built Ford Tough Player of the Week/Player of the Year honors. He has served as all-state chairman for volleyball and softball for the Texas Sportswriters Association since 1998.