Robert (Bob) Knight

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Robert Knight — a man Palestine, Texas won't soon forget. Now, you want to talk about a life that started with almost nothing and built itself into something that touched just about everybody in one East Texas town — well, pull up close, because this is that story. Robert Knight — Bob, to the folks who knew him — came into this world in 1909, in Iredell, out in Bosque County.

He was the last of eight children born to William and Missouri Jane Knight. The last one. And right from the start, the odds weren't exactly stacking in his favor.

His mother died when Bob was just three years old. Three. And his father, unable to provide for his children, made the hard decision to admit them to the state orphans home at Corsicana.

Now here's where the story turns — because some people arrive at a crossroads like that and fold. Bob Knight did the opposite. At the state school in Corsicana, something in that boy caught fire.

He became class president. He captained the basketball team. He captained the football team.

Leadership qualities, the marker calls them — and that's putting it gently. From Corsicana, Bob made his way to Sam Houston State Teachers College in Huntsville, where his academic and athletic training kept right on going. And in 1930 — nineteen-thirty — he helped that football team do something worth writing down: win the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championship with an undefeated record.

Every game. Not one loss. While he was there at Sam Houston State, he also met a young woman named Wilda Virginia West, whom he would later marry.

In 1937, Bob Knight came to Palestine, Texas, and that town would never quite be the same. He began coaching basketball, volleyball, and physical education at the Junior High School. But the man didn't stop at the school bell.

He organized the summer baseball league. He worked at the Y.M.C.A. He was everywhere young people needed someone in their corner.

Then came World War II, and Knight was assigned to physical training of Naval personnel at Norfolk, Virginia — teaching them to swim. When that was done, he came back to Palestine and coached and taught for another three decades. Three more decades.

The man just kept going. Many of his students who went on to excel — in athletics, in other fields, in life — credited Coach Knight's encouragement and devotion. One of his many honors carried a line worth repeating slowly: "An orphan in this world, he gives his life to others and his courage, character and honor blesses them also." Bob Knight retired from the Palestine school system in 1974.

He died in 1989, and he's buried beside his wife Wilda at Roselawn Park, right there in Palestine. An orphan from Corsicana who became the backbone of a whole community's young people. That's not a footnote — that's the whole story.

What the marker says

As a coach of athletics and a youth mentor, Robert (Bob) Knight positively influenced the lives of countless Palestine citizens. He was born in Iredell (Bosque County) in 1909, the last of eight children of William and Missouri Jane (Hand) Knight. His mother died when he was three, and his father, unable to provide for his children, admitted them to the state orphans home at Corsicana. At the state school, Bob exhibited leadership qualities as class president and captain of the basketball and football teams. His academic and athletic training continued at Sam Houston State Teachers College in Huntsville, where he helped the 1930 football team win the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championship with an undefeated record. While at Sam Houston State Knight met Wilda Virginia West, whom he later married. In 1937 Knight began his career in the Palestine schools, coaching basketball, volleyball and physical education classes at the Junior High School. He also organized the summer baseball league and worked at the Y.M.C.A. During World War II, Knight was assigned to physical training of Naval personnel at Norfolk, Virginia, teaching them to swim. He returned to Palestine and continued to coach and teach for another three decades. Many of his students who excelled in athletics and other fields credited their success to Coach Knight's encouragement and devotion to young people. One of his many honors stated "An orphan in this world, he gives his life to others and his courage, character and honor blesses them also." Knight retired from the Palestine school system in 1974. He died in 1989 and is buried beside his wife Wilda at Palestine's Roselawn Park. (2009)