DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of the official marker for W.T. Barrett Stadium, straight out of Odessa, Ector County, Texas. Now, if you want to understand what a stadium can mean to a West Texas town, you've got to start with what came before it.
Prior to 1948, the folks of Odessa were holding their football games and events at Fly Field, right there adjacent to Odessa High School. It did the job. But then something happened that changed the math entirely. 1946.
Odessa High School won the state football championship. Let that sink in for a second. The whole city is riding high, and the school board looks around at what they've got and decides — no, we need something bigger.
Something worthy. So they set out to build a stadium that could hold over 17,000 fans. They built it of steel and wood, and they called it W.T.
Barrett Stadium. Everyone just called it "W.T." October 15, 1948. First game ever held at the new stadium.
Odessa versus Abilene High School. And 15,000 people showed up. Fifteen thousand.
For a town that had just gotten a brand new football cathedral, that is a statement. And on certain nights — the big nights, the electric nights — that place held almost 20,000 souls packed into steel and wood under a West Texas sky. For over 30 years, "W.T." was the focal point of the city of Odessa.
Thousands of West Texans came through those gates — football players, track athletes, marching band members — all of them competing, all of them chasing something. The stadium hosted University Interscholastic League marching band competitions, and bands from West Texas high schools dreamed of getting the chance to march at "W.T." Why? Because at the time, it was the largest stadium between Abilene and El Paso.
If you wanted to play on the biggest stage in that stretch of Texas, this was it. Then in 1950, they went and installed a cinder track. The only one of its kind in West Texas.
That was an advanced improvement for its time, and it helped cement "W.T." as a first-class track facility. Eventually the stadium opened its gates to junior high students, high schoolers, and college competitors alike. The West Texas Relays drew crowds that totaled in the thousands, and more than a few of those competitors went on to become members of the U.S.
Olympic team. Think about that — people who ran on that cinder track in Odessa, Texas, ended up running for their country. From the first game in 1948 to the last game in 1981, "W.T." was a place of excitement, enthusiasm, and community spirit for generations of West Texans.
That's over 30 years of Friday nights, of marching cadences, of relay batons passed and finish lines crossed. And then, in 1983, the stadium was sold and moved to Leander. Moved.
The whole thing. Steel and wood and memory, hauled away. But here's the thing about a place like "W.T." — you can move a stadium, but you cannot move what happened inside it.
The memories live on through the community and competitors who experienced it. Twenty thousand people packed in on a cold West Texas night don't forget. Olympic athletes who once ran that cinder track don't forget.
And neither, it turns out, does Odessa.
What the marker says
As the focal point of the city of Odessa for over 30 years, W.T. Barrett Stadium was built in 1948. The stadium, built of steel and wood and nicknamed “W.T.,” witnessed thousands of west Texans compete for the win as football players, members of track teams and marching band participants. Prior to 1948 when “W.T.” was built, games and events were held at Fly Field, adjacent to Odessa High School. In 1946, Odessa High School won the state football championship. In honor of their accomplishment, the school board erected a new stadium to hold over 17,000 fans. The first game held at the stadium on october 15, 1948, boasted 15,000 people in attendance to see Odessa play Abilene High School. At times, the stadium held almost 20,000 people. In addition to football games, the stadium hosted University Interscholastic League marching band competitions. Bands from west Texas high schools hoped for the opportunity to march at “W.T.,” the largest stadium at the time between Abilene and El Paso. In 1950, a cinder track was installed making it the only one of its kind in west Texas. An advanced improvement at the time, the track helped cement “W.T.” As a first-class track facility. Eventually open to junior high through college students, the West Texas Relays crowd held at “W.T” totaled in the thousands and many competitors went on to be members of the U.S. Olympic team. From the first football game in 1948 to the last game in 1981, the W.T. Barrett Stadium was a place of excitement, enthusiasm and community spirit for generations. The stadium was sold and moved to Leander in 1983 but the memories live on through the community and competitors who experienced the “W.T.”