Going forward, Stratford’s E.L. Sam Bass Stadium, will now be known as Eddie Metcalf Field at E.L. Sam Bass Stadium paying homage to one of the more iconic and charismatic football coaches in Texas Panhandle history.
The humble Metcalf received a plaque of his achievements and since the Elks will never waver from the traditional grass surface, his banner will hang over the players entrance where they make their way on the field.
For Metcalf, this was truly a day he’ll never forget.
“This is a true honor and a blessing,” Metcalf said. “Besides getting married and having a daughter, this is probably number three in the books. It beats any state championship or any victory simply because of what this is. This is about a lifetime of work so it will be number three in my book.”
Metcalf came to Stratford as an assistant with former head coach Brad Thiessen in 1994 and immediately fell in love with the close-knit community. Under Thiessen, the Elks won the school’s first UIL state football championship in 2000.
After taking over for Thiessen, Metcalf spent 11 years as the Elks head coach elevating Stratford’s tradition. Under Metcalf, Stratford’s reputation for physical toughness grew especially through Metcalf’s distinct gruff voice that could be heard a mile away and his famous short sleeve shirts on the sideline no matter how cold the elements were outside.
In those 11 years the Elks cemented themselves as a Texas Panhandle and state-wide blueblood, going 115-31 winning state championships in 2005 and 2008. Stratford was also 30-8 in the playoffs under Metcalf.
Many of those players were on hand Saturday paying respect and saying their thank you to Metcalf, something that isn’t lost on him.
“Seeing the former players is always very special,” Metcalf said. “You have those relationships in high school then most of them leave. You then call them, or they call you but when you get to see these guys in person those memories immediately all come back. It’s fun to relive those memories.”
The first was only fitting in Thiessen. Thiessen and Metcalf spent 13 years together, the first three under former Lubbock Roosevelt coach Clement Mancini, who was also in attendance.
“Coach Metcalf was hard on players,” Thiessen said. ” But he could do that because he knew that he loved them. If they know that you are doing it for the right reason the players can be coached. He wanted them to be better.
“Seeing coach Metcalf getting this field named after him is great for the community. He’s a community member here in Stratford. He made this his home. He had chances to leave and stayed. This is a way the community is saying thank you and it’s very honorable for them to do that.”
Lynch never dreamed he’d be standing in front of Stratford fans getting a positive ovation but there it was Saturday. Lynch credits Metcalf for that and credits Metcalf for making him and his Wildcat program better during their many battles during the mid 2000’s.
“Without a doubt this was a huge honor,” Lynch said. “This says a lot about coach Metcalf and how everyone feels about him. When they made that call, I was all in. He’s a great friend. We made each other better and they changed a lot of how we did things.
“I love coach Metcalf. I love his standard of excellence. He always held his players accountable and pushed them hard. He also had a big heart to go with that. I think that’s the true balance as a head coach. He’s a great example of that.”
“I’m not an emotional person,” Metcalf said. “Today was hard though and it was hard to talk. You are overwhelmed with so many people. There are so many people you want to thank and so many things you want to say. This was just very special.”
