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Tribute to Coach T. Berry
Contributed by Debbie Cartwright
T. Berry was an outstanding educator, coach, author, historian, role-model, father, and grandfather. His contributions to public education over a fifty-year career were exemplary. The positive impact that he had on his students, both on and off athletic fields and courts, cannot be measured.
What Coach Berry gave to the community was pride, as demonstrated in an excerpt from his historical account of the life of John Westbrook entitled “For Thou Art With Me.” He wrote:
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"On September 10, 1966, John Hill Westbrook of Elgin, Texas became the first African American to play varsity football in the Southwest Conference. He made his debut before a national television audience and in front of a capacity crowd who had filled Baylor Stadium. With the temperature hovering around the 100-degree mark, Westbrook was sent into the game during the fourth quarter and immediately sliced through the Syracuse defense for a nine-yard gain. On the next play, John received another hand-off, gaining two yards and a first down before being taken out of the game.
When the play-by-play announcer gave the name of his hometown, never had I felt prouder to be from Elgin. I had watched the Baylor Bears’ season opener at my aunt’s house in East Austin. Following John’s appearance, I felt like going out into the middle of the street and shouting at the top of my lungs, “I’m from Elgin and couldn’t be prouder. And if you didn’t hear me, I’ll yell a little louder. I’M FROM ELGIN AND COULDN’T BE PROUDER. AND IF YOU DIDN’T HEAR ME, I’LL YELL . . .”
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Yes, T. Berry was from Elgin and was proud of his community. Coach Berry himself made history and then reported on it. He was involved actively in capturing that history through videos about Booker T. Washington School when he was a student in the 1960s and Elgin Independent School District when he was a coach and teacher. Since 2022, he participated in the Elgin Oral History Project (EOHP) by interviewing numerous individuals for Elgin’s sesquicentennial celebration and making plans to interview additional residents.
T. Berry will be missed by everyone who knew him. He will be especially missed by the directors of EOHP. His knowledge, leadership, and skills cannot be replaced. Nor can his smile, charm, wit, and loving kindness. Thanks to T. Berry, a large part of Elgin’s history has been preserved. His voice, words, and photographs have been recorded and are available to hear and see on EOHP’s website (oralhistoryetx.org). Thank you, Coach Berry, for leading Elgin into a better future.