Emory Bellard, the legendary football coach who created the wishbone offense but will be equally remembered for the degree of loyalty and admiration that he inspired among Aggies, Longhorns, Buckaroos, Bobcats, Mustangs and Texas football fans in every corner of the state, died Thursday morning.
Bellard, 83, was diagnosed last year with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement that is known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. He died at a treatment home in Georgetown, said his wife, Susan.
After his diagnosis was made public, Bellard was honored at events at the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in Waco, into which he was inducted in the 1990s, and at Texas A&M, where he coached the Aggies from 1972 through 1978 after creating the wishbone offense as an assistant to Darrell Royal at the University of Texas.
“You can't make a better statement than the one (Gehrig) made, you know — ‘the luckiest guy in the world,'?” he said at the event last October in Waco. “And I am lucky. I've had a great life, no ifs, ands or buts about it. I'm 10 times as blessed as most people.”
While his physical condition had declined, he spent his final days swapping stories with friends, former players and colleagues, among them former Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum, who made his final visit to Georgetown this week to meet with his friend.
“He had his sense of humor to the very end, and we were able to talk once more about old experiences and things that had happened,” Slocum said. “He had such a great life. He said all he ever wanted to do was coach, and he got to do it with good players and at great places.
“He always got the best out of people as a coach because he was able to see the best in them.”
As Bellard received tributes and thanks from friends in his final days, he was thankful as well, said Susan Bellard.
“He said something one day, and I wrote it down so I would always remember it,” she said. “He said that he was what he was because of the people who had surrounded him.”
A native of Luling, Bellard began his coaching career in 1949 as an assistant coach in Alice. He was head coach at Ingleside, winning two regional titles, before coaching the Breckenridge Buckaroos to Class 3A titles in 1958 and 1959 and the San Angelo Bobcats, who won the 3A title in 1966.
He spent five years as an assistant at Texas, where he helped Royal revive the Longhorns' football fortunes by creating the wishbone, the high-octane, run-oriented scheme that carried the Longhorns to 30 consecutive victories from 1968 through 1970 and to national championships in 1969 and 1970.
He had two 10-win seasons at Texas A&M, including a share of the 1975 Southwest Conference championship, and spent seven years at Mississippi State, twice coaching the Bulldogs to Top 20 finishes. His final coaching job was at Spring Westfield, where the Mustangs reached the playoffs four times in six years.
Susan Bellard said plans are pending for a “celebration of life” service at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, at First Baptist Church in Georgetown.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Emory Bellard ALS Clinic at Scott and White Healthcare — Round Rock; to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in Waco; the Humane Society of Williamson County and the Kids Care-a-Van program at Seton Highland Lakes Hospital in Burnet.
Source: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/article/Ex-Aggies-football-coach-Emory-Bellard-dies-at-83-1007140.php#ixzz1Da4w5t9N
