MARLOW — Bob Patterson kind of landed in coaching as an accident but the end result of a storied career that included stops in Rush Springs, Comanche and Marlow was anything but an accident.

At 6:30 p.m. on July 25 at Southern Hills Marriott Hotel in Tulsa, Patterson will be inducted into the Oklahoma Coaches Hall of Fame.

Other coaches that will be honored are Dennis Casey of Morrison, Varryl Franklin of Millwood, Dennis Gaines of Harrah, Luther Hunter of Putnam City, Russell Kruse of Adair, Steve Mancillas of Moore, Frank Piccirillo of Ponca City and Royce Skocdopole of Bixby. Gerald Benn of Tahlequah will receive the Distinguished Service Award as well.

“I was very stunned and humbled to be awarded such an honor,” Patterson said. “I was kind of speechless for a while. So many guys out there are probably more deserving than me.

“I have been in the association for 43 years and it is a big thing for coaches to be inducted. It’s a great honor, one that I never aspired to.”

Patterson graduated from Rush Springs in 1957 where he competed in football, basketball and baseball. He attended East Central University where he graduated in 1960 and made his way back to Rush Springs where he began his coaching career under Joe Tunnell.

“I kind of got into it by accident,” Patterson said. “Joe asked me to come back to Rush Springs and that is where it all started.”

As a member of the Redskin coaching staff, Patterson helped lead the team to a state championship in 1966 and took over as head coach after Tunnell left for Lindsay. He spent one year as head coach before accepting an assistant coaching position at Comanche under Burl White.

“I guess every job I had in coaching was basically the result of knowing someone I knew probably more than what I knew as a coach,” Patterson said. “Burl White talked me into coming to Comanche in 1968 and I could make more money as an assistant than as a head coach at Rush Springs.

“I started in an era when teaching jobs didn’t pay much and the base pay was $3,400 a year. At that time, $700 more seemed like a lot.”

Patterson spent seven years at Comanche as an assistant football coach and helped Tommy Weast coach basketball in the junior high program. When looking back at his career, the highlights came from watching kids develop into athletes and the part that he played in the process.

“I think as far as coaching was concerned, I enjoyed seeing kids develop and mature,” Patterson said. “I spent a lot of time coaching at the junior high level and I enjoyed seeing the kids develop and thinking that I had a part in their development. The biggest thing I missed when I retired was the camaraderie with the kids.”

Following his seven year stint at Comanche, Patterson received another offer that he could not pass up and moved to Marlow where he would retire in 1996. During his time at Marlow, he coached football and spent 14 years as the head basketball coach.

From the time that he began coaching, Patterson has seen a lot of changes in high school athletics starting with the size of the kids and the work that coaches put in to be successful.

“I think kids are bigger and stronger,” Patterson said. “I kind of started in an era when basketball coaches didn’t want their kids lifting weights. The speed of the game has also changed and the 3-point shot has changed the game.

“When Joe and I won state in 1966, the biggest kid that we had was 195 pounds. The weight training they had to go through has helped change the game. The coaches are also better coaches than they used to be. I don’t mean that derogatory, they just do so many more things because of the size and the speed of the kids.”

In terms of developing as a coach, Patterson drew upon a list of distinguished coaches throughout the area such as Tunnell, White, Darvis Cole, Ron Newby, Mike Sparks and Mickey Hoy to name a few.

“They are Hall of Fame coaches in their own right,” Patterson said. “You learn a little bit from each of them. One thing about coaches, they share information. On Friday night they will try to beat you and will then share information.”

Patterson has developed a personal coaching tree as his sons Craig and Keith entered the profession. The eldest son is the basketball coach and athletic director at Kingfisher and Keith is a coach at Tulsa University. Toby Patterson is a major in the Marine Corps and daughter Traci has a successful career in Chickasha.

“I really have a wonderful family,” Patterson said. “Their mother LoEtta passed away in 2007 and she was a very good coach’s wife.”

Since retirement, Patterson has stayed busy working as a handyman although back trouble has slowed him down in recent years. It will be a welcome change of pace to return to Tulsa and take his place among the top coaches in the state.

“It’s all because of the kids that you coach and what they do, it all goes back to them,” Patterson said. “I have been fortunate to be in good situations with good kids. There is so much that goes into it.”



— Michael Pineda is the sports editor for The Duncan Banner. He can be reached at 580-255-5354, Ext. 143, or via e-mail at m.pineda@duncanbanner.com.