Hall of Honor
Gary Gaines played quarterback for the Angelo State Rams football team from 1967-70 and lettered all four years. After graduating, he embarked on a successful 30-year career as a high school and college football coach, most famously at Odessa Permian High School, where his Panthers team won the 1989 Texas 5A state championship and was also named high school national champion. Gaines' 1988 Odessa Permian team was chronicled by author H.G. Bissinger in his best-selling book, "Friday Night Lights," which was loosely adapted into a Hollywood movie in 2004. In the college ranks, Gaines coached future NFL star Zach Thomas at Texas Tech and was the head coach at ASU's Lone Star Conference rival Abilene Christian from 2000-04, winning a South Division Championship in 2002. Following his retirement in 2012, he was elected into the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor in 2013.Â
