Storyline: Whenever I’m in Houston I drive on I-10 to see the Tully Stadium lights. I smile. To this day, my old teammates are still some of my best friends.
Courtesy: LA Times
I grew up in Houston and there’s one high school stadium that stands above the rest. It’s Darrell Tully Stadium. Many great athletes have played there, including Craig James and Andrew Luck.
Tully had personal relevance, too. As a child I remember watching my older brother play football. Later, I’d go on myself to play under Tully’s lights.
The stadium’s first first football season was 1966. It was named after head football coach and athletic director Darrell Tully, who was head coach and athletic director of Spring Branch High School (1957-1964). Coach Tully went on to be athletic director of the Spring Branch School District until his retirement in 1978.
Tully was home to schools in the Spring Branch Independent School District, which includes Memorial, Stratford, Spring Woods, and Northbrook high schools. Middle schools also play some of their games there. The first varsity high school game played at Tully was between Memorial High School (my alma mater) and Dallas–Kimball High School.
Courtesy: TexasBob.com
The field was originally grass but, in 1972, the stadium installed Astroturf. The field has been replaced multiple times since then, in 1984 and again in 1996.
I remember playing my middle school games on the old artificial turf. Both sides of the field were a little roughed up from the 50-yard line to the 30-yard line. Then, during my freshman year, they replaced the turf and added the words “Spring Branch” in both end zones.
I hold a special place in my heart for Tully. I matriculated through the Spring Branch Independent School District and consider myself blessed to have had wonderful coaches, friends, teammates, and teachers who helped develop me into the man I am today.
Whenever I’m in Houston I drive on I-10 to see the stadium lights. I smile. To this day, my old teammates are still some of my best friends. It was an honor to play with them and to be friends for life.
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I too remember Tully stadium from my youth. I played there with the 8th grade football team of Westchester Jr High school in 1974. I went on to Westchester high school and attended the football games. The most memorable was the 1978 Westchester vs Stratford end of regular season game in which Stratford beat us and then went on to win the state title. Amazing stadium. The best high school stadium I have ever attended. Thanks for your article sir!
I too hold a reverence for Tully Stadium and both mr and Mrs edith Tully. Both were my coaches, mr Tully track mrs tully tennis. ’66 graduated from Spring Branch, moved out of state only to move back and my son play for Straford team that played for state.CoachCripp was also a super person for my son to have as a coach. Move out of state again but as fortune would have move back to watch my grandso play for coach koch…yes Spring Branch holds alot of history for my family.. it’s been good!! AND THAT STADIUM…memories!
You did not mention that Spring Branch HS and Westchester HS originally played along with Memorial and Spring Woods. At one time there were 6 high schools playing there after Stratford and Northbrook opened. The SBHs and WHS were closed.