John Reddell

Who was John Reddell?

John Reddell was an American football coach. He is among the winningest coaches in Texas high school football history. In 1996, he was inducted to the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District Hall of Fame.

Growing up on a little farm outside of Oklahoma City, Reddell attended Classen High School. His athletic abilities earned Reddell a scholarship to the University of Oklahoma. At 6 ft 1 in and 175 pounds, Reddell played end under head coach Bud Wilkinson from 1950-52. Also playing baseball for the Sooners, Reddell was a catcher on the 1951 national championship team. He achieved the rare feat of winning two national championships in the same year, in 1951.

Soon after graduation, Reddell found his first head coaching position at DeKalb High School in Northeast Texas. He left in 1954 to return to his alma mater at Classen, an Oklahoma City suburb, in 1954. Despite a 9–2 in his first season, Reddell moved back to Texas, taking over as inaugural head football coach at newly opened Palo Duro High School in Amarillo. The school had offered him a $6,500 annual salary — almost $3,000 more than he had made at Classen.