Hall of Champions
In recognition of West Texas A&M’s Centennial Celebration, the Hall of Champions recognizes Earl and Myrl Goodwin, twin brothers hailing from Paducah, Texas, who would become the first professional athletes to have attended West Texas State Teachers College.
After first attending Clarendon College, they played football at WT in 1924 and baseball during the 1925 season. Myrl also competed in the shot for the 1925 WT track team.
The brothers then transferred to Bucknell for the 1925 and 1926 football seasons.
The Goodwins began their professional careers by invitation from the Major League Baseball Boston Braves in 1926. The Goodwins played minor league ball for the Portland, Maine, Eskimos circa 1926-27 and football with the Providence (R.I.) Steam Rollers circa 1926-27.
In 1928, the Goodwin twins played professional football for the NFL’s Pottsville (Pa.) Maroons. The Panhandle Plains Historical Museum currently owns the Goodwins’ NFL contract with the Maroons, one of the oldest known NFL contracts still in existence. The contracts show that the brothers were each paid $75 per game.
The Goodwin family moved from Paducah to Colorado, where the twins began successful careers in professional rodeo and rodeo promotion. Goodwin Elementary School, on Goodwin Street in Paducah, Texas, is named for the family.
