Editor’s Note: Danny Minton wrote the following as a Facebook post on Dec. 11, the 60th anniversary of a football injury that changed his life.

By Danny Minton

Life takes some journeys that lead you in ways you never expected. Sometimes the journey can be a blessing, and other times a journey of disappointments. My journey began in Wichita Falls, the site of a playoff game between my team, the Plano Wildcats, and the Iowa Park Hawks. When the game ended, the Wildcats had beaten the Hawks by a score of 40-8. The team and thousands of fans would then make the long 150-mile trek back to Plano. I would not be going back with them.

On the Field
I was playing right defensive end, while to my left was Kenneth Davis, one of our best defensive players at right defensive tackle. Iowa Park’s offense ran a play in our direction where my job was to turn the runner in and make sure he didn’t get outside. As the runner began his turn, he found himself with two choices: cut up and run into Davis, a big, strong defensive tackle, or run at me, a much smaller 145 pounds. There are two pictures of this play. The first, taken by a school photographer, shows the three of us with the running back deciding which path to take. The second, taken by a Wichita Falls staff photographer, shows me (No. 26) tackling the runner as he headed my way.

I remember falling backwards, and the next thing I saw was Coaches Gray and Clark standing over me. I’m not sure how much time had passed. I told the coaches that I couldn’t move. I remember Coach Gray telling me I was just scared. I remember moving my right leg, so everyone at the time thought I had injured it. I asked the coaches to get me off the field (something that would not be done today). They took me to the bench where Chaddick stayed nearby. A little later, Coach Gray came to ask if I was ready to go back in. I tried to stand up but couldn’t. Next, Dr. Apple came down and did the “squeeze my finger” routine to test my strength. At that point, he decided I should go to the hospital to get checked out, so they brought the gurney out, put me in an ambulance, and off we went.

Wichita Falls Hospital
The first thing at the hospital was X-rays. They removed my jersey and shoulder pads and helped me to the X-ray table. They turned me in several different directions, taking various X-rays, and then had me lie back down on a bed in the hallway. I’m not sure how much time had passed, but in the meantime, my dad had checked the score and told me we were ahead 25-0 at the half. About that time, a doctor came over to me (Dr. Apple, I think) and told me very sternly, “Do not move.” I had fractured my 5^th cervical vertebrae. In other words, it would be reported that I had a broken neck. 

I was moved to an area where they drilled two holes in my head for traction tongs to grip, and the hospital was thoughtful enough to assemble a circular bed for me while I was there. (Note: While in the emergency room, people from an auto accident were brought in, where one of them passed away in the area next to me. I was more fortunate.) I would be there 3-4 days, and everybody was kind to my parents and me. Coach Gray came by and left his phone number with my parents. Coaches from Iowa Park came by to check on me. Two ladies from the local church brought me books to read. Some from Plano drove the 150 miles back to check up. A local preacher dropped by and would later be one of my mentors when I attended Abilene Christian.

Baylor Hospital in Dallas
I would transfer to Dallas before the state championship game, with the radio stations telling folks to make way for my ride home. We took one detour where I could see the team practicing for the next game. I would spend the next five or six weeks at Baylor. The next step was a body cast. I have no pictures of that, but I’m sure I looked like some being from a Sci-Fi movie. The cast would stay on for another month or so, and then I would wear a neck brace for several months. Nowadays, they slap a halo on you, and you move on, but this was the 1960s. 

Plano Homefront
I received scores of cards and letters from people in Plano and Iowa Park. The Hawks sent me a small autograph book. In it were apologies from the boy I tackled and the boy who was supposed to block me. The popularity of high school football spread to elementary schools, with letters that teachers had their students write in class, and then the teachers mailed them to me. Many of them I still have tucked away. Many of the young boys would be future Wildcats, that is, if I didn’t scare their mothers into keeping them from playing.

The New Journey
God turned my journey, changing my plans as time moved forward. I was rejected from the service because of my injury and told by the doctor, “4F, go to school.” I married my wife, Kathy, a couple of years later, and we adopted two boys a few years after that. Our youngest played football for the Abilene Wylie Bulldogs. I remember the only game that he was a little nervous about was when Wylie played Iowa Park. I ended up at Abilene Christian, earning a couple of degrees in ministry, and have had very few neck issues over the years. One surgery to clear out arthritis and change of weather aching, but that’s all. If that night 60 years ago had been different, I’m not sure where the journey would have taken me. 

There’s more I could add and will add later, including an honor after the state game. I’ll leave you with this one thought: “No matter what life throws at you, always trust that God will help you through it all.”

Danny Minton, a member of Southern Hills Church of Christ, is a hospital chaplain