Turning point in Joe Rector's life came at Muskogee
ALL-STATE SERIES — Joe Rector knows he might never have made it to the University of Oklahoma if it hadn't been for his high school coach.
Multimedia
NewsOK Related Articles
Over the next five weeks, The Oklahoman will look back on the previous 99 years of Oklahoman All-State football teams, leading up to the unveiling of the 100th All-State team on Dec. 23. Each Sunday and Wednesday until then, we'll take a look back at a team from each decade. The second installment of the series looks at the fours — 1914, 1924, 1934, etc. On Sunday, we'll look back at the fives.
Rector remembers getting the opportunity to play in the All-State game — well, he remembers the first half, anyway.
“It was played at Taft Stadium,” he said. “I got knocked out right before halftime. I woke up laying underneath the goal posts, but I don't remember anything about the rest of that game.”
Rector tried coaching for a few years after college.
“I got fired a couple times and decided I wasn't a coach,” he said.
He found his career in the real estate business, and worked in it until he retired. Now 75, he lives in Oklahoma City. So does Treadway, who coached at Iowa and Oklahoma State before taking a job in banking, and the two try to stay in touch.
As he enjoys the latter years of life after a successful career in and out of football, Rector hasn't forgotten Young's influence.
“I was very fortunate to be put in that place in the 1950s when Paul Young came along in my life,” he said. “It was a really rough time, but he stuck with me. I can thank him for a whole lot of things.”
Prev
Follow
