One of a kind: Legendary Plano football coach Tom Kimbrough thankful for Hall of Honor induction

Having already compiled one of the great careers in Plano ISD athletics history, Kimbrough's accolades on the gridiron now reside among some of the best in his profession after being recently inducted into the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor.

Kimbrough was recognized at a ceremony held July 16 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, joined by Dennis Alexander, Brian Brazil, Todd Dodge and Andy Griffin as members of the 2022 class.

"It was a great honor. I accepted the award, but it was really an honor for a lot of people," Kimbrough said. "I had some great athletes and I had a lot of others who just gave everything, from the offseason to the practices and the games. No matter what they were physically, they gave it all. We had some great kids with great heart, and we had some great assistant coaches."

Just as important, Kimbrough said, was a support system that was dedicated to athletics.

"The administration wanted athletics to excel and Dr. (H. Wayne) Hendrick was a key to that back in the day. He wanted to win," he said. "He felt like that winning carried over to the classroom and the way the entire student body acted. That it carried a positive attitude."

Kimbrough said he felt that same support from his family, reminiscing on how he and his wife, Linda, arrived in Plano in the mid-1960s driving a truck that carried all of their personal belongings. He began coaching with the Wildcats in 1968 under Clark, who was coming off the first of his two state championship seasons as a head coach.

Kimbrough took the reins at Plano in 1976, authoring one of the singular coaching tenures in Texas high school football. Over 16 years as the Wildcats' head coach, Kimbrough compiled a record of 171-28-7 — winning more games, playoff games and state championships than any coach in the state during that time.

Plano captured state titles in 1977, 1986 and 1987 under Kimbrough — a halcyon age for the program chalked in memories that Kimbrough still looks back on fondly to this day.

He remembers the prolific three-game stretch that Plano braved in 1977 en route to the fourth state title in program history. In a contest dubbed "The Miracle Game," the Wildcats overcame a 28-0 third-quarter deficit to stun Highland Park in the state quarterfinals, 29-28, before outlasting Odessa Permian in the semifinals, 3-0.

That gave way to the Class 4A state championship game against Port Neches-Groves at Texas Stadium, a contest where the Wildcats prevailed, 13-10, in front of a then-record-setting attendance of 49,953. That mark stood for more than three-and-a-half decades and currently ranks third all-time among the largest crowds to ever attend a Texas high school football game, trailing only Allen-Pearland in 2013 (54,347) and Allen-Cypress Ranch in 2014 (52,308) — although Kimbrough does note that Plano-PNG carries the distinction of being a single-site game.

Kimbrough remembers the lessons he gleaned from Clark, who he called a mentor. He remembers the dread he felt in 1987 awaiting the release of an article that Skip Bayless had written for the Dallas Times Herald about the Plano football program, only to be overjoyed at seeing the front-page headline of "Hey, I'd love to have been a Plano Wildcat".

"I accepted this honor for every kid that was involved at Plano Senior High," Kimbrough said. "I recognize the band, the drill team, the cheerleaders — everyone that was involved there. It was a 'we' thing, not a 'me' thing. I received this for a lot of people."

Kimbrough helped build the Wildcats into one of Texas high school football's legacy programs, and the accolades predictably followed. He was named Texas High School Coach of the Year in 1977, 1986 and 1987, and National Coach of the Year in 1987. In 1991, Kimbrough was the first-ever recipient of the Denius-UIL Excellence award, chosen as the outstanding male coach in the state.

He was recognized as one of the state's 10 most memorable coaches in the 50th anniversary of edition of Dave Campbell's Texas Football back in 2010, sharing a list with the likes of Tom Landry and Darrell Royal.

Locally, Kimbrough was inducted into the PISD Hall of Honor in 2007 and has a football stadium named for him in Murphy. Following his 16 seasons as head football coach, Kimbrough served as the PISD athletic director from 1993-2003.

Kimbrough's distinguished legacy was celebrated once again last weekend at the Hall of Honor ceremony. Perhaps even more joyful for Kimbrough, however, was seeing the outpouring of support afterwards on social media thanks to a post by his daughter, Kimberley, commemorating her father's achievement.

Just more recognition for a coach who's earned plenty of it.

"We have been overwhelmed by the thousands of individuals with kind words and congratulations through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and email," Kimbrough said. "That has meant more to me and my family than receiving the honor itself. These kind words were from former players, former students and some going back over 50 years."