John Payton, groundbreaking Lamar coach, dies
Published 10:29 pm Saturday, January 27, 2018
John Payton, who in 1970 became Lamar’s first African American coach in any sport, has died.
Payton’s age was unavailable. No known details of his death have been announced.
Then-athletic director J.B. Higgins hired Payton to coach offensive backs under Vernon Glass at Lamar, according to Payton’s Cardinal Hall of Honor bio. He remained coach until 1982, when he was assistant head coach to Ken Stephens.
Payton was an All-America running back at Prairie View A&M in 1954 and 1955 and left as the school’s all-time leading rusher and scorer. He taught physical education at Lamar for more than 30 years and was a football and basketball official with the University Interscholastic League.
Payton led Scott High School in Woodville to back-to-back state basketball titles in 1957 and 1958. He then led Charlton-Pollard in Beaumont to the 1964 state basketball title and 1970 Region III track title.
About I.C. Murrell
I.C. Murrell was promoted to editor of The News, effective Oct. 14, 2019. He previously served as sports editor since August 2015 and has won or shared eight first-place awards from state newspaper associations and corporations. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, grew up mostly in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
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