The Boy Scouts of America, Texas Trails Council will honor Dallas Huston on November 10th as the 2015 distinguished citizen.
The honor will be presented to Huston at the Boy Scout’s 2015 Distinguished Citizens Award Dinner that will be held in Brownwood. The award presentation will be held Tuesday, November 10th with a dinner at 7:00 p.m. at Coggin Avenue Baptist Church. Sponsorships and tickets to the event are available by emailing Dennis Graham at dennis.graham@airgas.com or calling 806-674-1708.
About Dallas Huston: When Dallas’ mom, Christine Huston, left home in Aransas Pass, Texas to go shopping in Corpus Christi on August 24, 1942, she had no idea she would return with much more, that being a new addition to the family. Sister Carole finally had a baby brother, and dad, Bud Huston, now had a son that he promptly gave the nickname ‘Buddy.’ The family remained on the coast for a couple of years but Dallas’ severe asthma problems forced them to seek a change of climate. Bud Huston worked for the railroad which allowed him to transfer to Brownwood. While here another family member was added, brother Ralph. Dallas went to Coggin Elementary and Brownwood Junior and Senior High. He barely graduated with absolutely no honors in the spring of 1960.Dallas’ dad was an outstanding football player at Robstown High and Texas A&I and his love for all sports rubbed off on his eldest son. Some of Dallas’ favorite memories growing up were going to ball games and fishing with his dad. It was during these years that he was also involved in scouting. Dallas was a Cub Scout and then a Boy Scout, achieving the rank of Second Class and picking up a few merit badges along the way. Some of his favorite scouting memories involved his many trips to Camp Billy Gibbons.
It was while in high school that Dallas discovered the inside workings of radio. A friend got him in the back door of KBWD to meet a real live disc jockey (Jack Wallace) and he was hooked. Dallas’ job (non-paying) was taking requests on the phone and pulling music as well as any other odd job that came along. One of the first times he got on the air was during an election return night when the station was under staffed, so they put Dallas in a little booth and told him to read some returns. He was waiting to be introduced when Jim Pruett, who was running the controls, yelled and asked what name he wanted to use on air. Dallas told him to use his real name, and he replied that no one in radio used their real names. So, when he introduced him that night, ‘Dallas’ Huston was born.
Dallas had always loved listening to ballgames and that was the part of radio that truly appealed to him. His dreams almost got derailed before they started. In the early 60s, while driving in a rain storm at the traffic circle, he crashed into the back of a car that didn’t have tail lights. Dallas was severely injured, spending several days in the hospital. The most serious injury was to his head but the one that really concerned him was the trauma that he suffered to his voice box. It reduced his voice to nothing more than whisper. When his voice finally recovered many days later, he ended up with the voice that you hear now, which is quite different from the one he had before.
Eventually, Dallas got to do some live sports action on the radio such as Little League baseball games and Golden Gloves boxing matches. Fred Perry even let him do a little basketball, but what Dallas really wanted was the big one…football. As it turned out, out it didn’t take long for that to happen. Dallas’ friend, Ken Schulze, was promoted to lead announcer for the Brownwood Lions in 1963 and they gave him his choice of picking the number 2 man on his broadcast crew. He picked the young kid with no experience and suddenly, Dallas’ dream job began, and it quickly got even better. A few months later, because of the influence of Don Newbury, Dallas was given the opportunity to become the radio voice of Howard Payne sports. At that point, in 1964, he really was living his dream.
Dallas also did other jobs in radio; disc jockey, sports director, news director, and program director, but nothing compared to broadcasting ballgames. He loved it and still does and has been greatly honored in his work over the past half century.
Dallas was named the best high school sportscaster in the state by Texas Monthly Magazine in 1999. He was honored 4 times as sportscaster of the year by the Lone Star Conference and once by the American Southwest Conference. He was inducted into the Howard Payne Sports Hall of Fame in 1998 and honored as their only 50 year letterman in 2013. Dallas was also presented an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree as well as the Alumni Medal of Service Award from HPU in 2008. He was inducted into the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007 as well as the Gordon Wood Hall of Champions in 2012. Dallas has been featured on Texas Country Reporter and has also been named a Max Preps Chevy Hometown Hero. Recently, he was presented a Good Neighbor Award by the Brownwood Chamber of Commerce and also the first Dallas Huston Christ in the Media Award by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes which will honor media people for years to come. And last, but certainly not least, very little meant more to Dallas than having the Walk of Champions named after him at Gordon Wood Stadium.
Dallas also serves on the Board of Directors of Good Samaritan Ministries and he and his wife are on the board at the Central Texas Pregnancy Care Center as well.
Dallas loves to tell people that he is one of the richest men in the world, even though he has little money. His riches lie in his relationship with Jesus Christ and the work that the Lord has allowed him to do as pastor of Center City Baptist Church, the leader of his weekly Men’s Monday Night Bible Study and as host of his Sunday Morning Show on KOXE featuring Christian sports stories.
Dallas is also very richly blessed with his family of 4 children, Christian Huston and wife Hollie, Dena and husband Brad Fortune, Lance Rasch and wife Kyla, and daughter Valorie Huston. Grandchildren include Bailey and husband Bryant Mikeska, Bradley Boyce, Kambrey and husband Robert Moneyhon, Ashton, Avery, and Blaine Fortune, Cal Rasch, Britton and Brylee Boyce, and Hayden and Saeger Huston, as well as 2 great grandchildren, Bowen Mikeska and Presley Moneyhon. And then there is Linda. Dallas Huston freely admits that he wouldn’t be where he is today or be what he is today without her.
