T.G. "Tommy" Field was an influentual principal of Longview (Texas) High School during the volatile 1960s and early 1970s.
He came to the school district as an assistant football coach, hired by head coach Maco Stewart.
After becoming principal, it fell to T.G. Field, on top of normal responsibilities, oversight of integration in Longview's high schools, with black students from Womack High School joining the white student body at Longview High School. Not only was the student body consolidated and integrated, but also the two faculties. Longview was a flash point, and a bus bombing incident made national news. Ultimately, the Federal Courts invoked oversight on Longview I.S.D., a situation that persisted for nearly half a century.
While there was significant tension in the community, most all candid accounts from within the faculty and students of Longview High School credit Mr. Field as having done an admirable job from within while social contention raged from without.
Mr. Field demeanor made him very popular with both students and faculty, even while maintaining a firm grasp on order and discipline as might be expected of a man of his generation, and a veteran of World War II. He was more than a football coach, he cultivated and developed character with a deep interest in all students under his supervision.
Despite his size, Mr. Field was very athletic, and was particularly noted for his ability to walk on his hands, and even ascend flights of stairs between floors in the 3 story Longview High School building in downtown Longview.
The old Longview High School building has long since been demolished, but there remains at the time of this record (2013) the former high school auditorium, named "T.G. Field Auditorium" in his honor.
In the early 2000's, former Longview High School faculty member Joe Hendrix (himself namesake of the Kilgore College - Longview Campus Joe Hendrix Center) assembled a committee of former Longview faculty and produced a video documentary about T.G. Field. The format of this program was to interview former students and faculty, with each person reminscing and telling anecdotes of their memories of T.G. Field. Response was overwhelming, with many dozens of people participaing, many travelling long distances back to their old hometown. Many hours of interviews were recorded, and ultimately a program several hours in length was produced and aired on Longview Cable TV. This program was in active production at the time of the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001.
T.G. Field was "a giant of a man" summed up one former football player, now liberated by his own old age and tender memories to admit, "I loved him."
He came to the school district as an assistant football coach, hired by head coach Maco Stewart.
After becoming principal, it fell to T.G. Field, on top of normal responsibilities, oversight of integration in Longview's high schools, with black students from Womack High School joining the white student body at Longview High School. Not only was the student body consolidated and integrated, but also the two faculties. Longview was a flash point, and a bus bombing incident made national news. Ultimately, the Federal Courts invoked oversight on Longview I.S.D., a situation that persisted for nearly half a century.
While there was significant tension in the community, most all candid accounts from within the faculty and students of Longview High School credit Mr. Field as having done an admirable job from within while social contention raged from without.
Mr. Field demeanor made him very popular with both students and faculty, even while maintaining a firm grasp on order and discipline as might be expected of a man of his generation, and a veteran of World War II. He was more than a football coach, he cultivated and developed character with a deep interest in all students under his supervision.
Despite his size, Mr. Field was very athletic, and was particularly noted for his ability to walk on his hands, and even ascend flights of stairs between floors in the 3 story Longview High School building in downtown Longview.
The old Longview High School building has long since been demolished, but there remains at the time of this record (2013) the former high school auditorium, named "T.G. Field Auditorium" in his honor.
In the early 2000's, former Longview High School faculty member Joe Hendrix (himself namesake of the Kilgore College - Longview Campus Joe Hendrix Center) assembled a committee of former Longview faculty and produced a video documentary about T.G. Field. The format of this program was to interview former students and faculty, with each person reminscing and telling anecdotes of their memories of T.G. Field. Response was overwhelming, with many dozens of people participaing, many travelling long distances back to their old hometown. Many hours of interviews were recorded, and ultimately a program several hours in length was produced and aired on Longview Cable TV. This program was in active production at the time of the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001.
T.G. Field was "a giant of a man" summed up one former football player, now liberated by his own old age and tender memories to admit, "I loved him."
T.G. "Tommy" Field was an influentual principal of Longview (Texas) High School during the volatile 1960s and early 1970s.
He came to the school district as an assistant football coach, hired by head coach Maco Stewart.
After becoming principal, it fell to T.G. Field, on top of normal responsibilities, oversight of integration in Longview's high schools, with black students from Womack High School joining the white student body at Longview High School. Not only was the student body consolidated and integrated, but also the two faculties. Longview was a flash point, and a bus bombing incident made national news. Ultimately, the Federal Courts invoked oversight on Longview I.S.D., a situation that persisted for nearly half a century.
While there was significant tension in the community, most all candid accounts from within the faculty and students of Longview High School credit Mr. Field as having done an admirable job from within while social contention raged from without.
Mr. Field demeanor made him very popular with both students and faculty, even while maintaining a firm grasp on order and discipline as might be expected of a man of his generation, and a veteran of World War II. He was more than a football coach, he cultivated and developed character with a deep interest in all students under his supervision.
Despite his size, Mr. Field was very athletic, and was particularly noted for his ability to walk on his hands, and even ascend flights of stairs between floors in the 3 story Longview High School building in downtown Longview.
The old Longview High School building has long since been demolished, but there remains at the time of this record (2013) the former high school auditorium, named "T.G. Field Auditorium" in his honor.
In the early 2000's, former Longview High School faculty member Joe Hendrix (himself namesake of the Kilgore College - Longview Campus Joe Hendrix Center) assembled a committee of former Longview faculty and produced a video documentary about T.G. Field. The format of this program was to interview former students and faculty, with each person reminscing and telling anecdotes of their memories of T.G. Field. Response was overwhelming, with many dozens of people participaing, many travelling long distances back to their old hometown. Many hours of interviews were recorded, and ultimately a program several hours in length was produced and aired on Longview Cable TV. This program was in active production at the time of the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001.
T.G. Field was "a giant of a man" summed up one former football player, now liberated by his own old age and tender memories to admit, "I loved him."
He came to the school district as an assistant football coach, hired by head coach Maco Stewart.
After becoming principal, it fell to T.G. Field, on top of normal responsibilities, oversight of integration in Longview's high schools, with black students from Womack High School joining the white student body at Longview High School. Not only was the student body consolidated and integrated, but also the two faculties. Longview was a flash point, and a bus bombing incident made national news. Ultimately, the Federal Courts invoked oversight on Longview I.S.D., a situation that persisted for nearly half a century.
While there was significant tension in the community, most all candid accounts from within the faculty and students of Longview High School credit Mr. Field as having done an admirable job from within while social contention raged from without.
Mr. Field demeanor made him very popular with both students and faculty, even while maintaining a firm grasp on order and discipline as might be expected of a man of his generation, and a veteran of World War II. He was more than a football coach, he cultivated and developed character with a deep interest in all students under his supervision.
Despite his size, Mr. Field was very athletic, and was particularly noted for his ability to walk on his hands, and even ascend flights of stairs between floors in the 3 story Longview High School building in downtown Longview.
The old Longview High School building has long since been demolished, but there remains at the time of this record (2013) the former high school auditorium, named "T.G. Field Auditorium" in his honor.
In the early 2000's, former Longview High School faculty member Joe Hendrix (himself namesake of the Kilgore College - Longview Campus Joe Hendrix Center) assembled a committee of former Longview faculty and produced a video documentary about T.G. Field. The format of this program was to interview former students and faculty, with each person reminscing and telling anecdotes of their memories of T.G. Field. Response was overwhelming, with many dozens of people participaing, many travelling long distances back to their old hometown. Many hours of interviews were recorded, and ultimately a program several hours in length was produced and aired on Longview Cable TV. This program was in active production at the time of the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001.
T.G. Field was "a giant of a man" summed up one former football player, now liberated by his own old age and tender memories to admit, "I loved him."
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