Celebrating 50 years of integration

L-EISD to honor 1969 football team

Liberty-Eylau High School will honor the members of the 1969 football team at a reception and pre-game ceremony before the Leopards’ home opener against Arkansas High on Aug. 30. While there were two years of optional integration beginning in 1967, the 1969 team was the first fully integrated team.

“You had a bunch of young men on a team during some challenging times, not only for them, but for the country,” said L-EISD Communications Director Matt Fry. “We want to honor them and the steps they took to create one Leopard team.”

In 1969, the Macedonia and Grandview districts were integrated into Liberty-Eylau. Liberty-Eylau was formed when Liberty and Eylau merged in 1955 and had early athletic success, including an undefeated team in 1959. The Macedonia school was founded in

the late 1800s and fielded quality football teams as well. Grandview was a K-8 school district whose students went to high school at Macedonia.

The school will host a reception for the 1969 team at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 30 at the high school. The team will then be recognized in front of the crowd at the game. Captains of the 1969 team will serve as honorary captains, along with current Leopard players.

In the 50 years since the 1969 season, Liberty-Eylau football has been consistently successful, including two state championships in 1999 and 2006, as well as a number of players who experienced success at the collegiate and professional football level.

“Liberty-Eylau has always been one of those schools everyone knew about because of their success,” said new L-EISD Athletic Director Klint King. “I’m excited to celebrate these gentlemen who were true leaders for their peers during some times of big change.”

The district is working to contact as many members of the team as possible. Those who are interested in attending can fill out the registration form on the district website at www.leisd.net or by calling the main office at 903-832-1535.