McFaddin-Ward House Museum Lecture to Spotlight Texas Sports History

Beaumont, TX; Sep. 28, 2026 – The McFaddin-Ward House Museum will present “The Texas Sports Revolution: How the Lone Star State Changed the Culture of American Athletics,” a free public lecture by award-winning historian and author Frank A. Guridy on Thursday, October 15, at 6:30 p.m. in the Museum’s Visitor Center Lecture Hall (1906 Calder Avenue, Beaumont).

During his lecture, Guridy will explore how the United States became a sports-crazed nation during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, emphasizing the decisive role Texas-based athletes, coaches, and sports entrepreneurs played in this dramatic transformation in American sporting culture.

“These transformations resulted in the rise of a powerful sports industry that continues to command the attention of Americans, while it also grows in political and societal influence,” Guridy said. “The National Football League would not be what is today—the most powerful and profitable sports league in the country—without the visionary entrepreneurship of Lamar Hunt, K.S. ‘Bud’ Adams, and Clint Murchison, as well as other team owners and coaches whose efforts propelled professional football into unforeseen heights of popularity.”

An accomplished scholar, Guridy has focused his research on sport history, urban history, and the history of American social movements. He says he was drawn to the topic of Texas sports history by the transformative impact sporting culture had in the state during the Civil Rights Movement.

Southern Methodist University (SMU) wide receiver and Beaumont native Jerry LeVias shakes hands with Bob Hope at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas during the late 1960s. In 1964, Levias made history when SMU coach Hayden Fry recruited him as the first African-American scholarship athlete to play football in the Southwest Conference.

“The extraordinary talents of Black Texan athletes, in partnership with visionary coaches, helped catalyze the aspirations of the Civil Rights Movement and desegregation of professional and collegiate sports during the 1960s and 70s,” Guridy said. “For example, we can see the transformation in the story of Southern Methodist University coach Hayden Fry deciding that his football program would be the first in the all-white Southwest Conference to sign a Black player to an athletic scholarship when he signed Beaumont’s Jerry LeVias in 1964.”

Guridy is the author of numerous scholarly works on the intersection of sports, society and politics, including the books “The Stadium: An American History of Politics, Protest and Play” (2024) and “The Sports Revolution: How Texas Changed the Culture of American Athletics” (2021), and has provided commentary on a wide variety of podcasts, radio, and television programs. Currently, he serves as a professor of history at Columbia University in New York City.

Aerial image of the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Texas, ca. 1950s.

“My job as a historian is to enhance our understanding of the past by mining the archives for stories that have been left untold or have been overlooked,” Guridy said. “Like many other scholars, my interest in becoming a historian was sparked by influential professors that I had in college. However, I am semi-embarrassed to admit that my interest in history was also sparked by reading sports histories and biographies as a child. I still remember walking into my elementary school and local public libraries and encountering books about the creation of the Super Bowl and inspirational stories of legendary football players like (Texas-native) ‘Mean’ Joe Greene, legendary track star Wilma Rudolph, and many other famous athletes.”

Guridy says he hopes attendees leave the Oct. 15 lecture understanding that “the value of sports extends well beyond their ability to generate entertainment and revenues; sports have a social importance that needs to be continually cultivated.”

McFaddin-Ward House Museum lectures are admission-free and open to the public, but space is limited. Doors open at 6 p.m. For more information, call 409-832-2134.

For those unable to attend, the full lecture will be available for viewing on the Museum YouTube Channel (youtube.com/@mcfaddinwardhouse), Facebook (facebook.com/McFaddinWardHouse), and website (mcfaddin-ward.org/about/videos) after the event.

This event is part of Museum Madness Month 2026. During October, the Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau is teaming up with area museums for a full month of events and activities. Participating museums and partners include: The Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont Botanical Gardens, Beaumont Children’s Museum, Beaumont Heritage Society, Fire Museum of Texas, Jefferson County Historical Commission/Historic Magnolia Cemetery, McFaddin-Ward House Museum, Spindletop Boomtown Museum, Temple to the Brave, Texas Energy Museum, and Tyrrell Park Nature Center.