Massey Stadium
By Richard Greene
Assistant Editor, Pilot Point Post-Signal
For three decades, Massey Stadium has been the home of the Pilot Point
Bearcats and one of the more storied stadiums in North Texas.
The Bearcats have enjoyed unparalleled success at Massey, the
PPISD's sixth playing field. With its eerily dark lighting and fanatical
fans lined around the field, the stadium has earned a haunting mystique.
"I remember coming into town, seeing the paw prints on the street
and getting ready for a real physical game," said Tom Swartz, now a Pilot
Point assistant coach who played for Sanger in 1982-84. "You knew you had
your hands full.
"[The Bearcats] didn't have that far to walk onto the field. They
made us walk from the hot gym and then by the crowd in orange and black. It
was intimidating. I guess it still is."
In Massey Stadium's 30 years, the Bearcats have compiled an overall
record of 122-27-2 and posted 17 undefeated seasons at home.
It's still a hallowed hall for former Bearcats - many of whom are
now watching their children play.
"Obviously, we've had a lot of luck at that stadium," said David
Fuller, a member of the 1981 state championship team that went 5-0 at
Massey Stadium. "It's been great for all of us to now watch our children
play there."
A new home
In 1972, when J. Earl Selz High School opened, the Pilot Point
Bearcats were still playing home games at a stadium behind the former Gee
High School. Players were bused from the new high school to the old field
and vice versa.
In December 1972, discussions about a new stadium began. The first
estimates reported in The Post-Signal were approximately $100,000 for a
turn-key job.
A month later, at a PPISD School Board meeting, plans were
announced for a fund-raising drive to get what was determined to raise
between $60,000 and $75,000 project started. A donation of $20,000 from the
widow of prominent businessman R.L. Massey and their son, Bill Massey, got
the effort started. In return, the stadium would be named for R.L. Massey.
"They needed a stadium," said Bill Massey, who now lives in Pebble
Beach, Calif. "I can't take credit for the idea. Somebody suggested the
stadium, and it suited me fine.
"What we did, we were glad we did. We're glad to have the name.
That means a lot to us. But the people of Pilot Point did a lot of work.
The people of Pilot Point built it and did the rest of the work."
Several people around town chipped in with projects at the site.
The fund drive raised within $10,000 of the final amount needed for the
stadium, which was ready by August 1973.
The Bearcats moved into their new home in time for the 1973 season.
G.A. Moore's Celina Bobcats visited for the first game at Massey. The
Bobcats ruined the Bearcats' inaugural game, scoring a 12-0 shutout.
Pilot Point went winless at its new home in 1973 and did not score
at Massey until the fourth quarter of the fourth home game on a 17-yard
pass from Tracy Beaty to Wardell Johnson.
Players from 1973 said they don't remember the new stadium
attracting much attention. Their main memory was a fight with Lake Dallas
players during a 26-0 loss.
Massey Stadium was officially dedicated in honor of R.L. Massey on
Nov. 2, 1973, at halftime of the Frisco game. Former Pilot Point Mayor
Clifton Irick led the ceremony.
"I highly respected Mr. Massey," Irick said. "I considered that an
honor.
"That made us have one of the best-kept high school stadiums in the
area. I'm not sure it's better than most 3A stadiums. It's hard to beat."
Building a home-field
advantage
In its first few seasons, Massey Stadium didn't strike fear in many
opponents. Between 1973 and 1976, the Bearcats went only 6-14 at the new
stadium. Pilot Point was 0-4 on homecoming during that time.
The Bearcats' luck at Massey Stadium started to change in 1977,
when Moore returned to the Pilot Point sideline. In Moore's first game at
Massey Stadium, the Bearcats beat Boyd, 55-6.
In the second home game of the 1977 season, the Bearcats beat
Whitesboro, 21-13, for the school's first homecoming win at Massey Stadium.
Pilot Point's Kent Crutsinger, who is now the interim superintendent in
Little Elm, intercepted a pass and scored a touchdown to ice the homecoming
win for the Bearcats.
"For every player who wears the orange and black, homecoming is a
big game," Crutsinger said. "I remember when we were sophomores, we played
four or five teams for their homecoming. It's usually one of the largest
crowds.
"Winning homecoming was one of those unspoken things. It wasn't
much fun to go to the dance after losing. To win that first one [at Massey
Stadium] was a big deal."
The Bearcats are 25-0 in homecoming games since 1977.
Following a 21-17 loss to Celina in the 1977 season, Massey Stadium
became a nearly-impenetrable place for opponents. Pilot Point became
unbeaten over the next 52 games at Massey Stadium, going 11 seasons before
losing again at home.
Dan Ray Gist, who was quarterback on the 1984 Pilot Point team,
recalls the special feeling and excitement at Massey Stadium during the
1980s.
"It was just exciting; people were excited," said Gist, now the
PPISD's assistant superintendent. "It was a privilege to walk on that
field. There was that aura, just something special about it. We definitely
had a home-field advantage."
The Bearcats' home winning streak was ended by the coach who
started it in 1988. In G.A. Moore's first season back at Celina, the
Bobcats beat Pilot Point 33-7 at Massey, bringing an end to the streak.
Moore has more opposing wins of any coach at Massey Stadium. He
also coached in two playoff games at the stadium while at Celina.
"We played a couple of playoff games at the stadium," Moore said.
"It was one of the premiere stadiums around here then."
Pilot Point followed the 52-game unbeaten streak with an 18-game
home winning streak.
Arena of change
Since Massey Stadium opened, it has gone through a series of
changes that are scheduled to continue.
In 1981, the current fieldhouse was added through donations and
contributions by boosters.
"I remember when the fieldhouse was dedicated," said Mike Hammonds,
a member of the 1981 team. "A lot of our parents went on a note to get it
done."
The original wooden stands also came down in the 1980s, along with
the original pressbox. Aluminum stands and a new two-story pressbox were
added.
An all-weather track was installed in the early 1990s, followed by
a new restroom in 1998. The current scoreboard was put up in 2001, donated
by PointBank.
New lighting to brighten up the stadium and move the poles off the
field could soon be on the way, along with new artificial turf, which would
extend the life of the three-decades-old facility.
With talk of a new high school being built by the end of the
decade, Massey Stadium may be replaced.
But many of the players who have memories of playing at Massey hope
that day is not anytime soon.
"I know they'll have to do away with it sometime, but hopefully not
anytime soon," Fuller said. "Someday, I'll watch my grandkids there,
hopefully."
 R.L. Massey
 Massey Stadium
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We need the roster for the 1947 team. If you know it or have any other information about this team please contact Jim McIlroy (940) 686-3357.