07.15.13 by Ray Sanchez
When I entered El Paso High School as a 14-year-old freshman in the fall of 1941 everywhere I went throughout the school I kept hearing the name Bill Squires. He seemed to be every young girl’s dreamboat and every young boy’s idol.
And for good reason. The year before, as a junior, he had quarterbacked the Tigers to their greatest football season ever, winning not only the district championship but also the bi-district playoff.
His coach, Jewell Wallace, called him “the finest high school passer I’ve ever seen.” And Wallace, a former coach at TCU, had seen plenty of good ones, including legendary Sammy Baugh.
SQUIRES AND the Tigers tied Big Spring 27-27 in the 1940 bi-district game but advanced on penetrations. Then, in the quarterfinals, they lost, 27-0, to eventual state champion Amarillo in an ice storm in Amarillo. It was so cold players had to wear gloves. Despite the handicap, Squires completed 27 of 42 passes.
Perhaps his best game that season was against a very tough Pampa Harvesters team. In that one, Squires connected on 22 of 29 passes.
THE TIGERS didn’t win the district title during Squires’ senior year in 1941 but he continued to set passing records, throwing up to 40 passes in one game and completing most of them.
He was named to the All-District football team again and continued to get raves throughout Texas.
His passing overshadowed the fact he could also run like the wind. He was the district champion in the 100 yards dash and was a member of the 440 relay team that made the state meet.
AMONG HIS awards, he was named the Most Valuable Player in the district and received honorable mention on the Texas All-State High School team in 1940 and as a senior he was chosen to play in the Oil Bowl Game between Texas and Oklahoma.
He is still the only quarterback to have led El Paso High School past the bi-district playoffs
Yes, colleges came calling. He accepted a full scholarship to SMU but whatever bright football future was ahead for him was ended by a serious knee injury.
BUT WHY, you ask, am I telling you all this? Because, as readers of this column know, I like to keep reminding you about some of our old time sports stars.
Squires, 88, is not in the best of health at this writing. He is on oxygen all the time. But he is mentally okay and is usually in his office in the mornings.
He had quite a career away from sports, too. As his wife, Kathleen Squires, says, “he continued to be an involved, committed and hard-working citizen of El Paso.
“After leaving Continental National Bank, which he chartered in 1973-4 and served on the Board and as president until 1983, he ran unsuccessfully for the El Paso Westside alderman post. The next three years were spent at his home in Alto (Ruidoso) where he skied in the winter and golfed all year (as much as possible), maintaining his scratch golf handicap.”
THEN, SHE ADDS, “Boredom set in, so he studied for and took the exam to get into law school. Upon applying, he was accepted at two law schools – choosing the University of San Diego. In May, 1989, at 65 years old, after four years of study, he received his J.D. degree from the University of San Diego Law School, and he took and passed the California Bar exam before returning to El Paso.
“In early 2003, he sold his home in Jardines (El Paso), where he served on their Association’s Board, and moved to Las Cruces, where he created a governing body for that new neighborhood association. He served on the Las Cruces Airport Board for six years from 2004-2010 (also as chairman). He continued to play golf, at least weekly, at El Paso Country Club with his regular group until about 2008, and his membership at El Paso Country Club is active to this day.”
BILL SQUIRES is now relatively inactive but continues to enjoy reading, television, sports and visits of his children, thirteen grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren.
I hope you enjoyed reading about this extraordinary man as much as I did bringing him to you.