The Brownwood Lions Mothers Club is celebrating its 80th anniversary this football season, and one of its eldest members, Betty Cooper – 94 and ¾ years old by her own admission – recently took time to reflect on some of her fondest memories during her time as part of the club.
Cooper and her husband, Newt, moved to Brownwood in 1973, where she spent the last 17 years of her career teaching kindergarten, first grade and second grade students at Coggin Elementary and Woodland Heights Elementary.
The Coopers had two sons, Steve – who had played football at Odessa Permian and went on to play college football at TCU – and Thomas, who become a Brownwood Lion, starting in his seventh grade year, and was a member of the 1977 state championship squad.
“We came to Brownwood because of the football program,” Cooper said. “We wanted to be with Gordon Wood. We immediately joined in everything and I became a part of the Lions Mothers Club. We passed out programs, the girls went and decorated the boys’ rooms at their houses. If we had boys hurt and in the hospital, we brought decorations to the hospital. The mothers have always been there to take care of the boys. That was an outstanding time.”
Jim Wood, the son of Coach Wood, became best friends with Thomas Cooper during their school years.
Perhaps Cooper’s most treasured memory occurred when Coach Wood, who she developed a close friendship with during her time as an educator, asked her to perform on the piano at the annual Lions football banquet – a tradition that lives on. At that time, however, the banquet was only for players and their fathers, women were not a fixture at the event.
“Coach Wood, in 1980, he asked me to play for the Mothers Club banquet,” Cooper said. “The Mothers Club did all the preparations, and it was very special when the football boys got to have their special dinner with their dads and awards from the coaches.”
As for the ball games, Cooper reminisced about a particular Brownwood playoff trip to Perryton in frigid temperatures that didn’t turn out in the Lions’ favor.
“Thomas played the year they went to Perryton in the playoffs and we just happened to hit it during a blizzard,” Cooper said. “It was colder than anything I ever felt. You couldn’t stay out there more than 10 minutes, then you went to your car to get warm. We lost because we threw a pass on a play instead of running it. It was a misunderstanding, but they are forever still talking about how they could have won that ball game.”
In Cooper’s estimation, what makes the Lions Mothers Club special is, “The enthusiasm for football and taking care of all our boys. We always went to the games. We all knew when someone had gotten hurt, it was tight knit group. We didn’t have that at Permian. Here we did all kinds of things for all the boys, and they’re still doing it. We put signs in the yards, always had signs. We did a number of things that I loved. It meant so much to our boys.”
Cooper’s passion for football dates back to her days as a high school cheerleader at Bangs, where she graduated in 1948 – three years after the Brownwood Lions Mothers Club was formed. She still watches football, and her love for the sport has grown just as its popularity has throughout the decades.
“The most exciting times of my life were football,” Cooper said. “I had several uncles that were coaches when football was just coming around big time, especially at Odessa Permian and with the Brownwood Lions. We were famous teams.”
Cooper maintains a connection with the 2025 squad, as nephews Grant and Riggs Gray are members of the team. Her love for Brownwood football continues to this very day as she has a Christmas tree in her room at Oak Ridge Manor year round, and currently its adorned with Lions decorations.
