and the people who overcome them - McMurry University

Jimmy Allen ‘75I n 1 9 5 3 , J i m m y A l l e n , a small boy with bigchallenges, forged a relationship with McMurry footballthat would set the course for his life. Forty-seven yearslater, that relationship, combined with his strong faith anda dogged determination to succeed, would be called on tosave his life.Jimmy suffered a brain injury during birth and hasbeen challenged with overcoming Cerebral Palsy sincethat time. He has never walked and has very limited use ofhis arms and hands. Jimmy, now 66, remembers as a smallchild sitting in his yard a few blocks from the campusand looking toward the football field. “My thoughts andmy vision focused on the same point—the rock fencethat enclosed Indian Stadium. I had a dream of somedayentering McMurry.” He had no idea at that time what Godhad planned for him behind that rock wall.When Jimmy was 11 years old he received physicaltherapy at the newly formed West Texas RehabilitationCenter. There he met several members of the McMurryfootball team. Among them were Joe Bill Fox ’56,Billy Atkins ’55 and Elroy Payne ’56. They volunteeredtheir time to help the physical therapists give exercisesand administer physical therapy to the children. Theychauffeured kids to and from treatment and even helpedraise funds to provide wheelchairs and other itemsof equipment needed in their therapy. A strong bonddeveloped between Jimmy and the McMurry players.He soon knew more statistics regarding the McMurryfootball team than most of the coaches did. Years later,that desire to know and analyze McMurry statistics wouldbecome his life’s work.It was at Cooper High School where he receivedhis first opportunity to help coach football. He began asa “whistle blower.” He blew the whistle to start and stopworkout drills. What began with the sound of the whistleon the Cooper football field grew and developed beyondgraduation. After seven years of dedication to those youngmen, Jimmy was inducted into the Cooper Cougars Hallof Fame in 1994.By the fall of 1970 Jimmy entered his first class atwhat was then McMurry College. At that time McMurrywas not wheelchair accessible. Before he could get to theelevator in the building where his class was held, he hadto climb four steps. Each day he had to rely on others tolift him in his wheelchair over the stairs to get into thebuilding. The first semester he took one class—collegealgebra; the second semester—trigonometry and English;and the third semester—he took a full load.Jimmy brought carbon paper to different membersof his class. They used it when they took their notes andshared the copies with him. Because he couldn’t hold apencil in his hand, he had to come up with another wayto do his homework. He used an electric typewriter anda pencil clinched firmly between his teeth. He tediouslylocated and typed each letter by mouth. “I used a lotof correction tape. The computer has made my typingmuch easier!” McMurry professors had to be creative inteaching gifted and challenged students like Jimmy. “Dr.Moore, my biology teacher…took me to his office, put thetest in front of me, turned on a tape recorderand returned to the class. That was one heck of asurprise!”It was fulfilling to have overcome thechallenges of the stairs and the classroom, but8 M c M u r r y U n i v e r s i t y