Water Rails & Oil - Historic Mid & South Jefferson County

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Above: Port Neches City Hall, 1946, located on the corner of Avenue C and Merriman Street.
COURTESY OF THE PORT ARTHUR PUBLIC LIBRARY, HISTORICAL COLLECTION.
Below: Joe Washington, Jr. graduated from Lincoln High School in 1971. He played football for San Diego, Oklahoma, Baltimore, and Washington. Shown are (from left to right): Joe
Washington, Jr., his wife Meadowlark, and his father, Joe Washington, Sr.
COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF THE GULF COAST, PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS.
J OE W ASHINGTON, JR .
Joe Washington Jr., remembered as “Little Joe,”
was an outstanding athlete at Lincoln High School,
where his father coached. While in high school,
Washington avidly supported Coach Darrell Royal
and the University of Texas Longhorns, but
enrolled at the University of Oklahoma in 1972
because it was closer to Texas Women’s University
in Denton, Texas, where his high school
sweetheart—and future wife—had enrolled.
Oklahoma’s Coach Barry Switzer
recognized and utilized Washington's talent
from the start. Washington ran for 630 yards
during his freshman season, and progressed
to 1,321 yards in his senior year. Even as a
junior, Washington was named an All-
American player by the Associated Press,
Football Writers’ Association, Sporting News,
and other agencies. As a senior, he finished
third in Heisman Trophy competition for the
best football player in America.
Washington played for the San Diego
Chargers, Baltimore Colts, Washington
Redskins, and Atlanta Falcons in a career
that lasted until his retirement in 1985.
Chapter IV ✦ 47