Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Tombstone Tuesday - Guy Estes (1888-1944)


Guy Estes
b. 1 January 1888
d. 13 November 1944
Arkansas
1 Lieut. Corps of Engrs.


Guy "Big Dan" Estes enrolled at the University of Arkansas in 1909 where he decided to play football for the first time in his life.  Coach Hugo Bezdek saw promise in Estes and his six-foot three-inches, 240 pound frame.  He lettered with the Razorbacks four times and eventually graduated in 1914.  Shortly before World War I, Estes came to Arkansas Normal School (today’s UCA) as a math professor and coach of track, basketball, baseball, and football.  He soon joined the Army and served at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, and on the Mexican border.  After the war, he returned to the Normal School where he was known for interesting pre-season football camps including having his team hike 30 miles to Thornburg in Perry County where they would train and camp for 2 weeks.  Estes retired from his coaching duties in 1933, but continued to teach math and served as the Dean of Men.  During World War II, he performed pioneering work in civil aeronautics on the UCA campus as the coordinator for the first pilot training unit which helped prepare and train pilots to fly during the war.  As an avid wildlife enthusiast, Estes helped stock Lake Conway along with most lakes and rivers in Faulkner County for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.  In 1964, Estes was named to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame; in 2001, he was inducted into the UCA Hall of Fame.  The football stadium at UCA has been named Estes Field in his honor.[1]



[1] Bryant, Jimmy. "Guy "Big Dan" Estes: A Man for All Seasons." Unknown. University of Central Arkansas Archives. 22 February 2007 <http://archives.uca.edu/uca_History/Dan%20Estes.htm>.

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