James E. "Blue" Lewis

Joe Booker began his coaching career in the Linden-Kildare Independent School District, where he coached football, basketball and baseball at Fairview High School. He was recommended by former Prairie View head football coach and director of athletics, W. J. Nicks, Sr.

Booker did not disappoint Nicks, as he won five basketball championships and two baseball championships in his five years as head basketball and baseball coach. He coached his basketball to two consecutive 4 state basketball tournaments, which included Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.

He was named Coach of the Year by the East Texas Coaches Association. He posted a 127-19 record in basketball and a 50-14 record in baseball. As assistant football coach, he developed Bill Harper as one of the best quarterbacks to come out of East Texas. Harper was all-district for three years and lead the district in passing for three years. Booker's high-powered offense averaged 44-points a game Harper's senior year. Harper is now head football coach at Marshall High School in Marshall, Texas, where his football teams have been in the playoffs all but one year.

Booker left Linden and scouted for the now defunct Oakland Oaks of the American Basketball Association. He worked for then head coach and general manager, Bruce Hale, who was also the father-in-law of NBA and ABA star Rick Barry. Booker also scouted for the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros Baseball Clubs.

Booker was hired as Prairie View A&M University's first Sports Information Director by former PVU President, Dr. Alvin I. Thomas, where he worked for 10 years. As Sports Information Director, Booker was named SWAC SID of the Year as well as voted President of the SWAC Sports Information Directors Association. He was also voted the first black President of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Sports Information Directors in 1976.

Booker left Prairie View in 1979 and returned to Houston, where he resumed his coach career at Sharpstown Senior High School, where he served as assistant boys basketball coach for one year. He was later named head girls basketball coach at Sharpstown High School, where he coached the team to the first winning season in the history of the school. In three years Booker coached the team to a 46-26 record. His last year he coached a group of freshmen and sophomores to a 20-6 record and runner-up in the district. He was also runner-up for Coach of the Year.

In 8 years as a head basketball coach, Booker posted a 173-45 record. He is presently department chairman of the Career and Technology Education Department at Jesse H. Jones High School in the Houston Independent School District.

He credits his coaching success to talking to and listening to great coaches like W. J. Nicks (Prairie View), the late Collins Briggs (Wheatley), John Wooten (UCLA) and Nolan Richardson (Arkansas). He has never been satisfied with his coaching success and feels when a coach becomes satisfied, he ceases to become successful. His role models were his parents and feels if more kids had parents as role models rather than professional athletes, we would have better kids today. He feels when kids don't have parents to look up to, they seek superficial role models that are thrown on them.

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