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Lake View coaching great Hale dies in crash
Clovis Hale, who coached Lake View High School from 1973-77, died Saturday afternoon in a one-vehicle crash in Burnet County, according to DPS reports in the Austin American-Statesman.
Hale, who led the Chiefs to district titles in 1976 and 1977, was 74-years old, according to the report.
According to the DPS, Hale was driving a 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe east on Texas 71 about 1-mile east of Spicewood when his vehicle left the road on the south side shoulder. The vehicle traveled 100 feet, struck a power pole, a wire fence and some trees before rolling one-and-a-half times, .
The crash happened around 4:16 p.m. and Hale — who was wearing a seat belt — was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the report.
Hale's son, Joe Bill Hale, said Sunday that his father had been driving home from a dialysis appointment when the accident occurred, according to the American-Statesman's story.
The son said troopers told him there was no evidence of braking so it was possible his father lost consciousness before the crash. Clovis Hale had suffered a heart attack about three years ago and triple bypass surgery, said Joe Bill Hale.
An autopsy is pending and services have not yet been set.
After his stint at Lake View, Hale went on to coach at North Texas, Iowa, Rice, Texas Tech, Texas, SMU and some arena football.
Hale was in San Angelo as recently as April when he was inducted in the Lake View Athletic Hall of Fame for his time at the helm of the Chiefs' program.
There he guided Lake View to consecutive 10-0 seasons.
At the time of the HOF induction, Hale reminisced about his time in San Angelo.
"Out of all the places that I've coached, Lake View was one of my fondest places. I've thought about those days many, many times," he said. "I often wonder if I wouldn't have been better off staying in San Angelo."
"I guess I was just after bigger things."
Dan Baker, who played for Hale, said, "I credit Clovis with changing the athletic attitude of Lake View High School.
"He got the community involved. And it wasn't just football and it wasn't just boys sports. He really changed the whole community."
