SAN ANGELO, TX — Jack Shely, a Hall of Fame six-man football coach best known for leading Amherst to back-to-back state titles, died Thursday, March 19, at the age of 75.
Shely’s life began in far West Texas as he was born in Alpine and graduated from high school in Marathon, but his coaching journey took him around the state.
After graduating from Angelo State University, where he was president of the rodeo club, he landed his first coaching job in Patton Springs.
Among the other schools he coached at included Higgins, Richland Springs, Cherokee, Sanderson and Veribest.
Shely became a six-man coaching legend at Amherst, where he guided the team to state titles in 1994 and ‘95.
He was inducted into the Texas Six-Man Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2017 with a record of 159-78-3, along with an assistant coaching record of 57-15.
However, he came out of retirement and added another accomplishment to his resume when he led Veribest to its first-ever playoff appearance in 2016, ending a drought of 18 years.
Shely is survived by his wife of 47 years, Annette; daughters Lacey and Calinda; and four grandchildren.
A visitation will be held at Johnson’s Funeral Home in San Angelo from 6 p.m to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 26.
A graveside service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, March 27, in Marathon.
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