The Ewell Jackson Tournament was originally named the Houston Coaches Tournament. The inaugural event was in 1960. Ewell Jackson was a successful Houston oilman. He paid for all the trophies and completely subsidized the tournament from his own pocket. Mr. Jackson continued as the benefactor of the tournament until his death in 1968. At that time the Houston Coaches Tournament was renamed the Ewell Jackson Memorial Tournament. Mr. Jackson was a born baseball promoter. For many years he hosted a dinner that was attended by the mayor, city council members, the AD's from Rice and UH, and all of the local media members. After dinner he would put the push on them to support amateur baseball (high school, college, amateur leagues) in the city of Houston. His passion and commitment are part of the grand legacy of baseball in Houston. Originally the tournament was played over two weeks with more than 40 teams participating in a double elimination format. In its original form teams from all over the gulf coast were invited and the games were played all around the Houston area at schools and city parks. Helping to organize the original version was Bob Hutson, the athletic director and baseball coach at St. Pius High School. Two of the original directors of the tournament were Ray Knoblauch, legendary Bellaire high school coach and Dick Janse, longtime and highly successful baseball coach at Sharpstown High School. Eventually, the UIL made rulings that limited play to Thursday thru Saturday only and also limited the number of tournaments that any team could play in a given year. Those UIL rulings resulted in the tournament's present 32-team, three-day format. The Ewell Jackson is currently the largest high school tournament in the state of Texas. In 2005, Houston's own Skeeter's Mesquite Grill has once again agreed to sponsor what will be the 46th Annual Ewell Jackson Tournament. This year in addition to great high school baseball, the tournament will award three $1,000.00 scholarships to deserving participants. For further information contact: Andy Jackson |