A Remembrance of Bill Walker

This was written for the Facebook page of the Hot Springs High School Class of 1963.

By Roy Ockert Jr.

I might have known Bill Walker before the day in physical education class that I really noticed him. It was seventh grade at what was then called Hot Springs Junior High School, later Central, and the future HSHS Class of 1963 had recently come together from various grade schools around town.

I had gone to Jones School, and I think Bill had gone to Ricks across town. I had participated in Boys Club sports, and he probably did, too.

But on that day in the seventh grade PE class in the Trojan Field House, Coach Caristianos gave us a test of sorts involving several tests of strength, agility and skill. I don’t remember any of the other events, but one was especially difficult. A long rope was hung from the gym rafters, and we were asked, one by one, to climb as high as we could.

Some of us made it a quarter of the way up, some a little more, and came back down while we could. When it came Bill’s turn, though, he shimmied up, up and up — almost to the top, outdistancing all of us.

I knew from that moment Bill Walker had special athletic abilities. We became friends, and I soon learned that he was a special guy in so many other ways. He would become a star of our class — on our athletic teams, in our classrooms and as a leader. He made friends easily, and when you were his friend, it was for life.

Emails, texting and social media allowed our class members to stay in touch better over the last 25 or 30 years. I have been the class communicator, starting a web site and Facebook page and building an email database. I've also served on reunion committees. Bill lived in Austin, Texas, during that time. He didn’t do Facebook, but he got involved in many other ways from long distance.

When he heard about a classmate receiving an honor, celebrating an anniversary, having a new member in the family or being sick, he provided support and empathy. He always had words of encouragement for his old friends, especially those putting together reunions, and he made it back for a few. After learning that the Boys Club was in financial trouble, he offered campaign suggestions and a good contribution.

When our class came together for a 55-year reunion in 2018, several of us — Bill, Allen Broyles and David Harper — stayed at the same hotel. Each morning we met for breakfast with our wives, and it was like we’d never been apart as we relived the days of our youth.

I was always the class chronicler, first as editor of our junior high newspaper, then later the high school newspaper. After my junior year in high school I went to work part-time for the Hot Springs newspapers, the morning Sentinel-Record and its afternoon counterpart, The New Era.

I was the night “sports guy,” covering whatever needed to be covered and putting the sports pages together — great training for my future years as a newspaper editor. Those duties included going to home Trojan football and basketball games and writing the game stories for the next morning’s paper.

Bill had already proven himself as a standout in those sports, but in our senior year he became a star, especially in football. The Trojans had been a doormat for Class AAA, then the highest level of high school sports in Arkansas. So when I tell you that year our team went 5-7, that’s not too impressive. But allow me to put that in perspective. Our teams had one win total over the previous three years, and the 1964 team would win only once

The competition in Class AAA was fierce, as Jonesboro would find out when it moved up from AA in 1964. By that time I was a student at then-Arkansas State College, working at The Jonesboro Evening Sun and covering that Jonesboro team.

As a senior in high school Bill was a workhorse running back and pass-catcher, and he was even more valuable as a defensive back. Against North Little Rock he intercepted a pass with 25 seconds to play and returned it 65 yards for a game-winning touchdown. Against Fort Smith Northside, a league leader, he intercepted three passes and recovered two fumbles, pushing his team to an upset victory.

Bill also played basketball and was good enough to average in double figures scoring as a junior and senior.

During that basketball season I was asked to handle the polling of high school coaches and sportswriters to select an All-Southern team, which would include five from Arkansas.

Hot Springs High had not had a player on the team since 1944 — Eugene “Bud” Canada, who went on to star for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Bill’s exploits earned him a spot on the team, and I was honored to announce it at a basketball practice.