Among the first great two-sport athletes at Wayland was E.W. “Jack” Jackson. Jackson, a native of Spade, came to Wayland in September, 1928, and immediately impacted the Jackrabbit programs as a varsity athlete in football in 1928, 1929, and 1930, and in basketball in 1928.
    Jackson never missed a game during his Wayland career, averaging five yards per carry from the fullback position. During the 1928-29 season, Jackson helped the Jackrabbits to their best record at that time, 7-1-1. He was also a starting guard on the basketball team, which held practices in the basement of Gates Hall and played games in the Plainview High School gymnasium.
     The 1929 football season saw the Jackrabbits compile a 4-3-1 record, which included a loss to the College of Mines (now the University of Texas at El Paso) in the first night football game ever played by two Texas teams. One year later, the Jackrabbits would improve to 8-1-1, including a 6-0 victory over Texas Tech in Lubbock, a game in which Jackson scored the only touchdown.
     After graduating in 1930 with an associate’s degree in education, Jackson embarked upon a career that included teaching, farming, administration and coaching. He also completed both the Bachelor of Science and the master of education degrees from Texas Tech.