For a historical reference of how long Bob McKinley has been at Weatherford College, Jimmy Carter was sworn in as the 39th president of the United States, the original "Star Wars "movie was released in theaters and Radio Shack was at the height of its popularity.
That was 1977, when the fresh faced young coach from Bowie by way of Houston took over a Lady Coyotes program that had already made a name for itself under another legendary coach, Betty Jo Graber, the lady for whom the facility in which McKinley's team now plays in was named after.
It wasn't long before folks at the college and around town began to realize they'd found another gem. He would later join Graber in the NJCAA Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, his induction coming in 2015.
And yes, he was still at Weatherford College at the time of his induction - which is also where he is today. McKinley is in his 47th year at the school, where he has won 16 conference championships, been named conference coach of the year 12 times, and reached five NJCAA Tournaments with one Final Four appearance.
McKinley has said many times that he has no intention of retiring and that he wanted to win at least 1,000 games. He accomplished that feat on Dec. 8 of 2023 with an 89-84 victory against Paris.
Weatherford College honored McKinley with a reception on Thursday, Jan. 18. Friends and faithful, including many players past and present, showed up to congratulate one the school's favorite sons on his monumental achievement.
"I can't imagine 1,000 wins at the same place. He's seen the city of Weatherford change and grow so much in his time here," said Chris Lewis, who is in his third successful year as coach of the Coyotes men's team. "And he's just a great guy. I'm just glad to say he's someone who has been there in my career, someone I can always come to and get advice."
WC Athletic Trainer Chris Nelson has worked with McKinley for almost a decade and a half. He said McKinley was keeping a promise when he reached the milestone.
"I came around for 750, saw him get 800 and 900," Nelson said. "Around 800 it was kind of hard to fathom 200 more wins, but he said he'd do it and he did."
McKinley did it by consistently winning. His teams were regulars in the postseason as much as pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. He is the winningest active NJCAA Division I coach in the nation.
And when you do something that long, you naturally get a lot of admirers.
"There are a lot of coaches and educators who have positive impacts on students, but over 47 years Bob McKinley has had a transformational impact on a lot of students," said WC President Tod Allen Farmer.
Farmer told the crowd in attendance at the Emerging Technologies and Workforce Building Community Room, "It takes a while to get to 1,000 wins. Weatherford College is a better place because of Bob McKinley."
Farmer joked that when the members of the current Lady Coyotes were born, McKinley had already been at the school for well over two decades.
"He's been through a lot of the ups and downs here at Weatherford College," Farmer continued, adding as he spoke directly to McKinley that the coach did much more than teaching players how to win, but also how to be a team, be tough, overcome adversity and simply be great people in all facets of life.
"I want to thank you for 47 years and we want another 47 years out of you," Farmer said to a thunderous applause.
Weatherford College Vice President of Institutional Advancement Brent Baker chuckled and said, "I was 6 years old when Weatherford College hired Bob McKinley," along with noting how proud he is to have the legendary coach at the school.
“Imagine how many student-athletes coach McKinley has impacted over four decades. It goes way beyond wins and losses. He has been a mentor to so many and that has an impact far beyond the basketball court.”
Farmer's speech was followed by a presentation of proclamations from Judy Flanigan from state senator Phil King's office and Sabrina Williams, daughter of U.S. Congressman Roger Williams.
"You have made such an impact on our community," Flanigan told McKinley.
"The high school basketball careers my sister and I had are because of you," Williams said. "We spent many summers up here."
Andra Cantrell, Weatherford College Chief Financial Officer, has been with the school 44 years, coming along shortly after McKinley. Over the years they have become good friends.
"I always knew he was a great coach," he said, noting that she encouraged many players to come and be coached by him. "Bob's not just about winning. He's about bringing good kids to Weatherford College. He took them into his family and made them part of it, and we have all stayed close together through the years."
Then, when asked who will retire first, Cantrell smiled and said in a non-committing way, "We kinda say we're sticking together."
Along with leading them to victories, McKinley has built lifelong relationships with most of his players. Ask him about most any one of them and he can tell you where they are living, what they are doing for a career, their family, and odds are it was only a short time ago he spoke with them or communicated with them via Facebook.
"It's awesome to be a part of this, as a player and an assistant coach," said Greta Edwards (formerly Kairyte), who played for McKinley from 2014-16 and is now one of his assistant coaches (along with Brittnie Henderson). "He's really family oriented. His main goal is to make everybody feel at home. He's a father figure.
"He makes sure everybody has a place to go after Weatherford College and he keeps up with everyone."
One player, in fact, literally became a member of McKinley's family. Rochelle Larrabee - now McKinley - married his son Trey, who is chair of the school's kinesiology department.
"I thought he recruited me because I was a good basketball player," she said with a laugh. "I definitely lucked out, getting a scholarship and a husband."
At which point Trey chuckled and chimed in, "She averaged 28 points, by the way."
Rochelle said the thing that has stood out most about her father-in-law has been "The friendship and relationships he brought to becoming a good human being. As players we just wanted to be around him. We'd stop by his office and just visit. He was relationally connected with each one of us."
Ashlee Seymore, who is on the current roster, said being on the team that gave McKinley his historic accomplishment made an impression that will be with her for the rest of her life.
"For me, it was a game-changing moment, you see life in a new way," she said. "You see that life creates opportunity if you just put yourself in the right position. It was absolutely amazing and I'm so glad I was a part of it."
In typical McKinley fashion, he told the crowd, "Anytime any of you want to come to a basketball game, you're welcome. We have plenty of new seats we'd love to fill."
Then, in the humble style that has helped endear him to so many, he continued, "It's not like we've done for Weatherford College, they've done for us, me and my family, and we thank you."
Not only did Bob become much loved by the community over the years, but folks loved his late wife Dee, who passed away in 2020. Likewise, their two children, Trey and Traci McKinley, and five grandchildren and one great grandchild grew up and have always had a special connection to Weatherford.
In July of 2023 it was announced by the Weatherford College Foundation that the McKinley Family Scholarship had surpassed the benchmark to become permanently endowed. It took only 10 days for friends of the family to contribute more than $10,000 to make that possible.
Then, he answered the question with an answer most everyone in the room already knew.
"And I do plan on being around for a few more years," he said with a smile.
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