Mike Winchell was an athletic kid, who was very close to his brother and father. After watching his father die in front of him at the age of thirteen, Winchell wanted to get out and move as far away from Odessa as possible, but one thing and one thing only kept him wanting to stay in Odessa: Permian football. He knew that he had a chance to be part of something special when he got older and got into high school. He knew that is what his father would have wanted. Mike was always gifted athletically. He was head and shoulders above his classmates in baseball, hitting thirty home runs in one Little League season. Mike was always a shy kid, but his father’s passing made him grow up quicker. He had two brothers, one died shortly after his dad did, and the other one was in prison. His mom was a clerk at a convenient store, and lived in a very small house, just him and his mom. He was very poor, which ashamed him to the point where he wouldn’t even let his high school girlfriend come over. He didn’t even have his own car, which most Permian kids did.
Winchell didn’t have much growing up so he turned to sports and his academics. He became a gifted student as well as athlete, and became the starting quarterback his junior year. He received interest from Yale and Brown his senior year because of his stellar academic performance. He had a reputation for clinching up when the games got tight, and many of his teammates lost faith in him. However, when the game wasn’t close he was a great quarterback. Mike was a gamer, he hated waiting for the game to begin, and Friday mornings and afternoons seemed to never end. He secretly wished to just get the game started.
He wished to become a quarterback at one of the elite Southwestern Conference schools, but never received a scholarship from a major Division I school, despite setting all time Permian records for most passing yards, most passes completed, and most touchdown passes. Yale called, but upon hearing his West Texas accent, the board at Yale considered him a dumb hick, and quit pursuing him. He walked on at Baylor, but failed to make the traveling squad because he lacked consistency. He said about himself, “One day I could throw the ball like Roger Staubach, the next like Roger Rabbit.”
Winchell didn’t have much growing up so he turned to sports and his academics. He became a gifted student as well as athlete, and became the starting quarterback his junior year. He received interest from Yale and Brown his senior year because of his stellar academic performance. He had a reputation for clinching up when the games got tight, and many of his teammates lost faith in him. However, when the game wasn’t close he was a great quarterback. Mike was a gamer, he hated waiting for the game to begin, and Friday mornings and afternoons seemed to never end. He secretly wished to just get the game started.
He wished to become a quarterback at one of the elite Southwestern Conference schools, but never received a scholarship from a major Division I school, despite setting all time Permian records for most passing yards, most passes completed, and most touchdown passes. Yale called, but upon hearing his West Texas accent, the board at Yale considered him a dumb hick, and quit pursuing him. He walked on at Baylor, but failed to make the traveling squad because he lacked consistency. He said about himself, “One day I could throw the ball like Roger Staubach, the next like Roger Rabbit.”