The Legends of Woodward: Locals Who Made a Big Impact

1. Temple Lea Houston — The Silver-Tongued Frontier Lawyer

 

Long before TV legal dramas, the son of Sam Houston was turning Woodward’s courthouse into headline material. In 1899, Houston stepped in to defend a penniless prostitute and delivered the impromptu “Soiled Dove Plea,” a closing argument still studied as rhetorical perfection. The all-male jury acquitted her on the spot, and local lore says even the judge had misty eyes. Houston’s blend of Latin quotes, Bible verses, and six-shooter swagger made him a living legend until his death downtown in 1905. en.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.org

 

2. Bob “The Blonde Bomber” Fenimore — Football’s First Cowboy Superstar

 

If Oklahoma State’s No. 55 rings a bell, thank Woodward’s native son. Fenimore led the nation in rushing in 1945, steered Oklahoma A&M to its only undefeated season, and became the very first overall pick of the 1947 NFL draft. Not bad for a kid who used the family front yard as a training field. en.wikipedia.org

 

3. Jerry Covington — Chrome Artist of the High Plains

 

Swap pigskin for pistons and meet the man who turned a Main-Street shop into an international custom-bike studio. Since 1993 Covington’s Customs has sent rolling sculpture from Woodward to celebrities like Sammy Hagar and Discovery Channel’s Biker Build-Off. When riders spot that impossibly clean frame work, they’re looking at pure Woodward craftsmanship. en.wikipedia.org

 

4. Paul Laune — The Illustrator Who Painted the West (and the Hardy Boys)

 

Laune’s murals greet visitors at the Plains Indians & Pioneers Museum, but his pencils traveled farther still: he drew covers for the Hardy Boys series beloved by generations. Whether chronicling quarter-horses or pioneer wagons, Laune exported Woodward’s frontier DNA onto pages seen around the world. en.wikipedia.org

 

5. Olin “Tiger” Teague — War-Hero Congressman With a Space-Age Vision

 

Born in Woodward, Teague stormed Normandy, earned two Purple Hearts, then spent three decades in Congress championing veterans and steering America’s early space policy as chair of the House Science Committee. NASA insiders still reference “Tiger Teague” when they talk about the moon-shot era. en.wikipedia.org

 

6. Dana Murphy — The Regulator Who Kept the Lights On

 

Energy runs in Oklahoma’s veins, and Woodward native Dana Murphy spent 14 years on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission guarding the state’s oil-and-gas lifeline. As chair, she navigated booms, busts, and blackouts—proving that quiet, steady leadership can be legendary too. en.wikipedia.org

 

7. Tim Albin — From Sandlot Receiver to Championship Coach

 

Albin caught passes at Northwestern Oklahoma State, then climbed the coaching ladder to lead Ohio University to its first MAC title in half a century. In 2025 he took over Charlotte’s program, but his playbook still borrows grit he learned playing wide-receiver on Woodward soil. en.wikipedia.org

 

8. Rachael Van Horn — The Oil-Pumping Storyteller

 

Need a modern folk hero? Try a former war correspondent who now fixes pump jacks by day and pens newspaper columns by night. After surviving a suicide bombing in Iraq, Van Horn returned home, adopted three burned calves, fought PTSD, and became a local voice for rural resilience—proving Woodward legends aren’t all relics of the past. newyorker.com

 

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Why These Stories Matter

 

None of these legends followed the same trail, yet each carved a path that widened Woodward’s horizons—whether in a courtroom, on a football field, across canvases, or among Capitol corridors. They remind us that big impact doesn’t require a big city; sometimes it starts with a prairie breeze and a stubborn dream.

 

Your Turn: Who else deserves a spot on Woodward’s wall of fame? Reply with your nomination and a story, and we might feature it in a future issue of Woodward Shoutouts.