GALENA PARK, Texas – This year is the 50th Super Bowl and to celebrate, the NFL gave commemorative golden footballs to more than 2,000 high schools around the world.
At some point, a player or coach from those schools made it to the Super Bowl.
The NFL awarded nearly 50 golden footballs to high schools in the Houston area.
"There are a lot of things that happen in your life that are good or bad, but there's nothing like being honored in your hometown," Howard Twilley.
After graduating in 1962, Twilley played football for the University of Tulsa and the Miami Dolphins. He won two Super Bowl titles, back-to-back and made
history.
"When you've won all 17 of them (games), it means you're perfect. I'm not perfect, but the Miami Dolphins were perfect in 1972," said Twilley.
Wearing his blue Dolphins jacket, Twilley gave his alma mater a commemorative golden football for the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl. Even former teammates honored Twilley for his success.
"He deserves it. He worked hard for it and you get rewarded for your efforts and he did," Doyle Johnson.
But for students and graduates of Galena Park High School, it means much more.
"It's something special to have him here not only as a product of Galena Park, but also as a model to our students," said Principal Tony Gardea.
The NFL awarded more than 320 golden footballs to high schools in Texas.
