The No. 4 football jersey Byron Hanspard wore with such distinction for the DeSoto Eagles in 1991-1993 was retired in a halftime ceremony at Friday's 52-10 homecoming win over Mesquite at Eagle Stadium.
Courtesy of DeSoto ISD
Byron Hanspard (4) is the first former DeSoto football player to have his number retired.
Hanspard, a former running back, is the first DeSoto football player to have his number retired.
In his high school career, Hanspard rushed for 3,996 yards, including 2,084 as a senior when he was named the Texas Class 5A MVP. The Eagles had a record of 19-2-3 in his time there.
Hanspard was named to high school All-America teams by Parade Magazine and USA Today. In 2006, Hanspard was inducted to the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame.
Hanspard moved on to set records in two seasons at Texas Tech, where he rushed for 2,084 yards in a season and 287 yards in a game against Baylor. He amassed 260 yards in a Copper Bowl victory over Air Force.
Today, Hanspard is head of security at DeSoto High School, which enables him to become a mentor as well as a monitor. He is an ordained minister and he hopes to return to college to pursue a career in mental health counseling.
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Jeff Andrews
Jeff Andrews covers north Metroplex high schools for ESPNDallas.com. He covered high school sports for four years at the Denton Record-Chronicle. Andrews is a graduate of UNT.
Randy Jennings
Randy Jennings covers south Metroplex high schools for ESPNDallas.com. His 34-year career as a sports writer includes eight years at the Dallas Morning News. Jennings is a graduate of UT-Arlington.
Mercedes Mayer
Mercedes Mayer covers west Metroplex high schools for ESPNDallas.com. Mercedes has covered DFW-area sports for the last six years, including a 5 1/2 year stint with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Mayer is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.
Ethan Szatmary
Ethan B. Szatmary covers east Metroplex high schools for ESPNDallas.com. Ethan covered colleges and high schools for the Denton Record-Chronicle for eight years and graduated from Emory University.
