Opal Lee and former Granbury coach selected for Texas Women’s Hall of Fame

Civil rights icon Opal Lee and former Granbury girls basketball coach Leta Andrews have been selected for induction into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame, Gov. Greg Abbott and the Governor’s Commission for Women announced Tuesday.

Lee, of Fort Worth, is known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” for her efforts to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. Juneteenth recognizes when Texas slaves learned of their freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation.

Andrews won a national record 1,416 games in a coaching career that spanned 51 seasons at Tolar, Gustine, Comanche, Corpus Christi Calallen and Granbury, where she once played high school basketball.

The Texas Women’s Hall of Fame was established in 1984 by the Governor’s Commission for Women. A permanent exhibit is housed at Texas Woman’s University in Denton. The induction ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 9 in Austin.