No matter what he decides to pursue, Harvey Cook, class of (53’) has remained on his toes over the years.
The Mulerider alum played when Southern Arkansas University was a member of the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference and won the championship title in 1951 and 1952. These days he isn’t chasing football titles but listening intently to what his ballroom dancing cuer is going to call for him and his dance partner, Phyliss Neighbors, to do next. Now in his 70s, Cook is an avid ballroom dancer. His passion for the hobby is obvious as he talks of the types of dancing he enjoys doing each week including the Rumba, Cha Cha, Foxtrot, Tango, Waltz and others.
Although he has traveled across the country to pursue ballroom dancing, he most often dances at Guys and Dolls in Texarkana, Arkansas which offers square dancing and the type of ballroom dancing Cook does, known as choreographed ballroom dancing. This type of dance allows dancers to hear the steps as they do them as opposed to memorizing all the music and steps.
While it may be against a stereotype for a former football player and football coach to be as much at home on the dance floor as the grid iron, Cook said he gets his interest in his hobby honestly. Growing up in Gillett, in the Delta of Arkansas, Cook learned to dance at the age of 12.
“My five sisters taught me how to dance during World War II when there was a shortage of men,” Cook said.
The former teacher of 35 years, many of those years spent teaching and coaching for Texarkana Independent School District, never let go of that love to dance. But even if he is attending a ballroom conference, as he will later this fall, he will still make time to attend the University family day. His grandson, Ben Williams, is a linebaker for the Muleriders and is playing his third season.
