Checotah Hall of Fame basketball coach Truman Dixon celebrated his birthday Tuesday just as you would imagine he would, at a Checotah Wildcat basketball game.

“I enjoy watching these young coaches and the type of teams they develop. I appreciate all the birthday wishes,” Dixon said.

Dixon was the 10th child born to May Jane White and Thomas Dixon and was the first in the family to attend college.

After graduating from Checotah High School in 1944, he went on to graduate college then taught and coached from 1959-1990 first at Central High then on to Checotah.

While coaching, Dixon led the Checotah Wildcat boys’ and girls’ basketball teams to a combined 699-248 record. His girls’ teams won 498 games in 27 seasons, while the boys won 201 games in 10 seasons. In 1969, he led the Checotah boys team to the state championship and brought home the Class A Gold ball.

Dixon was the Oklahoma Coaches Association Basketball Coach of the Year in 1968, 1969 and 1973. In 1996, Dixon was inducted into the OCA Hall of Fame and in 2022 was inducted into the Checotah Athletic Hall of Fame.