ORANGE, Texas — Hundreds were at the Claybar Funeral Home in Orange to pay their respects to a man who is remembered as one of the greatest athletes to come out of Southeast Texas.
Steve Worster died on August 13, 2022 at the age of 73. Loved ones, Bridge City officials, former University of Texas teammates and more attended Worster's funeral on Saturday.
Worster was born in Wyoming on July 8, 1949 but was raised in Bridge City. He graduated from Bridge City High School in 1967, according to the Museum of the Gulf Coast.
Loved ones and those who knew Wooster described him as one of Bridge City’s finest and said he helped put Bridge City on the map.
While attending the high school, Worster was a tailback on the football team and catcher on the baseball team. Worster helped lead the Bridge City Cardinals to back-to-back state championships in 1965 and 1966.
Worster led the team to the Class 3A championship in 1966, where the Cardinals won their only title.
Worster was described as an outstanding athlete, great father, husband and friend. He was said to have impacted the lives of more people than he knew.
Long-time fans of Worster also attended the funeral.
"I was 8 years old when I started watching Texas football,” Mitchell Bailiff, long-time fan, said. “Steve and James Street and Jim Burleson were my heroes. They were everything to me back then. I'm sad that they have all passed away now"
Worster attended the University of Texas on a football scholarship and played halfback under Coach Darrell Royal. He was later named All-Southwestern Conference three times and was named All-American twice.
The Longhorns won two national championships during Worster’s four years. He was given the nickname “Big Woo” by Texas Longhorn fans.
Worster's former teammates also had a strong presence at the funeral, representing the longhorns recruit class of '67. Those teammates said Worster was humble, competitive and an unspoken leader who left a major impact on those who knew him.
One person Worster left an impact on was his former teammate Ted Koy.
“Very tough player. As I said always giving his best,” Koy said. “Was a player that you could count on him. He was just a wonderful teammate. It's so sad to lose him. When I first learned about it, I was very, very sad, but it was so great to see such an honoring event for Steve Worster."
The special group of longhorns even had a name for themselves, derived from Worster.
“Our freshman class was named the ‘Wooster bunch.’ That's my favorite memory,” Bill Zapalac said. “That's how we're known when we have reunions. In fact, we have one T-shirt here today known as the Worster Bunch, the Worster Bunch Reunion.”
Those who loved Worster said life-long friendships were made on the football field, which led to legendary results.
“We developed a relationship even before I got to the University of Texas, and I can remember then how humble Steve was,” Bill Atesis, Worster's former teammate, said. “We talked about what we wanted to do which was play for the University of Texas and win a national championship. Sure enough, that's what happened."
Another way Worster's teammates described him was simply the best.
