Margaret Koy Kistler, 63; Pioneer Texas Sportswriter
Bill Schenley
Pioneer Sportswriter Kistler Dies
FROM: The Houston Chronicle ~
By David Barron
Margaret Koy Kistler, a pioneer Texas sportswriter and a member
of one of Texas' greatest sports families, died Friday in Bellville.
She was 63.
Kistler gravitated toward sports naturally as the daughter of
Ernie Koy Sr., who was a three-time all-Southwest Conference
back for the Texas Longhorns from 1930-32 and played major
league baseball from 1938-1942. Her brothers, Ernie Jr. and Ted,
played on national title teams at UT [1].
But Kistler carved out her own niche in sports, said Ken Dabbs,
who coached the Koy siblings at Bellville before going on to a
successful career as an assistant coach at Texas.
"When people would ask me who was the best punter I had in
my high school days, I would say Ernie Koy in the eighth grade,"
Dabbs said. "And when they would ask me about the
second-best, I would say Margaret Koy in the seventh grade.
What a wonderful person she was."
Kistler began writing a column titled Koy's Comments for the
weekly Bellville Times as a teenager and in 1967, after attending
the University of Texas, joined the Abilene Reporter-News.
She was believed to be one of the first women to cover sports
for a Texas newspaper.
One of her first interview subjects was Spike Dykes, the future
Texas Tech coach who was then the coach at Big Spring High
School.
"High school football was big time in that district, and in walks this
girl who is going to be a sports writer," Dykes said. "I said, 'I hope
you're tough enough,' and she said, 'My name is Koy. Don't worry
about that.'
"She did a good job of reporting on us. She was fair and fun, and
it was always a joy to see her."
While recounting those days last year to members of the
Association of Women in Sports Media, she told the Dallas
Morning News, "I'm proud of what has happened to the
profession. I'm proud of the young women who are seizing the
moment. If there's one message, it's that I really believe strongly in
performance. People like having you at the table if you pull your
own weight."
Kistler also worked for the Morning News' Austin bureau and
for the Temple Daily Telegram and was a member of the Bellville
City Council.
She and her husband Clay Kistler owned a real estate appraisal
business in Bellville. Her son, Daniel Koy Kistler of Houston,
played football at Harvard and served two tours of duty as a
Marine in Iraq.
Survivors include her husband, her son, her mother, Jane Cameron
Koy of Bellville, her brothers and several nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday at St. Mary's
Episcopal Church in Bellville with the Rev. Bob Gribble officiating.
The family has designated for memorials St. Mary's Episcopal
Church or the University of Texas Ex-Students Association, Margaret
Koy Kistler Scholarship Fund at Wells Fargo Bank, 2 E. Main,
Bellville, 77418.
---
[1] Both brothers played football in the NFL. Ernie Koy Jr. with the New
York Giants, and Ted Koy with the Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills.