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Lincoln Grad, Veteran and Port Arthur Native Toby Mason Sr. was recently inducted into the Watertown Red & Black Football Hall of Fame.

 

The honor came as a surprise to Mason as he had only played on the teams for 3 years while deployed in New York.The Watertown Red & Black is based out of Watertown, New York. The team serves as the oldest semi-pro football team in the U.S.

“It felt good, but it was shocking,” Mason said. “I only played for three years, and for them to say I made the Hall of Fame, it means a lot.”

 

During his original tryouts where over 100 people showed up to compete for a roster spot Mason hedged his bets on trying to get on defense for secure some playing time as a DB and eventually made his way onto offense as WR after several players on the nearby base were deployed.

Before his time in New York, Mason made his mark in Port Arthur, earning all-district honors at Lincoln High School as a wide receiver and defensive back. After graduating in 1993, he attended Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, where he played baseball and basketball. Though Wiley didn’t have a football team, Mason stayed active.

 

“Baseball was life in our house,” he said. “There are pictures of me at my dad’s practices, wearing a catcher’s mask and doing whatever I could to tag along.”

After college, Mason struggled to find steady work until his mother encouraged him to enlist. He joined the U.S. Army in 1998, initially as a paralegal before transitioning to petroleum supply—a logistics-heavy role.

Now based in Virginia, Mason works as a training instructor at Fort Gregg-Adams (formerly Fort Lee), teaching new soldiers during their advanced individual training.

Mason continues to serve in the Army Reserve as his passion for sports continues.