Nomination year: 2024

Nominated by: Daniel Strong

Nomination Category: Contributor

Sport: Various

Years Participated: 1980-2015

Career Summary:

Darrell Collins, a 1983 graduate of Celina High School, has lived his entire life as a diehard Bulldog player, fan, announcer, and coach.  Collins played baseball and football for two years before suffering an injury that left him physically unable to participate as a traditional athlete.  Unwilling to allow his circumstances to hinder his contributions, Collins turned to public address announcing and coaching.     

Around 1990 when CHS found itself in need of a full time announcer, Collins, who was a regular at all sporting events, was approached.  Despite having any prior experience, he willingly accepted the job and made it his own.  Collins became the “Voice of the Bulldogs” at CHS football and basketball games.  He succeeded in his intention of creating a unique home-field and home-court advantage for his beloved Dawgs through a unique combination of charisma, music, and enthusiasm.  Collins, who also sang the national anthem, was such a master of his craft that he was hired to announce the district and region tournaments in basketball.

Drawing inspiration from his local heroes Bobby Bartlett and John Teeples, Collins also spent time coaching the youth of the county and being a positive impact during their formative years.  He had a hand in Little League baseball (State Farm Reds), Babe Ruth baseball (Celina Rebels), AAU girls basketball (Lady Rockets), and was a co-founder of the youth football league alongside Clay County Sports Hall of Fame members Daryl and Dewayne Reecer (Clay County Cardinals).

Darrell Collins is synonymous with Bulldog sports during the 1990’s and early 2000’s.  One simply can’t separate the two.  From a fan’s perspective, he was as influential to the game as the players and coaches.  Collins put much effort into the duties he performed, even when it wasn’t always physically easy for him to do so.  The dedication he had towards his school and its athletes was evident. 

Nominator comment:

“When former players and fans from his era of announcing relive the glory days, they do so with the voice of Darrell Collins narrating their memories.  He contributed so much to the sports of this county through all of his roles.  It was always important for him to demonstrate to his players that any type of hindrance can be overcome, and that’s a goal that he accomplished.”