Michael Anthony “Tony” Macias

Class of 1958

Tony Macias, a 1958 graduate of Perry High School, was born at home in a railroad camp car on the tracks near the old Santa Fe station. His father was an immigrant railroad worker.

His parents divorced when he was a child and left Perry, but Tony didn’t want to leave. Since he was a minor, the court required that he have a sponsor, a place to live and a place of employment before he could stay in Perry. His sponsor was Perry attorney David Matthews, his home was the Perry Fire Station, and his place of employment was the Kumback Lunch, where Eddie Parker taught him to cook and carve meat.

Living virtually on his own since the age of 13, Tony worked his way through Perry High School. He was an outstanding athlete and lettered in four sports: football, wrestling, track and baseball. He also served in the 45th Infantry Division of the Oklahoma National Guard.

Tony was outstanding in all sports, but excelled in wrestling. He won championships at the Geary Invitational and Oklahoma State Wrestling Tournaments. He attended the University of Oklahoma for three years on a full wrestling scholarship and was an All-American his sophomore year, winning fourth place at the NCAA tournament. Tony subsequently graduated from Central State College with a master’s degree in Health, Education, and Science.

Tony started his career at Southeast High School in Oklahoma City, teaching science and coaching wrestling. His Southeast High School teams won one state championship and two state runner-up titles and he was named Oklahoma State High School Wrestling Coach of the Year.

He took several Oklahoma high school all-star wrestling teams to the International Politecnico Tournament in Mexico City, winning one first place and two second place trophies. He was awarded coach of the tournament by the President of the Federation of Mexico and Olympic Committee.

He briefly left Oklahoma to coach wrestling at Southwestern Oregon Community College at Coos Bay, Oregon, coaching his team to the first winning season in the history of the college.

In July 1973, Eddie Parker, the original owner of Kumback Lunch, persuaded Tony and his wife, Marilee, to buy the Kumback and move back to Perry. They’ve owned and operated the Kumback Lunch for the past 41 years. It has become the oldest café in Oklahoma in the same location with the same name. Tony and Marilee have raised two daughters, Michelle and Melissa, both graduates of PHS and the University of Oklahoma.

In 1989, Tony and Marilee partnered with Clem Yockey to run the Sooners Corner Restaurant. They subsequently bought the Sooners Corner Complex in 1996. Today their two daughters, Michelle Cain and Melissa Finley, run the restaurant part of the complex.