I have written two books about Coal Grove Hornets’ football history.

The first, “Coal Grove Hornets Football: The OVC Years 1954-91,” was printed in 1992.

The second, “Coal Grove Hornets Football Record Book 1928-2002,” was released in 2003.

The people of Coal Grove have been fortunate to have outstanding high school football teams since 1928.

Nine times — in 1936, ‘37, ‘41, ‘54, ‘63, ‘65, ‘66, ‘79, and ‘83 — the Hornets had undefeated teams.

The Coal Grove Hornets competed in the Lawrence County Football League (LCFL) from 1928-53, a total of 26 seasons.

Eleven times they were crowned LCFL Champions, second six times, and third five times. Their LCFL record during this span was 98-32-12, a winning percentage of .733. Overall, the record was 132-61-17, a winning percentage of .684.

The 1936 Hornets finished the season with a record of 5-0-3. The offense averaged only 9.1 points per game, but a stingy defense allowed 1.5 points per game. Six shutouts were recorded as the defense allowed only two touchdowns all season. Pat (Paul) Patterson’s first year as coach was 1936. Patterson would coach the Hornets thru 1950, with four years out for military service during World War II.

The 1936 season opened with the Hornets and Blackfork tying 0-0 on September 25. The following week, Coal Grove scored the first victory of the season, defeating Decatur 12-6.

The game of the year, followed with Lawrence County Football League arch-rival St. Joe, ended with a 0-0 tie.

The following week the Portsmouth Trojans B-team furnished the opposition with Coal Grove winning 21-0. Future rival Wheelersburg furnished the opposition for game five, which ended in a 6-6 tie. Coal Grove would win the final three games of the season to clinch the 1936 LCFL football championship. Hanging Rock was defeated 7-0 followed by a 20-0 thrashing of Pedro.

The Hornets clinched the championship with a 7-0 win over Chesapeake on November 20, 1936. They finished with a 4-0-2 record in the LCFL.

This was the first season that Coal Grove and Chesapeake played for “The Little Brown Jug.”

As the story was related to me: In 1936 two old friends, Coal Grove Hornets Coach Pat Patterson and Chesapeake Panthers Coach Tip Woods, made a friendly wager.

The winning team would receive The Little Brown Jug and keep possession of the Jug until beaten by the other team. The Hornets won that first battle for the Jug as related above. The Hornets have won the Little Brown Jug 51 times, the Panthers 19 times, and 2 games ended in ties. The two teams did not play in 1942 and 1943 when Chesapeake did not field a team. The Panthers longest hold on the Jug was from 1998-2006, a period of nine seasons. The Hornets held the Jug for 15 years, 1976-90.

The captain of the 1936 Coal Grove Hornets was Raymond Griffith. Seven Hornets were chosen to the All-County Team. They were: Paul Adams, Alvin Dalton, Walter Dillon, Joe Griffith, Raymond Griffith, Chad Norris, and John Pemberton.

Team members as listed in the Coal Grove Hornets Football Records Book 1928-2002 were: Emerson Adams, Paul Adams, George Cassidy, Frank Chapman, Dan Clay, Alvin Dalton, Bill Deeds, Harvey Deeds, Jennings Deeds, Walter Dillon, Walden Fannin, Ben Fearing, Berkley Fields, Max Fields, George Gray, Joe Griffith, Raymond Griffith, Jake Grove, Donald Law, Russell Lively, Arwine McCarley, Ralph Nance, Charles (Chad) Norris, Chet Norris, John Pemberton, Fred Roush, Mel Roush, and Carl Willis.

Mike Nourse is a retired educator and contributing columnist for The Tribune. He lives in Coal Grove with wife Clara Gail, also a retired educator.