50 Years Of Covington Catholic Football

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

This season marks the 50th season of varsity football at Covington Catholic. I'll be adding periodic updates to this thread about the history of Cov Cath football, its players, and it's coaching in the coming weeks.

 

Anyone is free to offer any memories or anecdotes that they have as well.

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

 

 

 

COACH STEVE RASSO

1966 - 1967

5-4-1 (55.6 Winning %)

 

 

Covington Catholic began its football team in the 1966 season, opting to only play a reserve team. As the 1st head coach for their new team, they hired former Cleveland Cathedral Latin and Archbishop Elder assistant coach Steve Rasso. The following year, the Cov Cath finished their first varsity football season in 1967 with a winning record. This would be Coach Rasso's final year coaching the Colonels. He left to take the head coaching position at LaSalle High School in Cincinnati, and then moved on from there to serve as head coach at Mariemont High School and St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati.

 

 

In the 1967 season, the Cov Cath defense managed to hold all but 1 opposing team to one or fewer touchdowns.

Edited June 28, 2017 by Colonels_Wear_Blue

[NEERFAN]

That's a solid first season for the Colonels. Rasso had a nice resume.

[Theoldguy]

I am so looking forward to this upcoming 50th year of CovCath Varsity Football!

New Stadium, Permanent LED Lights, New Press-Box, all on Friday Night!

[Theoldguy]

The first Varsity Football year (1967) found CovCath practicing on the baseball outfield. Now you must realize this was well before the current outfield wooden fence was in place and in fact a road ran along side the outfield from Park Hills, all the way to the Dixie Hwy and yes there was a bit of traffic, so you had to be careful at times.

 

More from my memories of a time so very, very long ago, as we get closer to the season opener.

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

A Cincinnati Enquirer article from November, 1967 about the first season of football at Cov Cath.

 

[thsrocks]

I know Trinity played the Colonels three times (1970, 1971, 1972). There is a discussion CovCath will consider scheduling the Rocks after the next round of two year contracts. Last year's JV game was a thriller. I read Catholic opened in 1925 and was surprised football did not commence until 1966. Keep growing the enrollment!

[thsrocks]

I know Trinity played the Colonels three times (1970, 1971, 1972). There is a discussion CovCath will consider scheduling the Rocks after the next round of two year contracts. Last year's JV game was a thriller. I read Catholic opened in 1925 and was surprised football did not commence until 1967. Keep growing the enrollment!

[colonel-fan]

A Cincinnati Enquirer article from November, 1967 about the first season of football at Cov Cath.

 

 

That Badin team was the second team for the Rams. Badin opened with the merger of Hamilton (OH) Catholic High School and Notre Dame High School in 1966. CovCath lost all three games played against Badin (1967-1968-1969).

[Runcible Owl]

I'm sure Theoldguy would know, but I seem to remember some pretty ambitious scheduling the first several seasons. Besides Trinity and Badin: Flaget, Purcell, Roger Bacon, LaSalle, Bryan Station, Lafayette. Dixie Heights was very, very good at that time too.

 

All things considered, the early Colonels hung tough: No tradition, no "home" field, one(?) sled, and a "weight room" housed in a large storage closet. Played a junior high FB game on that outfield; their baseball team must have had it rough too.

Edited June 16, 2017 by Runcible Owl

[Theoldguy]

I'm sure Theoldguy would know, but I seem to remember some pretty ambitious scheduling the first several seasons. Besides Trinity and Badin: Flaget, Purcell, Roger Bacon, LaSalle, Bryan Station, Lafayette. Dixie Heights was very, very good at that time too.

 

All things considered, the early Colonels hung tough: No tradition, no "home" field, one(?) sled, and a "weight room" housed in a large storage closet. Played a junior high FB game on that outfield; their baseball team must have had it rough too.

 

Funny you should mention that! :-) In one of our first Baseball practices on the field, following the 1967 football season, I hit a line shot to left field and I guess with the ground being so beat up, it took a funny bounce once it hit the ground and broke my best friend nose. "OB" was none too happy with me for it!

 

Couldn't get a lot of local teams to play us in the early years, and I don't know if it was due to having games scheduled out such a long time in advance, or that our Basketball team (remember CovCath won five straight Ninth Region Championships) was beating the local teams so badly back in the day, that they wouldn't play CovCath Football.

 

That large storage closet was where the Bingo stores its tables and Bingo equipment today. Just to the right as you enter the gym near the visitor's bench.

 

A lot of the guys that played for the Dixie Heights "Little Colonels" Football team at the time, Parton, Padgett, Tanner, Horton, Parrott, Elliott, Gardner and others, I played pee wee football with in the Big City of Bromley!

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

Covington Catholic's first football helmet design, used only in 1967:

 

[Theoldguy]

Covington Catholic's first football helmet design, used only in 1967:

 

[ATTACH]62368[/ATTACH]

 

Yes but it was original, :clap:and the art work hasn't been used to the best of my knowledge by any other school/team since! Heck, I didn't think it was due to not wanting one on the helmets, as much as not having the money to purchase any!

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

Yes but it was original, :clap:and the art work hasn't been used to the best of my knowledge by any other school/team since! Heck, I didn't think it was due to not wanting one on the helmets, as much as not having the money to purchase any!

 

That blue stripe down the center....that was a stoke of design genius :lol2:

 

I'd have to guess you're right, though. They had more places to better spend their time and money at that point than worrying about what logo to put on their helmets.

[Theoldguy]

This is from my 1966 yearbook the only one I have, as someone back then was kind enough to give it to me, as I never had the money, back in the day to purchase a yearbook. Always makes me wonder, why so many people think everybody at CovCath is so rich.

 

The pictures are from the World's Famous Chocolate Bar Pep Rally getting the student body ready to go out and sell those Chocolate Bars.

 

If you look closely, the sign behind the kids in the football attire, reads: Only you can fill this football schedule and the Administrations meant it, if the goal wasn't reached, there wouldn't have been a team.

 

"With a Spirit that will not Die!"

 

Oh yea, the yearbook staff indeed screwed up! :-)