1967 Owensboro Red Devils

[ChiefSmoke]

OHS Red Devil fans: Where would the 1967 team rank among the best teams in school history?

 

Mac had this as our Forgotten Heroes Segment this past season. Thought it was really cool and would interest BGPreps w/ the search of the next OHS HFC such a hot topic. 

We go back to an era when the KHSAA handed down a penalty that stood. There were no judges and no courts stepping in to try to overturn their rulings. November4, 1966, Owensboro High squared off with longtime rival Henderson City at Rash Field in a game that had year long ramifications.

Owensboro took an early lead, then the Henderson City Flash took advantage of a couple of Red Devil penalties to take the lead. Owensboro had two players ejected for fighting. Owensboro had two scores called back, which fueled their frustrations. Then when the final horn sounded, a full blown melee broke out, with punches being thrown by players and fans from both teams.

Officials finally got things under control, but the damage had been done. It was the final game for both schools. Henderson City finished up at two and seven and Owensboro finished at five and five. Two weeks later, KHSAA Commissioner, Ed Sanford, came down with a severe penalty for the Red Devils.

Owensboro High was placed on probation for two years, and the football team was ruled ineligible for the next year's playoffs, no playoffs in 1967. Commissioner Sanford said each incident taken by itself might not be severe enough, but together they presented a formidable case against the school. Here's the thing. The Red Devils returned a loaded team in 1967, featuring running back Ike Brown.

The only team to defeat the Red Devils in 1967 was Flaget, who would win the state title. 

They outscored their opponents 378 - 27.  Several Red Devils that year went on to play at the college level. Quarterback Bernie Strong played college baseball, Paul Puckett went to WKU, George Greenfield played at Murray State and is in the Murray Hall of Fame.

Alfred Thompson played at EKU, Jerry Johnson was All Big Ten at Indiana, and Isaac Brown was an All American @ Western Kentucky, & was drafted by the Patriots and played professionally in Canada. The 1967 Owensboro Red Devils were one of the best teams in Kentucky history, but one emotionally charged game quite possibly kept them from having the title of state champions beside their name.

 

The entire episode on Youtube :

[Roundsteak]

I was at that 67 game against Flagler. The game was played on a Sat afternoon at Manual Stadium in Louisville.

[gchs_uk9]

Owensboro was ranked third in the final Litkenhous Ratings on November 28, 1967. As you mentioned, #2 Flaget won the AAA championship, beating #17 Thomas Jefferson. Interestingly, even though Male was rated #1 in the final rankings, the Bulldogs finished third in their district behind Flaget, who they tied 0-0, and #6 DeSales, who had beat Male 7-0 in the season opener.

#7 Ashland beat #8 Elizabethtown in the Class AA championship while #22 Bardstown beat #47 Mount Sterling in the Class A final.

[Carl Spackler]

24 minutes ago, gchs_uk9 said:

Owensboro was ranked third in the final Litkenhous Ratings on November 28, 1967. As you mentioned, #2 Flaget won the AAA championship, beating #17 Thomas Jefferson. Interestingly, even though Male was rated #1 in the final rankings, the Bulldogs finished third in their district behind Flaget, who they tied 0-0, and #6 DeSales, who had beat Male 7-0 in the season opener.

#7 Ashland beat #8 Elizabethtown in the Class AA championship while #22 Bardstown beat #47 Mount Sterling in the Class A final.

A lot of small schools in that top 25: Mayfield, Newport Catholic, Frankfort, Lynch, McKell, Pineville, Bardstown, and Dayton.  Almost 1/3 of the teams were 1A schools.  

[gchs_uk9]

3 hours ago, Carl Spackler said:

A lot of small schools in that top 25: Mayfield, Newport Catholic, Frankfort, Lynch, McKell, Pineville, Bardstown, and Dayton.  Almost 1/3 of the teams were 1A schools.  

Come on, Carl. You left out the highest ranked 1A team on the list that year!

[Runcible Owl]

20 hours ago, gchs_uk9 said:

Owensboro was ranked third in the final Litkenhous Ratings on November 28, 1967. As you mentioned, #2 Flaget won the AAA championship, beating #17 Thomas Jefferson. Interestingly, even though Male was rated #1 in the final rankings, the Bulldogs finished third in their district behind Flaget, who they tied 0-0, and #6 DeSales, who had beat Male 7-0 in the season opener.

#7 Ashland beat #8 Elizabethtown in the Class AA championship while #22 Bardstown beat #47 Mount Sterling in the Class A final.

 

20 hours ago, Carl Spackler said:

A lot of small schools in that top 25: Mayfield, Newport Catholic, Frankfort, Lynch, McKell, Pineville, Bardstown, and Dayton.  Almost 1/3 of the teams were 1A schools.  

#10 New Cath had 750+ (all boys) in the late '60's. They were "AA" at the time, but don't believe they were part of the playoffs. They were full members of the GCL when it was an eight team conference (Moeller, St. Xavier, Elder, LaSalle, Roger Bacon, Purcell, McNicholas, and New Cath) and didn't accrue enough Dickinson points to qualify for the Kentucky playoffs.

[Carl Spackler]

23 hours ago, Carl Spackler said:

A lot of small schools in that top 25: Mayfield, Newport Catholic, Frankfort, Lynch, McKell, Pineville, Bardstown, and Dayton.  Almost 1/3 of the teams were 1A schools.  

I was having to guess on which teams were actual 1A schools then, based on now.  Was Harrison County 1A?  What about Garrard? 

[Carl Spackler]

20 hours ago, gchs_uk9 said:

Come on, Carl. You left out the highest ranked 1A team on the list that year!

Do you have the full Litkenhous ratings for that week?  

[gchs_uk9]

5 hours ago, Carl Spackler said:

Do you have the full Litkenhous ratings for that week?  

[gchs_uk9]

On 12/25/2024 at 6:11 PM, gchs_uk9 said:

 

6 hours ago, Carl Spackler said:

I was having to guess on which teams were actual 1A schools then, based on now.  Was Harrison County 1A?  What about Garrard? 

Class AAA

• Male, Flaget, DeSales, St. Xavier, Thomas Jefferson, Seneca, Butler

Class AA

• Owensboro, Harrison County, Mayfield, Ashland, Elizabethtown, Paducah Tilghman, Newport Catholic, Bowling Green, Highlands, Caldwell County (16th in the state, 4th in their district!), Daviess County

Class A

• Garrard County, Frankfort, Lynch, McKell, Pineville, Bardstown, Dayton

[Carl Spackler]

44 minutes ago, gchs_uk9 said:

 

Class AAA

• Male, Flaget, DeSales, St. Xavier, Thomas Jefferson, Seneca, Butler

Class AA

• Owensboro, Harrison County, Mayfield, Ashland, Elizabethtown, Paducah Tilghman, Newport Catholic, Bowling Green, Highlands, Caldwell County (16th in the state, 4th in their district!), Daviess County

Class A

• Garrard County, Frankfort, Lynch, McKell, Pineville, Bardstown, Dayton

Thank you.  Really cool stuff.  It would be a neat feature to do a past season once a month or so with the old Lit ratings.  

[Roundsteak]

On 12/24/2024 at 8:47 PM, Roundsteak said:

I was at that 67 game against Flaget. The game was played on a Sat afternoon at Manual Stadium in Louisville.