2 Jim dandies sent MHS football soaring

 

As I looked over the 1962 Monongah High Black Diamond yearbook, on loan from David Haines, Class of 1964, this photo caught my attention.

 

Jim Feltz and Jim Keener came out of college and catapulted Monongah High into four state championships and Coach Feltz’ son, Jay Feltz, quarterbacked the fifth state football title in Monongah High history.

 

Coach Feltz and Coach Keener lifted Monongah High from the pedestrian level of the Coach George Ross era, when I was the team manager for two years. Monongah rarely sniffed victory while I was sniffing jockstraps.

 

The Monongah High Lions were state football champs in 1952, 1955, 1968, 1969 and 1973.

The 1952 team was quarterbacked by Julie Angelucci, who threw the pass to Dennis Jones that Dennis lateraled to Larry Rankin for the game-winning touchdown.

The 1968 team had both Brother – Nick Saban, today’s Alabama coach with 4 national titles to his name – and Kerry Marbury. 

Saban was gone but Marbury was back for the 1969 title. 

Earl Keener, Jim Feltz’ assistant in 1952 and 1955, coached the 1968 and 1969 champs.

To complete the circle, Jay Feltz, son of Jim Feltz, quarterbacked the 1973 team.

After the 1979 graduation class, Monongah High ceased to exist, but those five football titles and the 1955 state baseball title behind Frank DeMoss’ pitching will live forever as the Pride of Lions.

And I am beginning to convert a 27^th Monongah High yearbook from print version to online album. It usually takes weeks or months because of the effort and time involved, and the interference of such things as our travels and Mountaineer football.

If I live long enough, I hope to have every yearbook from 1939 through 1979 as online albums for Monongah High alumni and their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren to see, without charge, from anywhere in the world.

So far, I’m created online albums for every yearbook from 1939 through 1965, with the exception of 1962, which I’m working on now.

If I live a really, really long time – I am 82, after all – then I would start seeking yearbooks from 1938 and earlier, to the first yearbook ever published.

Anyone know what year the first Monongah High yearbook came out?