By Stephen D. Bowling
This is the seventh installment of a series of articles that follow the development and success of the football team at Breathitt High School.
The Breathitt High School football team finished 1973, the first full season, with a record of 2 wins and 9 losses. Most football observers classified the season as a surprising success, but they did not really have a sense of what could be accomplished because they only played JV teams. The 1974 season would be Breathitt’s first real test playing against varsity opponents.
“I realize we are probably five years away from being consistently competitive,” Coach Gray told The Lexington Herald in an August 1974 interview. “But our day is coming. We’ll be getting a new stadium and a new junior high school, so I’m very enthusiastic.”
Breathitt County School continued its efforts to expand athletic opportunities for students. The Board of Education hired freshman English teacher and football assistant Johnny Gabbard as the first coach of the BHS baseball team. In 1974, Coach Gray was hired to start a track and field team at Breathitt, and he made plans for the first track season in 1974-1975. He hosted freshman and sophomore tryouts in late January 1974, and they started working on basic rules and skills.
Louise Hatmaker described Coach Gray as “a football coach that won games in the school’s first year of the gridiron sport when there wasn’t even a football field. He is bound to be able to produce a track team that can compete with other schools here.” She noted that she hoped that the growing trend of “streaking,” which was increasing in popularity nationwide, could be turned into the art of sprinting in Breathitt County.
Gray encouraged his players to participate in track during the Spring of 1974. Many participated and seemed to be in better condition when Spring football started. Gray had quite a bit of interest in Spring football, and he had hopes for a great year.
“Critical Situation“
Breathitt football almost died soon after it got started. The first week of spring football saw few players come out. Interest had apparently dropped as the newness wore off the inaugural season, and public interest followed. A county-wide meeting was called for August 19 at the Breathitt High School Coliseum. With the first game of the season just a week away, Coach Gray called it a “critical situation.” “The season is here, and we don’t have the necessary interest and support of fans or boys to be competitive and be a good representative for our county,” Gray said.
Coach Gray told the large crowd gathered in the Coliseum on August 19 that he was disappointed in the turnout for the season. He said that the team needed “a good rousing show of support” to “generate the excitement needed to spark the sport.” He reminded the crowd that “the good citizens of Breathitt County passed a bond issue recently that will allow us to have the facilities for a first-class football program. If we can get the proper school spirit at this meeting, then we can go right ahead with our plans for “small fry” football, varsity football, and many other plans.”
The meeting did spark some interest in the team, and several young men reported for the next practice. Unfortunately, it was a little too late to help the Bobcats in their first game. Breathitt practiced twice a day the entire week before the first game. A 130-mile trip to the beautiful Greenup County football stadium was just ahead for the Bobcats on Saturday, August 24. Breathitt lost its first varsity football game to a strong Greenup County by a score of 19-6. Principal Bill Toler declared the loss a “moral victory” and noted that Greenup paid Breathtit County $500 to come and play them. Overall, Toler declared the first varsity road trip a success. He noted that the $500 would help the football team and the band.
(Middle) Quarterback- Sid Gwin. (Back, l to r) Rick Brown, Robert Privett, and Perry Lovely.
(Back, l to r) Jesse Tackett, Robert Privett, Perry Lovely, Rick Brown, Wayne Back.
Since the creation of the football team, the Breathitt High School Band also grew. New members came out for band with the opportunity to play during basketball and football games under the direction of Larry Tipton. The parents and supporters organized the Breathitt County Band Boosters in 1974. Ann Raleigh was elected President and set the group to work. Over the first quarter of 1974 and into the summer, many local residents worked to help provide instruments and uniforms for the band. Mr. Sebastian told the School Advisory Council in August of 1974 that creating the football program in the Breathitt County School system had “opened the door for other sports and activities to grow.”
Following the Greenup County loss, Breathitt County continued to practice and prepare for a home game with Prestonsburg. The Blackcats rolled into Jackson on August 30 and left after thumping the Bobcats 35-0.
A string of losses followed to Johnson Central, Millersburg Military Institute, and Leslie County. The sting of defeat was worse during the Millersburg game when Breathtit County had the opportunity to tie the game in the last seconds. Coach Gray opted for the two-point conversion and the possible tie. The conversion was good, but the referees called back the play on a holding call. Breathitt’s second attempt, after the 15-yard penalty, was stopped short of the goal line.
Coach Gray’s luck was improving. His wife, Theresa, gave birth to their third child, a son named Tevis Penn Gray II, on September 6. The healthy, 8-pound, 1-ounce boy was nicknamed the “second generation football hero” by The Jackson Times when his picture was printed beside the story about the Millersburg loss.
Images from 1974
The team’s luck also improved, even if it was for just one afternoon. On October 4, West Carter came to the Riverbank. Breathitt’s defense overpowered West Carter’s offense and held them scoreless in Breathitt’s 10-0 victory. The Bobcats would lose the remaining five games of the 1974 season. They ended their first season of varsity play with a record of 1-10. But there was hope for the future.
Pee-Wee Football
The Jackson Times noted after the Prestonsburg defeat that “Breathitt might be at the bottom of the football totem pole just now, but that will change as the school gets its Pee-Wee League back in grade school.” One of the first projects that Coach Tevis Gray worked on was an effort to start a youth football or Pee-Wee Football program. He visited schools and helped teach football basics to elementary classes. By 1974, another group understood the importance of a feeder program and organized a youth football program.
Cecil Clair, Edgar “Ed” Raleigh, John Gabbard, Dom DePonte, and Jim Hay were some of the first supporters who decided to fund and start the program. Meeting often in the offices of the E. Nickell Coal Company on Main Street, where DePonte worked, a small group of football enthusiasts created the Breathitt County Pee-Wee Football Program Committee. They held their first meeting with the public on August 26, 1974, to present the “full goals and plans of the program.” Within months, the new organization would be renamed and chartered as the Breathitt Youth Foundation, Inc.
The Breathitt Youth Foundation voted in September 1974 to begin and equip Pee-Wee teams of boys aged 8-12. The BYF committee contacted Bruce Springate, former BHS basketball coach, to bring some examples of equipment to a meeting on September 17. After looking at the equipment, the committee asked Ed Raleigh to order 75 complete sets of Wilson equipment for grade school boys. The order, amounting to more than $3,000, was shipped from the Aggie Sales in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and arrived a few weeks later.
The Pee-Wee Committee set registration dates for September 28 and October 1. The BYF Board expected three or four teams and planned for about 75 boys. They got nearly twice that number when 127 signed up over the two events. More equipment had to be ordered, and more donations poured in to help.
The Breathitt Youth Foundation officially signed its charter on October 17, 1974, with eight members on the Board of Directors including, Acting Chairman Johnny Gabbard, Domonic DePonte, Jim Hay, Cecil Clair, Edgar Raleigh, Jerry F. Howell, J. L. Jackson, and Louise Hatmaker. The organization became the primary force in youth sports in Breathtit County for more than 40 years.
Winds of Change
Pee-Wee football continued through the fall and into the early winter. The future looked bright for Breathitt football. As work progressed on the new BHS football stadium, news started to leak in the community of a major change that was coming for the 1975 season. It was not a shock to most when it became official at the end of June.
Coach Tevis Gray submitted his resignation and announced that he would be leaving Breathitt. He accepted the head coach’s position and agreed to start a new football team in Bath County. The announcement, which came just three weeks before the start of school and the football season, sent Principal Bill Toler and Superintendent Sebastian scrambling to find his replacement.
“It’s hard, but we’ll find someone,” Superintendent Sebastian told The Jackson Times. “We are hoping to find someone with perhaps more experience.”
“When I left Breathitt, it was a really difficult time for me,” Gray said in 2023. “Being a new coach, I left a new program because I was offered a better position.” Gray said that he was worried about the program, and he went to talk about his possible exit with Principal Toler. Gray said that Toler told him, “Son, look, you have done a great job. You built this program, and you have done your job,” Toler said. “You have made it so that when I go out to hire a new coach for your spot, it will not be hard.” Gray said that Mr. Toler helped him transition away from Breathitt more easily.
During his time at BHS, Gray started the high school football team, developed the grade school system, helped start the PeeWee Football League, and started the BHS track and field team. He left only two years into the job. His wife, Theresa, resigned as Tax Collector for the City of Jackson. “We hate to lose Mrs. Gray,” Mayor Leonard Noble said. “She is one of the most efficient employees I’ve ever had in my life.” Marge Morrison was hired to replace her.
Gray, his wife Theresa, and their young family moved to Owensville and held the first practice of the Bath County football team on July 21, 1975. By the time Gray’s Bath County squad put on their new football pads for the first practice, the pace of the search for his replacement in Breathitt County was gaining steam, and they had zeroed in on one candidate they really liked.
© 2023 Stephen D. Bowling
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