1960 - 1961 Football Team
The first Varsity team at Minford.
1960 - 1961 Football Team
Row 1
Wilbur Conley, Dave Hagerman, Roy Slone, Dudley Wooten, Dick Stapleton, Bob Rase, Charles Flaig, Paul Vest, Gary Duplain, Lawrence Shoemaker
Row 2
Coach Gilbert, Bob Vest, Roger Ison, John Bender, John Slone, Carl Smith, Danny Martin, Mike Borders, David Pigg, Gary McGraw, Coach Sammons
Row 3
Wendell Knore, Tom Kallner, Jim McGraw, Harold Burchett, Larry Church, Junior Coldiron, Pat Borders, Gabe Canary, Kenny Shumway
THE FIRST VARSITY FOOTBALL PRE-GAME
The 1960 - 1961 school year was the first time Minford played a full varsity schedule.
Minford's first football game was played at Wheelersburg. The September 8, 1960, article from The Portsmouth Times said, "Although this is a home game for Minford, it will be played at Wheelersburg. Minford does not have a home football field at present."
Predictions from that newspaper article were as follows:
Pogue - Pirates big and experienced, Wheelersburg 14-8
Chamis - Too many Pirates, Wheelersburg 26-6
Joseph - Harvest for Moon, Wheelersburg 34-6
Roberts - Look who's gettin cute already, Wheelersburg 38-0
THE FIRST VARSITY FOOTBALL POST-GAME
Headline and text taken from The Daily Times, September 10, 1960, p. 10.
WHEELERSBURG TRIPS MINFORD IN 52-6 WIN
Wheelersburg proved too big and tough for Minford and walked off with a 52-6 victory. The game was an SOC tilt and marked the Falcon's first entry into varsity competition.
Wheelersburg's Coach Harold Mullins, making his debut, has several lettermen back from a squad that last year posted an 8-2 record. Minford, under Coach Claude Sammons, did not play varsity ball last year.
Minford's lone score came in the last quarter when Mike Borders, a halfback, scampered 72 yards on a fake punt.
Dale Mullins with three TD's was ably abetted by Mike Beinkampen and Bob Bays with two each and Dave Litteral with one touchdown.
Wheelersburg's Pirates jumped off to a fat, 20-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and were never in trouble.
Mullins got his first touchdown when he intercepted a pass and ran 35 yards. His second was on a 40-yard juant around end and the third marker came on a short drive up the middle.
Bays got both his TD's on plunges through the middle and Beinkampen's two scores came on completed passes.
THE FIRST FULL VARSITY SCHEDULE
Date | Opponent | Results |
| 9/9/60 | Wheelersburg
played at New Boston Stadium | L
52 - 6 |
| 9/16/60 | at Waverly | L
64 - 6 |
| 9/23/60 | at Valley | L
28 - 0 |
| 10/1/60 | Northwest
played at New Boston Stadium
Homecoming | W
18 - 14 |
| 10/7/60 | at Piketon | W
30 - 29 |
| 10/15/60 | Notre Dame
played at New Boston Stadium | L
44 - 0 |
| 10/21/60 | New Boston
played at New Boston Stadium | L
14 - 0 |
| 10/28/60 | at Portsmouth West | L
64 - 26 |
| 11/4/60 | at Portsmouth East | L
79 - 0 |
Over forty years ago, Minford joined forces in the SOC. They had 27 players and a lot of spirit, but they had little else.
The players had no home football field, no locker room, and they wore used equipment purchased from area schools. The team used the band room at the old high school as their locker room.
Most of the home games were played at the New Boston Stadium. At the end of the first season, Minford owed New Boston $146.49 for electricity used at the stadium.
Their practice field was an old farm pasture. It had NO running water, NO lights, and NO fieldhouse. Mike Flaig, Assistant Coach of the 1999 - 2000 football team, remembered it well. "We had to walk to the field from the old high school across from Shoemaker's Gas Station. We had no water to drink during practice. Two area women would leave coolers of water setting out on their porches for us to drink from on our way back to the high school after practice. We also ate apples off the trees behind the Legion building."