SALUTE TO BILL LOGGINS,FORMER MALAKOFF HIGH SCHOOL COACH AND TEACHER

1/4/25

Dear Malakoff Tigers, especially the 1955 and 1956 football teams, this is a salute to Bill Loggins, former Malakoff Football Coach and Teacher. The link to his OB tells you all you need to know. Coach Bill Loggins was special https://www.scottsfh.com/obituaries/bill-loggins

The !955 and 1956 football seasons are the ones I remember the best because that is when I played for Coach Loggins and Bob Farmer.

Go to this link of the 1955 Malakoff Football Team, this is when Coach Bill Loggins came to Malakoff. https://www.blakehart.com/Football1955BigLoss.html

NOTE: AFTER VIEWING A LINK, CLICK ON THE “BACK” TO GO BACK TO THE SALUTE

Some of the special things I remember:

• The first game of the season against Fairfield Royce Shelton had a chance to stop Fairfield’s TD but blocked the runner instead of Tackling and the runner scored, so Fairfield beat us 6-0.
• The loss to Ferris, 14-12 and there was not a dry eye in the locker room because of the devastating loss.
• We cruised through the next the next three games, beating Crandall 46-0, Eustace 41-7, and Mabank 49-0. The only game I remember was the Mabank game. The reason I remember the Mabank game is because of what Mabank did before the game. Whatever the uniform color was supposed to be, I do not remember, but what I do remember is when we arrived at Mabank for our away game, the uniforms were not what Mabank had told Coach Loggins they would be. Our colors would have conflicted: Solution: Dr. Haynes drove back to Malakoff to pick up our other set of uniforms. I remember gathering up the uniforms and returning to Mabank while our team sat fuming, waiting for the return. I am sure Dr. Haynes broke a few speed limits, but we made it back and the team dressed in the right color uniforms. The Tiger team was really mad by this time and took it out on Mabank, beating them, 49-0.
• Another memory happened during practice one day. Sonny (Fingers) Humphries, who never quit, took it upon himself to run-down and tackle Donald Jordan. This was after Sonny had been blocked down several times and the whistle had blown to end play but, Sonny Tackled Donald as Donald was walking back to the huddle. Donald was furious.
• The season ended with a record of 7-3 and was good enough for 2^nd place in district, good enough for playoffs this day and time.
• Next memory: the 1956 season. The Tigers had lost all of the outstanding seniors, including, Royce Shelton (signed by A&M), Donald Jordan (signed by Rice), Dick Derden, Wayne Brown, Bobby Rogers, Howard Hardy, Ken Andrews, Ben Garcia, Stanley Johnson, and maybe a few more.https://www.blakehart.com/files/Previewof1956Football2.pdf When interviewed by Bill Speake, Athens Review’s sportswriter he asked Coach Loggins, “What do you think about the upcoming Football season, Coach?” His reply: “I’ll be glad when Basketball Season gets here.” Who could blame him? https://www.blakehart.com/NokesNoJoke.html
• Go to the above link that will tell the reaction of the1956 Tiger Football Team and the one MEMORY of the 1956 Football season that I will always remember. I spoke with Coach Loggins by phone a short time before he passed away and he indicated to me that he was sorry for some of the things he had said over the years. My reply was: “Coach, the only reason we won that game was because you made us mad and because you did, we won and finished 4 wins and 6 losses, otherwise it would have been 3 wins and 7 losses. Link to 1956 Football Season  https://www.blakehart.com/AD56.html  We finished 4 wins, 6 losses and finished 3^rd in district. Good enough for playoffs by today’s standards. Thank you Coach Loggins!!

Here is our 1956 Homecoming Queen, Mollie Williams, later Ken Carter’s wife.

Don Henderson, escorted Mollie at the Malakoff Tiger Football game against Brownsboro, which we won 20-6. This was a great memory for me because I scored the ONLY touchdown of my entire career. Mollie’s brother, Neil Williams, threw the TD pass.

Coach Bill Loggins, on this day, I salute you and thank you for being much more to our lives than you ever knew. Thank you, Coach and thank you God for sharing one of yours with us for a short while.

With love, the classes of 1956 and 1957 and ALL Malakoff Tiger graduates.