Doc Long is the Mingua Beef Jerky Protein-packed Performer of the Week @1776Bank @williammlong @kyhighs @KyHighFootball

From 1976-1996 the kids knew they could call on Doc Long

We have featured every single position under the sun in this series of articles. We have even featured a coach or two. But there is one more segment of football society which desperately needs to be both recognized and honored. Where would any of our high school or middle school programs be without the “volunteer.” Take a bow, Doc…thanks for everything.

HB Lyon, Scouting Director, KPGFootball

Hopkinsville, KY: Migua Beef Jerky uses Enviro-Pac CHU-2000 equipment to cook its meat to USDA required levels for both moist or dry operation. Mingua Beef Jerky wants you to become one of its many satisfied customers by sampling its quality hand sliced, all natural beef jerky. We know you’ll love it and come back for more, again and again.     

Ronnie Mingua began experimenting with making beef jerky back in the 1990s. He shared his efforts with neighbors and friends, soon realizing he had come up with something different and superior to all other beef jerkies on the market. From these humble beginnings, Mingua Beef Jerky got its start.  

Today, the Mingua Beef Jerky Company still prides itself on using its old-fashioned, all-natural recipes which offer outstanding products to customers across the nation. The recipes are a family tradition, passed down from generation to generation.     

Our recipes and our quality ingredients, hand-cut from solid pieces of beef, are never chopped or formed like other brands, making our products superior and one of a kind. That would make our products similar to this week’s Protein-packed Performer, Dr. W. Lawrence Long, I, M.D., F.A.C.R., from Hopkinsville High School in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. 

Doc Long stories around Hopkinsville High School football are myriad and equally legendary. Doc Long was around 6’5,” in his heyday, with a lengthy wingspan and gangly legs which seemed to go on forever dangling from his hip joints. 

He had many different nicknames. The coaches and players, for twenty or so years, called him “Doc.” Of course, “Doc” wasn’t a nickname.

Doc Long was (and still is) a practicing physician, a board certified Radiologist, and a Fellow in the American College of Radiology. The nickname, “Doc,” was both earned and entirely legitimate.

Doc’s oldest friends called him, “Spider.” Watching him jog onto the field of play to render aid to a downed player supported his being referenced as “Spider.” He seemed entirely appendages; both gangly and graceful, all at the same time.

No matter what you called him…you could always call him. He would always come through.

When you needed to get taped before a big game, better call Doc Long. When you went down in practice and was hoping you could play this coming Friday night, better call Doc Long. 

When a player was lying prostrate on the field, writhing in pain, better call Doc Long. When a player’s physical had expired and he needed a new one, and right away, to be eligible to compete, better call Doc Long.

“Doc was a fixture on that Hoptown sideline for around two decades and was there even before I was hired at Christian County,” Goble told KPGFootball. “Heck, I hear he’s still giving players who need it physicals. Doc Long doesn’t charge the school system one thin dime. Doc never has.” 

Doc Long has never requested anything in return for his service to the program. Doc has just done it, out of kindness.

Doc Long was the team doctor before any of his children attended the school. He served the high school football programs long after his children moved away from Hopkinsville.

Former Tiger and Centre Colonel great, Andrew Self, was willing to be interviewed by KPGFootball about his memories of Doc Long. Self, now a respected and long-serving Circuit Judge in the Hopkinsville community, told KPGFootball this, “Doc Long was so much more than just our team physician. He knew and loved the game; but, more importantly, he knew and loved us.”

Self continued, “Playing Paducah [Tilghman] my senior year, I made a catch on the sideline and slid into the bench. Before I could asses whether I was okay, somebody picked me up and practically threw me back into the huddle. It was Doc Long. He was ‘into it’ and a great encourager in every way.”

“I will always be grateful for his support for Hoptown football and for me,” Self concluded.

Long was the Team Doctor for Thornton’s last season (1976), all of Coach Dan Sundberg’s seasons, all of Coach Mike Lewis’s seasons, and a lion’s share of Coach Craig Clayton’s first stint at the helm, from Clayton’s hiring in 1986 until his leaving for Franklin, Tennessee at the end of 2004. 

There was another really funny story about Doc Long while Craig Clayton’s team physician late in Clayton’s first stint at the Tiger helm. The referees were giving the Tigers a hard time and Doc was visibly upset about some of the calls.

The side judge was trotting past Doc Long, when Long decided to let him know just what he thought. Doc told the side judge, “You know what your problem is Mr. Referee? It’s pretty obvious you never played this game!” 

The side judge looked at Doc and said, “You know what else I haven’t done before tonight? Throw a flag on a team’s doctor. You keep it up Doc, and you’ll be my first.”

Clayton ran down the sideline to Doc Long and said, “Dang Doc, give it a rest. I can’t have you getting thrown out of the game.”

Trust us when we say this…there are a thousand Doc Long stories woven into local football lore. Each one of them more interesting than the last.

Join us next week as we return to honor another weekly prize winner. Until then, pop some Mingua Beef Jerky in your mouth and savor the quality and flavor which sets it apart from the competition. Remember, our product is superior and one of a kind; just like Hopkinsville, Kentucky’s Doc Long. 

This is Friday Night Fletch reporting for Kentucky Prep Gridiron and reminding you to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE. Don’t forget to SAVOR THE FLAVOR!

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