Late legendary football coach, James “Mojo” Hollwell won 305-games over 46-seasons and 285-games in the KHSAA
🎶 Mr. Mojo Risin,'/Mr. Mojo Risin,'/Mr. Mojo Risin,'/ Got to keep on risin'🎶
Songwriters: Jim Morrison / John Paul Densmore / Raymond D Manzarek / Robert A Krieger, 1971
James “Mojo” Hollowell was among the best to ever do it in the commonwealth of Kentucky in the KHSAA football game, whether that be as a coach or player. Hollowell won 285-games in Kentucky and was the commonwealth’s second winningest coach, behind Poppa Joe Jaggers, when he retired. Overall, Hollowell won 305-games over a 46-year period, 38 of which was spent in the Bluegrass. People who played for him credited Mojo Hollowell for teaching them as much about life as he did football. That seems to be a consistent theme among the truly great head men.
HB Lyon, Scouting Director, “KPGFootball”
Bowling Green, KY: The last place James “Mojo” Hollowell resided, before passing to his reward, was Bowling Green. Though he was known for coaching Henderson County/Union County/Owensboro Catholic/Madisonville and John Marshall (in Indianapolis, Indiana), we decided to have his final domicile as the point of origin for this story.
as Henderson County’s football
coach, Mojo Hollowell united players from
the recently merged city and county
schools to form a team that finished 14-1
and reached the 4-A state championship
game.
Mojo is an interesting term. “Mojo” is commonly used to mean “magic” or even simply “control” or “power.”
For instance, if a musician makes a great new album after a couple of poorly reviewed releases, a critic could exclaim, “He’s got his mojo back!” You could also admire a candidate running for the Senate, praising his political mojo.
Originally, mojo referred to specific African American folk beliefs, from the Gullah word moco, or “witchcraft.” You’re certainly getting some good vocabulary mojo right now.
“Mr. Mojo Risin'” was a lyric in the 1971 hit song, L.A. Woman, by The Doors. The lyric, “Mr. Mojo Risin'” was an anagram for one of its writers, lead singer Jim Morrison.
The term has a blues connotation. The blues term, “mojo,” is associated with the sexual energy which influenced the slow and dark tempo of the song, L.A. Woman.
You may be wondering why I am telling you all of this. Simple, I am trying to explain why I have always been such a loyal fan of the KHSAA football coach, and former All-State player, James “Mojo” Hollowell. With all the various meanings associated with “Mojo,” how can I not be?
Hollowell was inducted into the [Dawahares] KHSAA HOF in 2001
Friday Night Fletch
Mojo Hollowell died in Bowling Green, KY, in 2010, at the age of 81. Hollowell was inducted into the KHSAA (Dawahares) Hall of Fame in 2001. Hollowell went in as a coach. Hollwell could have (just as easily) gone in as a player.
Hollowell coached at Owensboro Catholic, Henderson County, Union County and Madisonville in Kentucky. Hollowell coached John Marshall in Indianapolis, Indiana.
In 38 seasons as a head coach in Kentucky, Hollowell’s teams posted a 285-158-6 record. Hollowell made two appearances in the KHSAA title game, losing both times.
When Coach Hollowell resigned as Catholic’s coach in 2001, he was second in career wins in the commonwealth, trailing only “Poppa” Joe Jaggers. Jaggers record was 292-105-3 in 33 seasons.
Harold Staples was the Owensboro Catholic principal who hired Hollowell to coach his Aces. Staples told Kentucky.com at the time of Hollowell’s passing, “I think we thought [Hollowell would] make an impact, but we really didn’t have any idea the impact he would have. [Hollowell] brought a new approach of responsibility, accountability.”
Hollowell had quite the impact on Coach John Edge. Edge, now the head football coach at Owensboro Apollo, played for Hollowell in the early 90s.
“He was a good guy, and he not only taught you about football, but about life. [Y]ou enjoy being around those kind of coaches,” John Edge told the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer.
Edge continued, “But he was definitely old-school when it came to playing. Our practices would go for two straight hours or more, and there were constant drills where you were going to hit. We’d be out there until 6:30, 7 p.m.,…still hitting.”
In 1981, Hollowell founded a sideline business in Henderson, Kentucky called “Mojo Sports.” Mojo Sports was established to provide personalized customer service to middle school, high school, colleges, and athletic directors at the three levels.
Mojo Sports was the source for many youth, middle school, and high school teams for athletic gear for Football, Youth Football, Baseball, Fast Pitch Softball, Slow Pitch Softball, Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball, Soccer, Sports Medicine, among other things. Mojo Sports shipped all across the US and supplied nearly any sort of sports equipment from youth to adult.
It has been a very successful venture. Here’s a link should you want to order some merchandise.
Mojo was an All-State guard at Barrett Manual in Henderson, KY in 1945
Friday Night Fletch
Like so many coaches before and after him, Mojo Hollowell was a star player in his day. Hollowell was a 1945, all-state guard at Barrett Manual in Henderson. Hollowell then played football for the University of Louisville.
One of Hollowell’s teammates at Louisville was a guy of whom you have most likely heard. Hollowell played at Louisville with the original “Johnny Football,” NFL star Johnny Unitas.
Sam Ball once said, “Hollowell was a real asset for Henderson. [Hollowell] turned boys lives around. I came from a single-parent family, and Mojo became the rock of my life.”
Ball went to the University of Kentucky after playing high school ball for Hollowell. Ball would become an All-American for the Wildcats and would later play for the NFL’s Baltimore Colts.
Hollowell’s ability to motivate his players was a key component to his success. Hollowell inspired and focused on the fundamentals of blocking and tackling. Hollowell was known for getting the most out of his players.
Bob Bannwart, who coached under Hollowell for 15-years, said Hollowell had a point system in grading players which made them strive to play harder. “He gave out stars for good plays and moons for bad ones. Occasionally, Hollowell would award a double star if a player kept playing until the whistle blew.”
All of these techniques employed; the points, the stars, the moons, even the double stars, help explain what motivated his teams to perform magic on the field many nights. One doesn’t win nearly three hundred (285) games, just in the commonwealth of Kentucky, without some awfully good mojo!
If you were looking for some luck. If you were searching for some good fortune, some magic, you just couldn’t do any better than James “Mojo” Hollowell.
Ask any of the men who played for him. Ask any of the men who hired him. Ask any of the men who coached with or against him.
This is Friday Night Fletch, reporting for KPGFootball, reminding you to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE!
If you enjoyed this article and wish to gain full-access to the site, then subscribe monthly to Kentucky Prep Gridiron by following the prompts!
© The information contained on this site is the copyrighted intellectual property of KPGFootball. Any unauthorized dissemination of this material without the author’s express written consent is strictly prohibited!
Leave a Reply