Howard won 208-games in 20-seasons in Pikeville with three (3) consecutive titles
Howard was the son of a coal miner and, reportedly, had 13-siblings. Howard was also a right good boxer, winning the Kentucky “Golden Gloves” in the late 60s, the West Virginia “Golden Gloves” twice more, and the national “Golden Gloves” title in 1970. Howard won the Coach of the Year in Kentucky five times. Howard won 12-regions, was runner up twice (2) in addition to his three titles, and had an overall winning percentage of .813.
HB Lyon, Scouting Director, “KPGFootball”
Pikeville, KY: Bosses can be a bit “prickly.” I am not going to name any names, and the word I would use normally might be a bit stronger of a reference than prickly, but there are a couple stories I will briefly tell.
I had a boss once who was afflicted with short man’s syndrome about as badly as any short man has ever been. He believed himself to be way smarter than he was; and had a nasty habit of jumping all over every word which came out of my mouth, regardless of which one of us turned out to be right (or wrong).
I believe he may have been painfully aware, and insecure, about my being both way smarter and better educated than he. In fact, it appeared he resented the heck out of it.
I was referring to the “Pennyroyal” region of Kentucky in regard to the area stretching from the Land Between the Lakes in the west across the commonwealth to the Pottsville Escarpment in the east. I used its formal name. I have been a citizen of this region most of my life.
I attended school in this region. I remember well the Civics lessons administered to us, by school faculty, under whom we studied in this region.
It is the Pennyroyal, not Pennyrile, region you idiot!
Friday Night Fletch
This region is formally and officially the “Pennyroyal.” I referred to it as thus, and little Napoleon jumped all over me.
“It is the Pennyrile, Fletcher,” he corrected. I didn’t say anything; after all, the diminutive “know-it-all” was my boss.
“Yessir,” I responded to his smug superiority born from his relishment in having put me in my place. After all, I was an inferior in rank to Admiral Idiot.
However to frame an adverse point, I also happened to be way better educated, more prestigiously degreed, and well taller. “Thank God,” he must have thought, “I have been blessed with this fabulous opportunity to take this guy down a peg or two.”
The Danny DeVito Doppelgänger fired me not more than eight (8) to 10 days later, while I was still on probation (meaning he didn’t have to have cause). I worked for him a total of 17 days.
I never got to tell him how big of an idiot I considered him to be nor in what little regard I held both his opinions and him personally. I hope he reads this.
The region of Kentucky in which I have spent the vast majority of my lifetime (you pompous, self-important jack-ass) is named after the Hedeoma pulegioides (American pennyroyal), a wild mint plant that grows abundantly in the area.
The name “Pennyroyal” has been bastardized into “Pennyrile.” That bastardization doesn’t actually change the name.
Hopkinsville, Kentucky has been informally called Hoptown for years. The city being called Hoptown doesn’t rename the city. It is still Hopkinsville.
This brings me to story number two. I worked for a newspaper once as its “Editor.” I would say I served as the “Managing Editor,” but it was a weekly publication in a rural area of the Appalachias and I wrote nearly every news story which appeared in print. We didn’t really have enough staff to stand on formality.
Hillard Howard won consecutive titles in 1987, ’88, and ’89
KHSAA Statistical Website
One of the owners of the newspaper was onsite. He wrote mostly sports stories. He was a very smart man and a good writer.
He told me one day, “Fletcher, what made Breathitt’s 1995 football title so noteworthy was its being the first title a mountain team had ever won in football. This “fact” he sited to me couldn’t have been any further from the truth.
I claim no expertise in mountain football, apart from my expertise in Kentucky high school football generally; but, Ed Miracle won four (4) titles at Lynch East Main (1959, 1960, 1963, and 1968) and then Hillard Howard won three (3) consecutive titles in 1987, ’88, and ’89 at Pikeville High.
I count seven (7) state mountain titles, in football, prior to Mike Holcomb’s first of three crowns in 1995. Lynch East Main was in Harlan County. Pikeville High was (and still is) in Pike County. Both of these locations would make the high schools located in each area sufficiently “mountain,” no different than Breathitt.
As we used to say when I was practicing law, Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus. That means false in one thing, false in everything.
For the record, we agree Breathitt is a special program. Its being special is not the least bit diminished by the order in which Breathitt won its three titles compared to other mountain high schools.
Hillard Howard, like Ed Miracle before him (who we have before featured in this series), was a giant in the field of high school athletics. Consider this, Howard coached girls basketball, in addition to football at Pikeville High School.
Howard’s second year at the helm of the girl’s team, the lady Panthers finished 25-3 in 1976-77, going 24-1 in the 1977-78 season. In 1978-79 their record was 25-5 when they won the 15th Regional tournament, defeating Sheldon Clark 72-70 in the final.
The Lady Panthers lost in the first round of the Sweet Sixteen to Laurel County, 60-57. Laurel won the tournament and the Kentucky title. Pikeville was the closest game for Laurel in its tournament run.
Howard won a pair of 15th region titles and made a pair of Sweet Sixteen appearances as a girls’ basketball coach
KHSAA Statistics Website, Mountain Sports HOF
In his final year as coach of the Lady Panthers in the 1979-80 season, his record was 30-1. Howard, again, led the team to the Regional championship; but, once again, the Panthers fell in the first round of the Sweet Sixteen, to Butler. Butler won it all that year.
Howard’s football attainments were even more impressive. Howard was the head football coach at Pikeville for 20 seasons, amassing 208 wins while leading the Panthers to three state titles.
Howard was a five (5)-time state Coach of the Year. Howard guided Pikeville to three (3) straight, 1A KHSAA titles from 1987-1989.
Howard’s teams won 12, Class A regional championships and added two state runners-up finishes during his 20 seasons. Howard’s record over those 20 seasons was 208 wins against just 48 losses for an .813 winning percentage.
Howard got to coach his son, Jason. With Jason under center, Pikeville won one (1) of Howard’s three (3) titles.
That isn’t too shabby at all for Howard who, himself, was the son of a coal miner, with 13-siblings, who used sports as a way to avoid following his dad down a coal shaft. Howard once described himself as “a pretty good boxer.”
That was as equally deceptive as it was inaccurate. We would call a Kentucky Golden Gloves champion, a two time West Virginia Golden Gloves champion, and a national Golden Gloves champion (1970) a great, not good, boxer.
We would call a 244-69-1 record with three (3) state titles and two runners-up finishes a great, not good, football coach. We would call what Howard did on the hardwood, for the Lady Panthers, great and not good.
Then again, we would call the area stretching from the Land Between the Lakes in the west across the commonwealth to the Pottsville Escarpment in the east the Pennyroyal, and not the Pennyrile; but, once again, what the heck do we know?
This is Friday Night Fletch, reporting for KPGFootball, and we’re reminding you to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE!
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