Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Football |
Catalog Number |
2017.142.5 |
Maker |
All Star Sporting Goods |
Date |
1966 |
Material(s) |
Leather |
Dimensions |
W-13.5 Cir-20 inches |
Description |
This is a leather football with cotton laces that has been signed by the 1966 Hopkinsville High School football team. The football is made with four panels and contains a air bladder. A white stripe is painted around each end. The panels with laces are stamped. One reads "Top Grade / Genuine Cowhide / Professional / By / All Star / 698." The other reads "Made is U.S.A / Inflate to 13 Lbs / Official / Size - Weight." |
Notes |
This football belonged to Howard Sabel Myers, a member Hopkinsville High School football team. The Tigers won the Kentucky AA Football State Championship in 1965 and 1966, winning 27 straight games. The football is signed by members of the 1966 team. Friday night football games in Hopkinsville were exciting. Myers recalls home football games at Walnut Street Stadium, where approximately 5000 fans would fill the stadium leaving standing room only spaces. Downtown store employees painted their windows, "GO TIGERS." Motorcades welcomed the team's bus home from away games. The team had dinner with Governor Breathitt, a Hopkinsville native, at the Kentucky Governor's Mansion. Fleming Thornton, a Kentucky Football Hall of Fame inductee, was the head coach from 1962 to the late 1970s. Thornton's first three years in Hopkinsville, 1962 through 1964, were successful with 26 wins. However, the team never made it past the State Quarter Finals. Approximately eight Africans-American juniors and seniors from the Hopkinsville Attucks integrated the 1965 Hopkinsville High School football team, making significant contributions to the team's 27 straight wins. Hopkinsville High School has not won a Football State Championship since 1966. |
Collection |
Howard Sabel Myers Collection |
People |
Myers, Howard Sabel |
Subjects |
Football Football players Sports Teams, Sports Schools Sporting goods Sports equipment Jewish Integration Segregation |
Search Terms |
Hopkinsville (Ky.) Christian County (Ky.) |
Physical Holder |
Kentucky Historical Society - KHS |