From Bearcats to Red Devils

I. The Foreword

Many people have asked us why we undertook such a feat as the writing of this book. Well, it's a hard question to answer directly, so we ask some questions in return.

Would you sit on a 2 X 6 for two hours waiting for the game to start? Would you leave that precious 2 X 6 you have claimed earlier to line up and greet the team coming on the field, realizing all the while that the chance of getting trampled is very real? Can you shout "Go! Go!" and/or "Defense" for three solid hours until your voice is no more? Are you willing to be an ardent collector of Red Devil pins, banners, pom poms, etc? Does the song "We are the Champions" send cold chills and happy memories vibrating through your very being? If you answered yes to these, then you know why; if not, then we can only say we're proud of our team, heritage and town and wish to somehow play a small part in its continuance. We sincerely hope this book will help in this endeavor and also help to serve as a reference for all those Lincoln County football questions that will arise.

First, we think we should state that we went by official statistics whenever possible, but these were very scarce in the early years. If there were no official statistics available, we went by newspaper accounts of the games. In cases of conflicting facts we went by the one that appeared in two or more collaborating newspapers. If, and only is, we could find no references whatsoever, we went by word of mouth from surviving players or spectators. We sincerely urge anyone who has conflicting or additional statistics to please let us know and accept our deepest apologies.

Secondly, we would like to reinterate our dedication and state that this book is intended for the sole entertainment of Lincoln County football fans, players, and coaches. To show just how wonderful our fans are, we would like to quote a newspaper interview with the coach of one of our fiercest competitors.



Lincolnton, Ga. Is the kind of place "Bear" Bryant would like to go when he dies.

This evaluation of a rival football camp by Harlem High Football Coach Carl Brooks reveals some of the esteem that has been generated over the years by Lincoln County High's football program.

"It's an honor to play Lincoln County", Brooks said. "They're so well-coached and execute so well that it's a pleasure to play them."
Brooks admired not only the caliber of football played by Lincoln County, but also the high level of support from the townspeople.

"When they played at our place, there were 60 Lincoln County fans seated in the stands by 4 p.m.," Brooks reported. "By 6 p.m. the Lincoln side of the field was filled. We get good support from our fans in Harlem, but nothing to compare with that."

-Excerpts from The Augusta Herald, 1979



The rest of this book will try to show how wonderful our players and coaches are.

In Lincoln County there is a winning tradition as evidenced by the record books. At Lincolnton there is fan support as evidenced by the field of play on Friday nights. But the one thing this book can't show is the importance football makes on our young people. Being a small rural town there is not a wholc lot to do in Lincolnton; therefore, teenagers have to set their own goals and their own modes of entertainment. This is the one place Lincolnton differs from most other similar towns. Football gives our teenagers a sense of values that helps to guide them through life. These values require conditioning not only physically and mentally, but also morally. In this way football helps to channel all that teenage energy into constructive uses, therefore getting the older people and the whole town itself behind them, instead of destructive uses which would lead to moral decay and vandalism.

So you see, football in Lincoln County means more than a game on Friday night, or a championship in December, or even an outstanding record in the Football Hall of Fame. To us here football is a way of life.







Next Section: The Early Years: 1922-1956