Long-time Auburn assistant coach visited Lyeffion in January 1978

I was looking through some old notes the other day and noticed that today (Jan. 17) marks 41 years since a memorable football banquet at Lyeffion.

Some in the reading audience will remember that it was on Jan. 17, 1978 that Auburn University assistant football coach Joe Connally was the featured speaker at the annual Lyeffion High School football banquet held at the school.

Darwin Cook was Lyeffion’s head football coach at that time and with the help of assistant coaches Jim McKinnon and Ronnie Williams, he presented a number of awards to the school’s top players. Yellow Jacket players receiving awards that night were Jerry Johnson, best defensive back; Harold Kyser, best offensive back; Willie Hunter, best offensive lineman; Kenny Nevlous, best defensive lineman; and Joe Salter, sportsmanship award.

Over the years, a number of outstanding college football head coaches and assistant coaches have visited Conecuh County to speak at football banquets, but few were as remarkable as Joe Connally. While he’s not a household name nowadays, he had a highly successful career at Auburn as an assistant football coach and baseball coach.

Connally was born in Georgia in 1926 and was the youngest of four children, which is what made him such a good football player in later years. Like thousands of young men of his generation, he served in World War II and was a decorated Army Air Corps aerial gunner while serving in the Pacific Theater. He attained the rank of sergeant before being honorably discharged in 1946.

From there, he went on to the University of Georgia, where he played football and earned a business degree. Upon graduation in 1949, instead of entering the business world, he got a job as the head football coach at Decatur (Ga.) High School and led them to a state title in 1950. This success spring-boarded him into the college coaching ranks.

Most notably, he coached the defensive line at Auburn University for 26 years, including 25 years under Auburn legend Ralph “Shug” Jordan. Together, they won a national title in 1957, finishing the season as the No. 1-ranked team in the Associated Press Poll. In today’s world, serving as an assistant football coach for more than a quarter of a century at a major university like Auburn is almost unheard of.

In 1958, in his spare time, Connally served as Auburn’s head baseball coach and led the team to an SEC title. This was the only year that Connally coached Auburn’s baseball team and when you consider that he won the conference title, that’s not too shabby.

(The years of 1957-1967 are generally considered to be the best overall stretch in Auburn baseball history. They made their first trip to the College World Series during this time and only once finished lower than second in their SEC division during this 11-season stretch.)

Connally retired from Auburn in 1987 and lived to the ripe old age of 88 before passing away in 2014 in Franklin, Tenn.

In the end, no doubt more than a few old Lyeffion athletes in the reading audience will remember the 1978 football banquet. Some likely got the chance to meet Connally, and some may have had their picture taken with him. If so, I’d like to see any pictures from that night, so feel free to swing by The Courant office and show them off. If we have room, we might even re-run them in the newspaper.