Orange jacket find triggers fun memories for old Owls, Dagley remembered

Former La Follette Owl Denny Orick shares a long ago find with us here at WLAF.

By Jim Freeman

PUBLISHER’S NOTE:  Beloved La Follette High School coach Jerry Dagley passed away earlier this week, and I thought it might be fitting to re-publish one of the stories WLAF has done over the years to feature to former teacher and coach.  This story is from the winter of 2020 though it takes us back to the 1970s.

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – In 1972, after a two-year hiatus, Coach Jerry Dagley returned to coach the La Follette High Owls Basketball team after two 20+ win seasons as head coach in the late 1960s.  HERE is a related story.

One of the things the new/former coach wanted to instill in his players and program upon his return was class.  He wanted players dressed in a coat, tie and dress pants on their way to games.

Coach Jerry Dagley, who starred at Jacksboro High as a player, was all orange as Owls head coach including the striped slacks.

Former Owl Denny Orick was recently looking through a closet and saw something orange.  To his surprise, it was his orange LHS Owls blazer from nearly 50-years ago.

Orick found one of Dagley’s “La Follette Star Award” requirement sheets.

He stopped by WLAF to tell us about his find from long ago.  The former Owl stat keeper and manager also found something in his inside pocket.  He asked, “Would this have been something Coach Dagley would have done?”  I said, “Yep!  That has Dagley written all over it; the La Follette Star Award program.  I remember it.”

Coach Jerry Dagley (right) at lunch at the Royal Lunch and Billiards with a few of us including George Marlow (left).

One way to earn a star on Dagley’s list was for the Owls to hold their opponent to 40 points or less.  Every player who played in that game earned a star.

Well.  It wasn’t in writing, but it was strongly inferred that it had to be a win when holding a team to 40 points or less.  Along the way, there was one such game, a home game of all things, where the Owls held the Wynn Bulldogs to 40 points.  The only problem was that La Follette managed just 35 points.  No stars were handed out that night.

George Marlow, in the photo above with Dagley, just happened to be on that 1973 Wynn team that beat La Follette on that long ago November night.

Thanks for the memories, Denny and Dagley!

And I still have my blazer and slacks, too.  (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 02/19/2020-6AM-REPUBLISHED – 07/21/2023-6AM)