Coaching, playing for Bluejays is a family affair for Marhsalls

CHARLESTON -- The impact of the Marshall family spans nearly the entire length and breadth of Charleston High School football history.

From 1913 to the present, almost nonstop, a Marshall has been involved in the Charleston Bluejay football program, either as player, coach or school administrator.

"If you cut our veins, we bleed blue blood," said current Charleston head coach Al Marshall, paraphrasing the quip of Hall of Fame Los Angeles Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda.

The late patriarch of the family, John Harris Marshall Sr., began the tradition as a player in 1913 and served as head coach, principal and superintendent of the Charleston schools from 1926-1963.

John Sr.'s sons, John Jr. and Alfred Herbert II (Herb), followed as players in the 1940s and later Herb became head coach from 1960 to 1969.

Charleston quarterback Josh Marshall

Charleston quarterback Josh Marshall

Herb's sons, Alfred Herbert III (Al) and Edward, played for the Bluejays in the 1970s and 1980s.

Al's sons, Alfred Herbert IV (A.H.) and Josh, played for the 'Jays from 2000 to the present with Josh currently the team's senior quarterback.

Coaching triumvirate

Al, an assistant for several years, became the third Marshall head coach at Charleston High School when he took over the program this season.

According to records from 1907 to present, the Marshalls have accounted for 184 Charleston wins as head coaches and many more as players.

John Sr. won 126 of 190 games with 10 ties in his 21-year tenure stretching from 1926-46. He had only two losing seasons, his first two, when the team went 3-5 each year.

Prior to taking over the Charleston program, John Sr. coached Lufkin (Texas) High School to a couple of state championships.

Upon returning from military service, Herb took the head coaching job at Jackson, where he led the Indians to a Big 8 championship in 1959, his last of four years at the school. He went 19-20-1 at Jackson after taking over a program that had gone 1-9 prior to his arrival.

"I worked my tail off to get a winner at Jackson," he said. "This day and time and that day and time is completely different. Now, you have to use tact, not a board, on kids. You're just about as much a counselor as you are a coach nowdays."

Upon his retirement, a former player presented Herb with that fabled board, dubbed "Coach Marshall's Board of Education."

Herb comes home

In 1960, Herb returned to Charleston. There he compiled a 53-34-3 mark with only one losing season (4-5-1 in '62).

"We played a lot of schools that were bigger than us -- Poplar Bluff, Sikeston, Cape Girardeau, Perryville, Paducah Tilghman -- but I loved it," he said. "I didn't want to play anybody else."

While at Charleston, he coached future All-Pro safety Charlie Babb, who as a starter for the Miami Dolphins was a member of the undefeated Super Bowl champions of 1972.

Said Herb, "Charlie wasn't the biggest or the fastest and I had some other boys that I thought were better, but he had something the others didn't have

--heart."

At Babb's jersey retirement, he said his most inspirational coach had been Herb Marshall.

When Herb left coaching in 1970 to enter the insurance business, his involvement in football continued as an official for 38 years, calling his final game in 2004, ending a run of 63 years as player, coach and official -- supposedly.

However, at the age of 76, he was coerced into returning to the field as an assistant on son Al's staff this season.

"He's been invaluable to us," said Al. "Dad is a go-to guy. His reputation precedes him and he's so well respected that anything we need, he can get it done. His knowledge of line play and coaching all those years has been a big help to us."

Said Herb, "It's a reward and an honor for me to get back out there. I've really enjoyed it. I enjoy the boys. Now, it's a different type of boy than when I was here before, but I sure do enjoy them."

In his blood

Al, a teacher and coach in the Charleston system for 25 years, has gotten off to a 5-3 start with the Bluejays, in his first head coach position.

"I just knew, in my heart, that I was always going to be a coach," said Al. "There was never any doubt. When other kids said they wanted to be a policeman or a fireman or whatever, I knew that I was going to be a coach.

"I've been very fortunate to have worked with some highly successful coaches and been around people who know football. I played under coach Jim Lohr in college (SEMO), where we were MIAA champions three times. Then I had a chance to work with the legendary coach Jim McKay at Portageville and I grew up around my dad and his perspective of football. I also worked for coach Terry Brashears, who had some real good years at Charleston. In fact, I'm still using some plays and schemes I learned from him."

College tradition

Still another family tradition continues to this day. Four generations of Marshalls have played collegiate football.

John Sr., for whom the Charleston High School sports complex is named, lettered as an end at the University of Missouri in 1917.

Herb, an all-Southeast Conference guard at the University of Arkansas in his senior season of 1952, was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals, but chose not to pursue a professional career.

Al, a team captain his senior season, was a wide receiver at Southeast Missouri State University from 1974-79.

Al's son, Alfred Herbert (A.H.) Marshall IV, is currently a sophomore at Evangel University in Springfield. The six-foot, 170-pound strong safety was recently awarded the Special Teams award for his performance against Avila University.

Sikeston rivalry

No story involving Charleston football would be complete without mention of the oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi River.

That, of course, being the long-running series (120 games) with the Sikeston Bulldogs, which dates back to 1908. The teams met twice during several seasons.

The Marshall influence, as players in the rivalry game, is a source of pride for the family.

Although Sikeston owns a commanding lead of 83-33-4 overall, the Marshalls have had a hand in several Charleston victories.

Herb ('47) and brother John Jr. ('42), Al ('73) and brother Edward ('81), and Josh ('05) were all on the winning side in their senior seasons.

Herb bagged two memorable wins, defeating Sikeston 7-6 in his junior season of 1946, the last year father John Sr. coached, then winning 6-0 in his senior season of 1947. He scored the Charleston touchdown in '46.

"We had a great record my senior year and Sikeston had a pretty good record, too, so, you talk about head-knocking, there was some serious head-

knocking in that game," recalled Herb.

The '47 squad went 9-0 under coach Jim Rhea, allowing just seven points all season. Sikeston was 6-2-1.

It would be 1965, a 17-year drought, before the Bluejays would again taste victory over the Bulldogs, who were busy putting up incredible numbers under coaches Kenny Knox and Bill Sapp.

Sikeston went 35-0-3 under Knox from '48-'51, then 107-14-5 under Sapp from '52-'64, including a then-Missouri state record 49-game unbeaten streak.

Ironically, the Marshall touch was again present in the '65 win, under coach Herb.

Brashears scored the game-winning touchdown in a 6-0 victory.

Way of life

The Marshalls' dedication to the game of football might best be described by Al, who said, "Football is just a way of life for us. It goes deep, like the roots of a big pin oak."