News

We now have 832 teams &  
189,846 games on AHSFHS.org.


Search Site





AHSFHS Article Series


   The best of the best in Alabama High   
  School Football over the past 100 seasons.






Decatur Red Raiders
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 H.L. Shorty Ogle 

H.L. "Shorty" Ogle, a native of Gainesville, GA, played football for the Albertville Aggies during the 1920s when football was still a young sport in high school. He stood 6 feet, 4 inches tall, so they called him "Shorty".

Ogle was a starter in all sports for the Aggies before attending Birmingham-Southern on a scholarship and played football for Coach Harold "Red" Drew. He played quarterback, end and was the team punter.

He was named All-Southern end and also lettered in basketball, baseball and track. Birmingham-Southern awarded him the Porter Cup for being the Best Athlete his senior year. He made a run as a professional baseball player for a while before deciding on a career in coaching.

Ogle got his first coaching job at Hanceville in 1929. The Decatur Red Raiders came calling four years later and lured him away with a reported $100 a month salary. The rest is history.


Ogle coached four undefeated State Championship teams at Decatur, including his first squad in 1933. Other highlights include a 33-game winning streak from 1946-49. His career coaching record is 231-77-17 in football, 232-42 in basketball, 128-29 in baseball and 147-31 in track.

Coach Ogles Decatur Red Raiders team of 1941 may have been the first high school team to use the modern day T-formation and one of the first three teams in the United States to use it, along with Stanford and the Chicago Bears.

His 1947 team went undefeated in ten contests and gave up only 13 points during the season. To top it off his basketball team made its first trip to the state tournament in Tuscaloosa where they lost in the quarter-finals to Sidney Lanier.

Ogles 1949 team finished the season 9-0-1 and was named co-state champions for their efforts.

He remained as the head coach at Decatur until his retirement in 1963. In all, Coach Ogle spent 31 of his 35 seasons as a head coach with the Red Raiders.

He was the winning coach in the 1948 inaugural Alabama High School All-Star football game in which the North team won 33-0 over the South.

In 1979, he became the first high school coach to be inducted in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. He was a member of the charter class of the Alabama High School Hall of Fame in 1991. Ogle was also inducted into the Morgan County Hall of Fame.

Some years later, Decatur High School named their football stadium in his honor.


Known Record:  253-77-17   76.7%
 Season Total   Playoffs   Region Record 
 Team   Season  Class   W/L/T   PF  PA   W/L/T  PF  PA   Region  Title  W/L/T   PF  PA 
Decatur
Decatur1963 4A6-3-113691
Decatur1962 8-228274
Decatur1961 9-130470
Decatur1960 7-3149112
Decatur1959 6-4135100
Decatur1958 7-2-1175117
Decatur1957 5-4137131
Decatur1956 6-3-1155129
Decatur1955 7-313576
Decatur1954 5-5143173
Decatur1953 7-2-114169
Decatur1952 7-3208137
Decatur1951 5-3-113886
Decatur1950 3-6-1138134
Decatur1949 9-0-133770
Decatur1948 9-0-125934
Decatur1947 10-027513
Decatur1946 6-318557
Decatur1945 5-416783
Decatur1944 8-134338
Decatur1943 8-130333
Decatur1942 5-3-120790
Decatur1941 8-131620
Decatur1940 8-123320
Decatur1939 8-125313
Decatur1938 3-4-29678
Decatur1937 6-312058
Decatur1936 7-1-120831
Decatur1935 8-130137
Decatur1934 4-4-110747
Decatur1933 9-01467
 31 Years209-72-13623222280-0000-000
    
Hanceville
Hanceville1932 5-3-111791
Hanceville1931 8-231240
Hanceville1930 8-0-126444
Hanceville1929 3-3-28764
 4 Years24-8-47802390-0000-000
    
TOTALS
 35 Years233-80-17701224670-0000-000


 The AHSFHS.org Fan Shop
Custom Sportswear, Merchandise & Apparel including T-Shirts, Sweatshirts, Jerseys & more
Records reflect scores in our database. Some records may be incomplete. We have chosen to publish this information in hopes our visitors will participate in assisting us to complete every school.

Join us in the forums to submit corrections and new information.



Great Moments in Alabama High School Football History

Alabama School for the Deaf won Deaf School National Championships in 1971, 1987, 1991, 2000, 2001 and 2002.