The 1973 Bearcat football team, along with cheerleaders, coaches, and homecoming royalty are having a 50-year reunion this Friday before the Bearcats take on Hackett.
In the works for at least a year and a half, the group expects a contingent of 30 to 40 members along with their spouses. At least three coaches are expected to attend according to Mike Cauthron, who is one of the organizers for the event.
Those individuals will hail from Las Vegas, Nev., Tampa, Fla., and perhaps even Vermont as well as representation from Booneville and the surrounding area.
Locals include Russ Swint and Bruce Ray, who have grandsons playing for 2023 Bearcats, as well as District Judge Brian Mueller.
Though since surpassed, the 1973 Bearcats under Gene Bradley set standards for the program's successors including being the first team to win not only one playoff game after the postseason was reinstated, but the first team to win two playoff games.
Friday's reunion has an itinerary that includes a tailgate meal but also has a window from 6 to 6:30 for anyone to come say high or chat about back in the day.
But it is okay if a 50-year reunion does not move the needle for some folks.
“Most people may not remember it, but when we played if there was a 50-year reunion that would have been the 1923 team,” said Cauthron. “I wouldn’t have known anyone from that team. My dad is 93 and he played from 1948 to 1950."
For the record that 1923 team included John Paul McConnell who would later become the Air Force representative on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and who has an exhibit at the Booneville library. The team also had Paul X Williams, Sr., who became a US District Judge.
This is the second time the 1973 team has held a reunion. In 1993 a small group met downtown in late October, prior to the Bearcats beating Ozark 41-0 in which it snowed, likely holding down attendance.
As of now, Friday's weather is calling for partly cloudy and mild temperatures.