"Hail Mary"...!!?

     
     Rather out of the ordinary regarding our staunch German Protestant history, but this is for the benefit of sports fans in the final throes of football season. 
     Rev. Tillman W. Hoernemann was our 10th Pastor, with the distinction of serving the second longest ministerial term at our Church 1914-1929. We will pay our due respects in a future post. But thru his Pastorate, our Church connected with one of the greatest coaches of all time!       



Paul "The Fox" Hoernemann
1916-1965

       Paul "The Fox" Hoernemann, was the son of Rev. & Mrs. (Bertha) Hoernemann. Born in Lima, he was a teen-ager when his father left our Church to assume a position in New Philadelphia, Ohio. Paul was a 1938 graduate of Heidelberg College (founded in 1850 by the German Reformed Church), where he would return as Head Football Coach 1946-1959. During his 14-year career he lost only 18 games (his overall record being 102-18); consisting of 16 & 17-game winning streaks and two undefeated seasons. While he was Coach, the Heidelberg "Student Princes" won the Ohio Conference in 1948, 1952, 1954, and 1956. The Ohio Conference later established the Hoernemann Trophy, awarded to the best defensive lineman. And during those days, an article featured in Sports Illustrated listed Coach Hoernemann #7, topped by the infamous Knut Rockne from Notre Dame leading the roster.   
      In 1997, Paul "The Fox" Hoernemann was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.  
     
     To my knowledge it is a mystery how he earned his nickname. But I'll make the call, and say it was due to his cunning coaching expertise!