In the early 60’s, the MC Faithful loved their football. When they turned on the lights on Saturday nights, the fans rushed to Honaker Field to watch many of their hometown heroes. From 1960 to 1963 Coach Boydson Baird and his staff led the Scots of the gridiron to heights it had never seen . . . . and the local favorite “Big” Bill Cochran was right in the middle of it. After graduating from Alcoa High School, Bill decided to go to a college up the road in Jefferson City. It didn’t take him long to come to his senses. He returned to play with many of his high school teammates and friends. From Mossy Creek to Pistol Creek, Bill was now a Fighting Scot. As a freshman on the 1960 squad, Bill quickly earned a starting position on the offensive line. He started in every game for the Scots that season at the tackle position. Finishing with a 3-5-1 record, it would be the last losing year of Bill’s career. The highlight of the season was a trip to the Rocket Bowl in Huntsville, Alabama and a 19-0 victory over Millsaps College.
As the college began another academic year in 1961, the students were excited about this year’s football team and they had reasons to be excited. Along with fellow linemen Pete Stafford and Art Fairchild and ends Wilbur Ramsey and Bill Owenby, the men of the trenches opened up hole after hole for Ken Berry and Donny Phelps to run through. With impressive wins over Centre, Georgetown, Bridgewater, Southwestern (Rhodes), and Millsaps the Fighting Scots rolled to a 6 and 2 record.
Success breeds confidence and Bill was confident of another successful football campaign. Going into his junior year the Highland Echo reviewed the 1962 team. The backfield will be explosive with Benny Monroe at the helm. Running backs Roland McClanahan, Ken Berry, and Jim Renfro will have plenty of gaping holes to run through due to the size and experience of the offensive line.
The line averages 196 pounds of muscle and determination, two very important requisites for a starting seven. Bill Cochran (225 pounds) and Pete Stafford (208 pounds) are the tackles. Now the life of an offensive linemen is not very glamorous. You block and the running backs score touchdowns and get their name in the papers. Bill took great pride in his ability to block and worked extremely hard in his footwork and technique. For a big man, # 71 could explode off the line to create a hole or he could get down field to block for a pass receiver. The guy could run – when he wanted to. Finishing the 62 season with a 4 - 4 record was a bit disappointing to the competitive Cochran. He was motivated and biting at the bit going into his senior year. Along with captains, Wilbur Ramsey and Charlie Thomas, Big Bill was ready to play. This team had all the pieces of the puzzle – a potent offense and a stingy defense. They opened the year with a 14 - 0 win over Mars Hill. Then a 20 - 7 thrashing of Centre College. A nail-biter but a win over Georgetown 13-12 as they opened the season at 3 - 0. After the Georgetown game the reporter of the Highland Echo had this to say about the game winning touchdown - “ again it was Donny Phelps who carried the ball across from the 4, slipping through the big hole gouged by Bill Cochran.”
The Scots loss to Emory and Henry 13-6 in their 4th game but concluded the season with five victories.
Cochran’s last collegiate football game was a bittersweet win over the good ole boys of Carson-Newman. Benny Monroe kicked a field goal to seal the victory 17-14.
The strength of the offensive line was quite evident with the end-of-the-year stats 1,980 total rushing yards including an average of 4.4 yards per run or carry. The 1963 team’s record of 8-1 ties the second best record in MC Football History.
For his outstanding play, Bill was honorable mention All-American. During his football career at MC, he was a four-year starter and a permanent fixture of one of the most effective offenses in school history.
Bill Cochran graduated with a bachelor- of-science degree in Biology from MC in 1965 and began a life dedicated to the teaching and coaching of young people. He started his coaching career as head football coach at Greenback High School. In 1967 he moved on to Alcoa High School as an assistant and began a 9-year run as head coach from 1969 – 1978. He coached the Tornadoes to two state championships while compiling a perfect 8 - 0 playoff record. He was inducted into the Blount County Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. Bill is now retired and lives with his wife Emily in Alcoa. Join me in congratulating one of the great linemen in MC football history – Bill Cochran.
