Remembering "Happy" Cornish

“Happy” Cornish, born William Clayton Cornish, was a native of Plain Dealing. He started his athletic career at Plain Dealing High School as a star athlete playing football and track & field. While earning his M.S. in Education at Louisiana Normal College at Natchitoches (now Northwestern State University), Cornish was a headliner athlete. He was a three-letter man in football (quarterback), track & field, and baseball. Still, he also excelled in poll-vaulting and javelin throwing. He was one of eight people inducted into the Northwestern State University’s N-Club Hall of Fame in 1973.

After college, Cornish coached the Bossier City High School Bearkats for eight years, from 1933-1941, where he quickly proved his skills as a coach. His first year there, the Bearkats were undefeated in their regular season. In 1941, he received his Master’s degree at LSU, and he became principal of Elm Grove High School. After that, he spent two years at Louisiana State University as a physical education instructor. From 1945-1951 Cornish was the head of Centenary’s Physical Education Department.

The following article appeared in the Shreveport Journal, Jan. 13, 1961, detailing how Cornish revived Centenary athletics after World War II:

“Shortly after the outbreak of World War II, Centenary de-emphasized its athletics, abandoned football, basketball, and boxing. When the warfare began to diminish, Centenary College persuaded Cornish to move into its athletic director’s office in a period that found veterans marching back to the campus.

“Happy’s athletic curriculm [sic] for the students was sound with emphasis on conditioning—principally on an intramural scale.

“Flow of veterans picked up tempo in their return to the classrooms with many of the battle scarred men boasting previous football and basketball experience on outfits at other colleges. With the veterans showing the way, Cornish’s athletic program was hiked to include a campus fraternity football league. Interest soared, frequently the fraternities rented Byrd High School stadium for games that were played under the lights. Byrd and St. John’s 9now Jesuit) offered to loan equipment to the teams.

“One day Cornish was seated in his office when he was greeted by a surprise telephone call.

“It was from Camp Polk, La., an Army training center. A colonel of Camp Polk advised that he had an Army football team troubled by a lack of opponents and asked if Cornish would be interested in bringing a team of Centenary All-Stars to the military base for an exhibition.

“Cornish explained that the college did not have a piece of football equipment other than a few footballs for use in touch football games and told the officer he would investigate the possibility for developing the game.

“Next, Happy summoned a few of the leaders of the various fraternities to review the offer. The idea ignited with enthusiasm.

“Equipment was obtained (via loan from excess material in store rooms at local high schools) and a call was issued for Centenary All-Stars.

“The players gathered—some of whom had played varsity football before entering the armed forces and others who were fresh from schoolboy careers. Drills were limited and the squad romped through about two seasons.

“Cornish secured a battered schoolbus [sic] for the trip to Camp Polk, The Stars arrived at Camp Polk, suited up and returned to their bus for a quick jaunt to Deridder where a packed stadium greeted the team on its entrance to the field.

“Loaded with material from the Pacific Coast, Midwest, Southwest and Southeast Conferences and bolstered by several All-American players, Camp Polk mauled the Centenary Stars.

“Nobody cried because the game had been arranged strictly for the morale of the servicemen in the Polk area.

“Cornish’s stars were invited to dine with Polk’s athletic officials; the meal was completed and the squad was preparing to return to Shreveport.

“Cornish was making his departure from the dining hall when he was summoned by one of the Army officers, only to hear a surprising story about an excess of football equipment. Polk’s excess togs were offered to Centenary. Cornish advised that he had no actual football team.

“Athletic leaders of the fraternities were asked to join the conversation. The equipment was accepted and divided among the school’s Greek organizations.

“Two weeks later, Camp Polk officials telephoned Cornish again. This time to inquire about possibility for a second football game with the Stars—a 15,000 seater at the time.

“Tickets were printed and distributed and on the night of the game a crowd of 10,000 gathered to watch Centenary’s brief return to the gridiron.

“It was Cornish who started Centenary on the return to the hardwood. With Nickie Lester, Omar Shively, Cotton Bobbins and Dayton Waller a cage outfit was formed for games with local independent teams. A year later, Cornish had his cagers playing a collegiate schedule that was stepped up when Jack Clayton was hired to take over the hardwood program.

“Cornish’s efforts to bring back football to Centenary resulted two years later in the college’s one-year revival of the sport in a shake-up of the athletic department. New coaches were hired. Cornish departed to become athletic director and head coach of Furman University with Clayton moving to Western Kentucky.” …

Everywhere he went, the students, faculty, and fans all loved him. When Cornish died in 1977, the 1935 BHS football team members paid for a wind-chime memorial for his church, Kelley Memorial Baptist Church.

By: Amy Robertson