CAPTION: An attempt for an Earley birdie is made by Phillip Earley as his teammates – from right, brother Jon and father Pat and Josh Hicks – look on during Saturday’s 10th-annual Bob Fairchild Golf Tournament, part of the CHS Football Reunion weekend event at the Chillicothe Country Club. Nearly 50 former Hornets players or coaches came out for the golf or fellowship or both. Winning the golf tourney’s championship flight was the team of current CHS head coach Phil Willard, his brother Gary, Ron O’Dell, and long-time assistant coach Dave Mapel. The ‘A’ flight crown went to the Ron Koehly-Scott Lindley-John Canepari-Pete Madison team, while ‘B’ flight was won by Jim and Blake Valbracht, Gary Johnson, and Jim Graham.

We are still updating our address list and are always glad to receive updated addresses. interesting photos from recent events.

The golf tournament is a great weekend of great fun, food, and friends. The costs of the Tournament are outlined in the brochure. Everyone is always welcome to the Saturday night banquet at no charge (spouse and/or guest also attends the banquet free - we just need to know a count so we can plan for food).

The purpose of this weekend is to enjoy the rich football heritage of the Chillicothe High School and to make money for the current football program. If you are unable to attend but would still like to contribute, you may send your contributions to the Chillicothe Football Alumni Trust Fund – marked Donation and send it to Scott Lindley, PO Box 47, Chillicothe, Missouri 64601.

Ron O’Dell, involved in the Chillicothe school district’s football program at some level or in some capacity for many of the past 50-plus years, was presented a plaque of recognition and appreciation by the Chillicothe High School Football Alumni Association at the 2008 event. CHS’ first All-State player selected by a media panel in 1952, the forerunner of the current Missouri Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association, O’Dell later became the coach of the eighth grade football team while serving as junior-high school principal and, for several decades, has been one of the advance scouts for the varsity program, first under now-retired Bob Fairchild and currently for Phil Willard. A quarterback for the Hornets in his playing days, O’Dell, who turned 73 last week yet has returned to the CHS program as head coach of the freshman team last year and this, went on from his CHS playing career to compete in college football and baseball at then-Northwest Missouri State Teachers College in Maryville. Before returning to Chillicothe as a teacher and then administrator, where he is one of the most-beloved figures in the gridiron program’s history, O’Dell taught and coached at a couple of northwest Missouri schools, including Maryville High, where one of his students/players was Vince Tobin, who went on to a fine college football career with the Missouri Tigers and eventually was head coach of the National Football League’s Arizona Cardinals.

We also honored the graduating classes of 1958, 1968, 1978, 1988, and 1998. The 2009 reunion again will be during the second weekend of August.

For photos from past events, click here.

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