Consistency is something we all strive for in football. The ability not to be a one act show but to perform at a high level year after year is a tough thing to achieve. No one did it better over a long period of time than Jimmy Foshee. Stanhope Elmore High School in Millbook opened in 1965 and had some spotted success in football. Ten years later they were looking for a new football coach, one that could bring them stability and consistency…someone who wanted to come to Millbrook and build a football program. They found him in Jimmy Foshee.
A native of Dadevile, Jimmy was a three sport star in high school and played in the 1962 North South All Star Game. After graduating from Auburn University he worked as an assistant coach at Benjamin Russell and Dadeville his first two years. In the summer of 1968, he went to Andalusia High School to join new head coach Wayne Trawick. Now Coach trawick is a legend in high school coaching in Alabama and he put those Bulldog teams to work. Those Andalusia teams improved each year going from 4 wins to 6 wins to 8 wins. After 5 seasons Coach Trawick left to go to Central High School in Phenix City and Jimmy joined him. Two years later he answered Stanhope Elmore’s call. He had been well trained.
It didn’t take long to get going. By his 3rd year the Mustangs went undefeated in the regular season and went to the semifinals before losing a 9-0 brawl against a great Andalusia team. Two years later the Mustangs were 12-1 again using a physical defense that gave up only 44 points in the regular season. The Mustangs loved to get in the I or Power I and run right at you. The winning seasons and playoff appearances just kept coming year after year. In all he would make 4 trips to the semi finals. In 25 years at Stanhope Elmore, Jimmy Foshee never had a losing regular season. In his last 16 seasons he made the playoffs every year. Now that is consistency. When he retired in 1999, he had won 212 games lost 81 and tied 1. Jimmy coached in the North South All Star game 4 times. The stadium was named Foshee Henderson Stadium in his honor in 1992 and he was elected to the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. In all Jimmy spent 34 years coaching high school football in Alabama.
His son Jeff joined him at Stanhope in 1997 and 3 years later succeeded him as head coach of the Mustangs. The name “Foshee” has been on the head coaches door for the last 38 years at Stanhope Elmore. Now that is consistency. Jimmy and his wife Renea have 4 children and seven grandchildren. He has proudly been a member of the First Methodist Church in Mill book and the Mustang Quarterback Club for 37 years.
TODAY THE ALFCA IS PROUD TO BESTOW ITS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD UPON COACH JIMMY FOSHEE.