SEYMOUR
At halftime of Friday night’s season opener, former Seymour football coach Joe Goodman was honored by the Indiana Football Coaches Association.
The IFCA awarded the Goodman family a plaque to recognize Goodman for achievements with the Owl football team and his dedication and leadership in the sport during his career. The plaque will be displayed at the stadium as a reminder of Goodman’s service to Seymour High School and the game of football.
Goodman was a teacher and coach for over 40 years and touched the lives of many students and players through a tremendous legacy of teaching, coaching and mentoring.
During his time at Seymour, Goodman amassed 202 wins, 38 coming in the Hoosier Hills Conference, and led the Owls to a state runner-up finish in 1991.
His overall record was 202-133 with a HHC record of 38-11. In his final six years, 1998-2003, the Owls went 53-17. He led Seymour to six sectional titles, two regional championships and one semistate crown.
He coached 65 All-State players, 16 Indiana All-Stars, 54 Academic All-State Players and 209 All-Conference players.
He was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1998 and was one of the inaugural members of the Seymour High School Athletics Hall of Fame.
Goodman also served as the IFCA President in 1982 and served as their assistant secretary in charge of awards for more than 20 years. He was also co-chair of the IFCA All-State Selection, and chair of the “Mr. Football” selection committee. He was a head coach in the IFCA All-Star Game in 1998 and an assistant three other times.
At last year’s IFCA all-star banquet, the mental attitude award, given to a player from the north and south teams at the conclusion of the all-star game, would be named in his honor.
Goodman passed away last November at age 74. He was the head football coach at Seymour for 30 years before retiring in 2003.