Bluefield's Fred Simon won 300 football games living and working exactly where he always wanted to be

Oct. 28—Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD — 300 wins.

Fred Simon's sparkling Bluefield High School career has been exciting, successful, lengthy — but almost never ordinary. Even the historic 47-13 win over Giles, on Senior Night at Mitchell Stadium, was played not on the traditional Friday slot but on Thursday on a warm, picture perfect evening unusual for October's final week.

Want more? On the day of No. 300, Simon had 299 wins on the 299th day of the year. In another twist, Bluefield had consecutive touchdown runs of 70 or more yards called back with two more 70-yard scores that did count. Simon is now the only coach in West Virgina with 300 wins at the same school, having passed Larry McClintic of Meadow Bridge (288). Now, only Simon and veteran Martinsburg coach Dave Walker, both active, have as many as 300 coaching victories.

"I never really thought about this (300)," grinned Simon after the game. "I just work from week to week trying to make us (Bluefield) better, put us in a position to win and it's all fun, all about working with the players and coaches. Winning is because of them, it's a team effort. We all are there for each other."

Ol' No. 42, no matter the situation, has been there for the Beavers since taking the reins from legendary Coach John Chmara in 1986. In fact, he has never really been anywhere else. Simon grew up in town, attended local schools, went to college at Concord, then came back to join the school system as a teacher-coach.

"This is home," he says. "I have never been anywhere else and I am exactly where I want to be. I love this community and this school. It's a privilege to part of the Bluefield tradition."

What a tradition it is for the school and the 37-year head coach.

Bluefield — then Beaver — first played in 1908, on nearby Wade Field before moving to Mitchell Stadium in 1937. Since then, the overall school record is 705-346-23, a .667 winning percentage. The "Golden Era" as most BHS fans would agree, began with Coach Merrill Gainer's arrival in 1959. Gainer's team won the '59 AAA crown, the first title in school history. Bluefield won again in 1962, '65 and '67, under Gainer's tenure. John Chmara led the Beavers from 1968-1985 and won a pair of state championships, in 1975 and 1984, with two unbeaten teams ('68 and '72) not invited to participate in the WVSSAC playoffs.

Enter Coach Simon in 1986. He won his first game, a 10-7 thriller over traditional rival Graham. He built his program slowly, but reached the playoffs in '91. That was a big step, recalls assistant head coach and offensive coordinator "Fritz" Simon, the coach's son and right-hand man.

"In '91 we had the ESPN national coverage for the game with Graham and that was a big deal, a lot of excitement," recalls Fritz. "We were heavy underdogs, but got a last-second touchdown to pull that one out. It was a big boost. That same year, we qualified for the playoffs with a 34-31 win at Parkersburg. Our third-string quarterback, Ronald Betts, threw a scoring pass to first-stringer Michael Lane. Now, that play we called 'Marino' because we got it from Frank Marino down at Welch High School."

As Bluefield and Simon grew together, the wins and championships followed.

First came the unbeaten champs of 1997, with a 42-13 win over Grafton. In 2004, Bluefield toppled Wayne, 69-24. Three years later, the Beavers shut out James Monroe, 13 — 0. In '09, BHS beat Wayne again, 27-7. The fifth title for Coach Simon's troops was one of the most exciting, a 29-26 thriller over Fairmont Senior in 2017.

That triumph pushed Simon into sole possession of most coaching championships at the school. In addition, Coach Simon has the most total WVSSAC playoff wins (55) and most playoff game appearances (74).

He and Fritz, along with all the coaches over the years, have shared a balance in the program's success. For instance, although Bluefield has been known for explosive offense, it was the defense with 5 interceptions that keyed the first championship and in the record-setting 69-point triumph over Wayne, the defense helped mightily to make it happen with six fumble recoveries.

Along the way, Simon coached the 1,000th game in school history, a 28-14 win over Richlands.

Following the victory over Giles, Simon's record is now 300-144 (444 games total), a .675 winning percentage. In addition to the five state championships, he has led Bluefield to four unbeaten seasons, and had 8 other years with 10 or more victories.

Veteran coach, former Beaver and lifelong friend Dave Litz, who coached Tazewell to a state title in 1986, says of Simon, "To have done the job for as long as he has at the level of success he has and the enthusiasm is truly amazing. His fans and friends are awful proud of him."

Bill Albert, part of a legendary family of Bluefield footballers and long-time part of the program, notes, "Freddie is one of the hardest-working coaches anywhere and he loves our school and community. I am so happy for him for this well-deserved honor."

BHS Principal Mike Collins adds, "Coach Simon has been and is an excellent teacher and coach at Bluefield. It is an honor to have him on our staff and as part of our community. I have enjoyed working with him and congratulate him and his program for their achievements."

Scores of talented players have developed in the Simon system, with notable examples Yubrenal Isabelle (1996 Huff Award winner), Will Cole (2008 Kennedy Award winner) and Latrell "Mookie" Collier (2017 Kennedy Award winner).

Simon himself has earned number local and state honors including a 2019 induction into the West Virginia Sports Legends group, where the keynote speaker was NBA Hall of Famer and fellow Mercer County native Rod Thorn of Princeton.

"This has been a great journey," says Simon. "I have been blessed to have great community support, from the school system and our administration, a terrific bunch of players over the years and super assistants. I would not want to be anywhere else."

Beaver fans are equally happy to have Coach Simon, their 300-game winner leader on the sidelines.

— Contact sports@bdtonline.com