Barton's Legendary Coach Passes Away

McClellan Left His Mark

(Former Barton coach Frank McClellan, the winningest football coach in the history of Arkansas high school football, passed away on Saturday. This is a reprint, slightly modified, from an interview following the 2006 Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star Football game.)

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas just didn’t want to let go of Frank McClellan.

Even after his official retirement and after the school year ended, McClellan was on the sideline one last time in June at Reynolds Stadium at the University of Arkansas as head coach of the East team in the Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star football game.

“I really enjoyed all of (the all-star games) that I was able to coach in,” said McClellan, who was an assistant nine times and head coach four times in the summer classic. “That one was an honor especially since it was my last ball game.” .

That was months after his Barton Bears played their final game of the 2005 season, which uncharacteristically was in early November, that marked the end to a brilliant 39-year coaching career as a head coach and 41 years in all.

McClellan not only left an indelible mark on Arkansas high school football but also high school football nationally.

McClellan won 367 games in his career that began in his home state of Mississippi at Vaiden High School in 1967. He was there just two years before taking over at his alma mater for one year. In 1970, he began his career at tiny Barton and the rest is, as they say, is history.

“I’d never been out of Mississippi,” McClellan said. “Never in my life did I think I’d leave Mississippi and go to Arkansas.” .

Barton won 346 games under McClellan in 35 years. Beginning in 1986, Barton won a state-record 63 straight games that included four straight state championships. It also was the fourth-best win streak in the nation’s high school football history at the time. Barton had the win streak snapped in the Class A state championship game by Rison in 1990.

McClellan’s Bears weren’t finished though. The Bears won three state titles after that and also continued to rack up regular-season victories and conference wins. Barton set state records with 111 consecutive regular-season wins during a 12-year stretch from 1986 through 1997 and 74 straight conference victories from 1985 into the 1998 season.

“For us to have had as many wins as we did, I never dreamed that would happen,” McClellan said. “I really just think it was meant for me to come to Barton.” .

Seven times his small-school Bears led the state in scoring, utilizing the Wing-T ground attack.

Under McClellan, Barton recorded undefeated regular seasons a remarkable 18 times.

From the first playoff victory in 1978 through the last in 2003, the Bears set a state record with 64 post-season victories.

“I think the big ingredient that I was fortunate to have were some outstanding coaches to help me,” McClellan said. “I was blessed to have had the people to help me.” .

McClellan loved to read the poem ‘Thinking’ by Walter D. Wintle to his team prior to football games on Friday night.

McClellan was named to the National High School Hall of Fame in 2003, joining only legendary Earl Quigley of Little Rock High fame as the only Arkansas coaches in the National High School Hall of Fame.

photo from Frank McClellan Facebook page