Class of 2014
A 25-year veteran as a player and coach, Hogan set NAIA records at Florence State University and won two state championships coaching Hazlewood in the 1980s.
Hogan, a 1965 Athens graduate, will be inducted into the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame Saturday for a brilliant football career as both a player and coach.
Hogan began his career at Tanner where he made the All-Conference team as both a freshman and sophomore before transferring to Athens. At Athens, Hogan earned All-State honors as a lineman his senior season in 1965.
“He was very physical and fast. He played defensive line at UNA at around 205,” remembers Mike Nave. “He was a physical guy. He didn’t play against anybody that scared him. He was one of those smaller defensive guys that would attack and was hard to handle.” Hogan1s older brother, Kenneth, remembers how driven David was, even at a young age.
“I might have made him a little tougher than he ought to have been at that age,” remembers Kenneth. “He was really aggressive in everything he did. Even as a little boy, he put everything into what he did.” After an All-State career at Athens, Hogan accepted a scholarship to play football at Memphis State where he lettered for two years before transferring to Florence State, better known as UNA. As one of the smallest lineman on the team, Hogan
used his quickness to earn a starting role on the line while also kicking field goals and extra points.
“He was tough and strong,” said Kenneth. “He wasn1t a great big guy, but one thing he was, was aggressive and really, really strong. If a running back got within arm1s reach, he would bring him down. When they would put somebody on him, they would have to double team him.” Hogan set a NAIA kicking record for made field goals and points scored by a kicker in a single game. The record setting performance came in a 1969 game against Tennessee Martin when Hogan made five field goals and scored 21 points. “For him, it wasn1t a big surprise because he went after everything wide open,” Kenneth remembers about the field goals.
“He hunts and fishes now as hard as he played ball back then.” While Hogan could enter the HOF for his playing career alone, the Limestone native went on to a successful 13-year coaching career that included stops at Hartselle, Austin, J.O. Johnson, Hazlewood, Haleyville and Russellville.
In 1981, Hogan won his first state championship with Hazlewood. The following season, he became the first coach in AHSA history to win back-to-back state championships in two different classifications after Hazlewood moved up to Class 2A. His five year record at Hazlewood was 54-7. Hogan finished with a 14-5 playoff record.
He spent 39 years as a teacher before retiring in 2009.