Interview with Bud Bishop
By Wayne Wood

The Hoover Buccaneer Football program had its beginning in 1962 at the city's first high school which at that time was called Berry High School-named for Colonel William Andrew Berry. The school started off as an elementary school in 1959 and gradually matriculated into a high school over a course of a few years.

One of the first coaches for the Bucs was Bud Bishop. His full name was Kenneth Rodney Bishop and due to his 5-6; 210 physical frame was nicknamed "Stump" but the nickname of "Bud" became more fitting through the years. Bishop graduated from Minor High School outside of Birmingham in 1956 where he played offensive and defensive guard. Unlike most southern boys who preferred a warm climate to play college he decided to play in the cold at the University of Wyoming for Bob Devaney as a defensive lineman.

After graduation in 1961, he went with Devaney to the University of Nebraska as the defensive line coach for a short time. Coach Devaney went on to have a great career for the Cornhuskers winning many games including some national titles and near championship misses and eventually Coaching Hall of Fame status. Bud Bishop went on to go back home to the Birmingham area and into high school coaching.

His first job was as a 6th grade history teacher at Midfield Elementary School during the fall of 1961. At the time, there was a coach who worked under legendary coach Red Lutz by the name of Larry Wilson. Wilson graduated from Woodlawn High in Birmingham and then attended nearby Howard College (now Samford University) throughout the 1950's. Wilson was teaching and coaching at Fairfield High School-a steel industrial area of Birmingham.

In the spring of 1962, Wilson was appointed to be the head coach of the young Berry school and asked Bishop (who became familiar with him at Fairfield) and Jimmy Johnson to be his assistant coaches. They worked that spring and summer developing the athletic facilities of a football field and stadium as well as a baseball field. Wilson and Johnson also worked in developing the first track and basketball programs while Bishop worked to develop the first wrestling and baseball programs for the Bucs.

The three men worked with dedicated parents and Jefferson County school people in starting the program from scratch and planned to start the fall of 1962 with a team of freshmen and sophomores who would play a mixture of varsity and junior varsity teams on its schedule. Wilson worked with the offensive backfield while Johnson worked with the wide receivers, ends and defensive backs. Bishop worked with both the offensive and defensive lines.

Bishop was still young and full of fire and energy. He explained, "I was a very intense and energetic coach always screaming and hollering. I'd shake them up in getting very physical with the players. Sometimes I'd put on a helmet and challenge them and other times I'd challenge them without a helmet. I had a famous slogan which said, 'He comes-I come' and they'd better be ready. Our boys responded to that method back then. I guess some people thought I was crazy but that was just my method and I loved it."

Bishop also taught physical education and as former male students will attest to it was very physical if you made certain mistakes. What he did in the 1960's would probably not be allowed today but back then it was and it worked. He and the coaches were the disciplinarians. Clyde Yeilding was the head principle and Tom Gann was his assistant (Gann later became head) but they and the faculty would have the coaches implement any punishment necessary.

The Buccaneer football players, which that early staff developed, had winning seasons all through Wilson's tenure through the season of 1965. Some of Bishop's players such as Bob Kolen and Bucky Howard went on to play college. Bob Finley joined the staff in 1964 and went on to become head coach later. Wilson went on to become superintendent of Bessemer City Schools and Johnson went on to another job.

Bishop left in 1967 to coach at Murray State University in Kentucky for a short time before returning to the Birmingham area to coach at Shades Valley High School from 1970-1976. After coaching, Bishop decided to go into private business. He and his wife live in the Hoover area and their children and grandchildren also live in Hoover. Bishop has a business in nearby Bessemer called Bessemer Fasteners & Supply, Inc. but he still makes time to keep with former coaching/teaching colleagues, players and friends he has accumulated through the years.

Coach Bishop has also kept with the Hoover Buccaneers through the years knowing that he was among those who helped develop the groundwork more than 45 years ago. He is now 70 and is down about 40 pounds from what he once was but he looks fit enough to take on and whip some players into shape and playing condition. If you don't believe it just ask some of his former Buccaneers and they'll agree.