By Lee Patterson
Next up in the 4 part series we take a look at the Thatcher Eagles.
I had heard of the legend of Paul Nelson but until I looked into this history, did I realize that he won 17 State Titles in 2 sports while at Thatcher. Below is the rest of the history of the Thatcher Eagles.
Thatcher High
Football – 8
1986, 1988, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2016, 2017
Thatcher football has lifted the Gold Ball 8 times in their history. Only Don Conrad and Sean Hinton have won back to back titles.
Volleyball – 12
1974, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 2002, 2008, 2014, 2015
The Eagles have won back to back state titles 3 times in their history. Mary Jones led the Eagles in ’80 and ’81. Hall Mullenaux did it twice in ’86, ’87 and again in ’91, ’92.
Boys Golf – 10
1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000,
Mary Jones added two more state titles to her name with Golf in ’87, ’88. 7 state titles belong to Dennis Martin, including 6 in a row from 1991-1996.
Boys Basketball — 10
1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1995
When you think Thatcher basketball in the 80’s and 90’s, you think of just one name, Paul Nelson. He won 9 of the 10 titles from 1978 through 1991. His teams made 6 other championship games in his tenure. Kenny Smith is the only other coach to win a boys hoops title. He did that in 1995.
Girls Basketball – 7
1983, 1984, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2016
Bill Sharp led the first two championship teams in ’83 and ’84. The Eagles won 4 in a row between 2001 and 2004. The first 2 were coached by Dave Henson, the 2nd two by Lee Marett. Russ Jones added the 7th in 2016.
Tennis – 19 (Girls 13, Boys 6)
1962, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1995, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016
Thatcher girls tennis was a dominate force in the 80’s and 90’s led by a familiar name, Paul Nelson. He added 8 more state tennis titles to his 9 boys basketball championships. Lee Marett also added two more tennis titles to his resume. Chris Cook coached 4 of the boys state titles, included 3 in a row from 2014-2016. All four of his state championship teams were undefeated.
Track & Field – 7 (Boys 6, Girls 1)
1987, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2006
Adam Estrada owns all 6 boys state championships for the Eagles, including 3 in a row in 1998, 1999, 2000. The lone girls title came in 1987 and was coached by Max Phillips.
Softball – 2
2003, 2004
Rachel Motes coached the Eagles to both state titles in their only 2 appearances in the history of the program. They didn’t give up a run in either state title game.
Spirit Line – 3
2008 (2), 2009
No coaching information was listed by the AIA for these championships. In 2008 Thatcher won All-Girl Stunt as well as Show Cheer. In 2009 they won Show Cheer.
Those numbers all add up to 78 State Championships for the Thatcher Eagles. They were a dominating force in the late ’80s and the ’90s. We’ve now looked into Safford and Thatcher. The total Gila Valley State Championship total is 165. Are we nearing dynasty status yet?
Up next we will dig into the Pima Roughriders.
