POTTSVILLE -- A community in Schuylkill County is mourning the life of a longtime high school football coach.
Bill Flynn passed away Monday at the age of 87.
He was the Pottsville Area High School football coach for 21 years.
Former students, players, and friends of Bill Flynn are remembering the late high school football coach.
Flynn, a Notre Dame graduate, came to Pottsville to coach in the 1950s.
He also taught algebra at the high school.
"He was a tremendous teacher. He commanded respect, not only on the field, but in the classroom and I learned a lot from him," said Pottsville Area Superintendent Jeffrey Zwiebel.
"He was very strict, firm, disciplinarian, but he was a good guy. He was there if you needed him," said Pottsville graduate Dale Ward.
During two stints as football coach, Flynn led the Crimson Tide to 162 wins. He retired in 1983.
Former players say the coach brought his Notre Dame work ethic here to Pottsville.
"Of course, we all had our heads shaved because that was the Coach Flynn way. Everyone looked the same," recalled Pottsville Area athletic director Eric Rismiller.
Pottsville Area alumni say Flynn did have a soft spot for his beagle named Blitz. Students remember how the dog would make its way into the classroom. Blitz is even included in a mural in a high school hallway.
"Blitz would bark at one of the main doors at the high school and the students at that time would allow Blitz to come in."
It was back in September when Pottsville Area dedicated the press box at the stadium to Coach Flynn. But people who had him as a teacher and a coach say his legacy is so much more than just that.
"He's definitely a legend and will remain that way. He'll always hold a place in the Pottsville Area High School."
"The legacy is still there. He's still around, he'll always be around."
Friends say Coach Flynn was battling cancer.
He is survived by his wife and six children.
