People

One of the most successful coaches in Nowata history was Byrdene Bomgardner, who led the Ironmen to three straight Verdigris Valley Conference titles in the late 30s and early 40s.

Bomgardner was born in Tuttle, Oklahoma and was a three-sport athlete. He was offered a college scholarship to play baseball at Oklahoma A&M and ended up playing not only baseball, but football and basketball as well in Stillwater.

After graduating from A&M, 'Bom' got his first start in coaching at Wagoner High School in 1936. On his first day in Wagoner, Jewel Herndon, a new teacher herself, tried to kick Bomgardner out because she believed he was a student that was in the building before the allowed time.

Herndon would later become Mrs. Bomgardner. The two were married in 1938.

In Wagoner, Bomgardner coached the boys' basketball team and assisted football coach Cy Wilson. As basketball coach, his Bulldogs upset undefeated and top-ranked Stilwell in his first season.

Oh, and in the summer of 1937, he was awarded with a contract to play for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball. He played that summer in the minor leagues with Grand Island, Nebraska.

He took over the varsity football reigns for Wagoner that same summer after Wilson took a job at in-state junior college Connors A&M. In his first season as head coach, Bomgardner's inexperienced team took second place in the N.O.A.A. conference and handed Haskell its only loss of the season on Thanksgiving Day.

It was only a warmup. In 1938, Bomgardner's Bulldogs went 10-and-0, including seven shutouts -- allowing only 32 points all season while racking up 482 for themselves. The feat was not overlooked in Nowata, where only a year earlier, James L. Prince had made the move from Wagoner to Nowata as Superintendent.

In Nowata, the Ironmen under head coach Henry Schultz, had gone 5-and-3 in 1938, including losses in five of their last six. Schultz remained the Nowata basketball coach and physical education director, but the Ironmen looked to Bomgardner to improve their fortunes in 1939.

The cupboard was pretty bare for Bomgardner in his first season with the Ironmen. With only three returning starters, Nowata struggled, winning only two of its ten games -- the opener 13-7 over Copan and a 14-0 victory over Pryor in November.

But the team's fortunes turned around in 1940. The Ironmen got off to a slow start, tying Copan 6-6 in the season opener, but ran off victories against Caney (KS) (20-0, Barnsdall (26-7), Vinita (13-6), Sand Springs (14-13) and Chelsea (12-0) to move to 5-0-1 heading into an October 25th game at Miami.

Nowata settled for another 6-6 tie, but would go on to win the Verdigris Valley Conference title with wins over Pryor (20-7), Dewey (12-0) and Claremore (13-0) for an overall record of 7-0-2.

In 1941, Nowata was no longer flying under the radar. They were the favorite and they left no doubt who was the top team in the Verdigris Valley Conference. Once again, the Ironmen swept the season undefeated, this time posting six shutouts and allowing only 24 points all season while scoring 210 of their own. In a re-scheduled match-up at Miami to end the season, Nowata de-clawed the Wardogs 32-0 to clinch the VV title.

Nowata's success turned heads in Sand Springs, where in August 1942, the school offered its vacant coaching position to Bomgardner. He accepted, but changed his mind only days later to return to Nowata.

It was the Sandites' loss. They were one of six shutout victims to the Ironmen in 1942 as Nowata ran through the season with relative ease. All but one opponent -- Commerce -- was defeated by at least two touchdowns.

As is usually the case with success, it brings suitors and in 1943, that team was Sapulpa. In May 1943, Bomgardner accepted the offer after three consecutive seasons without a loss in Nowata. His overall record with the Ironmen was 30-7-and-2.

In Sapulpa, Bomgardner would spend 14 years as coach and later would serve as the school's principal. With the Chieftains, Bomgardner led the team to an undefeated season in 1951, going 10-0-1, tying Muskogee, which was the only other team in the state to go unbeaten.

He remains Sapulpa's all-time winningest coach with 75 victories.

In 1964, he and Jewel moved to Barstow, California, where he was the school's principal. After he retired in 1977, he returned to Sapulpa and served as the school's part-time director of the Vo-Tech. Also in 1977, Bomgardner was honored with induction into the Oklahoma Coaches Hall of Fame.

'Bom' lived to the age of 93, passing away in Montana in 2007.