It was confirmed today that Norman Dickey, former Howe Bulldogs football coach and athletic director has passed at approximately 4 pm Sunday afternoon, April 7, 2019.
Dickey was hired by Howe schools in 1964. He took a football program that was on the verge of collapsing due to the lack of willing participants and grew it to a district, bi-district and regional champion team just six years later. After 12 years as head coach of the Howe Bulldogs, he holds the most wins of any football coach in school history with 51.
After spending time as a coach, math teacher, counselor, interim principal, interim superintendent, and three-time interim athletic director, Dickey retired from the school district in 1996. In addition to his accomplishments, Dickey spent countless hours mowing Bulldog Stadium, working on the scoreboard, running the clock, officiating junior high games, keeping the stats and everything in between.
Dickey was raised in Gunter, Texas and graduated from Gunter High in 1958. After earning his first degree at Cisco Junior College, he transferred to Austin College where he played football.
The Howe Bulldogs were built by Dickey in the 1960s where he recruited 24 kids to play football his first year at Howe. Two years later, the Dogs kicked off a stretch of six seasons without a losing record including a regional championship in 1970 which was as far as a team could advance.
In 2016, Dickey was named to the Howe Hall of Honor. In August, he was recognized by former Howe Bulldogs Head Coaches at the Howe Community Pep Rally. The Norman Dickey Award was established many years ago to recognize the most outstanding female and male athlete of the year.
