We Call Him "Coach": Four Decades of Memories with Coach Dick McDonald

Blue Mound - a small, quiet town in central Illinois - has a winning tradition and a rich sports history. Even though the high school closed and combined with neighboring Macon in 1994 to form the Meridian School District, people who have been around long enough remember the Blue Mound Knights and Coach Dick McDonald. McDonald's coaching career spans 4 decades, includes 4 sports, and amassed 87 championships. Coach McDonald is known for his animated coaching style, his motivational tactics, and his incredible coaching stories. A Master educator, McDonald has touched the lives of thousands of students and athletes during his career. He is in the Illinois Basketball Coaches' Hall of Fame and has the gymnasium at the old Blue Mound High School named in his honor. This book is an effort to summarize Coach Dick McDonald's incredible coaching career, memorialize some of his most beloved stories, and preserve the rich tradition of Blue Mound High School sports.