Dennis Hearne was a lineman on the 1967 Columbus football team that dealt Shelbyville its only defeat that season. Ironically, some 56 years later, John Cunningham, a player on the Shelbyville side of the ball that October night, informed Hearne at a surprise reception that the newly-constructed Shelbyville High School track would be dedicated in his honor.

Cunningham and Hearne became lifelong friends while both were in their early days of teaching and coaching at Shelbyville High School. Cunningham, now a successful entrepreneur in Frankfort, Indiana, regards Hearne as the ultimate Golden Bear advocate.

“He bleeds black and gold,” said Cunningham. “He fell in love with Shelbyville and has been relentlessly working in the high school’s and community’s interests since he came here. His body of work makes him an extremely deserving recipient of this honor.”

Hearne’s resume of service to Shelbyville schools has been extensive to say the least. He taught social studies, held administrative positions as athletic director, counselor and dean of students and coached in the football, track, and wrestling programs beginning with his arrival in the fall of 1973. He has held positions on many school-related committees and served two terms on the Shelbyville Central Schools board of trustees.

“I had a month-long internship with Dennis during my sophomore year in college,” said current Shelbyville Superintendent Matt Vance. “I learned a great deal about developing relationships with students and helping them achieve. Dennis was very encouraging and his influence made me always want to work harder. I was motivated by the strong work ethic he showed whenever he was interacting with kids. He has dedicated an amazing amount of energy to Shelbyville High School for a great many years. This is a very fitting tribute.”

Hearne grew up in Columbus, Indiana. He is the son of Durward and Velma (Scofield) Hearne. Dennis’ father worked in maintenance at Public Service Indiana and eventually became head of the department. Dennis has an older sister, Cheryl, and younger brothers Brett and Brian. Durward and Velma later adopted Mike McClain whose parents had died.

“My father valued education, “said Dennis. “He believed that learning was a gateway to success. I saw how important that was to him and always wanted to become a teacher.”

Hearne became a three-year football letterman at Columbus High School (only one high school in Columbus until 1972), playing on the offensive and defensive lines for excellent Bulldog squads.

“Mike Phipps was the quarterback in 1965, my sophomore year,” recalls Hearne. “He was a remarkable talent.”

Phipps went on to be a standout quarterback at Purdue and finished runner-up in the 1969 Heisman Trophy balloting. Phipps later played in the NFL for the Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns.

Knee problems precluded Hearne’s football participation at the college level. He enrolled at the University of Evansville in 1968 and met his wife, Jan, there.

“She had a major positive influence on me from the beginning,” said Dennis. The couple married during their senior year.

Following graduation, they returned to Columbus. Dennis entered the management program at Wickes Lumber, a nationwide chain, and Jan started work at Irwin-Union Bank. In 1973, Dennis received a call from Shelbyville concerning a teaching opportunity at the high school.

“I met with assistant superintendent John Hayes,” remembers Dennis. “We went over a few things then he gave me a handbook and said, ‘You start tomorrow,’ which was the first day of school.”

Dennis was not altogether unfamiliar with Shelby County. His great uncle was Ralph Scofield whose family owned and operated Scofield Furniture, a venerable local business in downtown Shelbyville. Also, as a youth, Dennis had worked on farms of family friends in the Flat Rock area.

He remembers the blizzard of 1961 during sectional week when the weather conditions stranded Shelbyville students and fans in Columbus. Shelbyville people had to spend the night in the high school gymnasium where school officials held an all-night dance. Shelbyville radio station WSVL (now WSVX) stayed on air all night following game coverage to broadcast news to concerned Shelbyville family members back home.

“I was 10 years old and Sapp’s Doughnuts’ owner Phil Essex needed someone to deliver to Columbus High School where Shelbyville fans were,” said Hearne. “They obviously needed a capable vehicle so he asked my dad to use the Public Service Indiana “power wagon.” I rode with dad and made the deliveries. That was a major snowstorm and the vehicle had no cab so it was very cold.”

In addition to these Shelby County connections, Tom Hession, Dennis’ assistant football coach when he was at Columbus, was now the head football coach at SHS.

“Tom and I had a strong relationship at Columbus and he would become an important mentor for me through the years. I genuinely benefited from his guidance during my time at Shelbyville.” 

Hearne served on Shelbyville football coaching staffs during periods in four different decades which included the 1975 conference championship team and the 1984 and 2007 regular-season undefeated squads.

 He began coaching track and field during his first year at Shelbyville and diligently worked to develop the program against strong competition.

“In the early days we ran on the cinder track at the old Meridian Street football field, “said Hearne. “Those were very tough conditions, but the track and field athletes worked extremely hard and that inspired me.”

Hearne worked with some outstanding track and field athletes and has fond memories of the early days.

“We were seeking our first track win of the 1975 spring and we needed a first-place finish in the 220 event,” recalls Dennis. “Howard Gaines dove across the finish line to win the race and secure the meet victory, but we had to remove cinders from his leg and arm afterward. That was a great effort and a real sacrifice by Howard.”

Hearne coached numerous track and field athletes who qualified for the state finals and/or later competed at the collegiate level including: Jeff Martin, David Hart, Billy Elliott, Paul Caldwell, Steve Nuthak, Matt Holbrook, Patrick Ellis, and Travis Sosbe.

“The relay team of Charlie Boger, Steve Browning, Jay Steele, Jason Wischmeyer and David Baker ran in the state meet and were in contention until the end,” said Hearne. He is convinced that Golden Bear football and basketball star Julius Denton would have won the state 400-meter championship had he not been injured.

Hearne admits to having a rambunctious, sometimes somewhat rebellious aspect to his personality that occasionally revealed itself and probably enabled him to relate to less orthodox students while he was a teacher.

As a student in one last period high school typing class, he would routinely ditch and head home since he knew the instructor would exit the room and not return that day.

“Got caught and a month’s detention for that,” said Hearne.

And, during his first semester teaching at Shelbyville, he became frustrated with the assigned textbook and threw it out of his room 317 window.

“The book was written at a third-grade level and that was an insult to me and the students,” said Hearne. “So, it happened to accidentally slip out of my hand and out the window.

“I think I could understand some of those more challenging students because I had, at times, been one of them. My dad always kept his eye on me. I had tried all the tricks. But I think that helped me understand some of the more difficult students and find ways to reach them.”

Members of the 1976 Shelbyville High School football coaching staff were Tom Hession (kneeling), John Cunningham (left), Terry Hamilton (second from left), Dennis Hearne (second from right) and Tom McKinney (right).

Hearne is well-known for maintaining relationships and being consistently available to encourage and assist former students.

“I observed the associations people like my dad and Tom Hession made throughout their lives,” said Hearne. “You could sense the respect they had from people and the good they did by investing in others. I saw that benefit.

“I learned that a good teacher needed to take a sincere interest in the student as well as the subject,” said Hearne. “The teacher must care so that the student will reciprocate.

I also had a teacher at Columbus who saw that I enjoyed studying political science and political philosophy, Mr. Sheedy. He would make extra time for those of us who were interested and sometimes had a few of us over to his house to discuss history and political issues. He made an extra effort to develop us as thinkers. People like my dad, Mr. Hession and Mr. Sheedy made a real impression on me. I wanted to be like them.”

Randy and Dana Mathies’ relationship with Hearne dates back to the Shelbyville football teams of the mid-1980s.

“Mr. Hearne had a lot to do with the success of our outstanding 1984 team but more importantly he has stayed in contact with everyone,” said Dana. “He has been a great advisor for all of us for all these years and has been the key person keeping us together as a team for 40 years.”

That theme of sustained relationships and ongoing interaction over time has resonated with a multitude of Hearne’s former students and players.

“I carry around with me a letter he wrote congratulating my daughter on her softball success,” said Randy. “Things like that mean so much and he often does that for many he has taught and coached.”

Hearne retired from teaching in 2005 and from coaching football in 2018; however he remains active in assisting with a variety of endeavors such as the Shelbyville High School Alumni Hall of Fame.

“The caliber of the individuals in the Alumni Hall of Fame is amazing,” stated Hearne. “SHS has produced some remarkable people.”

He remains busy enjoying life with Jan, his children, Meagan, a teacher at Columbus North High School, Pat, National Account Manager and Segment Leader for DuPont in Texas, and his three grandchildren. 

Hearne is very humbled by the track dedication which took place Tuesday.

“This is all beyond me.” said Hearne. “Shelbyville, its students, and athletes took a chance on me. They gave me a wonderful opportunity that changed my life and I am forever grateful.”

On Tuesday, Hearne’s family and friends joined him for the formal dedication of the Dennis A. Hearne Shelbyville High School Track prior to the season’s first home meet. Dennis and school board president Troy Merrick cut the ceremonial ribbon and the latter presented Dennis with a commemorative track baton.

Superintendent Vance presented a dedication plaque and Shelbyville Mayor Scott Furgeson proclaimed April 9, 2024, Dennis Hearne Day in the city of Shelbyville.

A number of friends, associates and former students were on hand to honor an individual who has devoted his heart and soul to Shelbyville High School and the people he taught and coached.

John Cunningham and Dennis Hearne have been close friends for more than 50 years. Cunningham played football against Hearne in the 1960s, taught and coached with him in the seventies and last week informed him of the upcoming historic recognition.

“Dennis would be the last person to ask for something like this,” declared Cunningham. “But people really appreciate him. He is always there for everyone.”

He certainly is. And on this day, April 9, 2024, people were there for him at The Dennis A. Hearne Shelbyville High School Track.  

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