Font Resize
As football coaches at Delone Catholic High School, it was a weekly routine during the fall that Denny Frew, Turk Hawbaker and Dick Timmins had followed for nearly two decades.
"I got home (from Florida) last night and I had made arrangements with Dick and we were going to see old game films," Frew, who was Delone Catholic's head coach from 1979 to 2006, said Monday.
"Dick knew things were coming to an end and he wanted to see some football films. I'd made arrangements with the guy who did my filming to see if he had some films to look at."
The three never got the chance.
Timmins, 58, will be laid to rest Thursday following his death on Monday, signalling an end to a combination which produced the most Hanover area career wins by a head coach.
"The one thing that was so important was the growth with what we were doing," Frew said. "We grew as a coaching staff."
That staff produced most of Frew's 220 victories. En route, Timmins, recommended to Frew by Hawbaker, his defensive coordinator, was a mentor to dozens of Delone players while serving as Frew's offensive coordinator.
"Dick was a stickler for fundamentals," Frew said. "There were times when very good players would not get as much playing time. Dick believed you not only had to be able to run the football. You not only had to run, but you had to block. ... You had to do all of the things."
Those things often seemed simple. Frew said he and Timmins shared the view that
"We've been described as Ground Chuck, you know, grind it out on the ground," Frew said, "Dick had the same philosophy. The kids would complain, 'Coach Timmins, can we throw more than four times a game?'"
But Frew added Timmins had a knack of avoiding tendencies while calling plays.
"He was very unpredictable about where we were going to run it. And just when you thought we would run the ball, he threw a pass in there," Frew said.
That success added to his credibility with Delone's offensive players.
"His personality and rapport with the kids were good. They always referred to him as Coach Timmins," Frew said. "They not only liked him, but respected him."
One of Timmins' former players, quarterback Travis Kopp, had fond memories of his late offensive coordinator, particularly after Kopp missed a game-winning field goal.
"Some reporters came over and (Timmins) kind of came up and yanked me out of the huddle of reporters and threw his arm around me," Kopp said. " ... I appreciate that."
The same extended between the coaches. Frew said he sometimes challenged Timmins' views during those film sessions, but they always reached a consensus. Frew said he also joined Timmins in a golf league and that their families got together for social functions.
Those friendships will continue, but without Dick Timmins.
"The sad part is that he's the youngest one (of the three of us)," Frew said. "That's really hard to fathom that idea."
Contact Chuck Curley at ccurley@eveningsun.com. Sports writer Sam Latter contributed to this report.
