August 2023 | Erlanger-Elsmere Schools

Cecil Dees: a legacy spanning decades

Lloyd Memorial High School’s football field was first dedicated in honor of Henry Cecil Dees on October 19, 1956. 

Mr. Dees was a member of the Erlanger Baptist Church and a longtime Little League coach. He was also the backbone of LMHS athletic teams – their number one fan and supporter. All the athletes knew him and appreciated his interest in them. 

“Whenever anything needed to be done, he was involved,” his son, Charlie Dees ’57, said. “From building and painting bleachers to directing traffic after games and working in the concession stands, he was the guy you called.” 

When Mr. Dees died suddenly in a tragic work accident in September 1956, it was decided that the field should be named in his honor. The Dees family legacy has continued on in the Erlanger-Elsmere Schools ever since. 

All four of his children graduated from Lloyd in the 1940s and 50s. His grandsons graduated in the 1970s and 80s. Two of his great-grandchildren currently attend Tichenor Middle School and Lindeman Elementary. His granddaughter, Mary Dees Brady, has been teaching English at Lloyd for the past 20 years, and represented her family's legacy by serving as Honorary Captain of the kickoff game on August 17.

We are grateful for the Dees family and for the many families like them in Erlanger and Elsmere, who make our communities such a wonderful place to live. 

The 1965 Single A State Champions

In the fall of 1965, Head Coach Jack Turner and Assistant Coach Roy Lucas, Sr., led Lloyd Memorial to what was, at the time, the best record in the history of the school. The Juggs entered the state playoffs that year with a 9-1 record and had outscored their opponents by a whopping margin of 329–31. Their 9 regular season wins included 7 shutout victories.

The Juggs first round playoff game actually ended after regulation in a 13-13 tie against Mt. Sterling, but at that time, the Kentucky High School Athletic Association used an Alabama scoring system to break ties in playoff games. This system, which rewarded the team that crossed the opponent’s 20 yard line the most with points as well as awarding points for first downs gained, determined that Lloyd had in fact earned the most points in the contest, and thus Lloyd was declared the winner of the football game. Ironically, the second week of the playoffs saw Lloyd Memorial travel to Fleming-Neon High School and again, the game ended in a 13-13 tie. Once again, the Alabama scoring system was implemented, and Lloyd found themselves advancing to the State Championship game in Lexington, Kentucky. 

On this November day, the State Championship game would be settled on the field in regulation as Lloyd blanked Old Kentucky Home 27-0, bringing the school’s first state football championship back home to Erlanger and Elsmere. 

The 1976 Triple A State Champions

The path for the 1976 Juggs followed a similar script as the ‘65 team’s. Lloyd Memorial would enter the playoffs that year undefeated under the leadership of Coach Jim “Red Dog” Dougherty and his staff.

Winning each regular season game by at least a touchdown, the Juggs became Road Warriors that fall, as the playoffs took Lloyd away from the friendly confines of Cecil Dees field to Whitley County, and Belfrey High Schools, respectively. Lloyd would triumph in both playoff games by a combined score of 69–12. 

The season would conclude at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington as Lloyd Memorial rolled in the state championship game defeating Shelby County by a final score of 24-0, securing the school’s second state championship.