Two long-time high school football coaches for the William S. Hart Union High School District were named to the inaugural class of the California High School Football Hall of Fame on Monday, according to officials.
In a prepared statement, the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation announced that Mike Herrington, former head coach at Hart High School, and Harry Welch, former head coach at Canyon High School, had been among those selected for the inaugural Hall of Fame class.
The two are among 13 coaches and 100 players who were named, and sit alongside legends such as Jackie Robinson, John Elway and Warren Moon — all of whom played football in the state of California.
“The CIF is privileged to participate in the selection process for the California High School Football Hall of Fame,” said Ron Nocetti, executive director of the California Interscholastic Federation. “We thank the Rose Bowl Stadium, the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, and the National Football Foundation for honoring the long and storied history of high school football in California and look forward to the induction of its inaugural class.”
In speaking with The Signal on Monday, Herrington called the recognition a great honor.
“It’s a great honor and much appreciated, but couldn’t have been done without all the help from my assistant coaches and players that have come through the program here,” said Herrington.
The California High School Football Hall of Fame project is set to officially open in November of this year, and a formal induction ceremony is set for spring 2023.
During Herrington’s 32 Hall of Fame years, he accumulated 304 wins with 100 losses and one tie while winning seven CIF Southern Section Championships, four CIF Southern Section runner-ups and 15 league championships.
Herrington also held a 65-game league winning streak that spanned 13 years. Herrington served as the athletic director for Hart for 20 years, and is currently a member of the CIF Southern Section Football Coaches Advisory Committee.
Welch coached Canyon High to five section titles, and in his last season with the Cowboys guided the team to the first Division I Bowl Championship with an upset of De La Salle, according to MaxPreps.com.
In the mid-1980s, Welch led the Canyon Cowboys to a headline-making 46-game win streak. His career at Canyon was split into two tenures — 1982-1993 and 2001-2006, compiling a record of 198-47-2. After he left Canyon, he moved out of the Santa Clarita Valley and went on to coach at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School and Santa Margarita Catholic High School, finishing his coaching career in 2013.
