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Coach Jordan came to Minden in 1961 and began the fall as freshman football coach. He was a taskmaster for sure. In the spring of 1962 track team finished 2nd in District, a feat of unusual proportions for MHS, where football reigned supreme. In 1963 the team won district and finished 2nd in state and in 1964 MHS won its first state track championship. Yes, there were great athletes, but the catalyst for all of this was Steve Jordan. The ground work he set for MHS helped the track team win state in 1965 and 1966.

MHS was blessed with many great track athletes at that time. Bill Thomas was a gifted runner who excelled at all events up to the 440. I can recall Coach Jordan working him within a second of his death but in 1963 Bill ran a 34.9 for the 330 yard run in practice and he ran a 49.9 in the district meet for the open 440 yard dash, winning easily. There were many other great seniors on that team including Jim Towns in the field events.

The 1964 team had a wonderful group of God-Gifted guys including: Mike O'Rear, T.A. Moore, Carr McClendon, Jimmy Woods, David Langley, Stan Belton, Dennis McClure, Mike Brewer, Steve White, and of course, Fred Haynes. I recall seeing Fred run a 10 flat 100 yard dash and finishing in a tie with Johnny Garlington and Gary Pappas in the 1964 regional meet. Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of that group occurred one balmy evening in April of 1964 when Coach Jordan assembled Ted Moore, Mike O'Rear, Carr McClendon, and Fred Haynes for the purpose of setting an MHS record in the mile relay. This group of 4 never ran in a meet because some members of it were occupied with other events. The time they ran that night was 3:15.7. It was and still is a school record time for the mile relay. Junior David Langley ran a 4:35 mile, coming close to the MHS record of Ed Greer of 4:23.7 set at the 1961 New Orleans Meet of Champions. Metric figures are now used in high school meets but the times of those great runners would still do very well 45 years later.

But, more than facts and figures, what I recall about Coach Steve Jordan was his unending commitment to his athletes and his drive to have them excel. Perhaps his two most famous sayings were: "Push That Button" and the short commentary he made to one and all regarding how to lead his life. He told us all that no matter what job you did, you should do it with the utmost of energy and always give your best.

The last time I saw Coach Jordan was at Fred Haynes' funeral. Fred and Steve were good friends and Steve took Fred's death rather hard. Steve came to LSUHSC Hospital each and every morning that Fred was there as a patient.

I remember Coach Jordan saying what Coach Saban now says in that during one's lifetime he/she will meet 5-10 special people that will affect one's life. For me Coach Steve Jordan was one of those 10. During life's tribulations his encouragement of "push that button" still works.

I remember riding home from LSU one weekend with Fred Haynes and Mike Brewer as Mike had a car. Fred said then that whenever Coach Jordan would call him, he(Fred) would start walking. I am betting that all of his track athletes have the same feeling now 44 years later. A great friend and mentor: Coach Steve Jordan.

REMEMBERING STEVE JORDAN THAT COACHED AT MINDEN AS A SPRINTER AT NORTHWESTERN

Steve Jordan: Steve was a teammate of mine for three years at Northwestern State. He was consistently our high point man as a sprinter and excelled in the long jump. He ran both the 220 (then yards, not meters), the 100 yard dash, and anchored (ran the last lap) on both the 440 and 880 relays. He ran more than a few of the hundreds in 9.5 and 9.6 seconds. He consistently long jumped in the 22 to 23 foot range. Steve had outstanding running form; perfectly smooth with a marvelous running stride. He was 6' 2" tall and weighed about 170 lbs. He hated workouts. Paridoxically when he became a high school coach he really worked his kids hard and his championships demonstrated his ability to develop superior teams.

THE STEVE JORDAN THAT COACHED AT MINDEN...FROM FAIR PARK IN SHREVEPORT...I NOTICED THAT HE WAS A SPRINTER AT NORTHWESTERN...IF ...AS I REMEMBER A RACE BETWEEN JORDAN AND JOHN DAVID CROW IN THE 100 YARD DASH AT HAUGHTON...IN THE SPRING OF 54...THE ONLY TRACK MEET I EVER RAN IN (THANK GOD)...THERE WAS LOTS OF ATTENTION TO THE RACE, WHICH WAS RUN ON A POOR TRACK FILLED WITH GRASS AND NO STARTING BLOCKS....THE RACE ENDING IN TIE AT 10 FLAT...ON THE NEWER RUBBERIZED TRACKS...THE SAME RACE WOULD HAVE BEEN 3 OR 4 TENTHS LOWER...THOSE OF US AT THE MEET KNEW THAT JORDAN WAS THE BETTER OF THE TWO...BUT THE COMPETITOR THAT CROW WAS....MADE A GOOD RACE OF IT.

JERRY FRASIER, CLASS OF 1955

Steve Jordan, 9100 Walker Road, Shreveport, Louisiana 71118-2902 318-671-1990

Steve Jordan, 4426 Tacoma Blvd. Shreveport, Louisiana 71107-7642 318-226-9356

We (MHS 1964 and 1965) are looking for Coach Steve Jordan. He was the head track coach and an assistant football coach at MHS in the 1960's. None of us have seen or heard from him since Fred Haynes' funeral. Coach Jordan lived in Shreveport with his mother, but she died recently. Several of his former track stars (Tommy Carey, Dennis McClure, and Mike Brewer) have tried calling his home and cell phones. Both have been disconnected. Even Freddie Louise Haynes has not heard from him, and he used call regularly to check on Fred and her. We know his daughter Debbie lives somewhere in Texas, but we do not know her married name. If anyone knows the whereabouts of, or how to contact, Coach Steve Jordan, please e-mail Claire Turner Fussell (shug65@suddenlink.net). We're beginning to worry about him. Thanks in advance for your help.

The messages below were written before Sept. 18, 2008

Coach Steve Jordan is alive and well in Shreveport. He was at the funeral for Fred Haynes and I and many others were able to speak with him. Fred and Steve Jordan had a special bond. Coach told me that he visited Fred in the hospital every morning early. When he came to MHS track was a forgotten sport outside of legendary Ed Greer, but when he left in 1964, he had led MHS to its first track championship and had set up the nucleus for future state championship teams.

If there is anyone who would like to have an informal group meeting with Coach Steve Jordan please contact me. at tom@tdcarey.com

There has been some discussion about doing this for the past couple of years and yes, time is moving on.

I was in Coach Jordan's civics class from 1962-1963. He was an "entertainer" who held the students' interest, drawing laughter like a comedian would expect through much of the class. His voice never seemed to waver or lose energy at least not at the first hour class. I doubt that he was much over 25 years of age in 1962.

I remember that he was strongly for Richard Nixon for governor of California. This was the semester that Nixon lost the race to Pat Brown, Jerry Brown's father. Actually, I don't remember his talking about sports as much as he did politics. I later read that he had been elected to the Caddo Parish School Board.

I would like to attend the informal meeting with Carey and Steve Jordan. I ran with Steve at Northwestern. Steve was a great sprinter.

Submitted by: Charlie Hennigan, Class of 1953

If the Coach Jordan intervention takes place, I'd like to be the token girl present(Unless my buddy Claire wants to guard my back), to represent the gender and hold up our end of the debate. I cannot be far removed from the truth when I say there will surely be some reminiscent antics and poorly thought out possibly dangerous forays into the secret world of MHS. A world of what used to be.... harmless little excursions into the mystic. Now, we're all so old and senile, we can't remember where we buried the time capsule 40 years ago.

Besides, I'd like to see my brotherTommy, and Charlie Hennigan, who will probably be visiting with my older brother and good friend, Richard.

By the way, if anyone with the Super Reunion wants to hire a genuine south La band from the late 50's-mid 60's....all members of the Louisiana rock & roll hall of fame ...many inducted for rock n roll and then again for jazz....and quite a few solid national chart hits, as well as top songs in the New Orleans rock & roll era....tell them to get a small sampling from this link,,,,then get in touch with me rather than going through the paid booking agent. I can get them a batter deal.