This is the fourth in a series of articles profiling the 2023 Butler Football Hometown Hero honorees.

SOUTHGATE, Ky. — John “Pump” McLaughlin, Bob Cornley and John McCaslin.

“I learned so much from those guys,” retired Butler teacher and coach Mickey Haley said. “Mostly, it was being willing to help anybody. That’s how I grew up.”

Haley met those three men when he became a member of the Butler YMCA during his pre-teen years. The three were influential personnel there for years. Haley was hired to work at the Y — located at the Cubs Hall then — when he was 16 and continued working there until he graduated college.

Mickey Haley

“I worked at clinics, the Y camps ... I got into the habit of helping and working with people early in life,” Haley said. “Pump was one of my heroes. He taught me how to swim ... He taught me so much more than that.”

Haley’s patience helped land him a teaching job in the Butler Area School District. He was hired as an elementary school teacher in the district after serving as a substitute for a class of youngsters other teachers had trouble controlling.

“I substitute taught that class for a couple of days and had no problems with the kids,” Haley recalled. “The principal pulled me aside, said I was the first teacher to have no issues with that group and he offered me the job for the rest of the year.”

That hiring led to a lengthy career at Butler — one that involved coaching numerous sports and serving as the public address announcer at Butler varsity football games for more than a decade. Haley is being honored by the Butler Football Hometown Hero program for his versatile career.

He will join Jay Miranda, Craig Lucas, Randy Fillhart and John Hartle in being recognized prior to the Golden Tornado’s 2023 football home opener against Meadville on Sept. 1 at Art Bernardi Stadium.

Haley was an assistant and head coach for the Penn Street Cardinals of the Butler Area Midget Football League. He was a swimming and diving coach in Butler and coached eventual United States Olympian David Pichler and Nunzio Esposto, two of the best divers in Butler history.

He coached basketball, ran a BMX bicycle team, coached the pole vault in track and field, dabbled in hockey a bit as his son played the sport.

“It’s nice to be receiving this honor and I’m excited about it,” Haley said. “But I didn’t do those things for the recognition. It’s all about helping people along. If something had to get done, we could do it.”

Haley was an athlete himself. He was a diver on the swim team, competed in gymnastics, played football through ninth grade.

Haley chuckled when recalling his years as p.a. announcer for Butler varsity games. He was an assistant coach on the Golden Tornado freshman team for part of that time.

“Gary Milanovich was athletic director at the time and would always criticize how I was doing the p.a.” Haley said. “I tried to entertain at times and he just wanted me to announce the result of the play, call the game down the middle.

“I always felt I was in the booth for the mother of that piccolo player in the band who was just waiting to watch her son perform at halftime. People like that in the stands wanted to be entertained. That’s the way I felt about that.”

And he had a definite feeling about coaching.

“I loved it,” Haley said. “It didn’t matter what the sport was. I loved working with kids.”