Haley’s coaching, announcing earns him Butler Football Hometown Hero recognition
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.
“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.
