Harold Thomas “Pistol” Bentley

Harold Thomas “Pistol” Bentley, No. 55, started playing varsity football as an Arab eighth grader for Marshall County Hall of Fame coach Bemon Lyon. Young Harold followed in the footsteps of his older brother Wendell “Shotgun” Bentley.

According to Coach Lyon, “Wendell was so fast off the line, he looks like you shot him out of a shotgun.” When the coaches saw Harold they said, “Here comes Shotgun’s little brother; he must be a pistol.” Coach Lyon retired after the 1949 season and Coach Tom Meharg coached Bentley his senior season in 1950. Bentley was captain of the team and president of the senior class.

Coaches Don Salls and “Dirty” Wedgeworth at Jacksonville State obtained the services of the outstanding lineman