From competing on the athletic fields for Denver South High School to his later tenure as a coach at Thomas Jefferson, Don Day left an impressive trail of success.
Day played quarterback at South and led his teams to city football championships in 1947 and 1948. In the spring of those two scholastic years, the Rebels won city baseball championships with Day playing second base.
After playing baseball at the University of Denver, Day became a teacher in the Denver Public Schools. He was on the faculty when Thomas Jefferson opened in 1960, and he became the school’s head football coach in 1964. Over the next six seasons, the Spartans posted a 56-5 record and played in three state playoff games, including a state championship game against Lakewood in 1968.
Day died last week at the age of 84. He leaves behind a stunning record in athletics, but he was much more to those who knew him well. His family is not planning a funeral service but will have a celebration of his life at a date to be announced in May.
“His personality made him immediately liked by anyone he met,” said Rob Conklin, a high school classmate of Day and later district athletic director for the Denver schools. “He always had a joke to tell. He took his job seriously and was respected by the fellow members of his teaching staff.”
Day enjoyed making people laugh. But when the game was being played, he was all business.
“Athletes of all ages should understand that it’s a privilege to be an athlete,” Day once said. “Being an athlete stands for something beyond ability on the playing field. There’s a responsibility to give something back and to be a role model.”
Day knew what it was like to work for success. He weighed 103 pounds when he reported for his sophomore season at South. He was all the way up to 127 pounds as a senior.
As a high school athlete, he was known in part for being bowlegged.
“My legs were always crooked,” Day said. “I was told I had rickets or polio as a kid. I don’t know.”
Day didn’t consider his legs to be a handicap, but that made him aware of the needs of others. He spent much of his time in retirement working with special-needs kids.
“I loved football,” Day once said, reflecting on the many sports he played. “Basketball was a fun game to practice, and I thought baseball was the most boring. As a coach, I worried about everything. For me, the fear of losing overshadowed the joy of winning.”
Don Day was a winner.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296, imoss@denverpost.com or
