Friday, October 8th, 2021 Mount Vernon vs Maquoketa (Homecoming) 

Ladies and Gentlemen, this past December, longtime Mount Vernon Head Football Coach James  Bellamy passed away at the age of 84. Tonight, homecoming night, we would like to honor the  man and the hall of fame coach who served our district from 1970 through 2006:  

“Just do your job, Son!” This regular Jim Bellamy quote epitomized Mount Vernon football for  37 years here. Since this time, “Just do your job, Son!” has been a common local phrase used by  countless players’ parents and now countless players who have become parents. “Just do your  job, Son!” brings back many other thoughts and memories, such as: discipline, fundamental  excellence in blocking and tackling, toughness, the off tackle plunge, special teams punt  returns, and accountability to yourself and your team. You see, if we each did our jobs, he had  the rest of the game plan covered, and we were well on our way to victory. The young men of  Mount Vernon did just that for the better part of 37 seasons and forever put our community on  the Iowa football map. 

Bellamy came to us from an all-state career at Des Moines Roosevelt High School, an All America performance at Cornell College, and winning records at Schaller, Perry, and West  Liberty. Bellamy’s career here since 1970 saw the formation & expansion of the Iowa High  School Athletic Association (IAHSAA) playoffs, the rise & fall of the competitive Eastern Iowa  Hawkeye Conference, and the conversion to statewide district football. All the while, his teams  played their home football games right here at the historic First Street/uptown stadium.  

Coach Bellamy Career By The Numbers: 

*320 coaching victories (268-93-1 at Mount Vernon, 74% win-loss ratio) 

*Three (3) IAHSAA State Championships (1974, 1993, & 1994) 

*Five (5) IAHSAA Runner-up finishes (1973, 1978, 1989, 2002, & 2003) 

*Twenty (20) State football playoff qualifiers and sixteen (16) conference/district titles *Inducted into the Iowa Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 1985 (21 years before  retirement) 

The late Mount Vernon High School teacher and assistant football coach Dick Peters  communicated Coach Bellamy’s career this way: “Perhaps the greatest quality of Mr. James  Bellamy was his impeccable fairness. There is no way to explain the feelings in the heart of  parents when it comes to being fair. Parents were always guaranteed that their sons would  be treated fairly in everyway and they were. Every starting player could be assured that  his place on the team was safe until a teammate could out play the starter. Every coach in  America should be this good.” 

Ladies and Gentlemen, please join me with your cowbells in standing and celebrating the  life of a great high school football coach. Mr. James Bellamy. 

-David M. Ryan (MVHS Class of 1985)