George McAfee

Ironton High School standout, George McAfee, was an All-American at Duke University before a stellar career with the Chicago Bears (1940-41 &1945-50; served in the Navy 1942-44). A phenomenal two-way player in the NFL as a halfback and defensive back, McAfee scored 234 points, had 5,313 net yards, and intercepted 25 passes in his eight seasons.   George McAfee was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966.

Coy Bacon

I.H.S. star Coy Bacon had a standout 14 year professional football career with the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals, and the Washington Redskins.  Bacon was a three-time  NFL Pro-Bowler (1972, 76, 77).  Bacon was a fierce pass rusher and probably has the single season record for sacks (26 sacks in 1976).  However, sacks are a relatively new statistic for the NFL and were not counted when Bacon played.

Ken Fritz

Ken Fritz was an outstanding all around athlete at Ironton High School. Fritz was an All-State lineman in high School and consensus first team All-American guard at The Ohio State University (1979). A high school state qualifier in wrestling and once pinned an opponent in only 6 seconds. Fritz is still the Ironton school record holder in the discus (163' 0") from 1976 until 2007 and even ran the 100 meter dash. Fritz was the first Ironton athlete to bench press 400 pounds.