New W.Va. senator played Mountaineer football

Dunmore, W.Va. –

Donald Cookman, Pocahontas County’s new state senator, attended WVU on a football scholarship. I talked to the senator about his playing days.

“Well, I lettered three year,” he said. “I received the Ira Rodgers Award my senior year, for the person that best exemplifies the Mountaineer spirit. And I guess, looking back on it – although I wouldn’t tell my grandchildren this – it’s probably the personality award that you might get in a beauty contest.

“Anyway, I had a very enjoyable times and a lot of fond memories. I played against a lot of great players, including Larry Csonka, from Syracuse; Floyd Little, from Syracuse, and other people like that that stick out in my mind. And I’m reminded of it every time I get out of bed in the morning.”

Q: What position did you play, Senator?

“I played defensive tackle and guard. Guard my sophomore and junior years and then defensive tackle my senior year and I weighed a whopping 195 pounds.”

Q: Are football games won or lost in the trenches?

“Oh, definitely in the trenches. And, of course, being a defensive player, I’m convinced that that’s the most important part of the game. Even with the high-scoring offenses that we have now, defense is very important – as we’ve seen this last season.”

Good luck to Senator Cookman and watch out for chop blocks in the state senate.

Story By

Heather Niday

Heather is our Program Director and Traffic Manager. She started with Allegheny Mountain Radio as a volunteer deejay. She then joined the AMR staff in February of 2007. Heather grew up in the Richmond, Virginia, area and now lives in Arbovale, West Virginia with her husband Chuck. Heather is a wonderful flute player, and choir director for Arbovale UMC. You can hear Heather along with Chuck on Tuesday nights from 6 to 8pm as they host two hours of jazz on Something Different.

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