A 1917 graduate and Lebanon, Ohio native, Elmo “Fat” Lingrel was an outstanding athlete who later went on to become an outstanding coach and teacher at Middletown High School.

Lingrel earned 11 varsity letters as a Cardinal, making his mark as an All-Ohio halfback on the football team. Considered to be one of the best running backs in school history, his then coach, Harold Iddings, claimed that Elmo could have made any college team in the country during his playing days. The Cards went 5-3 during his junior season, posting four shutouts along the way.

He served in the infantry during World War I in France before embarking on what would be a successful 45-year run as a coach, teacher and athletic director for Middletown in 1923. He began as the coach for all sports, eventually settling into his role of head football taskmaster until 1944 and serving as athletic director all the way to his retirement in 1962.

Middletown became a recognized football and basketball power in Ohio during his tenure, which included seven state championships in basketball spanning 1944-57. His football teams went undefeated four times and lost just one game several other time, with Lingrel ultimately compiling an overall football coaching record of 140-32-19. In addition, Elmo introduced night-time football during the fall of 1934 and was instrumental in Middletown’s construction of a 9,500 seat stadium and 3,600 seat gymnasium.

Lingrel, who was awarded a ‘Special Achievement Award’ from Otterbein in 1975, is a member of the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame.