The articles on these undefeated football teams were first published in The DeKalb Advertiser in the Reminiscing About DeKalb's Special People, section by James Ray Kuykendall and Elizabeth S. Howard. The articles were written by Joe Baxter Brown, acting as a guest columnist. Joe Brown is one of the best informed sports enthusiasts of the county and saw all the teams in action, though he was only seven years old when he saw the 1935 team. The other two undefeated teams were those of 1943 and 1962, both of which had one tie game, but no defeat.
Joe used to be the voice of Fort Payne football and baseball, announcing from the press box at the Athletic Field whenever the DeSoto baseball team or the Wildcat football team played. He was also an official scorer for the baseball games and still has box scores from some of the games. After serving in the army during the Korean War, he returned in 1953 and announced games until 1968.
Joe was also a sports writer, who wrote for the Chattanooga and Birmingham papers, beginning in high school. He was offered a job reporting on the University of Alabama football teams for Zipp Newman, sport editor of the Birmingham News. However, he chose to go to Jacksonville, where he contributed to the local paper. Joe Baxter Brown is a walking encyclopedia with a remarkable memory and a thorough knowledge of games and teams.
The three undefeated teams were in 1935, 1943 and 1962.
- The 1935 DeKalb County High School football team
- The 1943 DeKalb County High School football team
- The 1962 Fort Payne High School football team
- The 2006 Fort Payne High School football team
The Fort Payne City School football team in 1933, coached by Bill Garrett, was made up of a number of players who later played on the championship team.
Fort Payne City 1933 Football Team