Before Dave Enright became a state championship winning and Hall of Fame football coach, he learned a lot from Tony Hinkle.
Enright played for the legendary Hinkle at Butler. Not just football. Baseball, too. Hinkle coached both sports, in addition to basketball, during his incredible career.
“Dad didn’t just play for Hinkle, he studied him,” Decatur Central football coach Kyle Enright wrote of his father. “He learned that sports weren’t just about the score – they were about preparation, character and heart. When his playing days were over, he knew he had to pass that wisdom on.”
Dave Enright, who died Tuesday at age 85, went on to lead Hamilton Southeastern to a state championship in 1981, the end of a nine-year run at HSE that saw the Royals post undefeated regular seasons in 1978, ’79 and ’81 and win Rangeline Conference championships in each of those seasons. He was 71-27 overall at HSE.
He went on to coach at Bloomington South from 1982-86, then led Perry Meridian’s program from 1987-93. Enright, who was inducted into the Indiana Football Coaches Association’s Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 2004, also coached at Decatur Central and Warren Central as an assistant after he finished as a head coach.
Enright was a standout athlete at Manual, graduating in 1957, before going on to college at Purdue, then Butler, where he was the Bulldogs leading rusher for two seasons. Kyle Enright, who led Decatur Central to a Class 5A state championship in 2024, said the discipline his father became known for as a coach was rooted in his own childhood.
“Dad grew up poor,” his son wrote. “Stability wasn’t a luxury he had. He bounced from school to school, constantly the new kid, constantly having to prove himself. But I believe it was those early years of uncertainty that forged the ironclad discipline he was known for. He learned early on that nothing is given, and everything is earned.”
Enright started his coaching career after he graduated from Butler as an assistant at Broad Ripple from 1966-72. He also played for the Indianapolis Capitols, a professional football team in the Continental Football League, for several years after he was done playing at Butler.
Enright is survived by his wife, Betty, his daughter Kelly, his son Kyle (Callie), six grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Funeral services are set for 1 p.m. on Feb. 12 at Forest Lawn Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Forest Lawn Memory Gardens. The family will receive friends from 11 a.m. until the time of the service.
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649. Get IndyStar’s high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter. And be sure to subscribe to our new IndyStarTV: Preps YouTube channel.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Hall of Fame football coach Dave Enright dies at 85. Led HSE to state title
Reporting by Kyle Neddenriep, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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