CHARMCO (WVDN) – The Greenbrier West Alumni Association honored one of the first great Cavalier football players during halftime of the Cavaliers 33-0 season-opening win over Buffalo. Perry Hubbard, a senior member of the West football team in the school’s inaugural season of 1968, was presented with a football autographed by the current team at a halftime ceremony.
Hubbard came to Greenbrier West as an accomplished running back from Crichton High School. As a sophomore at Crichton, Hubbard was eighth in state scoring with 114 points and that came after playing the first two games at end. Hubbard tagged Cowen for five touchdowns in a game, returning the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, rushing for touchdowns of 80, 25, and 15 yards, and receiving a 20-yard touchdown pass. That performance earned him the Charleston Daily Mail’s Player of the Week honors. Hubbard followed his breakout sophomore season by scoring 75 points in 1967, the final season for Crichton before the school consolidated with Rainelle, Rupert, and Smoot to form Greenbrier West High School.
In Greenbrier West’s inaugural game, Hubbard scored the first touchdown in Cavalier history with :15 remaining to defeat Richwood 6-0. In a 26-7 win over Nuttall, Hubbard rushed for three first quarter touchdowns and added the first pick six in West history, a 55-yard interception return. Hubbard would go on to lead the Cavaliers with 11 rushing touchdowns on the season including the then-West record for the longest rushing touchdown, an 84-yard carry in a 32-13 win over Union. In addition to his pick six, Hubbard also scored the first Cavalier fumble return for a touchdown, a 55-yard return in a 26-6 win over Fayetteville. Hubbard would be selected to the Charleston Daily Mail’s 1968 All-Southern team as a Special Honorable Mention running back.
Hubbard moved on to Shepherd University where he bolstered the Ram backfield from 1970-73. In the 1970 season, Hubbard exceeded the 100-yard mark three times and led the Rams with 575 yards. Hubbard would add five more 100-yard performances over his career at Shepherd, including four in his senior campaign of 1973. Shepherd was 7-1 when Hubbard went over 100 yards during his career. Hubbard led Shepherd in rushing with 976 yards and in scoring with 84 points in 1973. Hubbard’s single-game high of 185 yards came in a 38-18 win over Randolph-Macon. Upon his graduation, Hubbard held the Rams career-rushing record with 2,069 yards, the record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 13, tied the record for rushing touchdowns in a career with 18, and held the single-season carries record with 220. His four-year average was 4.53 yards-per-carry.
