Dempsey "Jack" Cornelius Sr. was born on June 29,1921, in Manchester Alabama. He graduated from Walker County High School in 1941 and received a football scholarship to Auburn University, then known as Alabama Poly Technical institute.

Cornelius made first string on the football team his sophomore year. He played and lettered at Auburn in 1941 and 1942. He volunteered to serve in World War II, serving in Battery C, 211 Field Artillery Battalion. Between 1942-1946, he was stationed in France, Germany, and Belgium.

After returning to the United States, Cornelius played again at Auburn in 1946. He graduated from Auburn University in 1947 with a B.S. degree in Agriculture Science, received his Masters Degree in 1948, and another post graduate degree (AA).

Cornelius accepted a teaching and coaching position at Cordova High School in 1949. He taught math and science from 1949-1951 and was the head football coach. His three teams at Cordova went 26-4 with a prefect 10-0 record in 1949.

He later moved to Carbon Hill in 1952 to become head football coach and to teach PE. His three squads finished a combined 26-3-1. The 1953 team went 10-0 and outscored their opponents 312-19.

Coach Cornelius stayed at Carbon Hill from 1952-1954. While in Carbon Hill Jack coached Lloyd Nix, a left-handed quarterback who would go on to lead Auburn in 1957 to a National Championship.

Cornelius went to Scottsboro as head football coach from 1955-1957 and taught math and PE. While at Scottsboro, Jack coached quarterback Pat Trammell who would lead the University of Alabama to a National Championship in 1961.

In 1958 Jack moved to Stevenson High School where he taught mathematics and vocational education. He retired in 1978 as the Vocational Agriculture teacher at Stevenson.

Jack holds the distinction of being the only high school football coach in Alabama to have ever coached two quarterbacks who went on to win National Championships at two different universities, Auburn University and the University of Alabama.

His overall coaching record in nine seasons is an impressive 74-14-2. None of his teams lost more than three games in a season. Cornelius Sr. died Saturday, May 3, 2008, in Stevenson.