All - Have fixed the problem with the picture! Sorry about that.
Please keep emailing your stories, old and new, to dad. If you don't have his email, then post a comment to one of the blog entries and dad will contact you.
Scott M Portis
Friday, February 8, 2008
The Gleam in His Eyes
Johnny, the Carter boy's names are synonyous with Mustang sports, especially football. What a great team you were on, probably the best in Mustang history (1966). Tommy Portis has related many of the tales of when you boys played for Coach. I got to see the Camden game that year, driving all the way from Indianapolis.
I remember well those days I helped Coach Bouldin get the junior high boys ready for their season before returning to UT. Coach Ewell Bouldin did a great job getting future high schoolers ready for the tough road ahead.
Coach Ward indeed had many facial expressions. I enjoyed that, as you say, gleam in his eyes many times even after returning to Huntingdon to practice medicine. I would often stand with him at Mustang games after he retired and we would analyze the other teams and the current Mustangs. Wallace, Moose, and I often took him out to eat or grilled steaks and did nothing but talk Mustang football for hours. He seemed to get tremendous pleasure out of this, as we did too. Great, great times spending those days with a man that we all loved and respected so very much.
You will also remember that "sneer" that he could put on his face when he was displeased with you. I had screwed up about two plays in a row one day at practice and he came over to me and said (with that sneer on his face), "Portis, if you can't play quarterback lets see if you can play a little defense". So, Johnny Pitts came in at quarterback (excellent ball handling skills, but as I tease him today, just a mite slow) and I was relegated to the second team defense at linebacker. This made me very mad and I was determined that the next back through that line was going to pay a heavy price (Pitts, Moose, Pinkley, Barger......it did not matter). Pinkley got the call and came over weak side guard through a Mack truck size hole; I had him lined up in my sites with the "bullseye" on his belt, as I bore in for the kill, Pinkley gave me that famous hip of his and I grabbed nothing but air, falling to the ground in a heap. Coach came over and looked down at me again with that famous sneer and said, "don't look like you can play defense either".
Johnny, you remember from your email, Mr. Pudor still was very visible on the practice field and at games adding valuable information to Coach Ward. I think he was his #1 scout for many years. The two of them worked very close together. I think I feared Mr. Pudor about as much as I did Paul Ward. Bruceton always played Huntingdon tough; you can vouch for that. The talent differential did not matter. The three years that I got to play against Bruceton the scores were 7-6, 14-0, 14-0. Thirty five of the toughest points I can remember. My senior year we had a much stronger team than Bruceton-depth, superior position players, and the game was in Huntingdon. Well at the half time the score was 0-0. We were not over confident and were playing hard but those guys were "sky high". On the very last play before the half, I was running the ball and two Bruceton defenders drove me over that wire that stretched between the light poles all the way over to the concrete bleachers in front of the press box. I got up and had to stand there a minute to remember which way to the dressing room. During half time Mr. Pudor, who had been in the press box, came over to me and said,"Scotty, why don't you run 18 keeper in the second half; I think it will go". He must have seen something from his position above the field. When we got the ball in the second half, I told Wallace to call 18 keeper. The blocking was superb, Buster Barger, Levoy Brown, Big Brown, all laid waste to the left side of the Bruceton line, Wallace got a good down field block after a fake to him, and Moose made the last clearing block wiping out their safety. Moose scored a late touchdown and we won 14-0. After the game Mr. Pudor came in the dressing room and walked into the shower, water running, with me standing their, buck naked, pointed his finger at me and said,"what did I tell you". I remember the water hitting his pants legs but he did not seem to care. More great memories of another man who helped guide us.
My hat was always off to Bruceton as those boys came with their "A" game year-after-year (the Williams twins, Bobby Lowe, Billy Darden (who is still a great friend of mine today-he could punt the football a mile-high and long), Billy Butler, Vernon Spencer (we both dated the same girl from Huntingdon-Alice, I won't tell the bloggers your name). Great competition from them.
Johnny, I remember the "old timer's game ", you guys played in McKenzie and the pounding you all gave them. I am sure that the old plays all came back. I have enjoyed hearing the old numbers: 32 and 33 belly, 48 and 47 belly, 18 and 17 keeper-wow, what memories. Wallace made up a play one day in practice that we called, "Portis to Pinkley to Portis", that we used to great success against Paris our senior year. I handed the ball off to him over the tackle hole after faking to Moose, if there was a good block on the linebacker and Wallace got outside when he approached the halfback and safety he turned and pitched the ball to me as I trailed the play. After doing this several times the Paris backs got wise and played me so Pinkley just keeps the ball and cuts down the center of the field for a long gain (Mustangs 41-Blue Devils 7).
So sorry that I get carried away so but these blogs bring back a flood of memories like it was yesterday. Coach Ward would love to be here still to share all of this with us. I am sure that he is looking down from heaven with his old players that are there with him getting a big kick out of these ramblings. He is just waiting on all of us to join him someday. Who knows there still might be another game with Bruceton yet.
Johnny Carter, so good to hear from you. Tell Joe Morris hello for me. I still see your dad often and always go up to him and ask how the boys are doing. He always gives me a big grin and procedes to give me the low down.
We hope soon there will be a "Coach Paul Ward" scholarship to preserve the memory of a man who ment so much to so many people.
Scotty Portis (Mustang 1955-58)
Scotty,
You have done great job communicating with everyone. I have spent so much time enjoying reading all the stories that I have not sent anything myself. By the way, I remember you helping "coach" us after you had gone to college -- you did a good job with some future Mustangs and I always appreciated that. We all were very fortunate to grow up in Huntingdon and be part of something that had the support of the entire community.
Anyway, here are some of the things I remember:
Coach Ward had a talent for understanding an individual and getting the most from each of us. As tough as he was, I was never afraid that I would not be treated fairly and somehow benefit from whatever he was teaching ... football, basketball, swimming, baseball, etc. Over the years, it was always a pleasure to see him again and to see the gleam in his eyes that we had all seen when he would laugh.
My Dad (John David Carter) had told me that when he first worked in Huntingdon and still lived in McLemoresville he would be driving home from work and pick Coach Ward up and take him home. Coach Ward was in high school at that time and would be walking home (about five miles) from football practice.
Mr. Tate once told us that Mr. Pudor was gone during the war and he was appointed the football coach for a period of time. He said the only reason he was asked to do this was because the team needed someone on the sidelines on Friday night. He said he would go out to the practice field during the week and tell the boys "ya'll have a good practice" and then he would go home.
During my sophomore year we had a "walkie talkie" (it looked like the big black ones in the war movies) on the sidelines during a few football games. For some reason, I was chosen to be in charge of communications between Mr. Pudor in the press box, with the other walkie talkie, and Coach Ward on the sidelines. Mr. Pudor would see something and it was my job to chase Coach Ward up and down the sidelines and inform him -- for some reason, I got the feeling that he did not want to be bothered during a game. I must have been right because the walkie talkie did not make it through the season!
When I was in college at Memphis State, Roy Gene Dill called me (and my brother Joe Morris Carter, Co-Captain 1965) and said that McKenzie had challenged Huntingdon to an "Old Timer's Game" of football during Thanksgiving week-end. The only stipulations were that Bobby Hayes and Tim Priest could not play. Coach Ward did not want to loan us equipment and I fully understood why he would'nt. We went to McKenzie on Friday after Thanksgiving and borrowed equipment from them. We never practiced or went over any plays prior to the game. They had referees, charged admission, and had a pretty good crowd on hand. We huddled up, a play was called, and I don't remember anyone not knowing what to do (this was a range of players that had graduated over several years) -- we had all run these plays so many times it was just normal. Huntingdon won 38 to nothing and even though Coach could not loan us the equipment, I guarantee that the gleam was in his eyes when he heard the score!
Thanks again for pulling this together,
Johnny Carter (1966)
I remember well those days I helped Coach Bouldin get the junior high boys ready for their season before returning to UT. Coach Ewell Bouldin did a great job getting future high schoolers ready for the tough road ahead.
Coach Ward indeed had many facial expressions. I enjoyed that, as you say, gleam in his eyes many times even after returning to Huntingdon to practice medicine. I would often stand with him at Mustang games after he retired and we would analyze the other teams and the current Mustangs. Wallace, Moose, and I often took him out to eat or grilled steaks and did nothing but talk Mustang football for hours. He seemed to get tremendous pleasure out of this, as we did too. Great, great times spending those days with a man that we all loved and respected so very much.
You will also remember that "sneer" that he could put on his face when he was displeased with you. I had screwed up about two plays in a row one day at practice and he came over to me and said (with that sneer on his face), "Portis, if you can't play quarterback lets see if you can play a little defense". So, Johnny Pitts came in at quarterback (excellent ball handling skills, but as I tease him today, just a mite slow) and I was relegated to the second team defense at linebacker. This made me very mad and I was determined that the next back through that line was going to pay a heavy price (Pitts, Moose, Pinkley, Barger......it did not matter). Pinkley got the call and came over weak side guard through a Mack truck size hole; I had him lined up in my sites with the "bullseye" on his belt, as I bore in for the kill, Pinkley gave me that famous hip of his and I grabbed nothing but air, falling to the ground in a heap. Coach came over and looked down at me again with that famous sneer and said, "don't look like you can play defense either".
Johnny, you remember from your email, Mr. Pudor still was very visible on the practice field and at games adding valuable information to Coach Ward. I think he was his #1 scout for many years. The two of them worked very close together. I think I feared Mr. Pudor about as much as I did Paul Ward. Bruceton always played Huntingdon tough; you can vouch for that. The talent differential did not matter. The three years that I got to play against Bruceton the scores were 7-6, 14-0, 14-0. Thirty five of the toughest points I can remember. My senior year we had a much stronger team than Bruceton-depth, superior position players, and the game was in Huntingdon. Well at the half time the score was 0-0. We were not over confident and were playing hard but those guys were "sky high". On the very last play before the half, I was running the ball and two Bruceton defenders drove me over that wire that stretched between the light poles all the way over to the concrete bleachers in front of the press box. I got up and had to stand there a minute to remember which way to the dressing room. During half time Mr. Pudor, who had been in the press box, came over to me and said,"Scotty, why don't you run 18 keeper in the second half; I think it will go". He must have seen something from his position above the field. When we got the ball in the second half, I told Wallace to call 18 keeper. The blocking was superb, Buster Barger, Levoy Brown, Big Brown, all laid waste to the left side of the Bruceton line, Wallace got a good down field block after a fake to him, and Moose made the last clearing block wiping out their safety. Moose scored a late touchdown and we won 14-0. After the game Mr. Pudor came in the dressing room and walked into the shower, water running, with me standing their, buck naked, pointed his finger at me and said,"what did I tell you". I remember the water hitting his pants legs but he did not seem to care. More great memories of another man who helped guide us.
My hat was always off to Bruceton as those boys came with their "A" game year-after-year (the Williams twins, Bobby Lowe, Billy Darden (who is still a great friend of mine today-he could punt the football a mile-high and long), Billy Butler, Vernon Spencer (we both dated the same girl from Huntingdon-Alice, I won't tell the bloggers your name). Great competition from them.
Johnny, I remember the "old timer's game ", you guys played in McKenzie and the pounding you all gave them. I am sure that the old plays all came back. I have enjoyed hearing the old numbers: 32 and 33 belly, 48 and 47 belly, 18 and 17 keeper-wow, what memories. Wallace made up a play one day in practice that we called, "Portis to Pinkley to Portis", that we used to great success against Paris our senior year. I handed the ball off to him over the tackle hole after faking to Moose, if there was a good block on the linebacker and Wallace got outside when he approached the halfback and safety he turned and pitched the ball to me as I trailed the play. After doing this several times the Paris backs got wise and played me so Pinkley just keeps the ball and cuts down the center of the field for a long gain (Mustangs 41-Blue Devils 7).
So sorry that I get carried away so but these blogs bring back a flood of memories like it was yesterday. Coach Ward would love to be here still to share all of this with us. I am sure that he is looking down from heaven with his old players that are there with him getting a big kick out of these ramblings. He is just waiting on all of us to join him someday. Who knows there still might be another game with Bruceton yet.
Johnny Carter, so good to hear from you. Tell Joe Morris hello for me. I still see your dad often and always go up to him and ask how the boys are doing. He always gives me a big grin and procedes to give me the low down.
We hope soon there will be a "Coach Paul Ward" scholarship to preserve the memory of a man who ment so much to so many people.
Scotty Portis (Mustang 1955-58)
Scotty,
You have done great job communicating with everyone. I have spent so much time enjoying reading all the stories that I have not sent anything myself. By the way, I remember you helping "coach" us after you had gone to college -- you did a good job with some future Mustangs and I always appreciated that. We all were very fortunate to grow up in Huntingdon and be part of something that had the support of the entire community.
Anyway, here are some of the things I remember:
Coach Ward had a talent for understanding an individual and getting the most from each of us. As tough as he was, I was never afraid that I would not be treated fairly and somehow benefit from whatever he was teaching ... football, basketball, swimming, baseball, etc. Over the years, it was always a pleasure to see him again and to see the gleam in his eyes that we had all seen when he would laugh.
My Dad (John David Carter) had told me that when he first worked in Huntingdon and still lived in McLemoresville he would be driving home from work and pick Coach Ward up and take him home. Coach Ward was in high school at that time and would be walking home (about five miles) from football practice.
Mr. Tate once told us that Mr. Pudor was gone during the war and he was appointed the football coach for a period of time. He said the only reason he was asked to do this was because the team needed someone on the sidelines on Friday night. He said he would go out to the practice field during the week and tell the boys "ya'll have a good practice" and then he would go home.
During my sophomore year we had a "walkie talkie" (it looked like the big black ones in the war movies) on the sidelines during a few football games. For some reason, I was chosen to be in charge of communications between Mr. Pudor in the press box, with the other walkie talkie, and Coach Ward on the sidelines. Mr. Pudor would see something and it was my job to chase Coach Ward up and down the sidelines and inform him -- for some reason, I got the feeling that he did not want to be bothered during a game. I must have been right because the walkie talkie did not make it through the season!
When I was in college at Memphis State, Roy Gene Dill called me (and my brother Joe Morris Carter, Co-Captain 1965) and said that McKenzie had challenged Huntingdon to an "Old Timer's Game" of football during Thanksgiving week-end. The only stipulations were that Bobby Hayes and Tim Priest could not play. Coach Ward did not want to loan us equipment and I fully understood why he would'nt. We went to McKenzie on Friday after Thanksgiving and borrowed equipment from them. We never practiced or went over any plays prior to the game. They had referees, charged admission, and had a pretty good crowd on hand. We huddled up, a play was called, and I don't remember anyone not knowing what to do (this was a range of players that had graduated over several years) -- we had all run these plays so many times it was just normal. Huntingdon won 38 to nothing and even though Coach could not loan us the equipment, I guarantee that the gleam was in his eyes when he heard the score!
Thanks again for pulling this together,
Johnny Carter (1966)
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
"Camel Cigarettes"
Johnny, Fireball (Kenneth) Pinkley was ever bit the athlete that his big brother Wallace was. Fireball could "hum" a baseball thus his nick name. I never was able to hit his fastball. He was great on the diamond and football field both. The story of Kenneth and Larry sounds just like some of the tricks that Kenneth and Larry were capable of. I am not a bit surprised. Larry and I roomed together in Knoxville with a big old tight end from Centerville, a boy named Lonnie Smith. We had great times but it was all I could do to keep those two out of trouble. We lived in the athletic dorm which was in the stadium back then. Ever nite they would walk across this railroad trestle to the "Smokey Mountain Market" for a chile dog. I liked chile dogs from "the market" too but not enough to walk the trestle which was over the Tennessee River. I kept telling them they were going to get caught by a train and sure enough they did one nite. Barely made it across before the train got to them. They would stay all nite down on the rocks by the river fishing, sleeping in blankets with the rats running over their feet. Its a wonder we did not die of mercury poisoning, eating those nasty fish out of that polluted water.
Larry remains one of by best friends today. He is a "hoot" to be around still. He loved Coach and Coach loved him. His senior year at HHS he was returning a kickoff to the right (right return), when the flow started that way, he reversed his field and ran left for a touchdown. Coach Ward jerked him off the field and said, "Stewart, when I say 'right return' I mean 'right return', do you understand"; a meek Mr. Stewart replied "yes, sir". Coach Ward came to K'ville several times to see games while we were there.
Clyman Dale was as tough as they come. We were on the same field together my senior year and his sophomore year. In the Jackson High (Exchange Bowl) game that we lost, Moose had been hurt and Clyman took over at fullback and did a great job (as a sophomore). Toward the end of the game, we were on our 40 at the left hash mark and Wallace wanted to run a screen to the strong side as their ends were crashing like crazy. So Wade says, "Clyman, you are going to play quarterback on this play and block to the weak side and Scotty is coming to fullback and will take the pass after sliding off his block on the strong side-do you understand". His head shake was affirmative. We lined up in the "T" with the idea to shift into the single wing so Wade could take the direct snap. So far so good. I start calling the signal but Clyman forgets to shift so I had to say "Clyman, shift over" during the cadence, which he finally did and then the play went off as planned.
Fireball and Clyman Dale made great contributions to the athletic progams for Coach Ward. I am sure he was pleased with both of these men.
Scotty Portis (Mustang 1955-58)
Fireball and Clyman Dale
Scotty.. I talked with Kenneth "Fireball" Pinkley at the complex today and he had me laughing out loud. I asked him if I could tell his tale and said it was ok..
Here goes... It seemed that Fireball was younger than Larry Stewart and was somewhat in awe of him. Both Larry and Fireball had summer jobs working for the city and they were mowing the grass at the Clark Cemetery located on Murray Lane off East Paris Street. They broke for lunch with the other boys at the cemetery and Larry bet he could beat Fireball in a race to a large tombstone located a short sprint away. Fireball didn't think he could beat Larry and Larry said he was going to race him on his hands. Stewart told Fireball to let him get up and then give him 3 steps and then Fireball could start. The deal was if Fireball caught Larry before they reached the tombstone then he had to tackle Larry. Larry took off and Fireball caught him and tackled him as he was running on his hands and was upside down. Apparently Larry thought this was great for a young lad like Fireball to tackle him and he was so excited that he put Fireball on his shoulders and carried him back to the spot where they were all eating lunch. I wish I had a picture of Fireball riding on top of Stewart's shoulders don't you?
Another tale that Fireball told was about Coach Ward. It seemed one afternoon during practice that Coach Ward wanted Clyman Dale Smith and Fireball to stay after practice. They had no idea what Coach wanted and he had them catch punts and run them back till they were whooped. Coach finally told them to head to the locker room and hollored out that was for all the Camel cigarettes they had been smoking. As Fireball and Clyman were walking to the dressing room Clyman told Fireball he was glad coach Ward didn't run all of the Lucky Strikes out of him cause he didn't think he could have made it. These stories about Coach Ward seem to grow as everyone has good memories about Coach.
Johnny Radford
Larry remains one of by best friends today. He is a "hoot" to be around still. He loved Coach and Coach loved him. His senior year at HHS he was returning a kickoff to the right (right return), when the flow started that way, he reversed his field and ran left for a touchdown. Coach Ward jerked him off the field and said, "Stewart, when I say 'right return' I mean 'right return', do you understand"; a meek Mr. Stewart replied "yes, sir". Coach Ward came to K'ville several times to see games while we were there.
Clyman Dale was as tough as they come. We were on the same field together my senior year and his sophomore year. In the Jackson High (Exchange Bowl) game that we lost, Moose had been hurt and Clyman took over at fullback and did a great job (as a sophomore). Toward the end of the game, we were on our 40 at the left hash mark and Wallace wanted to run a screen to the strong side as their ends were crashing like crazy. So Wade says, "Clyman, you are going to play quarterback on this play and block to the weak side and Scotty is coming to fullback and will take the pass after sliding off his block on the strong side-do you understand". His head shake was affirmative. We lined up in the "T" with the idea to shift into the single wing so Wade could take the direct snap. So far so good. I start calling the signal but Clyman forgets to shift so I had to say "Clyman, shift over" during the cadence, which he finally did and then the play went off as planned.
Fireball and Clyman Dale made great contributions to the athletic progams for Coach Ward. I am sure he was pleased with both of these men.
Scotty Portis (Mustang 1955-58)
Fireball and Clyman Dale
Scotty.. I talked with Kenneth "Fireball" Pinkley at the complex today and he had me laughing out loud. I asked him if I could tell his tale and said it was ok..
Here goes... It seemed that Fireball was younger than Larry Stewart and was somewhat in awe of him. Both Larry and Fireball had summer jobs working for the city and they were mowing the grass at the Clark Cemetery located on Murray Lane off East Paris Street. They broke for lunch with the other boys at the cemetery and Larry bet he could beat Fireball in a race to a large tombstone located a short sprint away. Fireball didn't think he could beat Larry and Larry said he was going to race him on his hands. Stewart told Fireball to let him get up and then give him 3 steps and then Fireball could start. The deal was if Fireball caught Larry before they reached the tombstone then he had to tackle Larry. Larry took off and Fireball caught him and tackled him as he was running on his hands and was upside down. Apparently Larry thought this was great for a young lad like Fireball to tackle him and he was so excited that he put Fireball on his shoulders and carried him back to the spot where they were all eating lunch. I wish I had a picture of Fireball riding on top of Stewart's shoulders don't you?
Another tale that Fireball told was about Coach Ward. It seemed one afternoon during practice that Coach Ward wanted Clyman Dale Smith and Fireball to stay after practice. They had no idea what Coach wanted and he had them catch punts and run them back till they were whooped. Coach finally told them to head to the locker room and hollored out that was for all the Camel cigarettes they had been smoking. As Fireball and Clyman were walking to the dressing room Clyman told Fireball he was glad coach Ward didn't run all of the Lucky Strikes out of him cause he didn't think he could have made it. These stories about Coach Ward seem to grow as everyone has good memories about Coach.
Johnny Radford
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
The Football Car
Jimmy, very good to hear from you again. I still am having to "put up" with your ornery ole brother, Gerald Byron, more than I want to. I hope you saw his blog.
These stories have been great for all concerned and they have spread even further than our expectations. Your words, "the values Coach insisted we learn and hold dear have guided me well", are so very true for all of us. I can think of many incidences in my life of coming to a crossroads and saying to myself, "what would Billy Portis or Coach Ward have done in this situation" and then taking the road less traveled to get to a goal. I think the values we learned from Coach paved the way to make our decision making a lot easier. I have been an " exercise nut" for many years but remember when my playing days at HHS and UT were over and thinking "thank goodness" I don't have to exercise anymore, then waking up one day and realizing, Coach Ward would be disappointed in my decision. He definitely changed my life with the lessons that he taught.
On a lighter note. I have a little story on our good friend and ambassador Johnny Radford. I only hope that his sweet little wife Trudy does not "get wind" of this story. Seems that the Mustang bus was rolling through Nashville on the way to Donaldson for the bowl game and Coach had warned the team not to be hanging out the windows and hollering at the female persuasion. Well, it seems that young Mr. Radford either did not hear this warning or elected to ignore it being over come with passion once sighting some of the Nashville beauties. Word has it that the quarterback was out the window to his waist, hollering at the cuties, when Coach came down the isle and grabbed him by the waist and started pulling him back in the bus. Johnny kept swatting at his hands thinking it was none other than a teammate. Well when Coach had had enough of this he jerked him back in and the look on Johnny's face as my brother Tommy says "was priceless". Would give a $100 bill to have seen that look.
JK, again so good to hear from you, and thanks for the kind words for Coach Welch and Ms. Johnnie(who are still going strong by the way). He added a great dimension to the teams he helped coached. He was about as tough as Coach Ward. The two of them together were awesome.
Little Paul and Bobby have expresed their gratitude several times for our efforts but I have explained to them that this has been a two way street for all of us.
Go Mustangs
Scotty Portis (Mustang 1955-58)
Scotty,first off a big thank you to you and your son for putting this together and thank you to Johnny Radford for forwarding it to me. I spent a lot of yesterday going through the stories and all the memories. It's hard to single out one or two but I have a few that stand out. I played on the varsity 65,66,67 and junior high the three years before that. I was fortunate to get to see some really good ballplayers and to be on some great teams. A few of my memories are:The football car. It's amazing in today's frame of reference that Coach would allow a high school kid to be responsible to drive a school owned vehicle to take people home but if not for that old car some of us might not have had the opportunity to play ball. In that old 55 Chevy the Jackson highway, Browning highway, and Lexington highway gangs all came together. In today's speak I'm sure that you could say that giving responsibility builds character and trust but for those of us who drove it as I did my senior year it was much more primal. If we screwed up Coach would kill us. No questions asked. But as a scrawny seventh grader it was a prime time to get to ride home with the "big guys"."Between the dummies" has been referenced to but I remember those today very clearly both the one on ones and the two on ones. I remember counting down the lines to see who you were going against and if your match was Johnnie Compton, the Wallace brothers, the Hall brothers, or many others your heart would be pounding. I also remember the feeling you had if you stuck your head in and at least got off a decent lick on one of the big guys Coach would holler out " way to go little man" or something to that effect and suddenly despite the fact that your shoulder was numb and your vision was fuzzy it was all worth it.Coach wasn't too big on trick plays so we didn't have too many but in 1966 we put one in. We would break the huddle and Lender Pearson ( I think) would be in the backfield and upon Tim's signal Lender would break and run toward the sideline like he was trying to get off the field, (too many men) Coach Ward on the sideline yelling at him and waving him over. At the last moment Lender would turn down field and the plan would be to pass him the ball while he was on the dead run. I can't remember if we ever ran it in a game or if we did if it worked but I remember running it over and over in practice and Coach Ward laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. Beat the hell out of running 32 belly over and over again.Last in case anyone ever doubted whether Coach Ward cared for his players should have been on the bus in 1966 when we went up to play Portland in The Bowl game that was the first overnight trip in recent school history. On the way up Coach came down the aisle and gave everyone two or three bucks. You see we were on our on for breakfast the next morning and he wanted to make sure everyone was covered. That simple act has stayed with me over the years as I am sure there might have been a few that wouldn't have gotten breakfast otherwise. That and who will ever forget our return to Huntingdon the next day. Thank you for the opportunity to share a few memories. The values Coach insisted we learn and hold dear have guided me well. All the best to the Ward family. Also I want to thank Coach Welch. He and Mrs. Welch had a lot of positive influence on us kids. Too bad we never get that many chances to say thank you.Regards,JK
Jim KirkseySchlumberger Carbon Servicesc/o Illinois Geological SurveyChampaign,Illinois713-614-1847 cell
These stories have been great for all concerned and they have spread even further than our expectations. Your words, "the values Coach insisted we learn and hold dear have guided me well", are so very true for all of us. I can think of many incidences in my life of coming to a crossroads and saying to myself, "what would Billy Portis or Coach Ward have done in this situation" and then taking the road less traveled to get to a goal. I think the values we learned from Coach paved the way to make our decision making a lot easier. I have been an " exercise nut" for many years but remember when my playing days at HHS and UT were over and thinking "thank goodness" I don't have to exercise anymore, then waking up one day and realizing, Coach Ward would be disappointed in my decision. He definitely changed my life with the lessons that he taught.
On a lighter note. I have a little story on our good friend and ambassador Johnny Radford. I only hope that his sweet little wife Trudy does not "get wind" of this story. Seems that the Mustang bus was rolling through Nashville on the way to Donaldson for the bowl game and Coach had warned the team not to be hanging out the windows and hollering at the female persuasion. Well, it seems that young Mr. Radford either did not hear this warning or elected to ignore it being over come with passion once sighting some of the Nashville beauties. Word has it that the quarterback was out the window to his waist, hollering at the cuties, when Coach came down the isle and grabbed him by the waist and started pulling him back in the bus. Johnny kept swatting at his hands thinking it was none other than a teammate. Well when Coach had had enough of this he jerked him back in and the look on Johnny's face as my brother Tommy says "was priceless". Would give a $100 bill to have seen that look.
JK, again so good to hear from you, and thanks for the kind words for Coach Welch and Ms. Johnnie(who are still going strong by the way). He added a great dimension to the teams he helped coached. He was about as tough as Coach Ward. The two of them together were awesome.
Little Paul and Bobby have expresed their gratitude several times for our efforts but I have explained to them that this has been a two way street for all of us.
Go Mustangs
Scotty Portis (Mustang 1955-58)
Scotty,first off a big thank you to you and your son for putting this together and thank you to Johnny Radford for forwarding it to me. I spent a lot of yesterday going through the stories and all the memories. It's hard to single out one or two but I have a few that stand out. I played on the varsity 65,66,67 and junior high the three years before that. I was fortunate to get to see some really good ballplayers and to be on some great teams. A few of my memories are:The football car. It's amazing in today's frame of reference that Coach would allow a high school kid to be responsible to drive a school owned vehicle to take people home but if not for that old car some of us might not have had the opportunity to play ball. In that old 55 Chevy the Jackson highway, Browning highway, and Lexington highway gangs all came together. In today's speak I'm sure that you could say that giving responsibility builds character and trust but for those of us who drove it as I did my senior year it was much more primal. If we screwed up Coach would kill us. No questions asked. But as a scrawny seventh grader it was a prime time to get to ride home with the "big guys"."Between the dummies" has been referenced to but I remember those today very clearly both the one on ones and the two on ones. I remember counting down the lines to see who you were going against and if your match was Johnnie Compton, the Wallace brothers, the Hall brothers, or many others your heart would be pounding. I also remember the feeling you had if you stuck your head in and at least got off a decent lick on one of the big guys Coach would holler out " way to go little man" or something to that effect and suddenly despite the fact that your shoulder was numb and your vision was fuzzy it was all worth it.Coach wasn't too big on trick plays so we didn't have too many but in 1966 we put one in. We would break the huddle and Lender Pearson ( I think) would be in the backfield and upon Tim's signal Lender would break and run toward the sideline like he was trying to get off the field, (too many men) Coach Ward on the sideline yelling at him and waving him over. At the last moment Lender would turn down field and the plan would be to pass him the ball while he was on the dead run. I can't remember if we ever ran it in a game or if we did if it worked but I remember running it over and over in practice and Coach Ward laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. Beat the hell out of running 32 belly over and over again.Last in case anyone ever doubted whether Coach Ward cared for his players should have been on the bus in 1966 when we went up to play Portland in The Bowl game that was the first overnight trip in recent school history. On the way up Coach came down the aisle and gave everyone two or three bucks. You see we were on our on for breakfast the next morning and he wanted to make sure everyone was covered. That simple act has stayed with me over the years as I am sure there might have been a few that wouldn't have gotten breakfast otherwise. That and who will ever forget our return to Huntingdon the next day. Thank you for the opportunity to share a few memories. The values Coach insisted we learn and hold dear have guided me well. All the best to the Ward family. Also I want to thank Coach Welch. He and Mrs. Welch had a lot of positive influence on us kids. Too bad we never get that many chances to say thank you.Regards,JK
Jim KirkseySchlumberger Carbon Servicesc/o Illinois Geological SurveyChampaign,Illinois713-614-1847 cell
"Is My Neck Broke Coach"
Johnny, two great stories. I always liked Barry Mac and still get a bang out of him even today when I see him. I related this story to his sister this AM while in the line to vote. She got a huge laugh out of it also.
I remember listening to the Donaldson game on the radio with my dad that nite and was of course very disappointed that the Mustangs lost but cheered each time my cousin Randy Clement (safety) made a tackle (he propably had to make more than he should have if Donaldson was running that toss sweep "to perfection"). Randy was tough as he was a "pseudo" member of the notorious "Jackson Highway Gang". He lived in town but Tommy and I would get him and his brother Johnny to come out to play football, basketball, and baseball with us.
Johnny, again my hat is off to you the "#1 Mustang fan of all time". I guess we can tell the story that came out the other day when our wives got together. Trudy, Johnny's wife jumped on me and said I was causing her husband to spend too much time on the computer and my wife, Kathy, echoed the same sentiments. They said that they might just kick us out and we could room together and then spend as much time as we wanted to on the computer. I asked Johnny if he could cook and, of course, the answer was "NO" and he said do you cook and dito. So we decided to appease them so we could stay where we were.
Thanks, JR.
Scotty Portis (Mustang 1955-58)
Subject: Coach Ward
Scotty.... Thanks again for passing the e-mails to me. It's great to read the stories and the memories so many of his students and former players had of Coach. One thing I think of when asked about Coach Ward was getting everybody to work together. He would tear you down on Monday and have you thinking you couldn't beat Yuma on Friday night but after Thursday he would flip it around and you could beat the Packers. By Friday night in pregame he could get you so excited and fired up you were ready to actually play the Packers and knew you would beat them too. Ha...
I've got a couple of Coach Ward stories I'd like to share with everyone. My Junior year in the spring we were running our offense on Thursday before a spring game in Waverly the next day. We were going toward the south endzone and we ran sprint out pass right. I was the QB and "lofted" a pass to Barry Murphy in the southwest corner toward the visitor's concession stand. If you remember the wire around the field between the poles then you may also remember the poles were painted white about 6' from the ground. Barry was running full tilt and hit the light pole and the chance meeting knocked him cold for about 2-3 minutes and he lay motionless on the ground. The entire team ran down to check on Murf and Coach Ward and Coach Welch were straddling him. Finally Barry moved a little and looked up to Coach from his back and asked, "Is my neck broke Coach"? I thought Coach would bust a gut laughing so hard. Up to that time Barry was a complete idiot and somehow this meeting with the light pole actually made him sane and he was able to sing tenor in the choir.. Ha
My Junior year in 1967 we were invited to play Nashville Donelson High School in the Hendersonville Lake Bowl. We finished the regular season 8-2 and had a good team but not as strong as the 1966 team with Priest, Carter,Compton,Wallace and Barnett and all the other great players. Donelson finished the season behind Nashville Stratford High School and Stratford played in the Clinic Bowl that year. We were in the dressing room before the game and Coach Ward started his pregame speech and actually started crying. He told us he hoped he hadn't put us in a game where we were overmatched. I honestly feel the speech was heartfelt and he meant every word he told us. Donelson had an all state halfback named Kenny Johnson who was a tough running back. They ran the toss sweep to perfection a lot that night and late in the 4th quarter he pulled up on the sweep and tossed a halfback pass for a TD and they "got off the hook" and beat us 14-6. Looking back now I think too we were overmatched but that night we "felt" we could beat those guys and played like it too.
In closing I'd like to say all of Coach Wards "boys" loved him and wanted to win every game for him. He will be missed greatly.
Johnny Radford
Mustang (1966-1968)
I remember listening to the Donaldson game on the radio with my dad that nite and was of course very disappointed that the Mustangs lost but cheered each time my cousin Randy Clement (safety) made a tackle (he propably had to make more than he should have if Donaldson was running that toss sweep "to perfection"). Randy was tough as he was a "pseudo" member of the notorious "Jackson Highway Gang". He lived in town but Tommy and I would get him and his brother Johnny to come out to play football, basketball, and baseball with us.
Johnny, again my hat is off to you the "#1 Mustang fan of all time". I guess we can tell the story that came out the other day when our wives got together. Trudy, Johnny's wife jumped on me and said I was causing her husband to spend too much time on the computer and my wife, Kathy, echoed the same sentiments. They said that they might just kick us out and we could room together and then spend as much time as we wanted to on the computer. I asked Johnny if he could cook and, of course, the answer was "NO" and he said do you cook and dito. So we decided to appease them so we could stay where we were.
Thanks, JR.
Scotty Portis (Mustang 1955-58)
Subject: Coach Ward
Scotty.... Thanks again for passing the e-mails to me. It's great to read the stories and the memories so many of his students and former players had of Coach. One thing I think of when asked about Coach Ward was getting everybody to work together. He would tear you down on Monday and have you thinking you couldn't beat Yuma on Friday night but after Thursday he would flip it around and you could beat the Packers. By Friday night in pregame he could get you so excited and fired up you were ready to actually play the Packers and knew you would beat them too. Ha...
I've got a couple of Coach Ward stories I'd like to share with everyone. My Junior year in the spring we were running our offense on Thursday before a spring game in Waverly the next day. We were going toward the south endzone and we ran sprint out pass right. I was the QB and "lofted" a pass to Barry Murphy in the southwest corner toward the visitor's concession stand. If you remember the wire around the field between the poles then you may also remember the poles were painted white about 6' from the ground. Barry was running full tilt and hit the light pole and the chance meeting knocked him cold for about 2-3 minutes and he lay motionless on the ground. The entire team ran down to check on Murf and Coach Ward and Coach Welch were straddling him. Finally Barry moved a little and looked up to Coach from his back and asked, "Is my neck broke Coach"? I thought Coach would bust a gut laughing so hard. Up to that time Barry was a complete idiot and somehow this meeting with the light pole actually made him sane and he was able to sing tenor in the choir.. Ha
My Junior year in 1967 we were invited to play Nashville Donelson High School in the Hendersonville Lake Bowl. We finished the regular season 8-2 and had a good team but not as strong as the 1966 team with Priest, Carter,Compton,Wallace and Barnett and all the other great players. Donelson finished the season behind Nashville Stratford High School and Stratford played in the Clinic Bowl that year. We were in the dressing room before the game and Coach Ward started his pregame speech and actually started crying. He told us he hoped he hadn't put us in a game where we were overmatched. I honestly feel the speech was heartfelt and he meant every word he told us. Donelson had an all state halfback named Kenny Johnson who was a tough running back. They ran the toss sweep to perfection a lot that night and late in the 4th quarter he pulled up on the sweep and tossed a halfback pass for a TD and they "got off the hook" and beat us 14-6. Looking back now I think too we were overmatched but that night we "felt" we could beat those guys and played like it too.
In closing I'd like to say all of Coach Wards "boys" loved him and wanted to win every game for him. He will be missed greatly.
Johnny Radford
Mustang (1966-1968)
Saturday, February 2, 2008
"A Diehard Respect" for Coach
Here is an exchange that I do not believe has been published yet. If I repeat, so sorry.
Scotty Portis
Coach Ward Blog
Group, certainly not trying to embarrass Wallace Pinkley or his daughter, Lydia, but I think the exchange below not only typifies the, as yet unearthed, literary abilities of many (abilities they nor their families knew existed until now), and has shown family members and friends a side of many individuals that they did not know. I know Lydia Pinkley Jackson, a very sweet and beautiful young lady, that I watched grow up, and here she is looking at a side of her dad that she had never seen before.
I think that Coach Ward's death has inspired a lot of us.And look at the influence that Coach Ward had over the above situation. Sure, Wallace had great athletic talents (Johnny Pitts did you ever get a solid lick in on Wade when he was running the ball----NO, and I didn't either), but his Coach was interested enough to hustle him all over the country side to make sure that the "next level" got a look at his talents. It was a win, win situation-Sewanee got a great football and baseball player, Wallace got a great education (in fact we both applied to Wharton School of Finance and Commerence at the University of Pennsylvania, after undergraduate school, Wallace got in and I did not). He is now retired from a very successful insurance career in Florida and still a great Mustang fan. Coach Ward got no monetary value for this-only the satisfaction of a job well done.
Again, we should all be proud that people like Paul Ward exist, people who have pushed us to the next level-some of us kicking and screaming but at least to the next level. Dan Morris a sports reporter for the Jackson Sun stated in his column after Coach Ward's death, "A diehard respect usually follows the great coaches to their grave. Such was the case for Paul Ward".
I know that many of you former Mustangs players and fans (welcome Clark Smothers, Sharon Bennett, Seth Bennett, and Steven Nolen) are just bursting to tell a story, so get going, now is the time. The story can be about any phase of Coach Ward's life; whether it is about a teammate, a team, a season,or even a single play (Jimmy Jewel Lumpkin running for a touchdown down the sideline with Coach Ward stride-for-stride yelling, "now go, now go"), Mustangs 24-Rebels 20. Scotty Portis Mustang (1955-1958)
PS Again, Lydia thanks for your innocent remarks concerning your dad. They are heartfelt and heart warming. Like she says-" there is probably a book in there" Charles Rhodes can you help?PSS Anyone who has not received all of the blogs (there are many and growing) let me (port1184@bellsouth.net) or Johnny Radford (jtrad@charter.net) know and we will get the rest to you. The very first ones were from Gary Hall and Johnny Pitts about 5-6 weeks ago (Nov 27th).
From: "Lydia Jackson" <ljackson41@cfl.rr.com>To: "'Scott Portis'" <port1184@bellsouth.net>Sent: Saturday, January 26, 2008 12:59
Fwd: Coach Ward
Hi Scotty, Yes, Dad has some impressive 'stats'! I've enjoyed reading about your youth. I guess retirement has given my Dad time to reflect. I hope you all keep up the writing. There is probably a book in there.
Lydia
From: Scott Portis Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 9:16 PM
To: ljackson41@cfl.rr.com
Re: Fwd: Coach Ward
Lydia, your dad was a hoss playing and lettering in 3 sports (football, baseball, and basketball) all 4 years of high school plus his real glory days at Sewanee.
Scott Portis
From: <ljackson41@cfl.rr.com
To: <pinkleye@aol.com Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 9:06 AM
Fwd: Coach Ward
Mom, is Dad really writing this stuff??? Where does it come from? It makes me cry that he is so eloquent and has such fond memories of his glory days.
Lydia
Family
Coach Ward gave a lot to our community as he was also our baseball and basketball coach along with P. E. I may have been on his first winning team in 1956. From there he became the legend of West Tenn Football. Of course I taught Tim Priest all the tricks as we played side yard ball. He went on to be an All American at U. T. Pardon if U get this twice.
Dad
Guys
Great memories. I absolutely agree with the sentiments of the budding correspondents; Scott, John, Fred, Gary and Tim. Coach Ward pulled me out of study hall one morning our freshman year after summer practice was already over, and told me he had convinced my mother that I should be on the field that afternoon all 115 lbs. It was a tough year (0-9-1), but it prepared me for the next 7 years. I'll always be grateful for his encouragement as John Williams, Euell Bouldin, and Coach Ward again rather late my senior year drove me to Sewanee to meet Coach Majors (dad of Johnny Majors,UT Vol All-American tailback and Head Coach) about late entry to Sewanee. Coach Ward gave a film to Coach Majors, and I squeezed in. Late registration had already closed, and I had to rush to Memphis to take an SAT test. It was so late I had to live at Coach Major's house the first semester. Quite a family. Coach Majors had many of the traits that Coach Ward had; discipline, down to earth wisdom, consistent, excellence, encouragers, leaders.
Fred's story reminded me; Coach Ward leaned down on his knees belly laughing when he looked at my front tooth that was just broken in half one afternoon at practice. After that I had a 2 bar face mask. It was the same laugh when I spun the wrong way one day as a freshman and Kenny Walker flattened me over the zero hole. It was like a freight train; I remember Kenny as being taller and faster than Warren Blankenship. I do remember well the Halloween sprints. When I finally literally got my second wind I thought we could just keep going, but I don't believe I was the one of those who did an Indian war cry. Hope to hear more. Go Mustangs and keep the legend alive. Wallace
Scotty Portis
Coach Ward Blog
Group, certainly not trying to embarrass Wallace Pinkley or his daughter, Lydia, but I think the exchange below not only typifies the, as yet unearthed, literary abilities of many (abilities they nor their families knew existed until now), and has shown family members and friends a side of many individuals that they did not know. I know Lydia Pinkley Jackson, a very sweet and beautiful young lady, that I watched grow up, and here she is looking at a side of her dad that she had never seen before.
I think that Coach Ward's death has inspired a lot of us.And look at the influence that Coach Ward had over the above situation. Sure, Wallace had great athletic talents (Johnny Pitts did you ever get a solid lick in on Wade when he was running the ball----NO, and I didn't either), but his Coach was interested enough to hustle him all over the country side to make sure that the "next level" got a look at his talents. It was a win, win situation-Sewanee got a great football and baseball player, Wallace got a great education (in fact we both applied to Wharton School of Finance and Commerence at the University of Pennsylvania, after undergraduate school, Wallace got in and I did not). He is now retired from a very successful insurance career in Florida and still a great Mustang fan. Coach Ward got no monetary value for this-only the satisfaction of a job well done.
Again, we should all be proud that people like Paul Ward exist, people who have pushed us to the next level-some of us kicking and screaming but at least to the next level. Dan Morris a sports reporter for the Jackson Sun stated in his column after Coach Ward's death, "A diehard respect usually follows the great coaches to their grave. Such was the case for Paul Ward".
I know that many of you former Mustangs players and fans (welcome Clark Smothers, Sharon Bennett, Seth Bennett, and Steven Nolen) are just bursting to tell a story, so get going, now is the time. The story can be about any phase of Coach Ward's life; whether it is about a teammate, a team, a season,or even a single play (Jimmy Jewel Lumpkin running for a touchdown down the sideline with Coach Ward stride-for-stride yelling, "now go, now go"), Mustangs 24-Rebels 20. Scotty Portis Mustang (1955-1958)
PS Again, Lydia thanks for your innocent remarks concerning your dad. They are heartfelt and heart warming. Like she says-" there is probably a book in there" Charles Rhodes can you help?PSS Anyone who has not received all of the blogs (there are many and growing) let me (port1184@bellsouth.net) or Johnny Radford (jtrad@charter.net) know and we will get the rest to you. The very first ones were from Gary Hall and Johnny Pitts about 5-6 weeks ago (Nov 27th).
From: "Lydia Jackson" <ljackson41@cfl.rr.com>To: "'Scott Portis'" <port1184@bellsouth.net>Sent: Saturday, January 26, 2008 12:59
Fwd: Coach Ward
Hi Scotty, Yes, Dad has some impressive 'stats'! I've enjoyed reading about your youth. I guess retirement has given my Dad time to reflect. I hope you all keep up the writing. There is probably a book in there.
Lydia
From: Scott Portis Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 9:16 PM
To: ljackson41@cfl.rr.com
Re: Fwd: Coach Ward
Lydia, your dad was a hoss playing and lettering in 3 sports (football, baseball, and basketball) all 4 years of high school plus his real glory days at Sewanee.
Scott Portis
From: <ljackson41@cfl.rr.com
To: <pinkleye@aol.com Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 9:06 AM
Fwd: Coach Ward
Mom, is Dad really writing this stuff??? Where does it come from? It makes me cry that he is so eloquent and has such fond memories of his glory days.
Lydia
Family
Coach Ward gave a lot to our community as he was also our baseball and basketball coach along with P. E. I may have been on his first winning team in 1956. From there he became the legend of West Tenn Football. Of course I taught Tim Priest all the tricks as we played side yard ball. He went on to be an All American at U. T. Pardon if U get this twice.
Dad
Guys
Great memories. I absolutely agree with the sentiments of the budding correspondents; Scott, John, Fred, Gary and Tim. Coach Ward pulled me out of study hall one morning our freshman year after summer practice was already over, and told me he had convinced my mother that I should be on the field that afternoon all 115 lbs. It was a tough year (0-9-1), but it prepared me for the next 7 years. I'll always be grateful for his encouragement as John Williams, Euell Bouldin, and Coach Ward again rather late my senior year drove me to Sewanee to meet Coach Majors (dad of Johnny Majors,UT Vol All-American tailback and Head Coach) about late entry to Sewanee. Coach Ward gave a film to Coach Majors, and I squeezed in. Late registration had already closed, and I had to rush to Memphis to take an SAT test. It was so late I had to live at Coach Major's house the first semester. Quite a family. Coach Majors had many of the traits that Coach Ward had; discipline, down to earth wisdom, consistent, excellence, encouragers, leaders.
Fred's story reminded me; Coach Ward leaned down on his knees belly laughing when he looked at my front tooth that was just broken in half one afternoon at practice. After that I had a 2 bar face mask. It was the same laugh when I spun the wrong way one day as a freshman and Kenny Walker flattened me over the zero hole. It was like a freight train; I remember Kenny as being taller and faster than Warren Blankenship. I do remember well the Halloween sprints. When I finally literally got my second wind I thought we could just keep going, but I don't believe I was the one of those who did an Indian war cry. Hope to hear more. Go Mustangs and keep the legend alive. Wallace
Being Saved-Bright Lights and Stars
Gerald Byron, two great stories. Coach would have loved them. He wore his "funny bone" on his sleeve and it did not take much to set it off. He loved tumbling and I do not know why. Maybe some one in the group can enlighten us.
The story about my sister is probably true, no one in our neighborhood provoked her (I can feel your pain). Did you see my story of the nite she went into the Lexington dressing room and popped the head of the girl who had been guarding her (and holding her) during the BB game. As I said earlier, she probably could have made the football team. Again Gerald great stories of our Coach and great remembrances of times gone by.
Scotty Portis
Scotty: Johnny Radford forward me all of the emails: I read them this afternoon as Susan drove us to mountains. Great memories!!!! I would like to add a couple if you would be kind enough to share with the group:
Like Charles Rhodes, I was a 98 pound weakling (literally) during high school and so my high school extracurricular activity was relegated to beating the bass drum. (Unfortunately, as Mr. Tate quickly learned, I did not have an ounce of rhythm flowing through my veins’ still don’t.) But I vividly remember P.E. under Coach Ward. I particularly remember the tumbling which Coach Ward loved but which I grew to dread. My Waterloo was the two man tumble when one person laid on the floor with his head between other person ankles and his feet were around the neck of the one standing. The one standing – me – was suppose to roll forward. Being athletically challenged, my roll was more like a swan dive forward until the top of my head contacted the gym floor just beyond the mat. I must have been “saved” at the moment that I hit the floor because I definitely saw a bright light and many stars. When I could open my eyes, there was Coach Ward beside me bent over in laughter! Dodge ball was a different exercise but, for me, had the same result. I always ended up on the other side from Ace Forbess, William Lee Smothers and Steve Neal and would get creamed by one of them, either in the head or family jewels, by a volley ball traveling at least 75 mph. While rolling in the floor, I would inevitably look up to see Coach Ward bent over in laughter.
Coach Ward’s laughter was not malicious, however. As others have so eloquently expressed, he cared deeply about his charges and no one was prouder of my Vandy scholarship than Coach Ward. In retrospect, how could one keep from laughing at some of our antics; I laughed out loud several times today. We were, indeed, fortunate to have persons like Coach Ward, Mr. Pudor, Mr. Tate, Miss Anna Pearl, and others, care for us, mentor us and love us.
In closing, I want to vouch for the fact that your beloved sister, Betty Ann, had a mean streak. On Halloween of our senior year, two groups came together in Mayor Watson’s front yard. My group was armed to the hilt with water balloons which we launched toward Betty Ann’s group. My enthusiasm was cut short when a 6 ounce Coke bottle came whizzing by my ear – Betty Ann had won that round.
Thanks again for getting this started.
Gerald
The story about my sister is probably true, no one in our neighborhood provoked her (I can feel your pain). Did you see my story of the nite she went into the Lexington dressing room and popped the head of the girl who had been guarding her (and holding her) during the BB game. As I said earlier, she probably could have made the football team. Again Gerald great stories of our Coach and great remembrances of times gone by.
Scotty Portis
Scotty: Johnny Radford forward me all of the emails: I read them this afternoon as Susan drove us to mountains. Great memories!!!! I would like to add a couple if you would be kind enough to share with the group:
Like Charles Rhodes, I was a 98 pound weakling (literally) during high school and so my high school extracurricular activity was relegated to beating the bass drum. (Unfortunately, as Mr. Tate quickly learned, I did not have an ounce of rhythm flowing through my veins’ still don’t.) But I vividly remember P.E. under Coach Ward. I particularly remember the tumbling which Coach Ward loved but which I grew to dread. My Waterloo was the two man tumble when one person laid on the floor with his head between other person ankles and his feet were around the neck of the one standing. The one standing – me – was suppose to roll forward. Being athletically challenged, my roll was more like a swan dive forward until the top of my head contacted the gym floor just beyond the mat. I must have been “saved” at the moment that I hit the floor because I definitely saw a bright light and many stars. When I could open my eyes, there was Coach Ward beside me bent over in laughter! Dodge ball was a different exercise but, for me, had the same result. I always ended up on the other side from Ace Forbess, William Lee Smothers and Steve Neal and would get creamed by one of them, either in the head or family jewels, by a volley ball traveling at least 75 mph. While rolling in the floor, I would inevitably look up to see Coach Ward bent over in laughter.
Coach Ward’s laughter was not malicious, however. As others have so eloquently expressed, he cared deeply about his charges and no one was prouder of my Vandy scholarship than Coach Ward. In retrospect, how could one keep from laughing at some of our antics; I laughed out loud several times today. We were, indeed, fortunate to have persons like Coach Ward, Mr. Pudor, Mr. Tate, Miss Anna Pearl, and others, care for us, mentor us and love us.
In closing, I want to vouch for the fact that your beloved sister, Betty Ann, had a mean streak. On Halloween of our senior year, two groups came together in Mayor Watson’s front yard. My group was armed to the hilt with water balloons which we launched toward Betty Ann’s group. My enthusiasm was cut short when a 6 ounce Coke bottle came whizzing by my ear – Betty Ann had won that round.
Thanks again for getting this started.
Gerald
Big Sam and Big Brown
Poor offensive and defensive lineman (and linebackers), the guys in the trenches seldom get the recognization that they deserve.
Such is the case with Sammy Lankford (alias Big Sam at 225#) and Walter Brown (alias Big Brown at 245#). These two guys as juniors were stalwarts on the 1957 team with the likes of seniors: Warren Blankenship, Ronnie Rice, Lance Kee, Freddie Holliday, William Marrison, Billy Yeager, Bobby McDonald, and Bendell Wilkes-Bobby Montgomery and Jerry Parrish were offensive and defensive backs.
To me this was one of the best defensive teams that Huntingdon ever fielded. This team was very fast defensively and with Blankenship as the anchor allowed only 55 points in 10 games, and many of the 55 were on the second team as Coach Ward got them into games early for much needed experience for the next years team.
The 1958 team was, of course, devastated by the loss of the many seniors. Big Sam and Big Brown were the saving grace for the 1958 team on the offensive and defensive lines. These two along with Moose Smith our fullback, turned defensive lineman (going both ways) and several eager juniors and sophomores filled out the line. Without Sam and Walter we would not have gone undefeated in 1958 (we would come back to the huddle and Big Brown would pound my helmet and say "did you see the block I laid down for you on that play"). I didn't see the block that often, all I remember is that there was no longer an opponent in front of me. So thanks to Big Sam and Big Brown, two Paul Ward well coached tackles, for paving the way for the many running and passing plays that made our machine run well. Boys, those were great times.
Scott Portis (Mustang Quarterback 1955-58)
Such is the case with Sammy Lankford (alias Big Sam at 225#) and Walter Brown (alias Big Brown at 245#). These two guys as juniors were stalwarts on the 1957 team with the likes of seniors: Warren Blankenship, Ronnie Rice, Lance Kee, Freddie Holliday, William Marrison, Billy Yeager, Bobby McDonald, and Bendell Wilkes-Bobby Montgomery and Jerry Parrish were offensive and defensive backs.
To me this was one of the best defensive teams that Huntingdon ever fielded. This team was very fast defensively and with Blankenship as the anchor allowed only 55 points in 10 games, and many of the 55 were on the second team as Coach Ward got them into games early for much needed experience for the next years team.
The 1958 team was, of course, devastated by the loss of the many seniors. Big Sam and Big Brown were the saving grace for the 1958 team on the offensive and defensive lines. These two along with Moose Smith our fullback, turned defensive lineman (going both ways) and several eager juniors and sophomores filled out the line. Without Sam and Walter we would not have gone undefeated in 1958 (we would come back to the huddle and Big Brown would pound my helmet and say "did you see the block I laid down for you on that play"). I didn't see the block that often, all I remember is that there was no longer an opponent in front of me. So thanks to Big Sam and Big Brown, two Paul Ward well coached tackles, for paving the way for the many running and passing plays that made our machine run well. Boys, those were great times.
Scott Portis (Mustang Quarterback 1955-58)
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Two Sophomores Pave the Way
Steve,
I remember this game very well as I was there as the team physician. Todd's kick hit the cross bar and went over to put the Mustangs ahead (the late defensive TD on a Trenton fumble made it 22-13). I still have the game program that I will show you someday.
I remember your days at the helm of the Mustangs as you were a pretty good field general.
Thanks for your input.
Scotty Portis
The post by Terry Brewer (my favorite receiver, by the way) compelled me to go ahead and add one of my memories of Coach Ward. As you all know my parents and their relationship with Coach Ward, I had looked up to him with awe and reverence while growing up in Huntingdon. Yet, with their being close friends with him and with me being friends with Bobby as we grew up, I knew Coach Ward much better than most of the aspiring young Mustangs in Huntingdon. But make no mistake, I still viewed him as a larger than life figure. And, after watching my heroes such as Tim Priest, I could not wait to be a Huntingdon Mustang and play for Coach Ward.
I finally got my chance as a sophomore with the outstanding 1975 team, Coach Ward's last year, as mentioned previously. On to my story. I started fall practice as the third-team quarterback, behind Brian Caton and Jeff Kelly. Unfortunately, after about 3-4 weeks of preseason practice, I had to undergo exploratory surgery because it was feared I had testicular cancer. Thank the Lord it was a false alarm, but I had to miss considerable practice time and the first two games while I recovered. I came back to practice the week of the third game against Henderson. I actually got to play some as we totally destroyed Henderson. As a matter of fact, at the urging of my teammates, we threw the football the first several plays (I was in there with the rest of reserves). That play calling came to an abrupt halt since (A) Coach Ward liked the forward pass about as much as he would have liked a case of the shingles and (B) It is considered very poor sportsmanship to be throwing the ball when you're up half a hundred.
The following week our opponent was McKenzie and we were practicing extra points and field goals at the end of practice. As Terry mentioned, we had not settled on a placekicker. (As an aside, Terry had a very short lived career as a soccer style kicker the next year for Coach Bobby Hayes' first team.) Anyway, the kicking practice was not going well. I was just standing there watching, waiting for the wind sprints to begin. However, my life was about to change. As we got ready for another PAT attempt, the holder (who shall remain nameless) slightly moved the black square tee that was used to place the football after the kicker had counted off his steps. Coach Ward became extremely agitated, to say the least. He ran over to the holder--who was still kneeling--and brought him to his feet by his facemask. We all know Coach Ward had a special affinity for facemasks. He pulled the holder out of the way, turned around and looked at me. "Get down there and hold the ball Stout and don't move the damn tee!!" I had never done this in my life. But, I got down there and thankfully did not throw up on myself or drop the ball. So, I became the holder and was holding for the field goal Todd Hall kicked against Trenton. Looking back, I often wonder if Coach Ward did that so I could contribute to the team in some small way after what I had gone through in the pre-season. I've convinced myself that was the case and he never knew how much I appreciated it.
Steve Stout
I remember this game very well as I was there as the team physician. Todd's kick hit the cross bar and went over to put the Mustangs ahead (the late defensive TD on a Trenton fumble made it 22-13). I still have the game program that I will show you someday.
I remember your days at the helm of the Mustangs as you were a pretty good field general.
Thanks for your input.
Scotty Portis
The post by Terry Brewer (my favorite receiver, by the way) compelled me to go ahead and add one of my memories of Coach Ward. As you all know my parents and their relationship with Coach Ward, I had looked up to him with awe and reverence while growing up in Huntingdon. Yet, with their being close friends with him and with me being friends with Bobby as we grew up, I knew Coach Ward much better than most of the aspiring young Mustangs in Huntingdon. But make no mistake, I still viewed him as a larger than life figure. And, after watching my heroes such as Tim Priest, I could not wait to be a Huntingdon Mustang and play for Coach Ward.
I finally got my chance as a sophomore with the outstanding 1975 team, Coach Ward's last year, as mentioned previously. On to my story. I started fall practice as the third-team quarterback, behind Brian Caton and Jeff Kelly. Unfortunately, after about 3-4 weeks of preseason practice, I had to undergo exploratory surgery because it was feared I had testicular cancer. Thank the Lord it was a false alarm, but I had to miss considerable practice time and the first two games while I recovered. I came back to practice the week of the third game against Henderson. I actually got to play some as we totally destroyed Henderson. As a matter of fact, at the urging of my teammates, we threw the football the first several plays (I was in there with the rest of reserves). That play calling came to an abrupt halt since (A) Coach Ward liked the forward pass about as much as he would have liked a case of the shingles and (B) It is considered very poor sportsmanship to be throwing the ball when you're up half a hundred.
The following week our opponent was McKenzie and we were practicing extra points and field goals at the end of practice. As Terry mentioned, we had not settled on a placekicker. (As an aside, Terry had a very short lived career as a soccer style kicker the next year for Coach Bobby Hayes' first team.) Anyway, the kicking practice was not going well. I was just standing there watching, waiting for the wind sprints to begin. However, my life was about to change. As we got ready for another PAT attempt, the holder (who shall remain nameless) slightly moved the black square tee that was used to place the football after the kicker had counted off his steps. Coach Ward became extremely agitated, to say the least. He ran over to the holder--who was still kneeling--and brought him to his feet by his facemask. We all know Coach Ward had a special affinity for facemasks. He pulled the holder out of the way, turned around and looked at me. "Get down there and hold the ball Stout and don't move the damn tee!!" I had never done this in my life. But, I got down there and thankfully did not throw up on myself or drop the ball. So, I became the holder and was holding for the field goal Todd Hall kicked against Trenton. Looking back, I often wonder if Coach Ward did that so I could contribute to the team in some small way after what I had gone through in the pre-season. I've convinced myself that was the case and he never knew how much I appreciated it.
Steve Stout
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
1956 - The Tipping Point
[Editors note: Sorry these are not in chronological order: Dad sent me some more stories yesterday that I was not originally copied on. smp]
From: Fred Holladay
Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2008 8:01 PM
Subject: RE: Coach Ward
It has been very interesting to read the blogs in reference to Coach Ward. I was fortunate to know Coach in several dimensions. I first knew him as sponsor of the class of ’58 (1955-1958). I then knew him as Coach and was privileged to play on his first two regular season undefeated teams, 1956 and 1957. Later, at the encouragement of Billy Portis (Scotty’s father), I ran for and was elected to the board of the Huntingdon Special School District and was privileged to serve with both Mr. Pudor and subsequently Coach Ward. Coach Ward’s sister, Hazel, was a key employee of mine for 20 years while in the retail furniture business in Huntingdon.
Many memories course through my grey matter as I read the blogs. I remember, as though it were last week, when Billy Yeager broke my nose (obviously before face masks were standard issue) at football practice and Coach fell to his knees in hilarious laughter. He told me not to reach to touch it because “it was all over my face”. Coach went with me to Wilson Clinic and stayed until I was released to go to a specialist in Jackson. Then there was the game, against Paris, I think, that was played in the rain on a very muddy field when the field was lined with limestone instead of chalk. All of the team was burned with limestone and again, characteristically, Coach Ward went with us to Wilson Clinic to have the limestone burns treated.
Although most of the recipients of this blog appeared later in Coach Ward’s very successful tenure, the “tipping point” year was 1956. The team of 1955 was 9-0-1[actually 0-9-1 ed.], scoring only 79 points in ten games, losing 9 games in a row before tying Northside at 14 in the final game. Larry Stewart joined the Mustangs for the 1956 season and the team went 10-0 scoring 300 points before losing to Paris in the Exchange Bowl 12-6. I think that the team of 1956 absolutely changed the character of football in Huntingdon for generations to come. Someone inquired about the offensive line for the 1956 season: Bobby Churchwell-right end, Walter Brown-right tackle, Bendell Wilkes-right guard, Warren Blankenship-Center, Bobby Crossett-left guard, Dale Lewis-left tackle and Ronnie Rice-left end. The single wing backfield was Dewey Williams, Barton Williams, Jerry Parish and Larry Stewart. That was the year that Dixie Carter was Football Queen, Paul Ward was Coach of the Year in West Tennessee and Larry Stewart was the state’s leading scorer. The team of 1957 was 9-0 in the regular season scoring 240 points and then beat Parsons in the Exchange Bowl. Offensive line was Ronnie Rice-right end, Walter Brown-right tackle, Bendell Wilkes-right guard, Warren Blankenship-center, Fred Holladay-left guard, Sammy Lankford-left tackle and Lance Kee-left end. The backfield was Jerry Parish, Scotty Portis, Marshal “Moose” Smith and Wallace Pinkley.
I remember the “Jackson Highway Gang” but how many remember the predecessor “Saturday Morning Pudor Field Gang”? Each Saturday morning there would be a game at Pudor Field in which boys lived their dream of Friday Night Football. Two of the regulars were Jimmy McKinney and Johnny Wayne “Pain” Clifton. “Pain” would always show up with a new, shiny, leather football since his father, W. W. Clifton, owned the Western Auto store. Pain thought that we should play by his rules since he always furnished the new football. One Saturday morning, Pain said that if we did not play his way he would take the ball and go home. Jimmy McKinney, who had as much as he could stand, told Johnny Wayne to “take your ‘ole football and go home. We don’t need it anyway.” We then finished playing with an old football, with no white markings, on a field with gold and blue crepe paper strewn along the sidelines and chalk lines marking the playing field.
Coach Ward showed no favoritism to the players. He would always entrust some player with the “football car” who was charged with the responsibility of taking players home to “the country” and then was privileged to drive the car to school the next day. (Can you imagine that happening in 2008?) He would take promising young men like Warren Blankenship and Ray Chandler, focus his attention on them, give them an opportunity to excel, and prepare them for life in a larger world. During my high school years he would retreat to the “boiler room” with J. Leroy Tate for a smoke. He demanded strict adherence to team rules such as no smoking, no soft drinks and a strict 10:00 pm curfew. Later, as Superintendent of Schools, he would make the hard decisions necessary to keep the Huntingdon Special School District operating at peak efficiency and confront teachers whom he felt needed confrontation.
Thank you, Coach Paul Ward, for the extraordinary influence you have had on the lives of hundreds of people and for an influence that is certainly felt among the children and grandchildren of your players.
Fred Holladay
Huntingdon Mustangs (1955-1957)
Freddie, another great story from yet another great Mustang lineman. What would the backs be without you guys "knocking" those giant holes in the line. I well remember your senior year and my junior year on the same field together. What a great season. Your senior team was one of the best all round teams I think Coach Ward ever had. To show his coaching genius, as you will remember, we started the "belly series" that year (switch from the single wing as we had less speed in the backfield but more power) with a lot of the plays coming over you at left guard (belly 35 with Moose over left guard or Parish left 47 off tackle) always for yardage.
I do remember Yeager breaking your nose-it was rather flat. Yeager laughed about as hard as Coach Ward did.
Just another thought of support for the athletic teams. I can remember the support of the cheerleaders. I can recall one incident on the baseball team (yes Coach Ward was the assistant BB coach- Blake Milam was the head Coach and a good one). We went to play Palmersville in an away game (don't know if I could find Palmersville today or not without a Garmin) but several of the cheerleaders came all the way to the game-Kay Watson, Judy Barger, Mary Louise Barrow, Mary Ann Coleman, and Judy Morris. There were no stands to sit in at their field and the girls sat two back to back for support. Funny how you remember the smallest details. The point is that Huntingdon has always had great support from the student body, cheerleaders, and our fans. My senior year we met Lexington in the important 6th game of the year with both teams being 6-0. There were so many fans at the game that the crowds were 5-6 deep all around Pudor Field (the old High School). Johnny Pitts (left defensive half back) and I (safety) ran a Lexington back into the crowd on their side and we could not get out. Their fans were shoving, kicking, and pounding us with their fists. The chain gang had to come in and rescue us. Our big game then was with Lexington (beat them twice that year 46-7 in the above game and 35-0 in the Vol Cof. play off game in Lexington). The Lexington guys were always good but dirty. One of their defensive linemen stuck his finger in my mouth after I had been tackled and I tried to bite his finger off. He ran to the ref and showed him his bleeding finger and the ref told him he should not have stuck it in my mouth. My wife often asks me "Scotty, how in the world do you remember so much detail"? I just tell her that events that mean so much to you just stand out in your mind, and playing football for Paul Ward and for the Huntingon Mustangs is one of the those things.
Again, Freddie so good to hear from you and your good story and memories of Coach Ward. I know everyone is getting a kick out of these. I just got one from Betty Robinson (former Mustang cheerleader and Coach Robinson's wife and a good friend of mime). Jimmy Lumpkin another Mustang QB also sent a very good story.
Belly Series
A good quick story from Benny Roberts:
From: Benny Roberts
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 6:15 AM
Subject: RE: Coach Ward
scotty,
we were still running the "belly series" when i played. in the fall of 1974 i played right guard. against bruceton coach ward told brian caton (our qb) to run 32 belly until they stopped it. the first series we ran it 8 straight times for a touchdown. the next time we got the ball it only took 6 times. we were up 14-0. after we got the ball back we decided to do somethine different. so we ran 33 belly and they didn't stop it either. probably the only game i played in that we didn't even attempt to pass. we won 32-8 or something like that.
by the way, we didn't have a jackson highway gang but by then we had "the browning highway boys". white's, tippitts, ledsingers, watwoods, stallings, and more. our saturday and sunday games were at the old cannon school and you better bring your "a" game !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
benny
From: Scotty Portis
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 11:56 AM
Subject: Re: Coach Ward
Benny, great to hear from you again. I think you and I have enjoyed these blogs as much or more than anyone. Keep up the good work.
Side Straddle Hop
From: Glen McCadams
Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 10:38 AM
Subject: RE: Coach Ward
It’s now time to catch up on some things I have neglected since July. The foremost thought on my mind being the passing of Coach Ward, and that I didn’t even make his funeral. I should have been there, but we were getting ready for the semi-final game, and I believed Coach Ward would have expected me to do that.
Coach Ward is still my coach everyday. It began fifty years ago. In the summers, he carried us to McKenzie in the old school bus and taught us how to swim. All those hot summer days in the old gym playing cork ball, tumbling, etc. He loved tumbling – laying on his back and flipping us over the top of him. In our high school years it was those summer night workouts on all of those door frames in the new gym foyer, where we pushed on immovable bars for 12 seconds – isometrics. He took many of us to our first college football game @ Vandy vs. West Virginia. He also got our attention when Cat Bennett had to run the length of the football field with one of our best players hitting him every 5 yards. He was also my junior high basketball coach and my summer time baseball coach at the old fairgrounds.
During junior high football I broke my left leg and ankle. Coach Ward carried me to school and got me home every day. During the spring practice of my junior season, I broke several bones in my left foot, and again Coach Ward carried me to school. Also during my high school days, it was discovered that I had a birth defect in my spine, which ended my football playing days forever and my dream of being a high school football coach. I was crushed, now only hoping that maybe I could be a high school basketball coach someday.
When I graduated from college, it looked as though I was headed to Camden to coach basketball. Then one day, out of the blue, I got a phone call from the principal of Milan High School. Mr. Wheeler offered me an assistant football coaching position with their new coach – John Tucker. It turns out that Coach Ward had recommended me to Mr. Wheeler [who also just passed away about 3 weeks ago].
I still remember that night, at old Rothrock Stadium, when I was able to thank Coach Ward for restarting my dream, which I have now lived for 39 years.
I’m glad I was at the last game he coached during the playoffs @ Memphis. I still savor my last time out at the coffee table with my dad and Coach Ward. I remember talking with Coach Ward during Huntingdon’s last state championship game. He told me that he wasn’t able to make the 2003 game, to which I replied that I was glad he didn’t get to see my team that night because we weren’t very well coached – I still remember that laugh, don’t you?
To this very day, I try to handle my kids just as he did all of us. He was tough, fair, consistent, and cared about us. We simply respected him and relished his approval. Who can forget that smile when somebody got whammed, or bounced off the trampoline, or how excited he was on the first day of practice, or the Lord’s Prayer on our knees at the 50 yard line right before kickoff.
To this very day – after our strength coach gets finished with his static stretching routine, we are going to do the old SIDE STRADDLE HOP – COUNT THE FIRST 8 & GO TO 32, slapping those thigh pads hard & loud. You remember – READY 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,30,1,2. It puts a little smile on my face, memories in my heart, is a reminder of how I am suppose to coach today, and in a small way honors my COACH!
Scott Portis
Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 10:38 AM
Subject: RE: Coach Ward
It’s now time to catch up on some things I have neglected since July. The foremost thought on my mind being the passing of Coach Ward, and that I didn’t even make his funeral. I should have been there, but we were getting ready for the semi-final game, and I believed Coach Ward would have expected me to do that.
Coach Ward is still my coach everyday. It began fifty years ago. In the summers, he carried us to McKenzie in the old school bus and taught us how to swim. All those hot summer days in the old gym playing cork ball, tumbling, etc. He loved tumbling – laying on his back and flipping us over the top of him. In our high school years it was those summer night workouts on all of those door frames in the new gym foyer, where we pushed on immovable bars for 12 seconds – isometrics. He took many of us to our first college football game @ Vandy vs. West Virginia. He also got our attention when Cat Bennett had to run the length of the football field with one of our best players hitting him every 5 yards. He was also my junior high basketball coach and my summer time baseball coach at the old fairgrounds.
During junior high football I broke my left leg and ankle. Coach Ward carried me to school and got me home every day. During the spring practice of my junior season, I broke several bones in my left foot, and again Coach Ward carried me to school. Also during my high school days, it was discovered that I had a birth defect in my spine, which ended my football playing days forever and my dream of being a high school football coach. I was crushed, now only hoping that maybe I could be a high school basketball coach someday.
When I graduated from college, it looked as though I was headed to Camden to coach basketball. Then one day, out of the blue, I got a phone call from the principal of Milan High School. Mr. Wheeler offered me an assistant football coaching position with their new coach – John Tucker. It turns out that Coach Ward had recommended me to Mr. Wheeler [who also just passed away about 3 weeks ago].
I still remember that night, at old Rothrock Stadium, when I was able to thank Coach Ward for restarting my dream, which I have now lived for 39 years.
I’m glad I was at the last game he coached during the playoffs @ Memphis. I still savor my last time out at the coffee table with my dad and Coach Ward. I remember talking with Coach Ward during Huntingdon’s last state championship game. He told me that he wasn’t able to make the 2003 game, to which I replied that I was glad he didn’t get to see my team that night because we weren’t very well coached – I still remember that laugh, don’t you?
To this very day, I try to handle my kids just as he did all of us. He was tough, fair, consistent, and cared about us. We simply respected him and relished his approval. Who can forget that smile when somebody got whammed, or bounced off the trampoline, or how excited he was on the first day of practice, or the Lord’s Prayer on our knees at the 50 yard line right before kickoff.
To this very day – after our strength coach gets finished with his static stretching routine, we are going to do the old SIDE STRADDLE HOP – COUNT THE FIRST 8 & GO TO 32, slapping those thigh pads hard & loud. You remember – READY 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,30,1,2. It puts a little smile on my face, memories in my heart, is a reminder of how I am suppose to coach today, and in a small way honors my COACH!
Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 8:01 PM
Subject: Re: Coach Ward
Coach McCadams (Glen, it is hard for me to call you anything else after such a long and illustrious football career teaching young men in the fashion of Paul Ward). Your three state championships speak for themselves. So many of us owe so much to Coach Paul Ward and none more than you, as he guided you toward your first coaching job and under none other than another legend, Coach John Tucker of Milan.
Thanks so much for taking the time to send in your remembrance of Coach. I have taken the liberty to share yours with Paul Jr. and Bobby and the many others who either played for him or were taught by him. Each story told reveals more and more about a man that was multiple dimensional-a stern disciplinarian but with a heart as big as Texas.
Glen, you continue to carry the torch for Coach Ward. And as Ned Priest was quoted, speaking about you, "He also teaches his kids to act right and insists they do so. He is a good coach and a good man. Coach Ward would be proud". Indeed he would.
Jackson Sun Article - Paul Ward 11/27/07
This was the original article that was published in the Jackson Sun shortly after Coach Ward passed away, courtesy of Johnny Pitts.
smp (Scott M Portis)
smp (Scott M Portis)
Article published Nov 27, 2007
Huntingdon's Ward was true legend
By DAN MORRIS
They gathered Monday in Huntingdon to pay final respects to Paul Ward, one of West Tennessee's true football coaching legends.
He died Saturday at age 81 and was buried in his native soil. One of the great thrills of his life was being hired to coach his alma mater - the Huntingdon Mustangs.
When he showed up for his first practice as a head coach in 1953, the 24-year-old Ward was stunned to find only nine boys on the field. He had to recruit students out of the halls and physical-education classes to corral his first herd of Mustangs.
When he retired 23 years later following the 1975 season to become superintendent of Huntingdon schools, Ward had achieved fame across the state. With 169 wins, 62 losses and six ties, he had a .726 winning percentage.
He added eight undefeated seasons, nine Volunteer Conference championships and was The Jackson Sun's Coach of the Year twice.
His last team in 1975 was 10-0 in the regular season and ranked No. 1 in the final Associated Press Class AA poll before losing to Bishop Byrne in the state playoffs.
There was nothing fancy about Ward. He was a hard-nosed disciplinarian who stressed fundamentals. If you could block and tackle better than the opponent, he figured the odds were on his side.
Passing was rarely in his game plan, especially during the early years. There were wagers among the Mustang faithful over the odds of Ward making it through a season without throwing a pass.
"The word got around that Coach Ward won't even let his wife 'pass the salt' at the breakfast table," Ward once told me. "I began passing some after that," he said.
A 1944 graduate of Huntingdon High, where he was a standout fullback, Ward served in the Navy from 1944-46. Then he went to Murray State on a football scholarship and started three years at tackle. He played on the 1948 team that won the Ohio Valley Conference title and played in the Tangerine Bowl against Sul Ross College of Alpine, Texas. Years later Ward learned that he had played against Dan Blocker, alias Hoss Cartwright of Bonanza fame, in that game.
After graduation, Ward was an assistant coach at Bruceton three years before getting the Huntingdon job. His third season with the Mustangs, the team's record was 0-9-1.
"I was lucky I didn't get fired after the third season," Ward once said.
But things changed quickly the next year when Larry Stewart, the son of a Baptist preacher, moved to town.
"He probably did more to build Huntingdon's program than anybody else," Ward said.
Running out of a "sidesaddle T," Stewart was the state's leading scorer and led the Mustangs to a 10-0 record. From 1956 to 1966, Huntingdon teams put together an incredible string of 102 wins, 7 losses and 1 tie for a .932 winning percentage.
In 1966 Tim Priest was Huntingdon's star, leading the Mustangs to an 11-0 season. He became a standout defensive back for the Tennessee Volunteers and is still heard each week as the color commentator during the UT football radio broadcasts.
Priest and Stewart were among those attending the funeral Monday, along with another former Mustang and UT lineman Warren Blankenship. Emotions ran high. The man who had helped shape their character and work ethic was gone to his reward.
Roy Dill was there, too. Dill played for Ward in 1961-64 and has kept statistics for Huntingdon football the past 32 seasons.
"You respected Coach Ward so much," Dill said. "He could get all over you one minute and be patting you on the back the next. You knew he was for you all the way, and he treated everybody the same."
A die-hard respect usually follows the great coaches to their grave. Such was the case for Paul Ward.
Dan Morris is The Jackson Sun's interim sports editor. Reach him at 425-9756 or (800) 372-3922, ext. 259756 or by e-mail at dmorris@jacksonsun.com.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Team Physician
Terry, welcome to the blog for Coach Ward. I don't know when we have had more fun in such a sad situation. Coach Ward does not realize it but he continues to walk among us and teach even after he has departed this life. Paul and Bobby have expressed to me on numerous occasions what these contributions have meant to them and their families. I got a very sweet note from Paul Jr.'s daughter, Jill (a teacher herself) in Memphis the other day.
Your story of the 1975 game with Trenton is outstanding and shows the true ability of this remarkable Coach to get "his team" ready for the next "big game". And a premonition that the kicking game could produce a win-wow! As I was back in Huntingdon and very close to this team as the "assistant team physician" under Dr. Atkins (who has dedicated many, many years to the Huntingdon football team), I too remember the hype leading up to the game. Huntingdon was "a buzz" with excitement all week preceding the game. Game day arrived and Dr. Atkins had to be out of town and could not attend the game. This propelled me into the job of "Team Physician"-for this nite anyway. I arrived in Trenton early and very nervous because of the importance of the game (I still get very nervous even today before each Mustang game just like I did when I played-not to the point of vomiting like Steve Barnett-but still nervous) and because of my added responsibility. No sooner had I approached the field house, than one of the managers ran up to me and said come quick as someone had been hurt in the pregame drills and Coach Ward needed me. My knees almost buckled for fear that I was going have to bench one of Coach Ward's important cogs. I don't even remember who the player was and his injury was not that bad (he played).
What a game! As I said in an earlier blog, this was probably the most exciting Mustang win that I ever witnessed with the team being behind in the 4th quarter, then going ahead with the field goal by none other than Todd Hall only a sophomore (Mustangs 15-Golden Tide 13 with the Mustangs scoring a late defensive touchdown to win 22-13). What a game! I don't remember the bash to Coach Ward's head but probably even if it had brought blood, Coach would not have cared at that point.
Again, Terry, thanks for the contribution as your insight added another dimension to a game that is #1 in my book. Your blog did a lot more than just trigger fond memories of a time gone by.
Also, I want to welcome another very special person to the site. None other than one of my very close "girl friends" Miss Melinda Milam Popplewell. Melinda's dad Blake Milam was our head baseball coach (Coach Ward was his assistant) and a very special person to me and the other baseball Mustangs. Coach Milam carried us far, way beyond our collective ability. This man was to baseball what Paul Ward was to football. Every season we won a lot more games than we should have with the talent we had. We were playing Memphis Central (Tim McCarver who was a catcher for the Mets and a left handed pitcher named Guido Grilli) in Memphis once in an important game and Gary Hall one of our pitchers reminded me the other day what Coach Ward and Coach Milam told us before the game "boys, they put their pants on one leg at a time just like you do". Melinda, hope you and Jay enjoy these stories as much as we have.
Again, welcome to all new bloggers to the site. Johnny Radford, the number #1 Mustang sports fan of all time, is feeding me names faster than I can recognize everyone. If I have missed you, sorry. Anyone (like Terry Brewer above) who has a special play, a game, a teammate, a season, or even another sport that eulogizes Coach Ward or someone else, please feel free to share. It will do you good and certainly will do this group good.
Thanks.
Scott Portis
Mustang (1955-1958)
Field Goal!
From: Terry Brewer
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 12:19 PM
Subject: Coach Ward blog
Doc,
Hey, it's Terry Brewer here and I just wanted to say hi and thanks for the effort on behalf of Coach Ward. I had the privilege of being on Coach Ward's last Mustang team and also being Johnnie Compton's brother in law for many years. I knew early on the esteem that Johnnie held for Coach and I soon learned as I entered high school that he was not alone. All who came in contact with him where immediately aware of the aura that was Coach Ward. He had such an overpowering presence. He was also my principal for 3 years. Needless to say, I kept my nose clean and avoided any opportunities to face that potential trauma.
I can remember many humorous events that happened on the practice field with Coach Ward but the one memory that will always be foremost occurred the week of the Trenton game in 75. I know most Mustang fans will remember that game. It was the state's #2 vs. #3 in the game of the year in West Tenn. The game was hyped by the media and the entire town was fired up for the contest. But, all week long, Coach Ward kept stressing the kicking game--particularly field goals. Now,. up to that point in the season, we hadn't ATTEMPTED a FG. We hadn't even had a #1 kicker for the most part. Several people had been in the running but none had been consistent enough for Coach. Finally, sophomore Todd Hall had earned the job but had only had the chance to kick XP's. Well, the whole team had bought into the hype of the game and heard from the town folk about how good we were and by Thursday, had gotten a little too cocky. We had spent more time working on FG's that week than the entire season leading up to it combined. As the Thursday practice wound down, we were getting a little rowdy and just going through the motions as we finished up our kicking practice. After a poor snap, a lackadaisical effort and a missed kick, Coach Ward stopped practice and chewed our butts for a moment. He finished up his rant by saying, (quoted as I remember--maybe not exact but close) "a field goal is going to win this game for you". For all that remember, of course it came down to Todd kicking a 32 yd FG in the 4th quarter to put the Mustangs ahead and ultimately lead us to the win. It's like he knew how even the 2 teams were and how the game was going to evolve. Also, on the kick, a Mustang on the sidelines jumped up on the sidelines when the "good" signal was given and and bashed Coach (accidentally) in the head with his helmet. Of course it didn't phase Coach Ward but it should have driven him to his knees.
I typed a lot more than I intended when I started typing this but I couldn't help it. I add my condolences to Little Paul and Bobby--they both know how I felt about their dad. Hope my story triggered a fond memory for the Mustang faithful.
Terry
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 12:19 PM
Subject: Coach Ward blog
Doc,
Hey, it's Terry Brewer here and I just wanted to say hi and thanks for the effort on behalf of Coach Ward. I had the privilege of being on Coach Ward's last Mustang team and also being Johnnie Compton's brother in law for many years. I knew early on the esteem that Johnnie held for Coach and I soon learned as I entered high school that he was not alone. All who came in contact with him where immediately aware of the aura that was Coach Ward. He had such an overpowering presence. He was also my principal for 3 years. Needless to say, I kept my nose clean and avoided any opportunities to face that potential trauma.
I can remember many humorous events that happened on the practice field with Coach Ward but the one memory that will always be foremost occurred the week of the Trenton game in 75. I know most Mustang fans will remember that game. It was the state's #2 vs. #3 in the game of the year in West Tenn. The game was hyped by the media and the entire town was fired up for the contest. But, all week long, Coach Ward kept stressing the kicking game--particularly field goals. Now,. up to that point in the season, we hadn't ATTEMPTED a FG. We hadn't even had a #1 kicker for the most part. Several people had been in the running but none had been consistent enough for Coach. Finally, sophomore Todd Hall had earned the job but had only had the chance to kick XP's. Well, the whole team had bought into the hype of the game and heard from the town folk about how good we were and by Thursday, had gotten a little too cocky. We had spent more time working on FG's that week than the entire season leading up to it combined. As the Thursday practice wound down, we were getting a little rowdy and just going through the motions as we finished up our kicking practice. After a poor snap, a lackadaisical effort and a missed kick, Coach Ward stopped practice and chewed our butts for a moment. He finished up his rant by saying, (quoted as I remember--maybe not exact but close) "a field goal is going to win this game for you". For all that remember, of course it came down to Todd kicking a 32 yd FG in the 4th quarter to put the Mustangs ahead and ultimately lead us to the win. It's like he knew how even the 2 teams were and how the game was going to evolve. Also, on the kick, a Mustang on the sidelines jumped up on the sidelines when the "good" signal was given and and bashed Coach (accidentally) in the head with his helmet. Of course it didn't phase Coach Ward but it should have driven him to his knees.
I typed a lot more than I intended when I started typing this but I couldn't help it. I add my condolences to Little Paul and Bobby--they both know how I felt about their dad. Hope my story triggered a fond memory for the Mustang faithful.
Terry
Ray "Bull" Crosno
From: Manuel Crossno
Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2008 10:00 PM
Subject: Fw: Coach Ward
Hey Scotty, just finished watching the Giants win.
It's been good to see all the blogs concerning football of past Huntingdon games with Coach Ward. I only wish Ray were still here to read them also, he loved playing.
It's always been a sad memory for me thought, concerning Ray, he was seven years older than me and I never got to watch him play, not even on film. It always impressed me though that after all these years as he walked down the streets of Huntingdon people still called him "Bull"
Manuel Crossno
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 10:27 PM
To: Scott Portis
Cc:
Subject: Re: Coach Ward
Ray "Bull" Crosno was a legend to our young team in Junior High, even though, as far as I know, none of us ever saw him play. It's truly remarkable, but not at all surprising, how this thread has come down through multiple generations and continues to inspire and inform us. Thanks, Scotty, and thanks, Coach Ward!
Manuel, Amen. He was a great football player. Coach Ward loved Bull. I enjoyed being on the same field with him. Thanks for the email.
Scotty
From: N Priest Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 10:27 PM
To: Scott Portis
Cc:
Subject: Re: Coach Ward
Ray "Bull" Crosno was a legend to our young team in Junior High, even though, as far as I know, none of us ever saw him play. It's truly remarkable, but not at all surprising, how this thread has come down through multiple generations and continues to inspire and inform us. Thanks, Scotty, and thanks, Coach Ward!
R.I.P. Landon "Peghead" Moore
From: Scotty Portis
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 9:01 PM
With sadness today I report the death of a former Mustang-Landon "Peghead" Moore. Peghead, as I liked to call him even to his face as I was his doctor for many years, was a fullback on Coach Ward's very first team in 1953. Peghead, all 135 pounds, 10 lbs lighter than Wallace "Wade" Pinkley was an excellent running back (speed was his forte) on this team which went 4 and 6. He leaves his daughters, Lana and Lisa, and wife, Margaret. Our deepest sympathy to this fine family.
At the visitation today I met Johnny Compton's widow, Pam. She told me how much she had enjoyed the stories of her late husband, his coach, his fellow team mates, and other Mustang players and teams. She said that the stories often brought tears to her eyes but put joy and laughter in her heart. She has sent the stories out to many of her friends and relatives.
We probably do not yet realize the magnitude of the blog that has been created as it has begun to "spider web" out and out.
Lying in bed the other nite before going to sleep, I tried to envision the physical and mental effort that Paul Ward had to have expend doing the many chores that he did. Someone mentioned being hauled to the swimming pool in McKenzie for swimming lessons, others mentioned being carried to the doctor for game or practice related injuries, another mentioned his teaching duties, he was the assistant baseball coach, his parenting of many of his under privileged players, and on and on. All of this on top of the tremendous effort that went with being the head football coach of very WINNING teams. Scheduling problems, equiptment problems, assistant coaches, tranportation problems, field conditions, and answering to the public that demanded nothing but victory. It is mind boggling to think of the energy that this man spent taking care of us. Yet he did it year after year with out complaining. It can even be said that he enjoyed it. So once again Coach Paul Ward we take our hats off to you and salute you for a job well done.
Scott Portis
Mustang 1955-1958
Soccer Shoes
Scotty:
Some weeks ago I sent in a memory of Coach Ward, but I do not see it posted below so I may have wrongly addressed it. I’ll try again with some rambling memories. Please let me say how much I have enjoyed reading the stories of others and reminiscing about growing up in Huntingdon. A couple of things come to mind. In the fall of ’64 when guys like Danny Woodard, Dale Strickland, Donnie Hall, Jerry Morris, Mud Brown and Jerry “Pee Wee” Robison were some of the really good seniors on the team Coach Ward reluctantly agreed to let the backs on the team wear “soccer shoes”- low cut, light weight shoes with a molded, soft rubber sole having short molded cleats. As I recall only the seniors and a few others who might get in a game(like up and coming sophomore, Steve Barnett) got the shoes. As we all thought the shoes looked “fast” and we thought we ran faster in them everyone was excited to have “soccer shoes”. As I and other sophomores played little we mostly looked forward to wearing soccer shoes in our junior and senior seasons.
The ’64 team went undefeated in the regular season and beat Bolivar handily in the Volunteer Conference championship game. We then went to play mighty
In the fall of ’65 we lost to
As many have already posted we all feel a great sense of loss with Coach Ward’s death. However, remembering his contributions to all our lives at an age when we were very impressionable gives us warm memories of the an individual who left us all a little better than he found us.
I look forward to reading future posts.
Tim
Tim Priest
From: Roberts, Benny
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 2:36 PM
To:
Cc:
Subject: RE: Coach Ward
tim,
being one of the youngest "posters" to this blog i will continue on your story. as you know my dad and mom were great fans. and with judy there we managed to go to every game. i remember cutting up newspapers so i could throw up confetti at brownsville. after pee wee broke his arm, my dad told me to just throw it up on first downs because he didn't think we would score. he turned out to be right. the night of the camden game you were speaking of, i rode with my dad and gene wilkes, gerry and barbara to camden. i remember all the way over there their conversation (strange how that kind of stuff comes back). they came to the conclusion that the only way we would win was for us to receive the opening kickoff and you return it for a touchdown. i can't remember if you did that or not but that thought just entered my mind as i was reading your story.
benny
From: Tim Priest
To:
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2008 8:29 AM
Subject: RE: Coach Ward
Benny:
No such luck for me on the opening kickoff. Certainly it was an all around team effort.
Tim
Tim Priest
From: Joe Fortner
Sent: Thu, 1/17/2008
To:
Subject: Fw: Coach Ward
Tim, Great memories of the 64 team, When talking about the shoes, Danny Woodard was given three pairs of shoes. The soccer shoes, a pair for playing on a dry field and a pair playing on a wet field.
Freddie Holiday. enjoyed your post. I have a question, I have always been told the story of the coach of Milan High School football team who at the time was playing Somerville in football each year. He dropped Sommerville from their schedule because of Larry Stewart and stated he would not play them again until Larry Stewart graduated from high school. Instead of playing Somerville he picked up Huntingdon for the next football season and then Bro. Jonas Stewart moved to Huntingdon to pastor the First Baptist Church and Larry played for the Mustangs against Milan High School that fall.
Joe Fortner
From: Scott Portis
Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2008 12:47 AM
To: '
Subject: Re: Coach Ward
Tim, I remember this game very well. I arrived late (after the kickoff-having driven all the way from Indianapolis, Indiana, where I lived at the time just to see this game) and went from 6th deep in the end zone closest to town to the front row (still in the end zone). You could not stir the people with a stick. Anyway, on your first touchdown run, as you came through the end zone the crowd was so close to the field that you ran right by me and I swiped you on the butt and screamed, "way to go Tim Priest". What a great game and probably the best team the Mustangs ever fielded (most points scored and fewest allowed). Perhaps the more modern teams have topped these records but that '66 team was one of the best in my memory. Geno Dill could tell us more.
While your brother and I were in medical school in Memphis, all medical treatment at the old "John Gaston Hospital" came to a grinding halt on Saturday afternoon when you and the likes of "Jumping Joe Thompson" and the rest of the Vols took the field.
Great memories.
Scotty
PS Johnny Radford, the greatest Mustang fan of all time, continues to "grow" the list of former Mustangs. Welcome to all.
Anyone else with a great story line such as Tim's, we would like to hear from you. It could by about a season, a team, a game, or a single play. Coach Ward would have loved these stories.
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