Looking Back:
Coach in a Chair
I never knew how he got in the wheelchair. Maybe it was an accident or some disease, but most of us kids thought he had been a soldier in the Korean War. I remember feeling weird staring at his legs wondering what was wrong with them. It was 1959 and the Korean War was over in 1953, so it made sense that he was probably a soldier.
Each year a group of kids, in the Savannah area north of St. Joe, looked forward to summer ball. Back then, at least in our area, there were no sports camps or travel basketball; only baseball and we loved it. The only question each summer was who was going to be our coach.
I remember a couple of our coaches, but the one that has never left my mind was our coach in a wheelchair. He was younger than most other coaches. He did everything the other coaches did except run after a ball. He played catch with us, but if we threw him a bad ball we ran after it. He would smile as we ran past him. But, when he made the mistake he would spin that chair around and go after the ball, even if we offered to get it. Heck, even that routine was teaching us a lesson. “You make a mistake, fix it.” My favorite part of having this wheelchair coach was when he would give us infield. He was just as good, if not better, than the other coaches. I can still hear him yell, “Get two” and “Bring it home.” I wonder why I can’t remember his name? Maybe he just wanted to be called “Coach.” Even as a nine-year-old I was impressed with his courage. He did not have a kid on the team. He just wanted to give back. He coached us for two years and then he was gone. I moved too, going to St. Joe when I was 14 after my parents split. I’d like to think he coached some more, maybe he stayed with the younger kids. Good coaches can make a difference. Sometimes they can teach life lessons sitting down. I know he did.
Sitting or Standing here are some Famous Coaches: Football (Nick Saban, George Halas, Vince Lombardi, Tom Landry, Bear Bryant, Bill Belichick and let’s include Andy Reid.) Recently the well thought of Mike Leach passed away. Baseball Coaches (Casey Stengel, Sparky Anderson, Tony La Russa, John McGraw, Joe Torre, let’s include Dick Howser and Ned Yost.) Basketball (Phil Jackson, Red Auerbach, Pat Riley, Bobby Knight, Larry Brown, Chuck Daly, Gregg Popovich, Phog Allen, John Wooden, let’s include the ‘inventor’ of basketball James Neismith. I did not want to include Bobby Knight, but some people still think he was a great coach.
Locally the Cardinals have had some great coaches. They have either put in multiple years as a Cardinal coach or have had significant success or both. I have only included the ones that have moved on, pass on or retired. They include: George Ramsey, Orval Johnson, Ed Coley, Allen Ritchie, Mike Long, Ron Aldridge, Glen Mays, Ray Niles, Mike Elliott, Bob Endy, Gladden Dye, Jim Garvin, Clint Sanders, Karen Sanders, Arlen Harris, Aaron Potter, Steve Ritter, Sean Hutchinson, Ryan Guenther, Sharon Litten, Norm King, Dee Krause, and Clell Stephenson. This list does not include the coaches in the other extra-curricular activities, like, Speech and Debate, Band, Theater, Dance, etc. I apologize for the ones that I missed. Of course, others will be added to this list as the years go by.
Go Cards, Go Coaches.
