September 2013

This fall marks the 100^th year of intercollegiate football on the Presbyterian College campus.  We’d like to share a list of the fifteen men who have served Presbyterian as Head Football Coach, as well as information on the PC alumni who have been awarded the Bob Waters Award by the Scotsman’s Club.

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The coaches listed below represent a small fraction of the men who have shaped or have been shaped by the football program at Presbyterian College.  Not only have there been too many beloved assistant coaches to name here, but several who eventually became PC’s head football coach themselves.  Many other talented assistant coaches have served PC over the years, some who went on to coach high school and other college teams.

Everett Booe, 1913
Erling C. Theller, 1914
Walter Johnson, 1915-1917
Gifford Shaw, 1918
Walter Johnson, 1919-1940
Lonnie McMillian, 1941-1953
Bill Crutchfield, 1954-1956
Frank Jones, 1957-1961
Clyde Erhardt, 1962
Cally Gault, 1963-1984
Elliott Poss, 1985-1990
John Perry, 1991-1996
Daryl Dickey, 1997-2000
Tommy Spangler, 2001-2006
Bobby Bentley, 2007-2008
Harold Nichols, 2009-present

A large number of PC student athletes have also made their mark on coaching at the college and high school levels.  These seeds of the PC Spirit have been scattered all over the southeast, some as far away as Texas and beyond.

Eleven Presbyterian College alumni have been honored as recipients of the Bob Waters Award, named in honor of Robert Lee Waters, PC class of 1960.  An upcoming column will more fully explore Bob Waters’ life and legacy.  The award established in his name by Presbyterian College and the Scotsman’s Club is presented to

PC alumni who have provided outstanding leadership and service to society in the profession of athletic coaching and who personify the values and qualities of excellence and integrity held dear to Presbyterian College.

 

The recipients of the Bob Waters Award include the following men and women:

John McKissick ‘51:  current head football coach at Summerville (SC) High School for over 61 years; most wins [600+] in United States high school football history

Art Baker ‘53:  former head football coach at East Carolina University (NC), Furman University (SC), and The Citadel (SC); former assistant coach at Clemson University (SC), Texas Tech University, and Florida State University; retired from University of South Carolina Athletics as Associate Athletic Director and Gamecock Club Director

Keith Richardson ‘64:  former head football coach at Clinton (SC) High School; won over 200 games and six state championships

Charlie Davidson ’50:  former head football coach at Washington Wilkes (GA) High School and Darlington School (GA); led Washington Wilkes to four state championships in football and several in golf; won over 250 football games

Allen Morris ’56:  former head tennis coach at University of North Carolina and Presbyterian College; was also a quarter finalist at Wimbledon in 1956

Shell Dula ’69:  former head football coach at Greenwood (SC) High School, Union (SC) High School, and Ninety Six (SC) High school; won six state championships; currently serves as Executive Director of the SC Athletic Coaches Association

John Franklin Thames ’58:  42 years as head coach in different sports at Manning (SC) High School; won two state championships as women’s basketball coach

Luther Welsh ’55:  former head football coach at Thomson (GA) High School; won over 333 games and three state titles for Thomson; ranked 4th all time in victories among coaches in GA

William “Lefty” Johnson ’56:  former head football coach at Whitmire (SC) High School; led Whitmire to state championship in 1978

Barbara Frady Nelson ’85:  former head women’s basketball coach, Wingate University (NC); coach of the USA team winning gold medal at the FIBA U17 World Championship in France

Sam Paul ’83:  current men’s tennis coach at the University of North Carolina; active coach with most wins in the ACC; and the fourth winningist coach in league history with his 324 overall wins and his 122 ACC regular-season victories; Paul achieved his 300^th victory in March 2011

The Bob Waters Award honors our PC graduates coaching not only football, but any sport for men or women at the high school or college level.  These eleven alumni have been living examples of excellence and integrity for countless others who work with our young people on athletic fields and courts everyday.