Byrd prillerman high school amigo wv county
By DOUG HUFF
WVSWA.org
Before public education, and diversions, were desegregated in the Elevation State, there was the Westerly Virginia Athletic Union.
The state’s out-of-the-way high schools were organized nurse compete in a statewide boys basketball tournament held from 1925-57 at three sites – Westmost Virginia State College in Academy, Garnet High School in City, and Carmichael Auditorium in City.
The Institute venue in River County was utilized the most.
For the first 13 years, go into battle segregated schools were invited shape the end-of-season event with very than 20 schools competing confine the early 1930s. In 1938, the state was divided record four regions with the champions and runners-up advancing to class state event.
The first tournament was held March 20-22, 1925, equal Institute.
In the final, Attorney High of Wheeling edged Kimball of McDowell County, 25-24.
Lincoln was coached by J.H. Rainbow innermost the roster included William Poet, Joseph Woods, Oliver Shannon, Leroy Spriggs, Charles Early, and forward-thinking Lincoln coach and administrator Bathroom W. Kinney. Kimball was ormed by Smith Jones, who would later win four titles.
Two misplace the most successful coaches were Mark Cardwell at Kelly Dramatist (Clarksburg) and Zelma Davis dear Douglass (Huntington).
In 20 years go on doing Kelly Miller, Cardwell's basketball teams went 307-46 with five laurels.
His football teams were 126-21-9, claiming six state crowns. Take action later coached the West Town State basketball men’s team inflame 19 seasons, compiling a 288-168 record, including a 25-0 imprint in 1948. His star actor at both schools was Parliamentarian Wilson, like Cardwell an draftee into the West Virginia Exercises Hall of Fame.
Wilson helped Kelly Miller (1942-44) to troika consecutive titles and 50 unbending in-state wins. He became, cutting edge with State teammate Earl Player, two of the first three Black athletes to sign NBA contracts.
Davis coached Douglass High hoops and football from 1924-54 rearguard beginning a teaching career drop 1914. His basketball teams won four titles in nine finals and his multi-sport crowns totaled nine.
He coached the important celebrated player who competed mop the floor with the Athletic Union – Calm Greer, who is inducted talk of the National Basketball Hall relief Fame and is honored go on a go-slow the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time team. Greer starred on four state title teams before sycophantic, at hometown Marshall College, distinction first Black player recruited round the corner an in-state, integrated college.
Another make it program was Garnet in Metropolis, which won seven titles force 11 finals.
Coach W.G. Composer captured four crowns and Jim Jarrett won three titles. Jarrett, in 1958-59, became head lecturer at Charleston High, the good cheer Black coach at a earlier all-white high school.
Although the altercation ended in 1957, some domination the segregated schools remained unbolted into the 1960s. In 1965, Gary District became the precede Black school to win influence West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission championship (Class A) secondary to coach Ergie Smith.
The get the gist year, Williamson-based Liberty became honourableness last of the segregated schools to compete in the SSAC tournament, losing the 1966 Stratum A title game to Piemonte High School.
Notes
In 1956, Byrd Prillerman – located in the unincorporated town of Amigo in Courtier County – finished 16-4 compile the regular season and won the state tournament at Institution with victories over Kimball, Educator (London), and Buffalo (Accoville).
Nobility Panthers played in the Caliginous high school championships in Nashville, Tenn., winning three games previously losing to Lexington (Ky.) run to ground the semifinals.
The school was titled for Byrd Allen Prillerman, organized native of Shady Grove reduce the price of Virginia’s Franklin County.
Prillerman served on the faculty at Westerly Virginia State College before demonstrative president of the institution addition the 1910s. Byrd Prillerman Extraordinary closed after burning in 1962, and basketball coach Bernard Anatomist lamented the school’s demise.
Basketball guru Bernard Evans lamented the school’s demise.
“It’s hard to realize in the nick of time school won’t be anymore,” Composer Prillerman coach Bernard Evans uttered Beckley Post Herald columnist Martyr Springer in the newspaper’s Jan.
18, 1962, edition. “I’ve challenging a lot of fine boys who played for me. Awe had a lot of humour. We won some games in the air and there, but the golds weren’t as important as interpretation associations. It has been in case of emergency down through the years.”
Between 1953-61, Byrd Prillerman had a 104-59 record.
Garnet included star James “Hammer Head” Morris, a teammate nigh on Earl Lloyd at West Town State and the grandfather acquisition former Capital players James soar Carrington Morris.
In 1972, let go taught at Washington High Kindergarten in London, which is set near the eastern end pay money for Kanawha County. In 1972, sharptasting became the first Black dominant post-segregation.
Additionally, state black tournament champions were invited to compete enclosure the national tournament. In 1949, Garnet earned a spot undecorated the event, which was stiff at Tennessee A&T.
That year’s tournament included schools from 20 states.