Coach Stanley Galyon - MHS Legend

Few people will ever make as big an impact on you as your coach. Over the tenure of a high school career, you’ll spend more time with that person than you will spend with your parents, your girlfriend, the pastor of your church, or anyone else that might cross your path. During that relatively brief stint of your life, the good ones will influence you in ways that you’ll probably not understand at the time – but influence you they will. When you get “out there” doing whatever it is that you do, you’ll find yourself reacting to situations, and the lessons that you absorbed back then will surface and be made clear. Then you’ll understand why your coach was so hard on you!

Coaches are not there to “baby” you, or tuck you in at night. Successful coaches will not treat you like a child because athletics demands more. It’s our first taste of responsibility and the trials of being dedicated to something other than the softer things in life. The good ones force you to do a “gut check” on almost a daily basis. They push you to excel, and demand things of you that you might not have even imagined possible – they make you push yourself. In some cases, they will break your spirit, and let you figure out how to put it back together again, or they might give you a challenge that if met will point you in the right direction. There are no guarantees if or when an athlete will come back. However, when something is broken and fixed, it is generally stronger than it was. When a person is broken and subsequently fixed, they become stronger, less rigid, and more capable of success. Coaches live for such results.

Coach Stanley Galyon’s influence on me was significant, and I have found that influence to be something that I’ve carried way beyond the basketball court. Given that perspective, some of this article is from a very personal viewpoint, and with good reason – I experienced it, and gained from it.

Breaking You Down
Coach Galyon was a tough-minded man. When things went wrong in a game or in practice, he was abrupt, aggressive, and directly to the point. The directness was sometimes harsh, and the emotion behind it was real, in fact, I’ve never had anyone be so angry with me, nor has anyone ever talked to me as did my Coach on many occasions.

One such occasion was my senior year in a game against the district leading Tellico Plains Bears at Midway late in the season. Our team was really coming together that year – our guards were playing well, and several other players had stepped into key roles and made up what was our best team in a couple years. Also, I had learned to press the game the way Coach Galyon wanted it – we took it to that Tellico Plains team – a team that had been in the district finals the previous 2 years, and even with all their players back, we were beating them soundly. The stats that I took into the locker-room at the half included 26 points, and several steals made from my back-line position in our full-court press defense, however a pass had gotten over my head, and I was to hear about it at half-time. What waited for me there probably changed my life.

I entered the locker-room and sat down on the bench filled with energy … and Coach Galyon promptly threw a towel at me. Eventually, he got so mad that he couldn’t even talk. When he tried to write on the board, the chalk broke and he kicked at it when it hit the ground. Coach Galyon had been mad at me before, and with good reason. However, this was different – very different – it wasn’t just a missed opportunity at a stolen pass. I think that he sensed an opportunity to push on me extremely hard, and then to see how I would respond to it. While it may sound like he was playing games; what he was actually doing was giving me an opportunity. It takes a lot of courage to push to the point of breaking someone’s spirit.

Coach Galyon was more of a perfectionist than some people might remember. He told me on several occasions that a post player should shoot 80%, and I believed him. So, when I made a mistake, and let a ball sail over my head to a Tellico Plains player (who subsequently scored), he saw it as something near cataclysmic – the “symmetry” of the game that I was playing in was lost. The beauty of that first half, both from an individual and from a team’s perspective, was gone forever. Twenty-six points in a half was totally insignificant in the face of the missed defensive assignment.

Being “pushed to a limit” is tough business. As the team made its way back to the court I had never been so drained of emotion and confidence, and so filled with regret and embarrassment in my life. I was certainly in no shape to play basketball. The gym suddenly felt frigid, and the couple of shots I took to loosen up for the second half felt awkward. Several players came up to offer encouragement.

I didn’t score in the third quarter, and with just a couple minutes to go in the game – Tellico had actually taken the lead. I had been totally useless in that second half, and I didn’t understand why Coach Galyon left me out there. In hindsight, I don’t know exactly what thought went into it (if any), but that night, Coach Galyon put me in the position to either step up, or crawl into the proverbial shell and pack it in. As we broke the huddle after a time-out with about 2 minutes remaining in the game, Coach Galyon held me back, and said quietly but sternly, “show them what you’re made of.”

We won the game. Beat a district leader, and I got the chance to grow up. Why then? To put it bluntly, I don’t know. I do know that my coach put me in the position to have that chance, and that’s what coach’s do. Sometimes they do it consciously, and sometimes not. Sometimes, it’s just the mere force of their personality. But they do it like this: they break you down, and then build you back up again. The Marines do that too … they just don’t do it in the span of a high school basketball game.

I’ve never had a “business” situation that was as tough as the situations and circumstances engineered by Coach Galyon, and I’ve never dealt with anyone as demanding. There have been situations that reminded me of that Tellico Plains game, or other situations that reminded of what could be literally hundreds of examples that were somehow tucked into a mere 4 year span of time – a 4 year span of time, that if you never did anything else, would have prepared you for success in life. Coach Galyon is a legend due the fact that he could take a bunch of mules, and prepare them for something grander than themselves.

Coach Galyon was a fine strategist and tactician, and he was to say the least … colorful. What follows are some of the stories, legends, and possibly myths that were generated during his time has the Head Coach of the Midway Greenwave.

Coach Galyonisms
• Great Days. Possibly, the most prolific period of athletic accomplishment in any sport at Midway High School came in the form of the 1977 and 1978 boy’s basketball teams. The resume’ reads: 2 district championships, 2 region championships, 2 sub-state championships, and 2 appearances in the high school state tournament (including an appearance in the final-four).

How did those teams pull it off? There were a couple of pretty good shooters like Sanford Narramore and Dale Pressley, but those guys also rebounded and played defense like it was the only aspect of the game that mattered.


Everyone on those teams played defense like their heritage had been insulted, and loose balls were always claimed by the Green team. Players like Brice Woody epitomized the “give me that ball!” attitude. It was hustle that won games, and one way or another, Coach Galyon instilled that into his players.


• Mules. During the run to the State Tournament in 1977, Midway faced some formidable teams. I recall someone pointing out that they took on and beat 3 teams that were ranked #1 in the state at the time Midway played them during that tournament run. As a result, a reporter pointed out to Coach Galyon that his team didn’t seem to have the “race horses” to keep up with the teams like Rockwood (with a 6’9” center and a 30 point per game scorer) or a Sale Creek team sporting over 30 wins and only a single loss. Legend has it that Coach Galyon replied with something like, “my team isn’t made up of race horses, they’re a bunch of mules, and mules are better for the long haul.”

That team became known, literally, statewide as the “Midway Mules.” In 1978, in our return trip to the State Tournament, the Tennessean had a short article that led with “The Mules are Back…”

The precedent of what it took to be a “Midway Mule” was set by players like 5’10” Gary Humphries taking it to a 6’9” Rockwood center. For several years, I heard Coach Galyon challenging players to “play defense like Gary Humphries.


• Assistant Coaches. Midway has some great fans, and some are louder than others, and a lot of them are not shy about expressing their opinions. Some fans didn’t care for Coach Galyon’s coaching style, and vocalized it. After a big win in the sub-state, Coach Galyon was heard asking for 5 extra seats to be placed on the side-lines for his “assistant coaches” which were some of the most vocal of Midway fans. As far as I know, none of the seats were ever taken.

• Coach Wettig’s Losing His Job. After a tough loss in the 1978 state tournament, our team received a visit by the University of Tennessee’s head basketball coach, Cliff Wettig. It was a foregone conclusion that Coach Wettig was going to be replaced at the end of the year, but it was still great to see the orange clad coach wander into our dressing room – when Coach Galyon noticed him, he immediately stuck out his hand and said, “hey coach, I hear they’re trying to get your job.” Coach Galyon laughed like they were old friends – Coach Wettig shifted about nervously as he agreed.

• The Art of War. A few years ago, a Chinese philosophy book called “The Art of War” became popular when it became public knowledge that successful coaches like Steve Spurrier and Pat Summit considered it to be very influential in their successes. One thing that the book advises is that if an opponent is “stronger than you, then irritate them.”

Being a top seeded team in the district gave you some privileges – Coach Galyon took those privileges and more when it was possible to do so. He often claimed the best dressing room at Hiwassee College where our district tournaments were played. Sometimes, I think he just told other coaches that “they told us that we could have this one.” It bugged some of the opposing coaches a lot, and I’m sure it affected their attention to the game
Another element of the book talks about deception, and Coach Galyon was not shy about using it. I don’t think a single player was listed as being 6 feet tall in the state tournament program in 1978. Everyone lost a few inches – I lost 5.

I have no idea if Coach Galyon was ever aware of that book – it wouldn’t surprise me if he was at least aware of it. Regardless, he was practicing the “Art of War” long before Spurrier and Summit made it popular.

• Chinese Defenses. During our State Tournament years in the 70s, Midway wasn’t the only team in Roane County experiencing good times. Harriman and Kingston might both consider their teams of that era to be their “best ever.” Both made it to the final four of the state tournament just as the Greenwave did, and during the regular season there were some serious inter-county battles. However, Coach Galyon really saw these games as opportunities to practice – these teams were not in our district. So lets say we were playing Kingston on Tuesday night: we might have not even mentioned them in Monday’s practice. We probably prepared for an upcoming district opponent.

But, we did prepare for Kingston or Harriman a “little bit”: our team would gather in the gym for about 30 minutes on the day of the game and walk through our defensive assignments (in our street clothes) for that evening’s game. Then we would go give Harriman and Kingston a whole lot more than they wanted, and typically, we would frustrate them with our intense man-to-man defense. Apparently, the Kingston Coach thought we were doing something very special for his team: he asked Coach Galyon what kind of “Chinese Defense” he would plan for their next game. Coach Galyon didn’t tell him anything about the amount of time he had spent preparing his team for their games.

Coach Galyon is a Midway High School legend for his contributions to Midway athletics, and for the individual influences that he had on so many of us. Personally, I have a degree in mathematics due to his challenges, and it was from him that I first learned the value of fighting for what is right regardless of the popularity of the cause as I personally watched him take up issues having nothing to do with the game of basketball, but more about the greater challenges of life as we knew it then, and as we would come to know it in our unclear futures.

Coach Galyon directly challenged our mental fortitude, and our willingness to put in the effort to win. He challenged our system of values, and gave us our first opportunity to fit ourselves within the framework of a team, and then gave us the opportunity to accomplish and succeed.

There’s no doubt within me that I’m better off today due my experience as a Midway Basketball Player. Coach Galyon represented, when all was said and done, a tremendous opportunity for individual growth.

I’ll leave this story with a final thought:

The expanse of Heaven must be deep and wide, and in the immenseness of it all there’s a small school nestled within a beautiful emerald forest with a basketball team whose odds were routinely stacked against it. One day it must have been apparent that they needed a ball coach. They needed a ball coach that could make racehorses out of a bunch of mules.

Coach Galyon died on April 29, 2002. He is missed by former players and students.

Dedicated to Barry and Lewis Galyon. My classmate and teammate.

Fine and Waldroup: dedicated fans

We are honored to induct Nelle Fine and Mary Waldroup into the Legends section of SORSN.com. These women were two of the most faithful, energetic fans to ever grace the Green Wave sidelines. Rarely did they miss a game, home or away. They were there to support the players, question the coaches, and voice their opinions to the referees.


The interviews and information below was taken from an article written by Alan Owen in a 1984 Roane County Newspaper titled Senior Supporters Remain Faithful.

Nelle Fine and Mary Waldroup are resurrectors of a wilting practice – team loyalty.

In an age in which playing the latest video game has replaced supporting the hometown football team on Friday night, the enthusiastic pair continues to file into the Midway stadium and gymnasium on nights the Green Wave are in uniform, their allegiance unchanged by the times.

Both women enjoyed the same pastime, watching Midway sports. They had a love for Midway; between them they had 13 children to attend or graduate from there.

Their overall love for athletics is apparent by one very illustrative example. Once Fine drive from Middlesboro, Kentucky to see her niece play in a South Young-Powell basketball game. Her husband decided he wouldn’t go so she struck out for Knoxville by herself. So what’s so unusual about that? It was her wedding night. “Our marriage lasted 28 years, and I don’t know if that had anything to do with it or not”, she said.

The pair traveled anywhere a Midway team could be found. Bad weather was seldom a deterrent.

“We went to Loudon for a basketball game one time and there was a flash flood going on outside”, Waldroup said. “We’ve been on roads so icy you wouldn’t think a car would go on it. And we’ve been out when it was snowing so hard you couldn’t see to drive. But we’ve always made it there”.

Once, however, they almost didn’t make it.

They drove to Tellico Plains together for a basketball game. They gym was empty when they arrived. Upon checking they discovered Midway was playing Meigs County in Decatur. Added Waldroup, “We still only missed a little bit of the girls’ game.”

Fine, who was the driver on all the trips, said she is particularly vocal at the Wave games. She confessed to second guessing coaches and officials.

“We don’t agree with them (coaches) all the time,” said Fine. “And those referees – WOW! I wonder sometimes how they got their striped shirts and whistles. Nobody can out holler me at a ballgame.” Waldroup interjected, “I’ll shake your hand on that.”

Waldroup is more reserved. “I’m a little bashful, but Nelle hollers enough for the both of us,” she said. Following a heart attack, she was told by her doctor to “calm it down”. “I asked the doctor if I could still go to the football games and he said that I could if I didn’t get cold. I told him I didn’t go to the ballgames to get cold. At some of the football games I’ll have on six or seven layers.”

The highlight of each year is the athletic banquet. The couple would have standing invitations each year.

Both spent much of the time laughing as they reminisced about their adventures. “We’ve had a lot of good times on these ballgame trips,” Fine said.

“We sure have,” Waldroup added.

Nelle Fine (left) and Mary Waldroup (right)

I recently spoke with Mary Townsend, “Mary T”, daughter of the late Mary Waldroup. Mary T shared a story with me involving Nelle Fine. It was basketball season and the Waves were playing in a tournament at TSD. Nelle worked 2nd shift at a seat belt manufacturer in Knoxville. However, work didn’t stop her from missing the game. She kindly commented to her boss that she had to leave and go watch her team play and that she’d be back when the game was over.

Sadly, these two lovely women are not longer with us. The two have since passed away. However, their passion for the game and love of their Green Waves will always be remembered.

The Back Line of 1959

Several weeks ago I went to the High School just to see what was lying around in storage in the way of Midway sports history. I was looking for old trophies, scorebooks, sports related items, long ago forgotten. I was mainly interested in finding a 1980 Roane County Jr High Championship trophy and possibly a scorebook from that season. What I did find caused me to forget all about the Jr High trophy. What I found was an ancient Midway memory.

The year was 1959. At this time, the Green Waves were a part of the 11th basketball district. This district included Lenoir City, Meigs County, Kingston, Rockwood, Harriman, South Harriman, Loudon, Oliver Springs and Midway, all playing the same classification. Boyd Woody, who became the Green Waves coach in 1956, was both the boys and girls coach. Woody had been drafted into the Army in 1958 for one year’s service and was just returning from that service at the start of the 1959-60 school year. It was the fall of the year and the Midway faithful were fresh off a very successful football season. But it was basketball time and the Waves had 3 returning starters. The back line of ‘59 consisted of 6’1 forward Charles Brewer, 6’1forward Johnny Narramore, and 6’4 center Alva Moore.

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These three big men had held these starting positions for 3 years and where entering their last season together. The three seniors provided a powerful punch both scoring and rebounding. Alva Moore was the leading scorer averaging 18 points a game. The big center was capable of putting big numbers on the board and usually did. John Narramore was known for his consistent scoring and his aggressive defense. John averaged 15 points a game and as Boots Cook, legendary Kingston sports writer, stated that John would be in there fighting long after the cause was settled. Charles Brewer played the other forward and excelled both offensively and defensively. Junior guards Willard and Dillard Moore rounded what was expected to be a good Midway team.

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Midway opened the season with Oakdale. Oakdale’s Coach Lee Elbe was a familiar face to most Green Wave fans that year for Coach Elbe had been the Green Wave coach for the 1953 season but it would not be a nice welcome home for the Eagles coach as Midway responded well to the opening game handing the Eagles a 67-49 loss. The Roane County News reported that “The big boys on the back line did the damage for the Waves”. Next up was Spring City and the Green team decided to show off a little or maybe a whole lot. The Green Waves put on a scoring exhibition, breaking the century mark, winning 100-48 in only the second game of the young season. The Green seemed to be taking turns scoring on the Rhea County team. Narramore was top scorer with 19, Alva Moore and Brewer added 18 a piece and Willard Moore also added 18. Dillard would add 11. Several reserves got in on the scoring with Ronald Ramsey (12 pts), Butch Thompson (4 pts), Leon Kyle (2 pts), Bobby Collier (6 pts), also a short little freshman named Stanley Branson added 2 points to the win. With a 2-0 record the Waves proceeded to dismantle South Harriman with a 32 point victory. Up next for Midway was the Loudon Redskins and the Waves didn’t falter downing the Redskins 65-56. The Roane County news reported that the overpowering backboard strength of the back line was the difference. Center Alva Moore had one of his better nights pouring in 34 points for the Green. Midway roared through the month of December taking no prisoners. With gyms packed everywhere, the Waves continued to dominate.

Christmas break saw the Waves sporting a 10-0 record and were invited to play a Christmas Tournament in Livingston. At the time, only the big boys of Tennessee basketball were invited to play in the Livingston Tournament, the oldest high school basketball tournament. Teams such as Clarkrange, Crossville, Kingston, Lafollette, Smithville, Meigs County, and Midway made up the tourney. The tournament directors agreed that the talent of the teams involved was the best that had been put together in the history of the tournament.

The tournament was scheduled to be played on the 22, 23, 25, and 26 of December. When asked about playing on Christmas day one former player stated that was no big deal at that time. “We weren’t getting much if anything for Christmas anyway. Nobody could afford presents”. According to Doc Moore, bus driver for the Green, snow was falling on the mountain as the Waves headed down for the opening game of the tournament. Midway defeated Clarkrange in the first game and then faced off against Meigs County. Meigs was a regular state power and would eventually finish 2nd in the state tournament but Midway managed to pull off a 1-point win this night. Green Wave fans partied in the streets of Livingston that night but there was one more game to be played and Midway would not be the favorite to win this game. Lafayette knocked off a strong Smithville team, 55-53, setting up a showdown with the undefeated Waves. It was a Saturday night and admission to see the game was 50 cents. The Midway faithful had made the 2 hr trip in mass to see if the boys could pull off what could be argued to be the biggest victory in the short history of Midway basketball. The Green Team came for a championship and they would not be denied as they came away with a 56-48 victory. The Green Waves had just been paired against the best in the state, just to compete would have been a great accomplishment, but the Waves had conquered. It was a great time to be a Midway Green Wave.

For years I have heard my dad talk about a tournament they had played in Livingston. I knew they had won a basketball tournament they were not suppose to win but I never gave the details of that tournament much thought until I was in the storage area at the High School. Sitting on a old board propped up by a old desk on one end and a table on the other was the 1980 Jr High Roane County Championship trophy I was looking for to start with, and sitting beside this trophy was another with a plaque that read 1960 Livingston Jaycee Invitational Tournament Champions.

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The Greenwaves of 1959-60 season did not remain as hot as they had been up until Christmas. They did win the majority of the remaining games but were knocked out of the playoffs early by the defending state Champs Lenoir City. Midway finished second in the Tri-County tournament that year losing in the championship game to Kingston. The back line of Moore, Narramore, and Brewer were all placed on the Tri-County All Tournament Team.

That season was 45 years ago. Most of the players are over 60 years old now. Many you will see hanging around the Midway gyms watching grandkids play ball today. We are often caught up in the current season or next year’s team and we seldom give these older guys much thought. We don’t take the time to hear their stories because we are too tied up in our own teams or our kid’s teams. What we are doing is letting our school history disappear along with the minds and lives of our older generation. Over the next 20 years, we will lose many of the memories of these first generation students. What a shame.

Ed Rose-Legendary Voice of the Waves

The 1988 Midway Green Wave football team spent as much time that year ranked #1 in the state as not. Several “All-State” players were produced, and it was a very exciting team to watch, and I bragged on them to just about anyone that would listen. I was attending the University of Tennessee at the time, and soon had guys following me to games that had absolutely no ties to Midway – one was from Great Britain who described it to his friends as “big time” American High School football.

The team had generated enough interest across East Tennessee in ‘88 that I didn’t have to twist Knoxville businessman Sam Furrow’s arm to get him to Midway for the 1989 game with Webb who was suddenly a district rival thanks to re-alignment. Sam, along with wife Ann, came to check us out … and we probably had our worst game in 3 years. When I saw him later that week, and sheepishly inquired about the game, he replied that “Webb just had your number that night … but I’ve never heard a public address announcer like you have at Midway,” and Sam paused before continuing, “in fact, I wouldn’t call him a ‘public address announcer.’ He’s a play-by-play sportscaster …”

I agree that Ed Rose was not a normal public address announcer. Back then, and even today, public address announcers would simply state the obvious. I’m not talking about an announcer from radio where description is obviously a necessity. I’m talking about an “on-site” public address announcer that calls the game “live” over a Public Address (P.A.) System. Ed Rose was the “Voice of the Midway Green Wave,” and applied a standard normally, at that time, reserved for the best “radio-men” in the business. When asked about his success, Ed responded with:

“In the early days, I give a lot of credit to Bill Waldroup. We only had 2 speakers, and he worked on them every single week during the football season.”

Most public address announcers will let a play develop and complete itself, and then call out “2nd down and 5” or “tackle made by #56.” However, Ed would tell you about the play in great detail as it was happening. He would tell you how a team got to be 2nd and 5, give you an outlook or observation, and then set the scene that was coming up. On the other side of the ball, he might well break the defense down to a particular formation, describe pursuit through the point of contact, and then as he did on offense, set up the up-coming scenario. Ed was not a public address announcer – he was a sportscaster without a radio or television signal, and he painted a picture with his words on each and every play of the game.

But as if that wasn’t enough to deal with, Ed spent a few years helping Coach Stan Branson by flipping the switch on the P.A. system, and communicating directly with the coach on the sidelines to provide insight into what he was seeing on the field that the Green Wave offense might be able to take advantage of – he did this between plays, and Ed didn’t have a spotter to help him keep track of the work flow. But as organized as Ed was, he still had his “bloopers” and describes the following incident:

“I once forgot and left the P.A. System turned on as I was talking to Coach Branson – it didn’t take long for the ref to tell Branson to ‘tell him to stop doing that.’”

I’ve been a fan of play-by-play announcers for a long time, and can clearly recall trying to dial in WNOX 99AM to hear John Ward tell me all about Tennessee basketball back in the 70s, and at best getting 2 of 3 words as the signal wavered on its way to my home in Paint Rock, Tennessee. But, in only a few years, and thanks to satellite technology I was able to listen to legends like Johnny Most of the Celtics and Chick Hearn of the Lakers. If names like Scully, Carey, Harwell, Jackson, Buck, and Nelson mean anything to you then you were probably fans of play-by-play announcers as well. Ed credits a surprising source for some of his sportscasting education and inspiration;

“Larry Munson of the University of Georgia. I was listening to a game one time … Georgia scored on a long run, and Munson’s call was, HE TOOK IT ALL THE WAY TO THE LAND OF MILK AND HONEY!’ After hearing that, I wanted to add something to every play.”

Ed was our “John Ward, Larry Munson, and Lindsey Nelson.” His voice was booming, explosive but controlled, and articulate. He loved the game, and had a vast knowledge of tactics and strategies that had been developed over years of playing, coaching and observing. His gift was that he was able to portray what was going on to the “layman” watching the game from the bleacher seats.

Ed was the sportscaster / public address announcer at Midway High School for 27 years, and served as “spotter” for a couple years prior to that. And of course, he played a little football and basketball as well. The number of games that he has missed in the entire history of Midway football can be counted on one hand. He played on the very first Midway football team in 1954, and remembers;

“The first practice was held on July 15th and the temperature was well over 100 degrees. We walked into the gym, and a man none of us had ever seen before told us that ‘if we wanted to play football to get our uniforms on and follow him to the football field.’ The uniforms had already been put out on the bleachers although none of us knew how to put a uniform on. When we made it to the field, the coach made us run 10 laps to start practice.”

After watching football at Midway since 1954, he thinks that first team was the worst in history. They were a bunch of boys that had never seen a game (on television or live) thrown together to try to form a team, and it was not a glorious start. Asked what he remembers most about his days as a player, he responds with the “one that got away” just like all the great ones do;

“We were playing Friendsville. Our quarterback was Ross Hickey, and I was playing Tight End. I got well behind the safety, and thought ‘I have never been so wide-open.’ Ross saw me and threw the ball right down the middle of the field … and I watched as it flew 20 feet over my head and landed 20 yards downfield… I was mad as the devil. We only scored 2 or 3 touchdowns the whole year.”

Ed said that he expressed his dissatisfaction with the Quarterback upon returning to the huddle. He didn’t respond when asked for specifics.

After volunteering that his team might well have been the worst team, I inquired about what might be “the best team in Midway football history?”

“There are 3 teams that come to mind. The first is the 1959 team with Johnny Narramore and Paul Colyer. The second is the 1978 team led by San Narramore, and the third was the 1988 team led by Lance Wheaton.”

When asked about the best Green Wave football player he has ever seen, his reply wasn’t as obvious as many fans might think;

“Gary Johnson on the 1959 team. He could and would run around you or over you. In one game he only got the ball 7 times … but he scored on 6 of them …”

While Ed is known for playing on the very first Midway football team, and being the “Voice of the Green Wave” for all those years, he also played some basketball. Ed averaged 22 points per game for Midway High School back in 1954-55. Even though there were many great experiences with football and basketball, Ed’s favorite among the “big 3” sports is baseball. His oldest son, Randy, once told me that Ed would sit in his truck night after night listening to Ernie Harwell make the call on Detroit Tiger’s games (before cable and satellite technology of course). He also traveled to Kingston to coach Little League Baseball for 15 years and contended for State Championships on several occasions. Although his love for baseball is great, he tells of his favorite sporting events to watch:

“I like to watch Tennessee football. Tennessee and anybody they’re playing is my favorite thing to watch. After that, I would rather watch any 2 teams play baseball than any other college football or NFL game. I also like to watch a Tennessee basketball game.”

Ed noted a couple of events that he had witnessed at Tennessee football games that were memorable:

“ Stopping LSU great Billy Cannon on the goal line to win the game is the first thing that comes to mind. The second is the first night game at Neyland Stadium; the game with Penn State.”

Ed and Sybil Rose’s kids are also one of the most productive groups of siblings in Midway History: Cindy, Randy, Sandra and Michael are all intensely competitive and each made significant contributions to Midway High School athletics.

Cindy was an offensive weapon at Midway High School. She scored over 1800 points – many of them on smooth and sweeping hook shots that devastated opponents with the consistency in which she made them. The teams that she played on were very competitive and won several championships in district and regional competition. Possibly the most competitive of the Rose kids, she even challenged the guys to a game as I was looking for information to include in this article. Cindy is the mother of current Midway football standout, Spencer Myers.

Randy played football and basketball for the Green Wave, and not only played on one of the best Green Wave football teams in history (’78); he is also just one of a handful of players to compete in 2 different State Tournaments as his group of “Midway Mules” became known state-wide for how they performed at the end of the year. Randy played key roles in those state tournament runs; in the finals against Meigs Country, Randy hit several shots down the stretch to secure the win and the district championship.

Sandra is best known for making “the shot” to win the district tournament in 1978. The district we were in at the time might have been the most competitive in the state. Our games were held at Hiawassee College, and it was “standing room” only each and every night. On the night of the finals, the Lady Green Waves were playing heavily favored Calhoun, and the final box score will show you why – they shot 70% for the game. But regardless of the other team’s marksmanship, the game was in Sandra’s hands at crunch time: she took the ball just to the left of the top of the key, took her defender to the bucket as if she was in an all out drive, and then coolly pulled up for a jumper that banked off the back board, and into the hoop as the buzzer sounded. She averaged 24 points per game for the tournament, and was easily recognized as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player in the hearts of Midway Green Wave fans.

And last is Michael who was also a basketball standout, but was also a vital receiver for the ’88 Midway football team. I distinctly remember a catch that Michael made, as a sophomore, at Rockwood one night to put us in position to win the game – it was “big time.” In a hostile environment, and a swarming Rockwood defense, Lance Wheaton fired a rocket from about 25 yards out to hit Michael as he crossed the goal line in stride. He is also the only “3 sport” player of the Rose kids as he had the chance to play some baseball while at Midway. It’s rare when a player can make the statement that he has thrown and caught touchdown passes, had high scoring basketball games, and hit some homeruns as well. Michael can make the claim.

Why were the Rose kids so competitive? Probably because Ed was so active with them. Sandra told me that she remembers that her dad would “play games” with them practically every day in every season of the year – she remembers coming home from basketball practice (in the winter), and they would go out … to play basketball in the back yard when she returned home. Cindy remembers him as being first and foremost “a supporter,” but also remembers the games in the backyard:

“We played basketball all the time in our backyard as most of you know. The ball goal is still there and there have been a lot of games played in the back yard!! The grass court would get pretty worn down. Dad was going to pour a concrete court but I'm glad he never did as this made you a better dribbler!! One evening as we were having a family discussion from Dad that you should never miss a foul shot (as I think it was Randy who was not having the best percentage at the time) Dad said he could hit 50 out of 50 - that it was a matter of concentration. Of course we bet him and went out to the backyard court and he hit 49 out of 50!!!”

We could dive into stats from games past, and signature calls of some of the greatest plays in Midway football history, but Ed is a legend for not only being one of Midway’s first great athletes, but in the longevity in serving his community for over 3 decades. He’s a legend for doing something that parent’s just don’t take the time to do anymore with their kids, and that’s to give them a life-long passion for sports that they can enjoy and pass on to others.

John Ward’s retirement in 1999 was a lot bigger to me than, say, the break-up of the Beatles. Ward’s calls had been the most consistent thing in my life, other than my parents, for the entire span of my existence. Ed Rose has had that impact on so many in our community. When current coach, Craig Moser says some of his best memories are of Ed calling Midway football games, that’s saying something. Craig has some great plays that he could recall of himself, played on very good teams, and is in the process of developing Midway into a consistent regional and state powerhouse in football. But Craig, like so many of us, remembers Ed’s calls as being something out of the ordinary and special.

So in recognizing Ed Rose as a Midway Legend, let’s say thanks for making the effort as a player, a father and for adding more to our Friday nights than “it’s 2nd down and 5.” Thanks for being the “Voice of Midway Green Wave football.”

MHS Football Celebrates 50 Years

This year marks the 50 Year Anniversary for MHS Football. These pioneers laid the ground work for what has become a football crazed community. They played long before the "West Coast Offense", before Monday Night Football, heck they played before facemasks! They were "SOR" when "SOR" wasn’t cool. Congratulations to the ’54 team for being the first and giving us something to look forward to on Friday nights.

Front Row (L to R): Bill Shaw, Sam Grey, Ed Rose, Park Waldroup, Frank Ward, Junior McClure, Jerry Waldrop, Coach Labe Gregory
Second Row: Manager Clarence Carroll, Wayne Moore, Jerry Hanley, Jim Shaw, Tex Ramey, Donald Colyer, Vaughn Woody, Loyd Sitzler.
Third Row: Bobby Deatherage, Brad Gordon, Joe Parks, Ross Hickey, James Thompson, Wayne Waldroup, Paul Colyer, Manager Eugene Jackson (Not pictured: Neal Raby, Paul Armour)

Captain: Brad Gordon Co-Captain: Bob Deatherade

The 1954 Waves had a total of 8 games on their schedule:
Polk County – Coalfield – Homestead – Copperhill – Ducktown – Kingston – Friendsville - Oakdale

Brad Gordon scored the first touchdown which came against Copperhill (now known as Copper Basin).

Legendary Coach Leonard Morris

Leonard Morris was the principal of Paint Rock Elementary School, and the coach of the mighty Paint Rock Panther (boys and girls) basketball team whose annual battles with the "team that dressed in blue from highway 58" were the stuff that a community’s activity revolved around. I was a Paint Rock Panther in 1973-75, and was proud to wear the black and gold, 30 year old, satin-like uniforms in the service of my community.

In the logical order of things, a happening in the 4th grade probably shouldn’t be a significant event in one’s life, but seeing my name listed as having "made the team" posted up on the "main bulletin board" was a thrill that I can remember to this day. Time hasn’t dulled the thrill of being made a part of Coach Morris’ team, and I can even recall the nervous anticipation of that first practice.

A Coach Morris practice was more about drilling than scrimmaging – the fundamentals of ball-handling, rebounding and defense were stressed upon and usually followed by a hard fought scrimmage that was generally held in the last 10 minutes of our hour long practices. He maintained practice with a whistle that, when not at practice, hung in a specific place in the principal’s office near the principal’s custom-made paddle... I’m not sure which brought more attention, but there was a different pitch in the sound of that whistle when you made a bad play. I never wanted to hear that particular, shrieking pitch directed at me, but when it did he patiently, yet sternly, explained the error of my ways. Then you had the opportunity to respond out of pride and desire to not let the coach down – you produced due to pride and respect, and not fear.

Instilling pride and respect works better than fear, and many years later I realized that I was trying to apply lessons learned from the coach in the business world. Coach Morris was the first to show me that respect builds cohesion, and fear builds division. The Morris philosophy was more about "lifting up" than "tearing down". It was about empowerment and communication. It produced winning results!

Coach Morris made us believe that our awkward 10 and 11 year-old bodies could play the game of basketball. I recall the first game with Fairview, a.k.a. the "team in blue," when I was in the 6th grade. Kevin and I were no longer in supporting roles to those more senior, and it was our job to rebound, score and block shots...and I was pretty nervous about getting the job done. On the day before the game, we had a short practice that Coach Morris ended with a long whistle. He told us to have a seat at mid-court, and then proceeded to tell us that we played good defense, rebounded well, and had a good fast-break. He told us that if we gave the same effort that we put forth in practice then we would win. I remember feeling very confident that I would find a way to make a contribution to our victory over the Fairview Falcons. Looking back, it was at that moment that I learned to really enjoy playing the game of basketball. Later, we took the first of both our games with Fairview that year.

Most of us recall that Midway High School used to be a real basketball powerhouse in both girl’s and boy’s basketball...but then it kind of "fizzled". You can point to a lot of things that might have caused this demise, but I think that a key was Coach Morris stepping down from coaching at Midway Elementary. The chief architect for the "feeder system" was gone, and leaving with him was the flow of fundamentally sound ball-players into the system at Midway High School...and as the fundamentals goes, so goes the W’s.

Sports at a young age (even into high school) is about learning lessons that will later be applied in "real life". It all starts with learning about effort and how to prepare. Defining goals, seeing the big picture, and developing building blocks for success are elements that one will deal with along the way regardless of what sport one chooses to take part in. And after everything else, it’s about how you deal with wins and losses. Throw it all together, study your lessons well, and you will define your character.

Good ball coaches generally don’t teach you engineering and accounting, but they do instruct you in areas of much greater value. Coach Morris gave us the opportunity to build the platform for the development of character. There’s not many of us that can look into the mirror at the end of the day, and honestly say that we’ve made the world a better place, and that we’ve made an honest-to-goodness difference. Coach Morris can, so in tribute let me exclaim the words: “Coach, you made a difference!”