IN TRIBUTE: A HISTORY
"FIRST COACH" OF CLYDE HIGH CARDINALS FOOTBALL
"COACH JONES"
By "Wick" Haynes: RT. End - Inaugural Team(1950)
On a very cool frosty early 1949 November morning of my junior year there he stood at about 155 pounds - a new face and a perfect style of dress of the time. He was in the rear corner of the foyer on the left next to the entrance doors to the auditorium.. I just waved with a "hello" on my way to harass the "Beta Club Princesses" in their "Sales Room" which was a converted closet. It was not a Monday, but he was there the rest of the week and, again, on the next Monday. He was always dressed very neatly in clean pressed wranglers, a blue denim shirt with the sleeves turned up to the turned up sleeves of his very clean worn denim jacket always open to the two bottom buttons. All were always finely creased to perfection. His Penny Loafers were always spit shined. Each morning we had the same exchange. Hair? His hair was groomed with evidence of every night, or morning, washing which was molded in a Pompadour swept in a "duck tail" fix with BurilCream.
Finally, I stopped with a "you must be new here". "Yeah, sophomore. My dad moved to Thicketty from Canton". "I'm Wick Haynes". "Yeah, I know, I saw Clyde beat Canton three times last year (BB) and the loss to Mills River in the Gold Medal Tournament Championship, so I know who your are. You are a leader here and a junior, so you should know why Clyde does not have a football team. Because Clyde don't have football those who want to play football transfer to Canton". I agreed those thoughts were on my mind.
"Coach" (not yet called) kept after me every morning until just before Thanksgiving when he said, "I see you talking with 'Stan the Man' all the time". You have to be one of the leaders around here the way you know him and the way he talks to you so much. So I said: "Tell you what, I am going to put a stop to this every morning repeated conversation by taking you into his office and let you ask him your damn questions why we don't have football at Clyde High!!!!"
The Principal Mr. "E." Stanley Livingston asked. "William, what do you men want this morning? I said: "Mr. Livingston, this is Carroll Jones who transferred from Canton and
every morning for a month it is the same questions. I am sure that you can answer them." Mr. Livingston and "Coach Jones" had that interesting persistent conversation.
Finally, Mr. Livingston said. "William, the school board will meet in the teacher's lounge on the Friday afternoon before Thanksgiving. I do not see why you men cannot plead your case". On the way down the hall Jones said, "See I knew that he would listen to you!!" "The hell you say man, I wasn't asked to say any thing. You were talking so much!!" We whooped and clapped our hands!
After talking to the school board we waited in the foyer. Mr. Livingston came out to tell us they would consider it next month. Jones said "They can't wait to decide!!!! With Thanksgiving and Christmas, then New Years it will be too late to raise the money for uniforms for spring practice. I have it all written down here for what it will take from now until next spring.
"We need to have a fall practice then a spring practice to be able to have a decent team next fall." Mr. Livingston took us back in to plead that case. The school board assured us it was not a delaying tactic.
After spring practice of a "T" formation we learned nothing. The departing coach had not any idea or experience about/with football. The new Coach to be, Hugh Constance, (graduate of Western Carolina College and a Little All American Center) was introduced at the end of the last days of school - spring 1950. Our new system was to be just right up "Coach" Jones' alley; the Carl Snavely Single Wing. Jones knew every play and play assignment of the system. He was a disciple of Tennessee Football as well as the variations by UNC with Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice as the executor.
THE TEAM BEGAN TO CALL HIM "COACH JONES" AS OUR PLAY CALLER & BLOCKING BACK.
From the beginning I became especially fond of, and appreciative of "Coach Jones" because of his laughter, sense of humor, and very close friendship. Because of his persistence I had the experience being selected and playing in the WNC 1950 Optimist Senior Bowl and be roommates/teammates among players of four or more years experience.
He was, is, and always will be my crazy talkatively friend "Coach Jones". He truly was the first "Coach" of the Clyde High Cardinals! I think of him often with either a laugh or just a smile. We forgot that his name was Carroll Jones, but we cannot forget that he is a Clyde High Cardinal Alum in all regards!!
In memoriam: Twenty June 2009 Alumni Club Year Celebration.
Foot Note #1: Wick Haynes accompanied Jones, at his request, for a team physical exam. The doctor found him with a heart murmur, which he already knew he had. He cried as if the denial to play would crush his heart. He pleaded with the doctor as much as he did with the school board. Finally, the doctor placed a condition for re-examination for after the spring practice. He was again cleared for re-examination after two weeks of fall season preparation. "Coach Jones" dropped out of school and joined the Marines. Wick received a Sears Roebuck academic scholarship to NC State College. Wick and Carroll returned to "Cow Pasture" football after military service. It was reported to Wick that his very good friend; teammate and "coach" died suddenly at the age of 29 while hunting.
Foot Note #2: Wick and Dean visited Coach Hugh Constance on June 19th '09 in which he had a very good humous recollection of "Coach" Jones!! Coach Constance was doing well.
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