Football's Biggest Winner
Football coach John McKissick sports a one-of-a-kind ring that no one else in the world can claim.
For 53 years in Summerville, S.C. (pop. 27,752), McKissick’s Summerville High School football teams have embodied the ultimate goal of sports competition: winning. Heading into this fall, the "Baron of Summerville" had logged 510 victories as the Green Wave’s head mentor, the only coach in the long history of the sport at any level—high school, college or pro—to pass the formidable 500-win mark. The total is also the most football victories ever recorded by a coach at one school.
But McKissick, 78, is more than a symbol for football success. In Summerville, he’s a legend for molding young men into the future doctors, lawyers, teachers, legislators, church workers and all-around standup citizens of this Lowcountry community.
"Coaching is teaching," McKissick says. "I think the most important element of coaching is teaching the kids how to be successful; that it takes hard work; that it takes perseverance; to keep trying. In football, you get knocked down a lot; in life, you get knocked down, but you’ve got to get back up."
Coaching for generations
Three generations of Summerville High players have been picking themselves up off the turf during McKissick’s legendary tenure at the school. Senior Matt Ward, a Green Wave linebacker, his father, Ronnie (1979-82), and Matt’s maternal grandfather, Wayne Thornley (1962-63), have all played during McKissick’s reign, which has seen 3,099 players pass through his program since 1952. The three share a precious bond, honoring McKissick’s impeccable code of principles throughout each of their playing days.
"School comes first, in his relationship between school and sports," says Matt Ward, 17, "but most importantly, family; then school, then football."
Thornley, 57, Matt’s grandfather, notes that the McKissick philosophy of his day is still in high gear. "He instills discipline in the players," Thornley says, "as well as dedication and perseverance. He was quick to encourage, but also quick to challenge."
Matt’s father, Ronnie, a starter at left guard on two undefeated state championship teams, cherishes the experience of playing under McKissick, for both him and his son.
"I respect the man," says Ward, 40, a safety and environmental technician for American LaFrance. "I respected him then, and I respect him now. Anybody would feel honored to play for him. I know I did, and I know my son does, especially last year when he got to play in the 500-game. Matt’s got something he can tell his kids. After I graduated high school, I went in the military for 10, 11 years. When I got out, I wanted to come back here so my son could play football for John McKissick. I was hoping he would not retire before my son had a chance to play for him."
Humble roots
McKissick’s trail to success emerged from the bleakness of an impoverished childhood during the Great Depression in his hometown of Kingstree, S.C. (pop. 3,496).
"I grew up poor, went into the service (Army), and played service ball with Johnny Logan (Boston-Milwaukee Braves), Mickey Owen (Brooklyn Dodgers), and Joe Dobson (Boston Red Sox)," says McKissick, describing his early years. "I had a scholarship when I got out and went to Presbyterian College (Clinton, S.C.). I played football and baseball and wrestled there."
Shortly after college, he got his first coaching job, in 1951, at Clarkton (N.C.) High School, coaching six-man football, a program he knew nothing about at the outset. The following year, a friend told him about a coaching vacancy at Summerville High. Applications for the post were many.
"The superintendent told me I got the job because I was the only one who didn’t ask how much it paid," he says.
That’s a keen indicator of the kind of man who would go on to register more than 500 victories in his career. His total exceeds by more than 100 the previous record of 408 wins held by Grambling State University legend Eddie Robinson. The degree of McKissick’s consuming focus on his work is best illustrated in a story told by Romie Simmons, the town barber.
"It was a long time ago," recalls Simmons, selected the high school sports fan of the year in 2000 for the state of South Carolina. "His wife Joan said to him, ‘John, I’d like to get your mind off the game for awhile. How about taking me out to a movie?’ He said, ‘Okay.’ Then he went out, got in the car, and drove off and left her at home. The ballgame was so big on his mind, he just couldn’t think of nothing else."
To grasp the enormity of McKissick’s achievement as the winningest football coach of all time, a 22-year-old entering the field of coaching, if he were fortunate enough to endure until 70, would have to average 10 wins a year, and he would still be more than 30 short of McKissick’s impressive mark.
"He has been head coach at Summerville since Harry Truman was president," notes Earl Smith, 59, a retired banker. "He’s as excited on a Friday night now as he was in 1952."
Teaching life-lessons
The secret to such an enduring tenure lies in McKissick’s approach both to coaching and to youngsters.
"John McKissick is a life-lesson coach," says Billy G. Baker, who has known the Summerville coach for 35 years and is co-author of two books with McKissick: Called to Coach and the just-released Called to Coach II. "He teaches that there is a price one pays in order to maintain success. He uses football as his laboratory. Football is John McKissick’s vehicle to the life lessons a player takes with him beyond the Friday night wars of high school football. They go into the real world, and now they have some kind of discipline, some kind of motivation, some kind of direction as to where to go."
McKissick’s wife of 52 years, Joan, has seen the master at his craft long enough to identify his skillful methodology with kids.
"He has a rapport with them and knows how to talk with them," she says. "It’s just gotten better through the years. I think they look on him now as a daddy or a granddaddy. He has his rules, and he expects his players to abide by them, but there’s a way to do it without being abusive."
For McKissick, who has two daughters of his own, the process is ongoing; the teacher is still learning.
"The most enjoyable part of my job is being around young people," he says. "You can change with the times more if you’re around young people. They’ll keep you young and keep you on your toes."
Such a young-at-heart outlook, though, fails to ward off relentless questions about McKissick’s retirement.
"My only goal right now is to have a successful season," says McKissick, who has seen several of his young players advance to the NFL, including former Cincinnati Bengals player Stanford Jennings, who returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown in Super Bowl XXIII. "If my health is good, I’d like to keep doing it as long as I feel like I’m giving them their money’s worth."
But there’s a deeper reason, one that pervades the essence of this dedicated and thoughtful teaching man.
"He loves people," his wife Joan says. "Period."
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