1975 Newton County
From 9-2-14
Even tho' the 1975 season was almost 40 years ago, it is hard to forget the problems we encountered that year.
Going into a new school building & a new gymnasium, it's hard to practice basketball when a coach has to go to a band director or chorus director to unlock the gym for us to practice. We thought we had solved the problem when our manager, Alton Mason, found a key on the floor & brought it to me. We had a hard time explaining it when he was accused of "stealing" it, but we finally got that straightened out when they finally agreed to give me a key to the gym.
It was a shock to me when I heard that our Asst. superintendent, Dr. Lavinia Wood, went into her office & found that all her furniture had been removed--& her office was empty! We were very fortunate to have a very efficient secretary in mrs. Mary Campbell that had kept accurate records and could prove where the athletic funds had gone when the account was completely empty. The message was clear---!! We encountered problems with accusations about some of our players on the first day of the season, but Sheriff Odum straightened that out in a hurry!
We lost our dedication game, 73-60, to Cedar Shoals. (This was quite ironic, as we had beaten Cedar Shoals several years prior to that---in their dedication game of their new gym!). It was a very long season, & when we lost to Jonesboro in the Region Tournament, our final record was our worst ever, 14-9. Bright spots were Andre Hollingsworth's (18 ppg) & Todd Whitsitt's 15 ppg & 9 rpg. it seemed to take some pressure off when it was announced that I would be leaving to go to George Walton Academy. The Booster Club president, Bill Henderson, presented the Bradleys with a "This Is Your Life" evening. The next year the new administration (& our so-called friends at the BOE office) finally had the balanced program they wanted. The football team had a record of 4 wins & 6 losses, & the boys basketball team had the 1st losing season in school history. At one time I had coached varsity boys basketball, the JV basketball team, baseball, & had a "midget program" involving almost 500 youngsters. I found it was easier to do it all when your people are not threatened by your success. The first year at GWA our football team had 6 wins & 4 losses, our boys basketball team was 27-2 & won the State Championship, & our girls basketball team finished with a region championship & a 26-2 record! I'll always be thankful to Don Briscoe for rescuing some of our trophies, including the girls' 1963 State Runnerup trophy & the 1964 Boys State Championship trophy, from the trash bin where they had been thrown away! If it hadn't been for one of our former team members, Judge Sammy Ozburn, rescuing the bronze plaque for our 129 national record home court winning streak from the local pawn shop, it would be gone forever! It now has a proper place to be displayed at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in Macon, Ga., along with a picture of the '64 Rams State Champs!!
