Following A legend

Can anyone remember who the coach was who replaced Vince Lombardi as coach of the Green Bay Packers?  How about who replaced John Wooden at UCLA?  Yesterday SouthWest Edgecombe announce that Jonathan Cobb will replace his father as football coach.

Dad Raymond has been a head coach in Edgecombe County (25 years)almost as long as Jonathan is old 29 years old .  What might help is dad Raymond just might be a volunteer assistant next year.  Has Jonathan got the genes in his body to win football games like dad?  Only time will tell.  Good luck Raymond in retirement  and good luck Jonathan following a legend.

I was reading the article in the Telegram this morning and it is funny the way peoples lives intertwine and they don't know it.  Johnathan talked about the saddest he had ever been on the football field was the night in 1991 when North Edgecombe lost  at Gates County.  I was there doing the game on the Ahoskie Radio station and Gates co. won 8-6.  That was the night that Milton Shaw needed 86 yards to break the all time rushing record in North Carolina High school history.  He got only 68 in his last game.

Northern Nash is putting the finishing touches on their interviews and there might be an announcement coming there before the week is over on their new coach.

Face book has been alive today with tributes to Charles Alston.  It is very funny how death brings out the good memories about people.  Even though in our soul we cry about his death there is this thing about people getting together to talk about the good times is therapeutic and helps us all get by.

I was reminded of a story today involving Charles, Wes Bradshaw, "Base Ball" Britt Johnson and Braxton Hill.  Charles and I left Rocky Mount to go to a football game against Havelock.  We picked up Wes, "Baseball" and Braxton in Greenville and the car load of us rode to the game.  Now for those of you that know all of us this was a car load.

After the game we stopped at Denny's in Greenville and everyone piles out of the car and Charles is the last one out and everyone is standing behind my car and the springs on my car are just about on the ground.  We all laughed about that for months.  Wes and Baseball could sound just like him when they mocked him.  We all picked  at him,  made fun at him and we all loved him. Yes death is painful for those left behind and yet the memories of the good times  will last us  for ever.