Post by Bin Over on Jan 20, 2009 12:21:49 GMT -6
Woodruff legend Varner passes away at 82
Wolverine great led Woodruff to 16 state titles in football, basketball, baseball
As the football coach at Woodruff, "Willie" Varner compiled a 383-132-10 record. His 383 victories rank second in the state and sixth nationally
For 43 years, it was normal to go to Woodruff High School football games and see W.L. “Willie” Varner roaming the sidelines as coach of the Wolverines.
W.K. “Willie” Varner
By The Numbers
383 Wins as a football coach, which ranks second in the state and sixth nationally
10 State football championships, which ties him for first place in the state with Summerville’s John McKissick
28 Conference football title won at Woodruff
3 State championships in girls basketball
43 Years as the football coach at Woodruff High School
Did you know?
His first coaching job was in the Clinton School Dist.
He worked at the Joanna School, Joanna Jets
There was a Pepsi bottle made with Varner’s face on it after he was named to the National High School Sports Hall of Fame.
He was given the Order of the Palmetto, the highest honor given to a South Carolina civilian, in 1996.
Hall of Fame coaches Shell Dula and Keith Richardson were assistants to Varner before they got their first head coaching jobs.
Varner’s milestone wins
No. 1 – Woodruff 7, Boiling Springs 0, 1954
No. 100 – Woodruff 40, Winnsboro 0, 1966
No. 200 – Woodruff 35, Pendleton 14, 1976
No. 300 – Woodruff 43, Liberty 0, 1986
No. 383 – Woodruff 14, Woodmont 6, 1996
State championship wins
1956 – Woodruff 12, St. Andrews 6
1957 – Woodruff 14, L.B. Clearwater 12
1965 – Woodruff 12, Berkeley 7
1975 – Woodruff 21, Bamberg-Ehrhardt 14
1976 – Woodruff 31, Lake View 0
1977 – Woodruff 27, Mayo 6
1978 – Woodruff 30, Andrews 0
1980 – Woodruff 34, Swansea 0
1983 – Woodruff 7, St. John’s 0
1984 – Woodruff 23, St. John’s 7
In the past few years, Varner has been on the sideline as the Wolverines have enjoyed a rejuvenation.
Varner, though, won’t get to see if the current Wolverines can make a return to the glory days of winning state titles.
Varner, the legendary coaching giant who won 10 football state titles and 16 total state titles in more than 40 years at Woodruff, died Tuesday morning after a brief illness. He was 82.
“His commitment to Woodruff High School will never be matched again,” said Keith Richardson, a former assistant coach who went on to have a Hall of Fame career at Clinton. “There won’t ever be anyone as committed to that school, or any school, as he was. It was just amazing his love for Woodruff High School.”
As the football coach at Woodruff, Varner compiled a 383-132-10 record. His 383 victories rank second in the state and sixth nationally
His Wolverines won four straight state titles from 1975-1978, a feat that only two other schools can boast.
“I never thought about it being difficult,” Varner said in 2006 about winning. “I just thought that’s what you were supposed to do.”
“I’d have to put him up there among the finest coaches ever in South Carolina,” said Summerville coach John McKissick, who’s tied with Varner for most football state titles won. “He would work hard, he was dedicated. I can’t say enough good about him, to tell you the truth.
“I would have to put him up there as tops among the coaches in South Carolina.”
Because of his winning ways, Varner was inducted into the National High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1994, the S.C. Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame. He was named national coach of the year in 1983 by the National Federation of State High School Associations.
He coached in the Shrine Bowl and in the North-South all-star game, which he won twice.
His playing ability earned him a spot in Wofford College’s Athletic Hall of Fame. He played football and track for the Terrriers in the 1950s after a stint in the Army.
He went to work at Woodruff High School in 1953 and took over as the football coach a year later. After back-to-back losing seasons, Varner led the Wolverines to a state championship in his third season.
“Woodruff had not had much of a tradition,” said former Woodruff All-American player and Laurens football coach Bobby Ivey in 1993. “It’s just like anything else. When you go into a program that’s down, it takes a while to build. It didn’t take him long.”
The titles kept coming for Varner, as he won football crowns in four decades.
His football teams won 28 conference titles and 16 upper state titles during his tenure.
“He was a great coach and more importantly he cared about you as an individual. He was always there for you,” said former quarterback Tony Rice, who led the Wolverines to multiple state titles and then won a national championship at Notre Dame, in 2003. “They ought to name the town after him after all he’s done for the community.”
Varner had chances to leave the small school for a bigger challenge, but he never left, even after the school district board voted to take away his coaching and athletic director positions in 1996 and opted for Varner to become an assistant principal.
“He’s as big an icon as anyone in this state,” said Freddie Brown, former Woodruff and current Spartanburg High School football coach. “What he did during his time is unheard of. When he could no longer coach, though, he continued to contribute to that community and he never left. That’s the mark of a great person.”
Spartanburg School District 4 superintendent Rallie Liston said that Varner was a great administrator in the school system.
Varner just wanted to give back to the community and school that had given him so much.
“I want to have an impact,” Varner said in ’03. “If that means devoting time to teaching Sunday school, or if it means coaching little league, I’d just like to be involved.”
He was honored at a football game, in the stadium that bears his name, for his 50 years of service to the district in 2003.
He didn’t just coach football, as he used his coaching skills in many other sports like girls basketball and baseball. And he coached winners in every sport. His girls won four state titles in his 12-year tenure as the basketball coach (1964, ’66, ’68 and ’69) and he won baseball state titles in 1958 and ’59.
“I’ve said it repeatedly, but I always enjoyed coaching girls basketball better than football,” Varner said in 2005 when his girls teams held a reunion at the school. “It was because the girls always tried harder.”
Varner, whose wife, Frances, passed away in 2002, is survived by his son, Dennis, and daughter, Toni Sloan. Funeral arrangements haven’t been released.
Wolverine great led Woodruff to 16 state titles in football, basketball, baseball
As the football coach at Woodruff, "Willie" Varner compiled a 383-132-10 record. His 383 victories rank second in the state and sixth nationally
For 43 years, it was normal to go to Woodruff High School football games and see W.L. “Willie” Varner roaming the sidelines as coach of the Wolverines.
W.K. “Willie” Varner
By The Numbers
383 Wins as a football coach, which ranks second in the state and sixth nationally
10 State football championships, which ties him for first place in the state with Summerville’s John McKissick
28 Conference football title won at Woodruff
3 State championships in girls basketball
43 Years as the football coach at Woodruff High School
Did you know?
His first coaching job was in the Clinton School Dist.
He worked at the Joanna School, Joanna Jets
There was a Pepsi bottle made with Varner’s face on it after he was named to the National High School Sports Hall of Fame.
He was given the Order of the Palmetto, the highest honor given to a South Carolina civilian, in 1996.
Hall of Fame coaches Shell Dula and Keith Richardson were assistants to Varner before they got their first head coaching jobs.
Varner’s milestone wins
No. 1 – Woodruff 7, Boiling Springs 0, 1954
No. 100 – Woodruff 40, Winnsboro 0, 1966
No. 200 – Woodruff 35, Pendleton 14, 1976
No. 300 – Woodruff 43, Liberty 0, 1986
No. 383 – Woodruff 14, Woodmont 6, 1996
State championship wins
1956 – Woodruff 12, St. Andrews 6
1957 – Woodruff 14, L.B. Clearwater 12
1965 – Woodruff 12, Berkeley 7
1975 – Woodruff 21, Bamberg-Ehrhardt 14
1976 – Woodruff 31, Lake View 0
1977 – Woodruff 27, Mayo 6
1978 – Woodruff 30, Andrews 0
1980 – Woodruff 34, Swansea 0
1983 – Woodruff 7, St. John’s 0
1984 – Woodruff 23, St. John’s 7
In the past few years, Varner has been on the sideline as the Wolverines have enjoyed a rejuvenation.
Varner, though, won’t get to see if the current Wolverines can make a return to the glory days of winning state titles.
Varner, the legendary coaching giant who won 10 football state titles and 16 total state titles in more than 40 years at Woodruff, died Tuesday morning after a brief illness. He was 82.
“His commitment to Woodruff High School will never be matched again,” said Keith Richardson, a former assistant coach who went on to have a Hall of Fame career at Clinton. “There won’t ever be anyone as committed to that school, or any school, as he was. It was just amazing his love for Woodruff High School.”
As the football coach at Woodruff, Varner compiled a 383-132-10 record. His 383 victories rank second in the state and sixth nationally
His Wolverines won four straight state titles from 1975-1978, a feat that only two other schools can boast.
“I never thought about it being difficult,” Varner said in 2006 about winning. “I just thought that’s what you were supposed to do.”
“I’d have to put him up there among the finest coaches ever in South Carolina,” said Summerville coach John McKissick, who’s tied with Varner for most football state titles won. “He would work hard, he was dedicated. I can’t say enough good about him, to tell you the truth.
“I would have to put him up there as tops among the coaches in South Carolina.”
Because of his winning ways, Varner was inducted into the National High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1994, the S.C. Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame. He was named national coach of the year in 1983 by the National Federation of State High School Associations.
He coached in the Shrine Bowl and in the North-South all-star game, which he won twice.
His playing ability earned him a spot in Wofford College’s Athletic Hall of Fame. He played football and track for the Terrriers in the 1950s after a stint in the Army.
He went to work at Woodruff High School in 1953 and took over as the football coach a year later. After back-to-back losing seasons, Varner led the Wolverines to a state championship in his third season.
“Woodruff had not had much of a tradition,” said former Woodruff All-American player and Laurens football coach Bobby Ivey in 1993. “It’s just like anything else. When you go into a program that’s down, it takes a while to build. It didn’t take him long.”
The titles kept coming for Varner, as he won football crowns in four decades.
His football teams won 28 conference titles and 16 upper state titles during his tenure.
“He was a great coach and more importantly he cared about you as an individual. He was always there for you,” said former quarterback Tony Rice, who led the Wolverines to multiple state titles and then won a national championship at Notre Dame, in 2003. “They ought to name the town after him after all he’s done for the community.”
Varner had chances to leave the small school for a bigger challenge, but he never left, even after the school district board voted to take away his coaching and athletic director positions in 1996 and opted for Varner to become an assistant principal.
“He’s as big an icon as anyone in this state,” said Freddie Brown, former Woodruff and current Spartanburg High School football coach. “What he did during his time is unheard of. When he could no longer coach, though, he continued to contribute to that community and he never left. That’s the mark of a great person.”
Spartanburg School District 4 superintendent Rallie Liston said that Varner was a great administrator in the school system.
Varner just wanted to give back to the community and school that had given him so much.
“I want to have an impact,” Varner said in ’03. “If that means devoting time to teaching Sunday school, or if it means coaching little league, I’d just like to be involved.”
He was honored at a football game, in the stadium that bears his name, for his 50 years of service to the district in 2003.
He didn’t just coach football, as he used his coaching skills in many other sports like girls basketball and baseball. And he coached winners in every sport. His girls won four state titles in his 12-year tenure as the basketball coach (1964, ’66, ’68 and ’69) and he won baseball state titles in 1958 and ’59.
“I’ve said it repeatedly, but I always enjoyed coaching girls basketball better than football,” Varner said in 2005 when his girls teams held a reunion at the school. “It was because the girls always tried harder.”
Varner, whose wife, Frances, passed away in 2002, is survived by his son, Dennis, and daughter, Toni Sloan. Funeral arrangements haven’t been released.
