Bill and George coached football together at John McGregor Secondary
School from 1969 until 1986 after George retired
from teaching and Bill became a school
administrator. To say that they were successful on
the field, is a gross understatement. During their
careers, their teams posted an overall record of 145 wins,
14 loses, and 2 ties, a 90% winning record. In a span of
20 years they won 17 county championships and were
finalists in two of the three non-championship seasons.
- 1969-1979
- 13 straight championships (5 junior and 8
senior)
- 1975-1980
- 46 game undefeated streak (more than 5 seasons)
- 1974-1985
- 9 SWOSSA championships in 11 seasons
- Additional
Accomplishments
- 11 undefeated seasons in career
- 20 players who participated in university
football after graduation
- 1 player who played in the CFL
- 1 player who became a university head coach
Their approach to coaching was 3-pronged. They taught
sportsmanship, discipline, and teamwork. This was
done in different ways. According to one former player,
“Bill would pat you on the back and George would kick
you in the butt”. Bill and George were excellent
communicators and superb motivators of young men and these
two attributes were the major reasons for the success of
their teams. As impressive as the records on the field
were, the life lessons they taught their players were
equally impressive.
In addition, Bill coached and umpired for 8 years for
the Chatham Minor Baseball Association and coached and
refereed for 5 years for the Chatham Minor Hockey
Association. He was manager of the Sport Mart Slo-pitch
team for 18 years while also pitching most of the games
the team played. Since 1993 to the present he has been
chairman of the Dr. Jack Parry Academic-Athletic
Scholarship selection committee as well as serving on the
Chatham Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors since 1998.
George was also very active with the Ontario Amateur
Softball Association (OASA). He umpired for 5 years, was
Kent County convenor for 10 years, served on the
Provincial Executive for 10 years, and was President of
the Chatham and District Fastball League which became the
Kent County Fastball League for 20 years. |
