Pictured are all of the former Easley High School football players from the Larry Bagwell era of 1967-72.
Jeff Holt | The Easley Progress
Pictured are all of the former Easley High School football players from the Larry Bagwell era of 1967-72.
Jeff Holt | The Easley Progress
Pictured is former Easley High School track coach David Loggins telling a story about Green Wave legend Stanley Morgan on Friday night at a football dinner for the Larry Bagwell era (1967-72). Also pictured is Coach Keith Godfrey who helped put on the event.
Jeff Holt | The Easley Progress
EASLEY — A golden era of football in Easley (1967-72) took center-stage on Saturday night. Over 50 0f those Green Wave football players showed up to pay tribute to the Larry Bagwell era.
The wife of the late Coach Bagwell (Lu) stood up at the sit-down dinner and proudly said, “He loved everybody in this room, and he would call you all by name. I just want to thank ya’ll on behalf of him.”
Coach Bagwell touched the hearts of everybody in that room, especially NFL standout Stanley Morgan.
“An unbelievable coach,” Morgan said. “We had a special relationship — he and I. I grew up with just my mom and never knew what it was like to have a father. He became not only a coach, but a father figure in my life. I was able to call him if I needed to have someone to talk to. He would advise me on things that I needed to do.”
Jimmy Porter played four years of varsity football at EHS (1968-71) and just missed playing on either of the two state-championship teams of the Green Wave (in 1967 and 1972). Porter played fullback.
“There are two fullbacks left over in this crowd out of those six years and about 10 halfbacks,” Porter said. “We have a lot of halfbacks running around here. Those are the guys who made the best players. This was special tonight. I have lived right here in Easley all my life and have seen guys I haven’t seen in 50 years. A couple of my guys in my class I’d see at class reunions, but it’s amazing to see these older guys – the ones who were a year ahead of me. I watched them play in the state championship game – got me excited to play up there on the varsity level.”
Continued Porter, “Back in the day in Easley, if you were an athlete, you played football and that’s what it was all about. A lot of those guys were my mentors and it’s special to see what’s going on with their lives.”
Listed below are additional comments from several others on that special night – and what that era of Easley football meant to them. Bill Houston and Keith Godfrey helped make this night memorable. Dr. Josh Oxendine, the EHS Principal, also gave a motivational speech about the current Green Wave football program.
Stanley Brooks (1968 EHS grad): “Coach Bagwell knew basically who needed to play where. He would do that and everything worked out really well. This is a great tribute to him for the job that he had done. The team connected with him right off the bat and we just really loved to play for him.”
Albert Fleming (1970): “When we transitioned from Clear View to Easley High — it was like everybody right off the bat got along great. We had not one ounce of trouble. All the other schools had a lot of problems. Coach Bagwell – I love him to death. He was one of the greatest that I could have ever met. After the season was over, I used to see him down at the football games, he’d recognize me and – to anyone he knew – he let them know that I was one of his football players.”
Sam Galloway (1969): “A lot of years growing up in grammar school we played against all these boys. Then when we got to junior high, we started playing with these boys. It was a continual growth during that period, getting to know them all and enjoying their company. We were just a big family. Tonight is great to see how well we’re still looking. We’ve lost several of the players, but it’s a chance to rehash and enjoy a lot of memories.”
Listed is everyone who took part in this big event last Saturday night: Al Frierson, Albert Fleming, Barry Maddox, Ben Gamble, Bernarde Moore, Bert Owens, Bill Owens, Bill Houston, Sue Hudson, Bob Carman, Bobby Smith, Brad Pressley, Charlie Roper, Chuck Nalley, Danny Bracken, David Byars, Dean Woods, Dennis Turner, Donnie Mullikin, Eddie Cisson, Emmanual Smith, Frank Finley, Gary Youngblood, Gil Payne, Grady Gaston, Greg Burrough, Jan Kelley, Jim Curtis, Jim Porter, Joe Suddeth, John Aiken, John Downie, John Julian, Johnny Lesley, John Roper, Dr. Josh Oxendine, Keith Godfrey, Ken Gamble, Ken Ross, Lewis Duncan, Lu Bagwell, Luanne Johnson, Terry Johnson, Mike Barnes, Mike Lamar, Oscar Thorsland, Susan Thorsland, Pete McGaha, Phil King, Ralphy McKnight, Rick Austin, Rick Gettys, Rick Gilstrap, Rick Stewart, Rudy Painter, Sam Gallaway, Coach Sam Houston, Stanley Brooks, Stanley Morgan, Steve Allsep, Terry Julian, Terry Smith, Thomas Duke, Tim Black, Tim DeRossett, Tim Mobley and Wayne Culbertson.