By Travis Jenkins
tjenkins@onlinechester.com
This summer, The News & Reporter embarked on a series of articles entitled “Chester County's Mount Rushmore of Sports” which spotlighted 10 of the best athletes and coaches in the county's history. Of course, there isn't room for 10 people on Mount Rushmore, so we need your help to whittle the list down.
Our list of 10 this summer included:
Devan Downey – A Chester High graduate, Downey is the state's second all-time leading boys scorer with 2,738 career points. He ranks in the top five in 10 other all-time statistical categories. Downey was on the All-Big East Freshman team at Cincinnati, but transferred to South Carolina after that year. As a Gamecock, Downey has been an All-SEC performer twice and looks ready to earn a spot on that list for the third time this season. He is currently averaging 17.5 points a game.
Allison Feaster – Feaster is the second leading scorer in the history of girls basketball in the state with a career total of 3,427 points. She helped Chester to a state title in 1993. Feaster holds the career records at Harvard for most career points (2,312), rebounds (1,157) and steals (308) among other marks. She helped Harvard to the first, and only, No. 16 over No. 1 seed upset in the history of the NCAA men's or women's basketball tournaments with a win over Stanford in 1998. Feaster has enjoyed a long career in the professional ranks playing both in the WNBA and abroad.
Odell Williams – A multi-sport stand-out at Finley High School, Williams is best remembered for his football exploits for the Blue Jackets. Williams was a starter at center and linebacker and was dominant at both positions, earning a spot in an all-star game for the top players from South Carolina's black high schools. Williams went on to play semi-pro football and is now the owner and operator of Williams Concrete. He is also a city councilman and is involved in several Finley alumni groups.
Bennie McMurray – McMurray was a good athlete, earning a baseball scholarship to S.C. State University, but his coaching acumen is what really sets him apart. During his tenure at Lewisville High School, McMurray won eight state titles in football and baseball and sent a steady stream of players to the college ranks. Three of his charges made it to the NFL and one made it to majors as a baseball player. He left Lewisville to build the program at Waddell High in North Carolina. He is currently the head football coach at Lancaster High.
Banks McFadden – McFadden led Great Falls High School to two state basketball titles and one state football championship in the 1930s. At what was then called Clemson A&M, McFadden was dominant in three sports. As a basketball player he led Clemson to a win in the 1939 Southern Conference Tournament, the school's only post-season basketball tourney win. He averaged 12.9 points a game on the court, a big total in the pre-shot clock era. As a senior, he had more than 1,000 total yards for the football team, intercepted two passes, was among the team leaders in tackles and averaged 43.5 yards a punt for a team that went on to beat Boston College in the Cotton Bowl. McFadden was also on the track team, where he recorded 28 first place finishes. McFadden played one season in the NFL, leading the league in total yardage. He coached track, basketball and was a football assistant for manyyears at Clemson.
Bill Watts – He was good ball player in his day, but Watts is probably best remembered for putting together some of the top little league teams in Chester. He also integrated the Chester Dixie Youth Leagues, bringing the first two black players into the league in 1970. (See early Chock Full O' Chester postings about Watts below this post.)
R.E. “Ears” Wilson – Wilson coached the Chester football team to a state title in 1963. It remains the last state title won by any boys team at Chester High. Wilson went on to coach a pair of 10-win teams at South Florence High School.
John Smith – Smith entered this basketball season with 816 career victories, the most in the history of the state. In his 40 years at Great Falls High, Smith has taken his team to the upperstate finals 19 times, to state 16 times and has won 6 state championships. Great Falls has also won 15 region titles in the last 16 years.
Sheldon Brown – Brown led Lewisville to a state football crown as a senior, rushing for 2,000 yards and providing lock-down coverage in the secondary as a defensive back. At the University of South Carolina, Brown was a two-time All-SEC pick and a two-time All-American. A second-round pick in the 2002 draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, Brown is in his sixth season as a starter and has never missed a game. Brown has 13 career picks and helped his team to a Super Bowl appearance in 2005.
Marion Campbell – Campbell was a two-time Shrine Bowl pick as a defensive linemen, earned All-SEC recognition three times at Georgia, made the All-Army team, won an NFL championship with the Eagles in 1960, served as a position coach and coordinator for many years (he was the defensive coordinator for the 1980 Eagles team that went to the Super Bowl) and was the head coach of the Eagles and Falcons.
Additionally, we are adding a few more worthy names to the mix.
Joe Collins – Collins came to Chester High School in the '40s when the football team was struggling. He never won a state crown, but he returned Chester to its former glory, posting a 51-15-6 record in one seven season stretch. He also raised money to build his team a stadium.
Maurice Morris – Morris earned a Shrine Bowl invite by rushing for 1,600 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior at Chester High. He set the all-time junior college total yardage record (3,708 yards), then went to Oregon where he became the first running back in school history to post consecutive 1,000 yard seasons. Morris spent seven seasons with the Seattle Seahawks after being a second-round pick in 2002. He started off as a kick returner. He eventually became the top back-up for NFL MVP Shaun Alexander. He rarely got to start, but he ably filled in whenever Alexander was injured. His best year in Seattle was in 2007, when he ran for 628 yards and four scores. He added 23 catches that year. This past off-season, Morris signed with Detroit. Because of injury, he is now Detroit's starter. Morris has 2,894 yards rushing in his career and 7 touchdowns. He also has 91 grabs for 693 yards and four more scores.
Kenneth Callicutt – After earning a slot in the 1973 Shrine Bowl after a terrific career at Chester High School, Callicutt went to Clemson. One of the top running backs in team history, Callicutt complied 2,256 career rushing yards. Callicutt played for the Detroit Lions from 1978-1982 where he was a stand-out special teams player, compiling 742 career kick return yards and eight caused fumbles. Callicutt was named "Special Teams MVP" twice while with the Lions.
Keith Richardson – Richardson was a 1958 Shrine Bowl pick out of Chester High. He served as an assistant to legendary Woodruff football Coach Willie Varner before becoming a legendary coach in his own right. Richardson went to Clinton High, where he posted a 239-57-2 record in 24 seasons. His teams won six state titles. He coached the girls tennis team to 3 state championships, won the state's "Coach of the Year" award six times and was named the "Kellogg's Coach of the Year" once. Richardson served as the head of the S.C. Athletic Coaches Association for many years and was recently awarded the "Order of the Palmetto" the most prestigious civilian honor a South Carolinian can receive.
Take a look to the right and vote. You can select multiple choices, but we only need four.
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Final results of the poll will be revealed soon.
