Summerville football coach John McKissick starts 60th season with 586 wins

John McKissick has not been around long enough to have received letters of commendation from George Washington or Abe Lincoln.

However, the legendary Summerville (S.C.) football coach has received those letters from such later U.S. presidents as Jimmy Carter (1977), Ronald Reagan (1987), Bill Clinton (1993) and George W. Bush (2004).

"He might be the last living American to shake hands with Winston Churchill (famed prime minister of Great Britain)," according to Billy Baker, a former Summerville student and longtime publisher of South Carolina High School Sports Report who has written two books about him.

Baker noted that when McKissick was a youngster, he skipped school one day to meet Churchill.



McKissick, who will turn 85 on Sept. 25, is beginning his 60th season at Summerville, giving him the greatest longevity as a football coach at any level – high school, college or professional. In addition, he has won more games (586) than any football coach at any level, leading MaxPreps' list of the winningest active coaches . He has 138 losses and 13 ties. Ten times he has won state championships and his teams once put together a 41-game winning streak.

The Green Wave has had just two losing seasons under McKissick. They posted a 1-8-1 record in 1957 and a 5-7 record in 2001.

"I remember those more than the wins," he laughed.

He has missed just one game during his amazing career. Actually, he attended the game, but had to sit in the stands due to a one-game suspension.

"I threw my cap (over a referee's call)," he said sheepishly.

The living legend was named National Football Coach of the Year in 1980, 1994 and 2003. He was inducted into the National Federation High School Hall of Fame in 1990. His teams have been playing home games since 1987 in a stadium that bears his name.



McKissick has sent numerous players to colleges and eight of them have reached the NFL. The pros are brothers Stanford and Keith Jennings, Mark Slawson, Fred Worthy, Kevin Long, Ian Rafferty, Jamar Nesbitt and A.J. Green.

He continues to win even though two other high schools have been built over the years in the Summerville area. When he started in 1952 at the princely salary of $2,700, Summerville had 296 students. Today it has 3,200 students and is the third-largest school in the state.

Realizing he needs just 14 wins to crack the magical 600 barrier, McKissick quipped, "It might take me 14 years. No, I'm going for 587 (the opener is Aug. 26). You've got to do one at a time. That's always been my philosophy. If it totals out to something nice, that's good."

McKissick received a pacemaker in 2005, but his health hasn't prevented him from much.

"It seems to be OK. I have a physical every three months."

Baker left no doubt about who is in charge when he said, "He still is in full command of the football team. He makes all the major decisions about personnel."



The Green Wave's 10-man coaching staff includes all but two members who once played for McKissick. Those two, however, have been with him a total of 59 years.

John and Joan (his wife of 59 years) have two daughters and all three of their grandsons – Joe and Richard Call and Donny McElveen - have played for him. Joe Call and McElveen were quarterbacks, while Richard Call was a linebacker.

Joe Call, in fact, is starting his ninth year as an assistant coach, now serving as offensive coordinator. He learned early on that McKissick was "coach" on the field. He called him "granddad" and had to run some extra laps that night.

"It's not a bit different," Joe Call said about coaching at his alma mater. "The beauty of what we have going at Summerville is that there has been very little change. Every time a new school opens they tell us we're not supposed to win. He tells us coaches, ‘If you guys wake up in the morning and aren't loving what you do, you better quit.'

"Somebody doing something that long, I can't imagine. My wife says, ‘You don't plan to do this for another 50 years do you?'''

John McKissick grew up in a strong Christian home. His father, Harry McKissick, was a Sunday School superintendent and his grandfather, Eli McKisskick, was a Methodist minister as well. His wife's father was a Baptist minister.



His family attended a Methodist Church service at 11 a.m. every Sunday, followed by a Baptist Church service at 1 p.m. There was no lunch until the second service was over.

"It's helped a lot," John McKissick said. "I say a prayer sometimes (before a game), but it's only to play with our ability and that no one gets hurt. I don't pray to win."

He had to really love football, because his father thought it was a waste of time and wanted him to work, growing up in the Great Depression. Fortunately, his mother enabled him to follow his heart as a 5-foot-10, 155-pound seventh-grade fullback in Kingstree, S.C.

Still, his parents never attended any of his games until he reached college. He graduated from Presbyterian College (Clinton, S.C.) in 1951 with a degree in economics.

Continue reading{PAGEBREAK} His first job was coaching a six-man football team in Clarkton, N.C. He did not realize it wasn't 11-man until he got there. Then he had to quickly familiarize himself with the rules. He had a fine 7-2 season, but that year isn't counted in his record, or he would be starting No. 61 instead of 60.

Summerville, which had won the last two state titles, was looking for a coach the next year. Even though the odds against him were astronomical, he applied and even he was shocked when he got the job. Later, he asked the superintendent why he was chosen over a host of more-qualified candidates and he was told it was because he was the only one who didn't ask about the salary. All he cared about was coaching.



His bride of several months, the former Joan Carter, quickly found out that he had tunnel vision when it came to football. The ex-cheerleader somehow talked him into taking her to a movie. However, as she waited on the porch to be picked up, he drove right past her and didn't realize she was not with him until he reached the movie theater.

Fifty-nine years later, she says, "He has been great. I've loved every minute of it, because I love football, too."

An enthusiastic coach's wife, Joan McKissick, now 80 years old, has kept a scrapbook each year for her husband and has missed just three games during his long career. Earlier this summer, however, she fell and broke her hip and has to use a walker. The recovery period is going to be close to six months, but she vows to attend every game in her wheelchair.

The McKissicks have found out over the years that Summerville fans not only love football, but they also hate to lose.

His most embarrassing night came during the 1976 state championship game against Greenwood. Though an underdog, Greenwood put an unreal 47-7 whipping on the Green Wave during a freezing-cold night. On the way home, the team bus broke down. Adding insult to injury, many disgusted fans drove right on past before one car finally stopped to lend a hand.

"There must have been 50 cars pass us," John McKissick recalled. "They were just flying by on I-26."



Baker has dozens of stories about McKissick's humbleness. Just recently, he believes John McKissick missed his lunch because he had invited the Summerville cheerleaders to eat with the team and he was too busy scrambling to find 25 extra seats. One of his favorites is the day that the famed coach was mowing grass at his beach house, which lies inside a fancy, gated community. A resident, who obviously didn't know him, drove by and asked if he could mow his yard when he was finished with that one.

Baker fears no movie ever will be made about John McKissick's incredible career, because it is not filled with controversy and negative things.

Every year, of course, friends and media members ask the legendary coach about his possible retirement.

"I don't have a timetable," he said. "If I'm healthy and they still want me around. A lot of guys in my school business retired and died. I've got four great grandchildren and I want to see what happens."

One of them is 5-year-old Carter Call, Joe Call's son, who made his debut earlier this month as the Summerville ballboy.

So what does Joan McKissick have to say about her husband's possible retirement?



"She used to bug me a little bit about retiring, but now she bugs me about staying," he replied.

Joan McKissick adds an exclamation mark when she says, "If he wants to keep on, it's OK with me. I know what keeps him going and healthy."

When that day finally comes, grandson Joe Call could be the heir apparent. Though there are no guarantees, John McKissick said he would lean in that direction if he had any input. Joe Call said he definitely would be up to the challenge.

"Growing up and coaching in it, I saw the mold that he has built," Joe Call noted. "I don't want to see someone come in and change it. He loves Summerville football. I'd be honored to continue that. If I'm fortunate enough for them to ask me, I'd be 100 percent. If that happens, that's my dream."