No county in South Carolina has a tradition of winning like Spartanburg County does.
This was a statement I believed to be true after growing up in the county and after years of covering high school sports for the local newspaper, the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, but I had no clear evidence.
While researching my first book, "Where Champions Play - Spartanburg County Prep Football", I finally sat down with a blank sheet of paper, a list of all 46 counties and the state record book. I kept adding pen marks beside my hometown, and I soon realized I was right..
Marcus Lattimore, former Byrnes star,now with the San Francisco 49ers.
File photo by Cecil Copeland
Since 1950, no county has won more than Spartanburg. The county owns 29 state championships. Other counties are close in this modern era, but no one can top Spartanburg.
Winning isn't a one-school ritual. Many know about the success of Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.), which has been among the nation's top programs since 2000, but winning didn't start when the new century began.
Woodruff (S.C.) was led for almost 50 years by coach Willie Varner, and he won 383 games and 10 state titles. Spartanburg (S.C.) dominated the 1990s, winning three straight state championships during one impressive stretch.
These are the stories, teams and coaches that I wanted people to remember. It's easy to name the county's greatest players from the past decade - NFL players like
Marcus Lattimore and D.J. Moore come to mind - but it's the players from the 60s, 70s and 80s that I don't want to be forgotten.
The 180-page book tells the story of the players and coaches who made these programs such a success, and it tells how the programs plan to continue the trend of winning. It includes over 100 photos as well.
The book, published by Hub City Press, may be purchased at these sites:
www.hubcity.org/press,
www.amazon.com and
www.barnesandnoble.com.
Jason Gilmer is a former prep writer for the Spartanburg
(S.C.) Herald-Journal and a MaxPreps.com contributor. He now lives in Boone,
N.C., but still keeps up with prep football in his home state by writing a blog
for the Herald-Journal about the topic, Gilmer's
Gospel. Follow him @gilwriter
