JCSU Honors Three Distinguished Coaches:
June 26, 2008
By Benny L. Smith
Eddie C. McGirt, Dr. Winston R. Coleman, and James Cuthbertson implemented their own unique coaching styles, but collectively over the past 80 years have produced the same results – successful student athletes and historic wins for Johnson C. Smith University.
Because of this feat, the JCSU Board of Trustees approved resolutions during its spring meeting to name the university’s football field and tennis courts in their honor. JCSU President Dorothy Cowser Yancy brought the resolutions forward to the board because she felt that it was the most appropriate way to recognize their dedication, love, and hard work for JCSU athletics.
Football Field Named for Eddie C. McGirt
About Eddie C. McGirt
Coach McGirt, known to many as “Cut,” supported JCSU athletics until his death on December 21, 1999. Born in Camden, S.C. in 1920, he starred in football, basketball, and track at Mather Academy in South Carolina. He then enrolled at JCSU in 1940 and immediately established himself as one of JCSU’s legends, earning All-CIAA honors as a fullback for the football team. He entered the U.S. Army in 1943 and received a purple heart. He married Minnie Dannelly in 1945 and returned to graduate from JCSU in 1947 with a bachelor’s degree.
He then went to Columbia University to receive his master’s degree in 1952. In 1958, he came back home to JCSU where he served many teaching and coaching positions until his retirement.
McGirt was the university’s 11th head football coach. “He is the symbol of 20th century football at Johnson C. Smith University,” said President Yancy. McGirt is credited with lifting JCSU’s struggling football team to become one of the CIAA’s most respected with a 6-2 record – in only one season. For 20 years, his teams ranked at the top of CIAA standings. He was considered the “Dean of Coaches” in the CIAA, winning 118 of 191 games at JCSU.
Others who knew him say that the naming of the university’s football field as the Eddie McGirt Field is long-deserved for their most beloved coach.
Pettis Norman, who played for JCSU, was the second of McGirt’s players to play professionally for the National Football League. Norman signed on with the Dallas Cowboys in 1962, playing there until 1970 when he moved to the San Diego Chargers. He left the Chargers in 1973.
Pettis Norman recalls: “Given the fact that he gave me a scholarship, sight unseen, without ever having seen me play, he took a chance on me. It changed my life. I was going into the Air Force otherwise. He really changed my life and so to play under him was a privilege that I can’t describe. He taught me so many things. He continued to ingrain in me how to live life and how to apply myself. I really consider him one of the three most important influences in my life (next to my mother and father and Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry). They taught me to be honest, work hard, give more that is expected of you, give 110%. I tried to show him my gratitude by how I lived my life. I could not be happier that we are doing this.” Norman is the new chairman of the Eddie McGirt Foundation.
Even after his death, McGirt is still making an impact at JCSU. His family donated his plaques, photos, and other memorabilia to the university archives. Through learning more about the influential coach’s accomplishments, JCSU students will know that they themselves are a product of the same university that helped Eddie McGirt achieve unlimited success.
Tennis Courts Named for Dr. Winston R. Coleman and James Cuthbertson
JCSU has won a total of 15 CIAA tennis championships, with 14 of those under the direction of either Dr. Winston R. Coleman or James Cuthbertson.
About Dr. Winston R. Coleman
Of the three coaches honored by the recent board resolutions, Coach Coleman is the earliest serving.
A former professor and part-time coach, he received his bachelor’s degree from Penn College in 1928, a master’s degree from Haverford College in 1929, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1935. While at JCSU, he served as associate professor of ancient languages and philosophy. In 1962, he assumed the position of dean of College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, later retiring as associate dean of the college and professor of philosophy.
“Dr. Coleman was an intellectual, trained in the classical tradition,” said President Yancy, who took a humanities class from Coleman in the 1960s. “He kept his roll book in Greek and I remember that he would come into class, select one person, and then start a conversation using the Socratic Method. He might spend the whole class just talking with one student.”
In addition to his personal attention to students in the classroom, Coleman was a strong leader on the tennis courts. He started the university’s tennis team in 1931, winning CIAA championships in 1934, 1935, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, and 1960.
“Dr. Winston Coleman was one of the most brilliant professors to have come through Smith,” JCSU Associate Professor of English Maxine Moore said. “He was truly an intellectual, and tennis suited his approach to life in general. I say that because tennis is a very disciplined sport.” Moore had classes under Coleman as both a freshman and junior at JCSU in the 1960s.
About James Cuthbertson
In most recent years, Coach Cuthbertson has been the face of both men’s and women’s tennis. He was the first coach of the JCSU women’s tennis program in 1998 and has been coaching the men’s team for the past 13 years.
Cuthbertson holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has had further training at Howard University, Galludet University, University of Massachusetts at Boston, the University of New Orleans, and the University of California at Los Angeles. In addition to serving as both the men’s and women tennis coach at JCSU, he also is the coordinator of Disability Services.
Cuthbertson won his 200th men’s tennis match with a 9-0 victory over Saint Augustine’s College in April 2008.
“Winning my 200th tennis match was very important in that we have established ourselves in both men’s and women’s tennis,” said Cuthbertson. “Our winning tradition is both academic and athletic. That’s what I set out to do when I started. We are going to try to do even better in academics and athletics, recruiting some of the best scholar-athletes we can find. None of these kids might go pro in tennis, but they will go pro in life. That’s what this is all about.”
Cuthbertson has been named CIAA Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year four times (1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003), led his men’s team to six straight CIAA championships (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004), and coached the men to 84 straight CIAA conference match wins (1998-2004) and nine consecutive western division championships. His career record is 204 – 121.
His career record with the women’s team is 101-141. The women’s team was the CIAA runners-up in 2002 at the inaugural women’s championships, winning 14 straight CIAA conference games and the western division title in the process to finish 14-0.
Cuthbertson’s tennis career began at Olympic High School (Charlotte, N.C.) in 1967 when he became a member of the Olympic High tennis team where he lettered at number three as a senior. When UNC Charlotte resurrected its tennis program in 1971, Cuthbertson joined the program as junior and lettered in his senior year.
The JCSU family appreciates what these men have done by not only bringing recognition to the university, but also influencing the lives of their players to become proud and strong “Golden Bulls.” Special plaques will officially commemorate the fields named in their honor.
Note: Some information from this story was taken from the board resolutions, archival material, and press releases from the university.
