Winningest coach in America

Eric Staples was a Christian gentleman who was born in Roopville, Georgia, in 1905. He passed this life in 1983 in Perry. 

He came to Perry in the fall of 1933 after being heavily recruited by Perry High School Principal Jim Gooden with the full backing of the Houston County Board of Education. Staples first coached at three West Georgia schools for six years (Rockelo for one season, Bowden for three seasons, Tallapoosa for two seasons) and later at Perry for 32 years. 

His teams over 38 years won 924 victories against only 189 losses. Staples’ basketball teams at Perry High School captured eight state championships and 25 region/district championships.  After Staples retired in 1965, Coach Paul Hartman, an assistant coach under Staples, led his 1966 team to an unprecedented 9th state championship through superior coaching and determined players who would fight to the finish. 

Under Staples, Perry High School became a dynasty in the hotbed of Georgia basketball, often playing higher classification schools. Perry became a basketball town that lived from week to week on the exploits of its great teams.  Out-of-town games would see Perry businesses close early so their workers could travel to the game.

Georgia sportswriters and fans alike called Coach Staples “Georgia’s Mr. Basketball” and the “Dean of Georgia Basketball.” His players and students could not pronounce “professor,” so they called him “Fessor.” Sports Writer Sam Glassman of the Macon Telegraph said you could “brush off a bench for the Panthers” in the state tournament because they were expected to be there.  

Coach Staples was a master of the X’s and O’s, a master strategist and master psychologist, who determined the best way to counteract the opposing team’s offense and defense. Staples did not bounce up and down on the sidelines, but was a very cerebral individual who sat quietly on the bench, analyzing the offensive and defensive plays of the opposing team to counteract them with a preemptive ploy of his own. Such a tactic was used in the state championship game in 1953 — Perry’s third state championship.

Four other individuals rank with Staples as Perry’s greatest individuals. They are United States Senator Sam Nunn, 4-star Army General Courtney Hodges, Representative Larry Walker, and Superior Court Judge George Nunn. 

Sam Nunn was Chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee and the advisor to six U.S. presidents. He co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) with philanthropist Ted Turner and served as its co-chair. Nunn worked with U.S. Senator Richard Lugar to deactivate more than 7600 nuclear warheads worldwide. The NTI consistently monitors nuclear, biological, and chemical threats throughout the world. I saw Sam Nunn play in the 1956 state basketball championship game. Sam was Perry’s leading scorer, connecting for 27 points, mostly on outside shots, in the crucial title game against an undefeated Valley Point quintet. 

General Courtney Hodges commanded the First Army in Europe, successively directing his army during the ‘Battle of the Bulge’ and the ‘Normandy Invasion.’  He came to Perry to speak in 1949.  He spoke outside at the Perry School Building.  The crowd gathered on the school grounds.  I was impressed with the gallantry of the occasion, especially hearing a former Perry native speak. 

Rep. Larry Walker, the Georgia House Majority Leader for many years, brought many Funding and Capital Improvements to Perry. Larry could have become the Governor of Georgia. Walker founded a premier law practice in Perry, which significantly contributed to Middle Georgia’s economy and the legal well-being of its clients. 

Superior Court Judge George Nunn served for 30 distinguished years.  He was truly a great judge who advanced the cause of jurisprudence, serving as ‘President of the Council of Superior Court Judges’ and was nominated to serve as a ‘Georgia Supreme Court Judge.’ Judge Nunn was a starting forward on Perry’s 1962 state championship team and contributed heavily to its success on the hardwood. George Nunn replaced “Fessor” Staples as the adult Sunday School teacher at Perry’s Methodist Church, a position Staples held for 38 years. George is reputed to be one of the best Sunday School teachers in Houston County.

Proverbs 37:23-24 states: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with His hand.”