Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 20, 1993 TAG: 9308200086
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: FERRUM LENGTH: Medium
No, many Ferrum undergrads have been most stunned by Norton's success in a physical education class on fishing, in which he regularly showed his expertise by fly-casting a pencil or an unlit cigarette from someone's mouth.
Norton will remain an avid outdoorsman, environmentalist and Trout Unlimited member, but in a few months, he no longer will be a coach.
Don't waste time checking record books. Norton's retirement at the end of this season - a subject he chose to run like a triple reverse past this columnist Wednesday - will be the biggest loss in Ferrum sports history.
He may have worked at a small school, but Norton, who is retiring at the end of the Ferrum's 1993 season, casts a huge shadow in college football. That's not because he appears to be hiding a football just above his waist, under his coaching T-shirt.
"I've had this problem for years," Norton deadpanned.
What's that, Hank?
"Groceries," Norton said, chuckling.
Playing straight man for Norton has to be easier than playing football for him, but probably not as enjoyable and certainly not as rewarding. Norton calls himself "an old field coach," which is another way of saying that the meetings, film sessions, scouting and desk work that have seeped into coaching in Norton's 34 years at Ferrum are not what he's about.
Hank Norton is the genuine article, as they used to say when people used to chuckle, like Norton still does. When he came to Ferrum from Powhatan High School one day when Eisenhower was in the White House, he wasn't quite sure if this was where he wanted to become a college coach.
Instead, he became an institution. Norton is Ferrum.
"I thought over the years, `If we just had some neon lights . . .' ," Norton said after revealing that this finally was the final year. "We just got the Dairy Queen last spring. It's progress. I remember when I first drove in here. It was like coming in with Cheyenne. Heck, the only thing I knew about Franklin County was that it was known for moonshine."
Now, thanks to Norton's 30 winning seasons since 1960, it's known for more.
The victories, the championships and the seasons will be Norton's legacy, but the numbers won't reveal how the West Virginia native got to this finish line. He did it with hard work, with consistency, with humor, with love and above all - and deservedly - with respect.
His act will be tough to follow, but Ferrum has had someone following in Norton's footsteps for a decade now. Associate head coach Dave Davis should be Norton's successor, a no-brainer of a decision if there ever was one for President Jerry Boone and new athletic director Ted Kinder.
So, how has his game changed since Norton became a head coach at Powhatan?
"There were no face masks on helmets then," Norton said, recalling 1954. "I remember we came out against Caroline County - they were very good - and we had on these face masks that were clear plastic with a little hole where your mouth was. They told us to take our masks off. They called us `a bunch of cowards,' and then we beat them.
"If you didn't have face masks today, no one would play. No one would go out there. I wouldn't blame them."
He also has another vivid memory from Powhatan.
"I had to be the world's worst basketball coach," said Norton, whose humor often comes at his own expense. "One game we were behind 58-5 by halftime."
Norton could have gone elsewhere years ago. He was mentioned in connection with openings at South Carolina and Virginia Tech. He was interviewed for vacancies at Richmond and William and Mary. James Madison's young program once intrigued him. However, he stayed, so where does that leave him standing among the legends?
How about one victory ahead of the late Woody Hayes and a few behind Penn State's Joe Paterno. Bo Schembechler can't catch Norton. Eddie Robinson, Bear Bryant, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Paterno and Hayes are among only 10 college coaches who have won more games than Norton. Each of those retired or deceased is in the College Football Hall of Fame.
After Norton finishes what promises to be a very emotional season for the Panthers, he should start writing his acceptance speech.
He already has made his last four-coaches-to-a-hotel-room recruiting venture. Instead of looking for players to play schedules that were mostly bears, he'll be searching for turkeys.
"I love hunting turkeys," Norton said. "I like the hunting, but I don't shoot them. I don't hurt animals."
No surprise there. Yes, Hank Norton is a giant, but a gentle one. And he will be missed by more than his game.
by CNB