LeRoy Sprankle was a high school sports coach and athletics advocate in Eastern Tennessee and South Florida. Often referred to as the "Father of East Tennessee Sports", he had several notable accomplishments during his tenured career including: helping to standardize high school officiating in the state of Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

, pioneering interstate and international high school sports competition, and most notably, coaching several would-be prominent figures in American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and sports history.

Early life

LeRoy Sprankle was born on June 11, 1894 in Beach City, OH. He was the older brother of Dale R. Sprankle

Dale R. Sprankle

Dale R. Sprankle was a sports coach and athletic director at both Adrian College and Albion College in Michigan. Over the course of his 35 year career, Sprankle won 23 MIAA conference championships in four sports, making him one of the most winningest coaches in that conference's history.- Early...

, who would also become famous as a college athletics coach and athletics director in Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. At the age of sixteen, his family moved to Canton, OH where he graduated from high school and first became involved in athletics. He then attended Mount Union College

Mount Union College

The University of Mount Union is a 4-year private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Alliance, Ohio.Mount Union enrolls 2200 undergraduates. Approximately 50 percent are women and 50 percent are men, representing more than 22 states and 13 countries. Mount Union has an active alumni base of...

 and competed in baseball, basketball, and football while completing a degree in mathematics. In 1918 Sprankle was drafted into the First World War, and served as a Second Lieutenant at Camp Gordon in Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

. After Armistice

Armistice

An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...

, he resumed civilian life as the general manager of the Canton Independents professional basketball team. It was around this time that he became affiliated with the Canton Bulldogs

Canton Bulldogs

The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the National Football League, from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1925 to 1926. The Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917, 1918...

 professional football team and became good friends with several early football "legends", most notably Jim Thorpe

Jim Thorpe

Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe * Gerasimo and Whiteley. pg. 28 * americaslibrary.gov, accessed April 23, 2007. was an American athlete of mixed ancestry...

.

Coaching career

Following the conclusion of the First World War, there was a great demand for qualified coaches. Likewise, LeRoy Sprankle was quickly contacted by a high school in Carrollton, OH to coach its basketball team. Despite having to commute by train and lodge overnight twice a week in order to keep his Canton job, Sprankle accepted the position out of his interest for helping boys. His success there warranted him an offer to coach in Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 at Kingsport High School (which was later renamed Dobyns-Bennett High School). In late 1921, he accepted the offer and became the head baseball, basketball, football, and track coach.

While at Kingsport, he became known for taking a keen interest in helping his players and students, many of whom went on to become noted for their life achievements. Over the course of the ten seasons that Sprankle coached football at the school, he compiled an 80-38-9 record, including a 193-0 victory over Norton High School from Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 in 1926, one of the largest margins of victory in American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 at any level. His track team won 3 state championships in 11 years, and he amassed a 117-61 record in baseball. Most notably, Sprankle's basketball team was a pioneer in interstate competition. At a time when it was rare to play games out of state, his team traveled annually across the state of Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 and the rest of the Southeast

Southeastern United States

The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....

. In 1940, as part of the annual Florida trip, his team played a series of exhibition games in Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, one of the only high school sports teams ever to do so. Overall, Coach Sprankle's basketball team at Dobyns-Bennett High School went 401-142, winning 18 championships.

In 1943, he and his family were forced to move to South Florida for health-related reasons. Nevertheless he continued to coach, at Redlands High School in south Dade County, until 1953 when the school combined with Homestead High School. While retired from coaching, he worked with the new South Dade High School

South Dade High School

South Dade Senior High School is a secondary school located in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, near Homestead.The school was established in 1953....

 as business manager until he completely retired in 1964. LeRoy Sprankle died in Homestead, FL in 1972 at the age of 78, he was survived by his wife Jess, and his children, Rita and Dale. At his funeral, Bobby Dodd sent his remorse in a message that read:

Coach Sprankle became a second father to me and to hundreds of others like me.... Yes, I believe that LeRoy Sprankle has had more influence on the lives of the young people of Kingsport than any other person. I am sure he did, and I will always be grateful for the help he gave me.

Since his death, the city of Kingsport, TN has named a day in his honor. The gymnasium at the former Dobyns-Bennett High School (now John Sevier Middle School) was also dedicated after him.

Famous Players Under Coach LeRoy Sprankle

Name	College Accolades	Notable Accomplishments
Albertt H. Agett	Michigan State football and track, All-American Football Honorable Mention, 1937 College All-Star Game	PhD.
John R. Bell	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in collegiate level football. While the team is officially designated as the Yellow Jackets, it is also referred to as the Ramblin' Wreck. The Yellow Jackets are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference...	asst. football coach at Georgia Tech (1954–56, 1959–66), AD and head football coach at SW Louisiana University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, or UL Lafayette, is a coeducational, public research university located in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana...  (1957–59), AD and head football coach at East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University is an accredited American university located in Johnson City, Tennessee. It is part of the Tennessee Board of Regents system of colleges and universities, the nation's sixth largest system of public education, and is the fourth largest university in the state...  (1966–73), ETSU Hall of Fame inductee
Ed Cifers Ed Cifers Edward Clifton Cifers was an American football end in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and Chicago Bears. He played college football at the University of Tennessee and was drafted in the sixth round of the 1941 NFL Draft.-External links:*...	Tennessee University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...  football and track team captain	played with the Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...  (1941–42, 1946) and the Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...  (1947), Sports Illustrated Sports Illustrated Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...  Silver Anniversary winner, President of Charles H. Bacon Company
Robert "Bob" Cifers	Tennessee University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...  football	played with the Detroit Lions
Denver Crawford	Tennessee University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...  football team captain, College All-Star Game	drafted by the Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions... , played with the New York Yankees (1940 AFL) New York Yankees (1940 AFL) The New York Yankees of the third American Football League was the third professional American football team competing under that name. It is unrelated to the Yankees of the first AFL , the Yankees of the second AFL, and the Yankees of the All America Football Conference... , asst. football coach at Washington & Lee, Maryland University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C... , Mississippi State, and Minnesota University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
Darrell Crawford	starting QB at Georgia Tech, 2nd Team All-American, All-Star Game	played with the Chicago Cardinals, asst. football coach at the University of Richmond University of Richmond The University of Richmond is a selective, private, nonsectarian, liberal arts university located on the border of the city of Richmond and Henrico County, Virginia. The University of Richmond is a primarily undergraduate, residential university with approximately 4,000 undergraduate and graduate... , Georgia Tech Hall of Fame inductee
Van M. Darsey	Adrian College Adrian College Adrian College is a private, co-educational liberal arts college related to the United Methodist Church in the city of Adrian, Michigan.-Campus:The school is approximately a 45-minute drive from Ann Arbor and Toledo, Ohio, and 90 minutes from Detroit...  football	President of Parker Rust-Proof Company Parkerizing Parkerizing is a method of protecting a steel surface from corrosion and increasing its resistance to wear through the application of an electrochemical phosphate conversion coating...  and Tropical Paint Company, member of Board of Trustees at Adrian College Adrian College Adrian College is a private, co-educational liberal arts college related to the United Methodist Church in the city of Adrian, Michigan.-Campus:The school is approximately a 45-minute drive from Ann Arbor and Toledo, Ohio, and 90 minutes from Detroit...
Milton DeVault	not available	two term mayor of Kingsport, TN
Bobby Dodd Bobby Dodd Robert Lee Dodd was an American college football coach at Georgia Tech. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player and coach, something that only three people have accomplished....	starting QB at Tennessee University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States... , 1930 All-American	asst. football coach at Georgia Tech (1931–46), head football coach at Georgia Tech (1947–67), AD at Georgia Tech (1950–76), Georgia Tech Hall of Fame, Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Georgia Sports Hall of Fame The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is located in Macon, Georgia. It is the largest state sports hall of fame in America at .-Exhibitions:The Hall of Fame houses over of exhibit space broken down into sections including Hall of Fame Inductees, High School, collegiate sports, Olympic, Paralympic,... , College Football Hall of Fame College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...  inductee (both as a player and coach)
Paul Hug	Tennessee University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...  baseball, basketball, and track	head basketball and asst. football coach at Southwestern University in Memphis (now Rhodes College Rhodes College Rhodes College is a private, predominantly undergraduate, liberal arts college located in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Originally founded by freemasons in 1848, Rhodes became affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in 1855. Rhodes enrolls approximately 1,700 students pursuing bachelor's and master's... ), coach at UT Martin (1939–41, 1946)
Bobby Peters	Princeton Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....  basketball, football captain, and track, Football All-American	3-term Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...  State Senator, Sports Illustrated Sports Illustrated Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...  Silver Anniversary All-American
Tommy Peters	Davidson Davidson College Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. The college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently ranked in the top ten liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News and World Report magazine, although it has recently dropped to 11th in U.S. News...  baseball, basketball, football, and track, had the highest basketball PPG Points per game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of points by number of games. The terminology is often used in...  in the country final year	killed in World War II World War II World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis... , silver star Silver Star The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
Jimmy Quillen Jimmy Quillen James Henry Quillen, usually known as Jimmy Quillen was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee from 1963 to 1997.-Early life:...	not available	Tennessee House of Representatives Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Constitutional requirements:...  (1954–62), U.S. House of Representatives (1963–97)
Nat H. Reasor	Mercer Mercer University Mercer University is an independent, private, coeducational university with a Baptist heritage located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Mercer is the only university of its size in the United States that offers programs in eleven diversified fields of study: liberal arts, business, education, music,...  basketball, football, and track	played minor league baseball with the Macon Peaches Macon Peaches The Macon Peaches was the predominant name of the American minor league baseball franchise representing Macon, Georgia, during the 20th century.... , played with the Memphis Tigers (AFL), AFL All-Star Team, Mercer Mercer University Mercer University is an independent, private, coeducational university with a Baptist heritage located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Mercer is the only university of its size in the United States that offers programs in eleven diversified fields of study: liberal arts, business, education, music,...  Hall of Fame inductee
Henry W. Sams	PhD from UNC University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...	author, dean of English Department at Penn State
Beryl Shipley Beryl Shipley Beryl Cylde Shipley was an American former basketball coach. Shipley was born in Kingsport, Tennessee. He was a longtime coach at University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he broke the color barrier at that school, and faced intense criticism and opposition for doing so. In 1975 he became coach...	Delta State basketball	head basketball coach at SW Louisiana University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, or UL Lafayette, is a coeducational, public research university located in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana...  (1957–73), head coach of the San Diego Conquistadors San Diego Conquistadors The San Diego Conquistadors, nicknamed the "Q's", were an American Basketball Association team based in San Diego, California. They were the only expansion team in the history of the ABA. The team played from 1972 to 1975. They were replaced in the ABA by the San Diego Sails.-San Diego...  of the ABA American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.-League history:...  (1975), Louisiana Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, all-time most winningest coach at SW Louisiana University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, or UL Lafayette, is a coeducational, public research university located in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana...