Staff file photo / From left, Jimmy Wigfall, Donald Blansett and Johnny Stone were members of the first South Pittsburg football team that won a state football title back in 1969.Long before ever meeting Jimmy Wigfall, I felt like I knew him. Like so many people who grew up in the Sequatchie Valley, I certainly knew of him.
My dad had told stories about the "best little high school running back" he'd ever seen, and countless others described his greatness to the point that Wigfall became somewhat of a mythical character, much larger than his actual physical stature would have you believe.
So, growing up in a place where young boys proudly wear their little league jerseys to games on Friday nights and line up to high-five high school players as they make their way to the field, when I finally did meet Wigfall, the experience for a 10-year old kid was the same as if I had stood next to Bo Jackson - or for today's kids, Patrick Mahomes.
Years later, after getting to know Wigfall, it was clear he had maintained that legendary status in the South Pittsburg community for more than what he had accomplished on the football field. He was a mentor, a devoted family man and someone respected for speaking his mind, even when he knew his opinion might not be popular.
On Sunday the fear surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic became all too real for the folks throughout the valley as word spread that Wigfall, at 68 and otherwise healthy, had died in a local hospital after contracting the virus days earlier.
The loss of one of its most recognized residents was the sudden jolt of reality that no community is immune to the reach of this deadly strain of coronavirus.
"If this virus can kill Superman, it can reach any of us," said former South Pittsburg police chief Tommy Jordan. "He was our Superman."
Wigfall was the breakout star as South Pittsburg became the Chattanooga area's first state championship football team when the TSSAA introduced the playoff system in 1969. That season, at 5-foot-7, 140 pounds, the bantamweight ball carrier set a school record by rushing for 2,165 yards and scoring 28 touchdowns in 12 games.
"I've been watching football in the valley since 1959 and there have been some fantastic players come out of this area, but I can tell you that he is still the best running back I've ever seen," former Sequatchie County principal Tommy Layne said.
Photo Courtesy of the Wigfall Family / Jimmy Wigfall
Photo Courtesy of the Wigfall Family / Jimmy Wigfall (21)Wigfall became one of the central figures who helped influence the late-60s transition of integration as sports brought together the black and white communities in his hometown.
He was the MVP of that first state championship game, but his finest moment on the field had come in the last game of that 1969 regular season when South Pittsburg traveled to county rival Marion County in a showdown in which only the winner would advance to the playoffs.
The Warriors were led by future University of Tennessee and NFL star Eddie Brown, who lived up to his hype that night. However it was the pint-sized Pirate who stole the spotlight - and the game away from Brown and the Warriors - as Wigfall accounted for 192 of his team's 228 rushing yards, threw for another 154 and was responsible for all four touchdowns to lead a late rally and cement himself forever as a small-town hero.
"Like trying to corral a deer," is how one former teammate described Wigfall's running style.
"I was always smaller, but I learned that speed was the great equalizer, and I had that," Wigfall once said.
When his high school career ended, Wigfall passed on a scholarship offer to play at Austin Peay to enlist in the Army. After his military stint he returned home, where he and his wife raised their daughter and he worked at TVA until his retirement in 2012. Wigfall also served several years as a city commissioner, where his reputation and respect aided in his success.
"He loved his community like family," said Keith Garth, Wigfall's neighbor. "I complained to him one time about the people who would borrow money from him, but he told me, 'I've been on both sides, and I can promise I'd rather be able to be on the giving end than have to be on the receiving end.'
"I'll never forget that. That's just the type of person Jimmy was."
South Pittsburg has produced more all-state players and more Mr. Football finalists than any other area program, but Wigfall has been the standard by which every other Pirates athlete was measured for more than 50 years - first on the field, then as an example of how to transition from Friday night hero to pillar in the community.
"We have been blessed with an almost unbelievable number of really good high school football players here," said Pirates coach Vic Grider, whose father, Don, coached Wigfall and the 1969 title team. "People always debate about who our best players were, and there are a lot of names you could bring up, but you never had a conversation about the best ever here without Jimmy Wigfall being mentioned.
"As good as he was, though, the people who really knew him realized that he was an even better man. He stayed here and got involved in our community, so this is a tremendous loss for all of us. It's definitely a wake-up call that this virus is very scary and very real. We all feel like we lost a family member because that's just how tight this community is. Even the kids who play now have heard the stories about him and understand Jimmy Wigfall is somebody to admire."
Times Free Press sports editor Stephen HargisContact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.