Showing posts with label Joseph D. Mathis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joseph D. Mathis. Show all posts
Friday, May 3, 2013
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Celebrating Greenville’s Coach Joe Mathis beyond Grid Iron Greatness
By Attorneys Janice L. Mathis and Davida Mathis
Our hearts are full of joy, gratitude and humility as we celebrate our father’s induction into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame. As coach and athletic director of the legendary Sterling Tigers, from 1946 to 1968, Joseph D. Mathis led the football team to a record of 107-17-26, including four AAA State Championships in 1947, 1950, 1953 and 1956. He also coached basketball, baseball and track, taught physical education and social studies and was Assistant Principal at GHS, counselor and coach at League Middle and job placement counselor at Donaldson Vocational Center. He coached girls, including us, with the same fervor and insistence upon excellence that he demanded of the boys, at a time when equality for women was theoretical, at best.
A gridiron star at both Benedict and Allen, after earning a degree in history, Mathis landed the job of his dreams at his alma mater. He had no money, no father, no connections and made no excuses. Winning was important, but getting an education was paramount. One former student postponed college, believing the most rational thing to do was get a job immediately out of high school to help his struggling family. He says Daddy was “relentless” in encouraging him to go to college. A full year after high school graduation Mathis introduced the student to a college coach, the young athlete accepted a football scholarship, graduated, built a thriving business and helped his family more than he ever thought possible. There are enough stories like this to fill a book, or a movie.
One friend says he was disciplined, preferring as captain to ride the team bus back to Greenville than to party with his friends. A co-worker from the tight-knit Sterling faculty says he used Mama’s Belk card to buy clothes for needy students. A former student says he regularly walked the halls at Sterling, checking athletes’ grades and class attendance. He admonished us all, “don’t ever get in the give up formation.” He stressed fundamentals, academics and hard work as the keys to success. Numerous Tiger players, including Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, went on to stand out at colleges and universities throughout the nation, including Maryland State, University of Illinois, North Carolina A&T, Florida A&M and Pacific. A few, such as Arthur Jones, J.D. Smith, R.C. Gambrell, William Thompson and Lawrence Acker, played in the NFL.
In the days of deep segregation, he treated everyone the same and Greenville responded in kind. The team drew thousands of fans to home games and was regularly covered by the Greenville Piedmont and WFBC radio. Yet, he understood the fraught legal history of race relations in the South - his master’s thesis on race relations in Greenville during Reconstruction is still widely quoted by scholars.
Daddy helped to build a political infrastructure in Greenville's black neighborhoods allowing residents to elect representatives of their choice. He was elected to Greenville’s City Council in 1979, working to improve police pay and minority contractor participation, bring the Municipal Stadium and the Braves to Greenville, and annex Haywood Road.
He passed in 2002. He was fond of saying that he hoped there would be something to do in heaven. “Like what?” we asked. “Like helping people,” was his reply. We hope the Joseph D. Mathis award will inspire others to allow God to use him or her to turn adversity into independence and achievement.
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Attorney Janice Mathis is a practicing attorney and national vice president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition; she lives in Athens, Georgia. Attorney Davida Mathis is a former prosecutor and currently practices law in Greenville. She also Co-Chairs the Greenville Chapter of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition; she lives in Greenville, S.C. Both attorneys co-host the weekly radio program “Sisters In Law” on WAOK 1380 AM in Atlanta and blog at sistersinlaw.blogspot.com.
Our hearts are full of joy, gratitude and humility as we celebrate our father’s induction into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame. As coach and athletic director of the legendary Sterling Tigers, from 1946 to 1968, Joseph D. Mathis led the football team to a record of 107-17-26, including four AAA State Championships in 1947, 1950, 1953 and 1956. He also coached basketball, baseball and track, taught physical education and social studies and was Assistant Principal at GHS, counselor and coach at League Middle and job placement counselor at Donaldson Vocational Center. He coached girls, including us, with the same fervor and insistence upon excellence that he demanded of the boys, at a time when equality for women was theoretical, at best.
A gridiron star at both Benedict and Allen, after earning a degree in history, Mathis landed the job of his dreams at his alma mater. He had no money, no father, no connections and made no excuses. Winning was important, but getting an education was paramount. One former student postponed college, believing the most rational thing to do was get a job immediately out of high school to help his struggling family. He says Daddy was “relentless” in encouraging him to go to college. A full year after high school graduation Mathis introduced the student to a college coach, the young athlete accepted a football scholarship, graduated, built a thriving business and helped his family more than he ever thought possible. There are enough stories like this to fill a book, or a movie.
One friend says he was disciplined, preferring as captain to ride the team bus back to Greenville than to party with his friends. A co-worker from the tight-knit Sterling faculty says he used Mama’s Belk card to buy clothes for needy students. A former student says he regularly walked the halls at Sterling, checking athletes’ grades and class attendance. He admonished us all, “don’t ever get in the give up formation.” He stressed fundamentals, academics and hard work as the keys to success. Numerous Tiger players, including Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, went on to stand out at colleges and universities throughout the nation, including Maryland State, University of Illinois, North Carolina A&T, Florida A&M and Pacific. A few, such as Arthur Jones, J.D. Smith, R.C. Gambrell, William Thompson and Lawrence Acker, played in the NFL.
In the days of deep segregation, he treated everyone the same and Greenville responded in kind. The team drew thousands of fans to home games and was regularly covered by the Greenville Piedmont and WFBC radio. Yet, he understood the fraught legal history of race relations in the South - his master’s thesis on race relations in Greenville during Reconstruction is still widely quoted by scholars.
Daddy helped to build a political infrastructure in Greenville's black neighborhoods allowing residents to elect representatives of their choice. He was elected to Greenville’s City Council in 1979, working to improve police pay and minority contractor participation, bring the Municipal Stadium and the Braves to Greenville, and annex Haywood Road.
He passed in 2002. He was fond of saying that he hoped there would be something to do in heaven. “Like what?” we asked. “Like helping people,” was his reply. We hope the Joseph D. Mathis award will inspire others to allow God to use him or her to turn adversity into independence and achievement.
###
Attorney Janice Mathis is a practicing attorney and national vice president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition; she lives in Athens, Georgia. Attorney Davida Mathis is a former prosecutor and currently practices law in Greenville. She also Co-Chairs the Greenville Chapter of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition; she lives in Greenville, S.C. Both attorneys co-host the weekly radio program “Sisters In Law” on WAOK 1380 AM in Atlanta and blog at sistersinlaw.blogspot.com.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Joseph D. Mathis
We will celebrate our Dad's life and work on Saturday the 14th of May in Greenville South Carolina at the West End Community Center on Vardry Street with Rev. Jesse Jackson and comedian Tommy Davison. For more information, email me at janicelmathis@yahoo.com.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
OBITUARY OF JOSEPH D. MATHIS
August 28, 1922- October 8, 2002
ATHENS, Ga. — The Rev. Joseph D. Mathis was born Aug. 28, 1922, in Cordele, Ga., to Elnora Huggins and A.C. Mathis. He was reared in the home of his maternal grandparents, Lula Taylor Huggins and the Rev. Harrison Huggins Sr. Mathis moved to Greenville during the Great Depression.
Joseph discovered a talent for the game at Sterling High. With the help of friends and by the grace of God, Mathis attended Benedict College and Allen University, where he starred at halfback and earned a degree in History.
Upon graduation, Mathis was named football coach and physical education teacher at Sterling. This job would allow him to use athletics to help other young people build productive lives and find their way out of poverty just as he had.
He married Kittie Mae Avery in 1948. That union produced two daughters, Janice and Davida. Mrs. Mathis died in 1991.
Soon after moving to Greenville, Mathis joined Israel CME Church, where he served as Sunday School Superintendent and on the Steward Board. In 1961, he entered the ministry. He pastored Young Laymen in the Nicholtown community for 31 years. He pastored Mount Olive CME Church for 10 years.
In 1970, Mathis joined the faculty of Greenville High as Assistant Principal. In later years, he worked as a Guidance Counselor at League Junior High and as Job Placement Counselor at Enoree and Donaldson vocational centers.
Mathis earned a Master's Degree in Social Studies at Atlanta University. His Masters Thesis, "Race Relations in Greenville, South Carolina: 1868-1900", has been extensively excerpted in The Greenville News.
Mathis skillfully helped to build a political infrastructure in Greenville's predominantly black neighborhoods that would allow residents to elect representatives of their choice for the first time. In 1979, Mathis was elected to City Council, where he worked to improve public transportation, to include minority contractors in public work, to bring Municipal Stadium and the Braves to Greenville, to improve police pay and to annex Verdae Place to the City of Greenville.
His survivors include Davida Mathis, and her husband, Thaddeus Allen, and their daughter, Avery Leigh Allen. He is also survived by Janice Mathis, and her husband, Harry K. Johnson, and their children, Corey and Danae.
Funeral services for the Rev. Mathis will be Saturday, Oct. 12, 2002, at 10 a.m., at Israel Metropolitan CME Church, on Calhoun St. in Greenville. The family hour is from 7 to 8 tonight, at Watkins Garrett and Woods Mortuary on Augusta St.
Published in The Greenville News: 10-11-2002
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August 28, 1922- October 8, 2002
ATHENS, Ga. — The Rev. Joseph D. Mathis was born Aug. 28, 1922, in Cordele, Ga., to Elnora Huggins and A.C. Mathis. He was reared in the home of his maternal grandparents, Lula Taylor Huggins and the Rev. Harrison Huggins Sr. Mathis moved to Greenville during the Great Depression.
Joseph discovered a talent for the game at Sterling High. With the help of friends and by the grace of God, Mathis attended Benedict College and Allen University, where he starred at halfback and earned a degree in History.
Upon graduation, Mathis was named football coach and physical education teacher at Sterling. This job would allow him to use athletics to help other young people build productive lives and find their way out of poverty just as he had.
He married Kittie Mae Avery in 1948. That union produced two daughters, Janice and Davida. Mrs. Mathis died in 1991.
Soon after moving to Greenville, Mathis joined Israel CME Church, where he served as Sunday School Superintendent and on the Steward Board. In 1961, he entered the ministry. He pastored Young Laymen in the Nicholtown community for 31 years. He pastored Mount Olive CME Church for 10 years.
In 1970, Mathis joined the faculty of Greenville High as Assistant Principal. In later years, he worked as a Guidance Counselor at League Junior High and as Job Placement Counselor at Enoree and Donaldson vocational centers.
Mathis earned a Master's Degree in Social Studies at Atlanta University. His Masters Thesis, "Race Relations in Greenville, South Carolina: 1868-1900", has been extensively excerpted in The Greenville News.
Mathis skillfully helped to build a political infrastructure in Greenville's predominantly black neighborhoods that would allow residents to elect representatives of their choice for the first time. In 1979, Mathis was elected to City Council, where he worked to improve public transportation, to include minority contractors in public work, to bring Municipal Stadium and the Braves to Greenville, to improve police pay and to annex Verdae Place to the City of Greenville.
His survivors include Davida Mathis, and her husband, Thaddeus Allen, and their daughter, Avery Leigh Allen. He is also survived by Janice Mathis, and her husband, Harry K. Johnson, and their children, Corey and Danae.
Funeral services for the Rev. Mathis will be Saturday, Oct. 12, 2002, at 10 a.m., at Israel Metropolitan CME Church, on Calhoun St. in Greenville. The family hour is from 7 to 8 tonight, at Watkins Garrett and Woods Mortuary on Augusta St.
Published in The Greenville News: 10-11-2002
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