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A Note from Kassy Benson,
FCHHS '62
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Legendary Woodberry Coach Harry W. "Red" Caughron Dies...
Red came to Woodberry in 1960 and became athletic director the next year. During his thirty-one seasons as Woodberry’s head football coach, he compiled a record of 217 wins, fifty-six losses, and seven ties—one of the best among Virginia high school coaches. His teams, eight of which were undefeated, earned fifteen conference championships. By the time of his retirement in 1992, he had been named Virginia Prep League Coach of the Year eight times. Red and his wife, Cathy, founded Woodberry’s highly popular Sports Camp in 1967. He received All-State, All-Southern, and All-American honors during his playing career. He was inducted into the William & Mary Athletic Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. Red is survived by his wife, Cathy, who lives in Orange. He also is survived by daughters Cindy Kemper, and her husband, Jeffery Kemper, of Madison County; and Deb Follo Caughron, and her husband, Michael Follo, of Woodberry Forest. Deb, a 1974 Woodberry graduate, has directed the school’s outdoor program since 2000. Michael Follo teaches science at Woodberry. Red is also survived by a granddaughter, Michelle Mumfrey, and her husband, Mario Mumfrey, of Newport News; and a great-granddaughter, Mariana Mumfrey.
Obituary Harry "Red" W. Caughron
Harry “Red’ W. Caughron, 88, of Woodberry Forest, died Friday, May 28, 2010 in Orange, VA. He was born on January 7, 1922, in Sevierville, Tennessee, to the late Lester and Myrtle Kerr Caughron. “Virtually the epitome of everything noble one could ask in a tackle,” and “the very best of the principles that should imbue sport” say admirers of Red Caughron when describing the All Conference tackle for the College of William & Mary and longtime head football coach and athletic director at Woodberry Forest School. In recognition of many years of athletic excellence, Coach Caughron was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in April, 2009. A native of Sevierville, Tennessee, Caughron played freshman football at William & Mary before joining the United States Army in 1943. He served with the 78th Infantry Division, 2nd Battalion, and the 84th Infantry Division. After the war, he returned to William & Mary, where he co-captained the squad that defeated Oklahoma State in the 1948 Delta Bowl, and completed both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Caughron became head football coach at James Wood High School in Winchester, Virginia, in 1950. He later coached at George Washington High School and Hammond High School in Alexandria before joining Woodberry Forest in 1960. He became athletic director in 1961, and founded the Woodberry Forest Sports Camp with his wife, Cathy, in 1967. The Caughron's retired in 1992. Over 31 seasons as Woodberry’s head coach, Caughron compiled a record of 217 wins, 56 losses, and 7 ties, one of the best among Virginia high school coaches. His teams, eight of which were undefeated, earned 15 conference championships. He was an 8-time Virginia Prep League Coach of the Year. Asked to describe Coach Caughron, his former players do not dwell on his winning record. Instead, they talk about what he meant to them as a coach, a mentor, and a man. “I marvel,” writes a player from the 1960’s, “at how such a physically powerful man could, at the same time, be equally good, even gentle and empathic.” “Often I found him watching me, in the halls and on the practice fields,” writes another former player, “and I always felt that his attention gave me special powers. I knew that if Coach Caughron valued me so highly that he was interested in my success, then I really must have had something special to offer.” A former player who went on to play safety for the Virginia Cavaliers in the 1980’s says, “No one other than my parents has made as big of an impact on my life as Red Caughron.” “Red was widely recognized by countless Woodberry graduates as a modest man who, while committed to winning, was even more invested in developing young men of sterling character who played by the rules and exhibited good sportsmanship,” said Woodberry Headmaster Dennis M. Campbell. “He and Cathy are beloved across the Woodberry community.” One of his former players, who quarterbacked for Virginia in the 1970’s, notes that Coach Caughron did not tell any of his colleagues at Woodberry when he was about to be inducted into the William & Mary Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984. He simply took the day off and drove to Williamsburg to accept the award. Thanks to the efforts of many Woodberry alumni, parents, and friends, the school has been able to honor Red and Cathy Caughron in numerous ways. In 1992, Woodberry established an endowment in their honor to support and enhance its athletic program. The school is currently raising funds to name its athletic facilities for Coach and Cathy. Mr. Caughron is survived by his wife, Catherine Jane Jones Caughron; two daughters, Cindy Caughron Kemper and husband, Jeffery, of Syria, Virginia and Deb Folio Caughron and husband, Michael Follo, of Woodberry Forest; granddaughter, Michelle Mumfrey and husband, Mario; great granddaughter, Mariana Mumfrey; sister-in-law, Dorothy Jones; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brother, Grady B. Caughron; and sister, lmogene Caughron Smalling Lovelace; and brothers-in-law, James Irwin Jones and William Francis Jones. The family wishes to thank Joe & Mary Coleman,
Wallace Hornady, Faulkner Sgro, |
