Danny Winecoff

 

By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Fourteen years ago, I went out to visit Danny Winecoff.

I usually handled the Post’s “Friday Night Legends” stories over the phone, but Winecoff had stories to tell about Salisbury’s 1973 and 1974 football seasons, and when a two-time county defensive player of the year, a two-time county athlete of the year and a Shrine Bowler, requests to talk in person, well you do what he says.

I knew I didn’t want Winecoff tackling me.

At least one publication rated Winecoff as a top 100 player nationally when he was a senior defensive lineman for the Hornets, but the only visible trophy at his residence was the MVP award from a state fast-pitch softball tournament. It was dated 1954. His father, R.T. Winecoff, had been wounded as a Marine in World War II but had survived to become a pitching sensation for Cartex Mills in the days when fast-pitch men’s softball was a huge deal.

Winecoff inherited his athletic ability and grit from his father. He explained that his calves, twice the size of an average human’s, came from the Atwells on his mother’s side.

Winecoff had dozens of deer antlers on display, the mark of a successful hunter. Dangling below the racks of antlers were a pair of scuffed red football shoes.

Needless to say there was a football story connected to those red shoes.

But some background first.

During Winecoff’s football glory days, the schools in Rowan County were not part of the NCHSAA.

Instead they were members of the Western North Carolina High School Activities Association, known as the WNCHSAA.

The WNCHSAA, which disbanded after the spring of 1977, was basically four conferences, although they were four elite athletic conferences. Forty-two schools were members at different times, although in an average year, it was usually about 35. The North Piedmont Conference, mostly county schools, and the South Piedmont Conference, mostly city schools, were the easternmost teams. The Southwestern Conference included schools such as Shelby, Kings Mountain, South Point and Crest, while the Northwestern Conference featured such schools as  Hickory, Watauga, Lincolnton, Morganton, Newton-Conover and Wilkes Central.

In 1969, East Rowan became the first Rowan school to encounter Shelby on a football field. The Mustangs, coached by W.A. Cline, beat the Golden Lions 26-21 in the WNCHSAA championship game to conclude a 13-0 season that would stand for 40 years as the last perfect season by a Rowan football team. No one did it again until West Rowan went 16-0 while  winning the 3A NCHSAA state championship in 2009.

In 1970, Boyden lost to Shelby 13-7 in the WNCHSAA championship game. Shelby beat a team that Pete Stout always said was the most talented high school team he ever coached. That setback had Stout wondering if he’d gotten into the wrong line of work, but things would change.

In the fall of 1971, Boyden made a formal name change to Salisbury. Full integration came to the city of Salisbury in 1969 and “Salisbury High” reflected that the school was now a combination of Boyden and J.C. Price, the school that had served the Black students of Salisbury. The black and gold of Boyden — the Yellow Jackets — and the red of J.C. Price — the Red Devils — were the school’s colors.

In 1971, Salisbury battled to a 14-all tie with South Point in the WNCHSAA championship game. No overtime was played. The teams were declared co-champions.

In 1972, Salisbury fielded another stellar team and allowed only two TDs in four county games, but lost to Concord and Statesville in the SPC and did not make the playoffs with an 8-2 record.

In 1973, Salisbury achieved the first outright WNCHSAA crown for Stout and his staff, blasting Thomasville and Mooresville in the playoffs before shutting out Watauga in the championship game. The Post predicted defeat for the Hornets against Thomasville. Salisbury beat the Bulldogs 52-0.

In 1974, the Hornets again beat Thomasville and Mooresville in the playoffs. This time they got their rematch with Shelby.

Winecoff became a standout football player at Knox Junior High, where they used the same offense and defense that the high school did. He watched his favorite player, Robert Pulliam, dominate for the high school and was as distraught as anyone when Pulliam’s team said goodbye to its undefeated season against Shelby in the 1970 finale.

Salisbury used defensive coordinator Charlie Little’s 6-2 defense, an alignment you only see in goal-line situations now, but teams didn’t put the ball in the air as much in that era. With a six-man front and eight in the box, the Hornets crushed running attacks and dared teams to throw. Winecoff played defensive guard, a position that no longer exists, in 1973, but in 1974, he was moved to tackle. In those two championship seasons, Salisbury had nine shutouts and never allowed more than 16 points.

Winecoff’s family and his girlfriend’s family enthusiastically rang cowbells whenever Winecoff made a tackle. The sound of cowbells could be heard frequently at Ludwig Stadium.

Winecoff had many stellar teammates on a lockdown defense that allowed 6 points per game. Salisbury linemen Cornelius Hart, Tony Leach and James Wright, linebackers Erwin Solomon and David Gibson and defensive back Ronnie Wood were all-conference and all-county players.

There were no bloggers and no web sites for fan commentary in 1974, but Salisbury coaches  learned through the grapevine that the Lions were painting their shoes gold for the WNCHSAA championship game against the Hornets.

After a vote, Salisbury players answered by painting their shoes bright red.
Salisbury trailed 3-0 most of the game, but the Hornets rallied to win 14-3. The defense stuffed the Golden Lions, and Salisbury back Leonard Atkins, who had trampled Mooresville the week before for 179 rushing yards had 24 carries for 154 yards against Shelby.

That game meant enough to Winecoff that those painted red shoes were still hanging in his home 35 years later.

Besides beating Boyden for the WNCHSAA championship in 1970, Shelby won WNCHSAA titles in 1968 (over Thomasville), in 1972 (over Mooresville) and in 1976 (over Lexington). It has been an incredible football program over the years.

Rowan games vs. Shelby

1969 — East Rowan 26, Shelby 21. East had its best defense ever, and QB CM Yates and receiver Johnny Yarbrough went to work after Shelby took a 21-20 lead with 1:45 left. After three completions to Yarbrough and a roughing penalty, Yates scored the decisive TD on a sneak.

1970 — Shelby 13, Boyden 7. Shelby made it two WNCHSAA championships in three years with a defensive-minded victory. Boyden wasn’t lucky. Kenny Holt, the Boyden quarterback, had to leave the game for a helmet repair with Salisbury inside the Shelby 10. The next play was a fumble.

1974 — Salisbury 14, Shelby 3. Red shoes vs. gold shoes. A lot of Salisbury defense and a lot of yards by running back Leonard Atkins.

1983 — South Rowan 21, Shelby 10. It was an era when conference runner-ups played in “Division II” playoffs. It was a super way to raise funds with additional games between good teams. South was SPC co-champion but had lost head-to-head against Concord, so the Raiders were in “Division II.” The Shelby game was for the Division II Western championship, and the Raiders, who had beaten Davie and Hibriten in earlier rounds, won it. No state champion was decided, but the win was one of the highlights of Larry Deal’s coaching era and gave South a school-record for wins in a season (11) that still stands.

2000 — North Rowan 34, Shelby 24.North won at Shelby in the second round of the playoffs. Marcus Lawing ran for two TDs for coach Roger Secreast’s Cavaliers, who rallied from a 10-6 halftime deficit. Alfonzo Miller threw a TD pass to Graham Hosch, and Hosch threw a TD pass to Miller. North outscored Shelby 20-0 in the fourth quarter.

2009 — Salisbury 34, Shelby 26. Coach Joe Pinyan’s Hornets won on the road in the second round of the 2AA playoffs. Salisbury rolled for 393 rushing yards, with Dominique Dismuke, Ike Whitaker and QB John Knox all getting more than 100.

2010 — Salisbury 21, Shelby 14. Salisbury trailed 14-0 going to the fourth quarter at Ludwig Stadium, but Knox threw touchdown passes to Keion Adams, Romar Morris and Dismuke to pull it out. Kicker David Simons made a recovery of his own onside kick that was critical in the comeback.

2013 — Shelby 45, North Rowan 21. North came into the third-round playoff game 13-0, but the Golden Lions scored three straight touchdowns in the second quarter and pulled away. Shelby amassed nearly 500 yards of offense.

2019 — Shelby 34, Salisbury 0. Shelby’s defense dominated in the 2AA state championship game in Winston-Salem. The Hornets had negative rushing yards.