Swannanoa High School [now Buncombe Community School East] was the largest school in Buncombe County, and we always had good football and basketball teams. We were called the Warriors, and our colors were blue and gold. The football coach was Walter Shuford, a fine man, one of the best teachers I ever had, and an excellent football coach. He taught general business and math. He was there for many years, never getting paid any extra for coaching football. The only remuneration he received was from money taken in on coach’s appreciation day, the proceeds of one game per year, which was very little. Every boy who ever played for Coach Shuford always came back to visit him after graduation. They all appreciated the extra effort he had shown in making their lives better. He established a winning tradition at Swannanoa High.
Coach Shuford was a typical football coach of the thirties and forties. He wore a suit and a hat to all the games. After several years at Swannanoa, he was offered a better job coaching football at Lee Edwards High School in Asheville. It was a sad day when Coach Shuford left. Swannanoa High School football would never be the same.
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