DHS teacher Chris Billingsley writes in…

Former DHS football coach Warren Vicknair died Tuesday from complications due to organ failure. His obituary is featured today in the AJC. Although not mentioned in the article, Coach Vicknair led DHS football several years in the late 1970s. In his first year (1976), Redan came to play us in the old stadium. Both teams were undefeated and ranked in the top ten. I remember future NFL great Kevin Butler kicking a 50-yard plus field goal during the game for Redan. The game was a Redan blowout but for a time that season, Decatur football returned to a level that reminded many of the glory years of the 50s and 60s. I know Coach Vicknair was proud of that season.

My own relationship with Coach Vicknair began at Saint Pius. I was in his 10th grade math class but more memorable was his coaching my junior varsity basketball team in 1969. During a game at Greater Atlanta Christian school, one of their players (Tindal Chatman) scored 57 points. This was quite afeat as there were no three-point baskets (if so, he would have scored 60). After the game, Coach Vicknair sat stunned in the locker room and asked me, “Chris, how do we let a player score 57 points?” More than 40 years later, I still wonder about how he did it.

The last time I saw Coach Vicknair was at a DHS football game maybe 10 years ago. He was the clock referee. 70 years old and he was walking up all those stadium steps to work the clock. I remember him saying that he still loved being a referee. “Great seeing you Chris. Tell your mama (who worked with Warren at Pi Hi for many years) I said hello.”

Very few in Decatur will remember Warren but there are thousands of former students, players, coaches, and referees who remember him for his dedication to education and athletics. God Speed.