Posted on November 7, 2013.
Friday night the first Millington Central High School Athletic Hall of Fame class was inducted during halftime of the Bolton/Millington football game. Family, friends and some of the honorees were on hand all night for a dinner and induction. Plaques will be made and on display in the Williams Osteen Gymnasium. And the first inductee into the Hall of Fame was William Osteen. Also a part of the inaugural class were Tommy Harrison, Bobbie Percer Sr., Chris Michael, Nancy Norwood, David Terrell, Mooney Boswell, Rex Waits, 1928 Girls’ Basketball Team, Gordon Wilson, Jake “JC” Carter and the 1962 Football Team. William Osteen “Mr. Bill” was the principal of MCHS for 31 years. He was a teacher/coach in West Tennessee for 15 years, a TSSAA basketball official for 15 years, a member of the TSSAA Baord of Control for 29 years (including 12 of them as president). Osteen has received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Federation of High Schools and the MCHS Gymnasium complex is named in his honor. Tommy Harrison Harrison was good for Millington and Millington was good for Harrison. After all when he first started coaching at MCHS in 1961, this is where he met his wife Carol. Harrison coached a total of 49 years at eight different schools but Millington is where his home and heart were. He spent 17 years at the home of the Trojans in three different stints as coach of the football team, track and field coach and athletic director. His 1993 team was the first team in school history to go 10-0 and make the playoffs. He had a number of players go on to college, both in football and in track. He contributed greatly off the field as well with a weekly radio show during the season hath put the spotlight on high school football. Bobbie Percer Sr. Look up “lifelong Trjoan” in the dictionary and you will find the name Bobbie Percer Sr. From the time he set foot in MCHS in 1945 until 1990, Bobbie Sr., was always doing something for the Trojans whether it was in his longtime role as the official scorer/and or clock operator for the basketball games or as a member of the “chain gang” for football. His goal was to give back to his school and community and he did that by volunteering his time and talent in a number of different ways including serving as president of the booster club and through his business, Millington Cleaners with his wife Donna. Giving back to the community is something that he has instilled in his family and they continue that to this very day. Chris Michael Chris Michael was a standout all around athlete for the Trojans from 1986-89. He was a four-year letterman in football and track and a three-year letterman in basketball. He finished third in the State decathlon as a sophomore before winning the State title his senior year. He earned a football scholarship to The University of Memphis where he played for four years. Michael came back to teach and coach at Millington. He coached the girls track team for a number of years and had a number of athletes compete at the next level in college. Michael has been the head coach of the Trojan Football team snce 2009. Nancy Norwood Nancy Norwood gave 36 years of her life to MCHS as an art teacher, coach and finally in 2001, principal. Norwood established the Freshman Academy which has helped improve the graduation rate by 20 percent. She was a very successful basketball and softball coach at Millington. 1979 was the first year that softball was recognized by the TSSAA as an official sport and those first three years of play saw Norwood lead her team to two State finals and one semifinal. The Trojans finished as runner up in 1979 and 1981 and fourth in 1980. Her basketball teams were very successful as well, winning a number of district and Region championships. David Terrell David Terrell was one of the first black athletes to enroll in MCHS during the time of integration and was a multi-sport athlete for the Trojans from 1968-70. He played both football and basketball and was an All-Region selection in basketball. Terrell went to Christian Brothers University on a basketball scholarship and still ranks in the top 10 all time in scoring average per game and rebound average per game for a career. Terrell came back to Millington and coached both football and basketball for a number of years before retiring. Mooney Boswell Mooney Boswell was a tremendous multi-sport athlete in college playing football, baseball and basketball at The University of Mississippi and West Tennessee State Teachers College (now University of Memphis). Starting in the 1940s, he began officiating those sports for TSSAA and did so for the next four decades. He was also very active in his community and helped organized the Millington Recreation Program and was active as a commissioner, coach and umpire. He was for years an “unofficial” aide to Millington Football coaches and for decades was the volunteer caretaker of the Trojan Football Field, a position he held until his death in 1987. In 1989, the Shelby County School Board honored him by naming it “Mooney Boswell Field.” Rex Waits Waits was a two-time All-Shelby County selection for football in 1956 and 1957. And he was named Mr. MCHS in 1958. Then until the time he passed away, he fired up the grill. Rex and his family cooked for a number of different sports including softball, baseball, wresting and of course, football as a way of giving back to the community and school that he loved so much. Rex and his wife Sue taught their children the importance of respecting the people in Millington and helping out whenever and however they could. They carry on the Waits family tradition down in the End Zone Grill that has a plaque honoring “Mr. Rex.” 1928 Girls Basketball Team This team won the first State championship in school history and remains the only team to do so. They defeated Bartlett 27-22 in Jackson and finished the year with a record of 20-1. Gordon Wilson In 1965, Gordon Wilson won State championship in cross country and the mile run. He is one of 15 runners since 1960 to win both events in the same year. He also won a State championship in the mile run in 1966. He is one of 15 runners ever to win back to back State titles in this event. Jake “JC” Carter Jake “JC” Carter played for the Trojans from 1948-51. Carter was as tough as they come on both sides of the ball and was recognized as an All-Shelby County selection in 1951. He was one of four players selected as All-Shelby County during that season which is the first time Millington football players were recognized for their efforts on the field. 1962 Football Team The first undefeated football team in school history and they were dominant. The Shelby County champions finished 9-0-1, had six shutouts on the year and outscored their opponents 307 to 39. Four members of that team were All-Shelby County selections. Glenn Griffith, Jan Mount, Skip Sunderland and Bobby Wood.
The wives of the late William “Mr. Bill” Osteen and Tommy “The Coach” Harrison, Faye Osteen and Carol Harrison spot an old friend moments before the Millington Central High School Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony Friday night during halftime of the Bolton/Millington football game at Mooney Boswell Field. William Osteen and Tommy Harrison were among the first inducted as part of the inaugural class.
