Detail. Rather, paying attention to detail. It is a trait planted into the DNA of a Bridgeport football program.

 

That detail has helped spur a legacy of winning that simply is not matched in West Virginia High School history. It is a legacy that has created a football program that helped present an image of Bridgeport on a positive front statewide for decades – long before the internet, cell phones and social media gave you anything and everything within seconds.

 

While there are so many things Bridgeport is known for statewide today, it has been known for years as a community that is a winner – and that mindset goes back to a winning football program. This is being brought up because on Oct. 30 the Indians captured the 700^th victory in the program’s history by topping Huntington 42-21.

 

How impressive is that?

 

Parkersburg, an impressive program in its own right, is the only school with more wins at 832. The Big Reds, however, have played 185 more games than Bridgeport.

 

When you throw in the 10 state titles, a non-losing streak of seasons going back to 1967, and a postseason streak that is nearing three decades, the argument can easily be made that Bridgeport is the most successful program in state history. As noted, that success has helped paint the community in a good color from the time of the first state title in 1955 to last year’s Class AA championship against another legendary program in Bluefield.

 

“Sure, it’s good for the community, but the community sure has been good to Bridgeport football,” said current Coach John Cole. “The support for the students, actually the support they have for all the students in all activities, makes it an easier situation than it would be otherwise and helped to reach that number.

 

“Looking at the number, 700 is a lot of wins,” he continued. “You have to be thankful for the community we have. It’s a big reason, with the kids being the main reason, for a lot of the success we see at the high school.”

 

It is irony in a positive way Cole is the coach. John Cole bridges the current program to the past as a player and brief assistant for the legendary Wayne Jamison. And we are talking the past all the way back before Jamison to that first state title under Coach John Murphy. It was Murphy, a Bronze Star winner and eventual FBI Special Agent who coached the Indians to their first state title in the old Class A division in 1955. Murphy led the program for just two years, but a key member on that staff was likely the man who planted the seed that carries on the winning that began in 1968 when Ed Carter was the coach and has not stopped to this day.

 

The name of the assistant on the first title team was O.D. “Dick” Williams. Unofficial BHS sports historian Mark Trippett recalled him as an assistant football and basketball coach for the Indians who coached Trippett’s father on the hardwoods. He was also the school’s athletic director and he passed in 1980.

 

So, how does an assistant coach from the 1950’s become the likely seed that created the winning that has carried on to 2020? There is no written proof, but there is Wayne Jamison.

 

It is Jamison whose name is known for more than just being on the field where the Indians today. His name is almost singularly associated by anyone that did not know him personally with football – and winning football.

 

Jamison, for those who knew and played for him, was not a rah-rah coach. If you were expecting compliments on a regular basis, you were playing for the wrong man. Jamison, actually, dished out praise in relation to football in a limited supply with one exception.

 

“Coach Jamison talked about O.D. Williams with reverence,” said Cole. “He credited O.D. for teaching him how to coach. When you think about it, Coach Jamison never played the game, so he had to learn from someone and that someone was O.D Williams. Whatever philosophy Coach Jamison came up with, O.D. Williams solidified it.”

 

There is a blurb about Williams in his profile for being in the Salem University Hall of Fame. The 1924 graduate of the Harrison County school was listed in his professional time as a coach as “running the athletic field as if it were a classroom.”

 

That certainly sounds like Wayne Jamison.

 

“Wayne taught on the field. The main lesson was keeping things simple, pay attention to detail and fine tune things. It’s not exactly the same today as when he coached, but it’s close to the same thing,” said Cole. “I believe we have a pretty good system.”

 

The system easily meets the “pretty good” standard and, at its core, is the same as when Jamison first took over in 1970. The defensive game plans are different, but the philosophy is the same. The offense, which has strayed from the patented stick-I to the power pistol and this year’s single wing, is still almost exclusively run heavy.

 

“The one real change from Coach Jamison and prior is our program for weightlifting. It’s a pretty good program, and it has allowed us to compete at a higher level lately,” said Cole. “You combine that with the philosophy of Coach Jamison, and you get good results.”

 

Cole played for Jamison in the 1980s. He coached as part of his staff just at the end of Jamison’s 27-year run that saw him amass a 230-71 record. Cole had the opportunity to soak in Jamison’s lessons that he likely formed from O.D. Williams.

 

“The big thing I got from him was paying attention to the little things. You knew it was important to him to do things right on each play from start to finish,” said Cole. “The play last three seconds, but you better do your job from beginning to end, and with the emphasis on the run it was to limit mistakes. He knew running the ball the worst thing to happen was a fumble and he could not stand it when it happened.

 

“We had to churn to get yardage and a fumble disrupted his system. He let you know it by preaching doing things right,” Cole continued. “The message is the same today that the little things add up and you need to pay attention and do things over and over. They can add up to a win or add up to a loss.”

 

Cole recalled a couple of other things about Jamison. One thing, he said, that led you to know about his inclination to do things the same way and, the other, a funny story about paying attention.

 

“When I was playing, it was odd to me Coach Jamison wore jeans in the summertime. It could be 100-plus degrees and he would be in jeans at practice. I don’t think I ever saw him in shorts,” said Cole. “Maybe that doesn’t say a thing about him. Maybe it said he was doing things his way regardless of the weather or anything else.”

 

Another hint involves Jamison and the late Larry Burner, who coached with Jamison and also served as the school’s athletic director for years. Cole said he had the opportunity to be on golf outings with Jamison and Burner and, well, things were always interesting.

 

“He was detailed away from the game and just never missed anything. Coach Jamison loved Larry and, even though I don’t golf, I would ride with them,” said Cole. “It didn’t matter who was with us, Coach Jamison knew everyone’s score because he was competitive and paid attention.

 

“In this situation, he had to pay attention,” Cole continued. “Larry would always try to get to the hole first and kick his own ball closer to the hole to get a rise out of Coach Jamison. When the golfing was done and everyone would be calling out their score, Jamison would yell out ‘Burner, I’ve got your score. You don’t have to call it out.’ The thing is, he was always right on his score and everyone’s score because he paid that much attention.”

 

Attention and detail that has spanned decades with Jamison serving as the bridge between past and present, even guys prior to Jamison like Randy Thornton who had some monster teams, including a 1962 team that went 10-0 and, for all the wrong reasons, didn’t get to battle for a state title.

 

“Wayne’s still the face of the program and, in many ways, the community because people still recall his name and associate it with winning. Everything goes back to him because the run this program has been on is a result of the blueprint he laid out,” said Cole. “He understood the importance of detail and because of that Bridgeport football has been highly regarded for a long time.”

 

As a result, so has the community. Congratulation on the 700^th win. Here is hoping there are many more on the way.

 

Editor's Note: Top photos show Wayne Jamison, left, on the sidelines in 1975, while O.D. Williams, who was the head coach of the BHS Junior High team, is shown in this 1954 photo. Second photo shows Jamison celebrating the 1979 state title and the third photo shows he and BHS Coach Bruce Carey, coaching Robert C. Byrd at the time, shaking hands prior to a game. In the fourth photo, current coach John Cole is shown talking to players in 2018, while Jamison celebrates his 1972 championship with his players in the next photo. In the bottom photo, Jamison is giving some sideline encouragement to players. All photos courtesy of the BHS Journalism Department with the exception of the John Cole photo, which is by Ben Queen Photography, and the photo of O.D. Williams, which was courtesy of Mark Trippett.