St. James field dedication honors life of school's championship coach Perry
Judy Perry, widow of Jimmy, cuts the ceremonial ribbon to signify the official naming of Jimmy Perry Stadium on Friday. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
When former St. James football coach Neal Posey saw his mentor, Jimmy Perry, was being honored with a stadium dedication on Friday, he didn’t hesitate to make the five-hour drive from his Tennessee home to Montgomery.
“As soon as I got something in the mail about the date, I matched it up and we were off that week,” said Posey, who followed Perry as the Trojans’ head coach in 2023 and is now the quarterbacks coach at East Tennessee State. “As long as I’m not out recruiting, we’re there. Everything I’ve done in coaching has been because of his mentorship, I’m just excited to be here tonight for this dedication.”
Dedicating the stadium to the school’s winningest coach might be an obvious choice but it was also an emotional one in honoring a Hall of Fame football coach who coached the Trojans to their first state championship in 2022, retired following the season and passed away after a battle with cancer in January.
In addition to Hall of Fame coaches Terry Curtis and Jack Wood, the audience included Perry’s wife Judy, daughter Jana and son Danny.
“It’s so surreal, “ Danny Perry said. “It’s funny how God works like this, how deeply connected this field is to our family because when I walked off the field (as a St. James senior) 26 years ago, I had no idea I would be back for something of this magnitude.
“It means everything. A lot of times you lose names to history or people may not remember everything you did or you said. This monument they’ve constructed will make sure his legacy will never be forgotten. It’s amazing.”
The entranceway features a sign announcing “Jimmy Perry Stadium” as part of the athletic complex that includes the football field, the practice field and the fieldhouse.
“It’s natural for us to want to honor Coach Perry because he honored everyone around him -- the way he treated his players, the way he worked with his coaches, the parents,” head of school Dr. Larry McLemore said. “He built up kids with character. We had a lot of football alumni who were very interested in doing something to honor Coach Perry. The school, of course, is grateful to do something for Coach Perry and his family loves St. James.
“It was pretty clear to us that naming the stadium and updating the stadium to make it better was the best opportunity. For years, this has been Carlisle Field. We’ve also got McPhillips Fieldhouse, which has been established for many years, nearly 30 years. We’ve got the J.R. Brown Pressbox. This whole stadium area, it was a great opportunity to improve that, but most of all honor Coach Perry.”
The ceremony also provided an emotional moment for Larry Ware, the former Mr. Football who played for offensive coordinator Jimmy Perry at Robert E. Lee High who later became a Perry assistant coach at St. James and now serves as the school’s athletic director.
“It means the world,” Ware said. “Jimmy’s been great everywhere he’s been. He’s been a staple in my career. Jimmy is the reason why I’m doing what I do right now. When I finished college, I didn’t have a clue as to what I really wanted to do. I got a job at Cottonwood High School and when Jimmy got the job at Lee, he was the first call I made. He said just come on home and I’ve been coaching ever since.”