Good friend of Ray Harrison checks in on High School Football with the Page Pirates back in 1968

Hi Andy,

Richard Queen here from Woodruff SC … I read an article a while back
discussing Coach Yates and how tough it was way back then .. I played with Ray
Harrison at Proximity
and was on the Page JV team in 1968-69 year .. I started at
Fullback and DE and quit the team with 2 games to go as we moved to Gaffney SC and
then moved and played my jr. and sr. seasons in South Georgia … YATES WAS A
MANIAC , he loved that damn hill and everyday to end practice we would run “hills”
, being a fullback I was lucky to run with the linemen .. I often saw those guys run
until some would just crawl and in some cases even stop and cry , Yates would be
standing there hollering at them calling us names LOL .. Ray was promoted to Varsity
but we practiced and scrimmaged together a lot .. Ray was a great guy and team mate
.. I’ve only seen one other player who could compare and that was RB Doyle Orange
from Waycross Ga .. I remember getting home from practice in Greensboro and just
laying in bed drinking water from a pot , Heck I was so broke down by gameday I had
to push myself just to get through the game .. We were the best conditioned team in
the state maybe over conditioned .. I,’ve often wondered what happened to Ray .. Sad
to hear about his problems but glad to hear he’s rebounded .. On second thought I
think Ray was the best I ever played with….

Keep up the good work Andy , your friend
Richard Queen

3 thoughts on “Good friend of Ray Harrison checks in on High School Football with the Page Pirates back in 1968

  1. Coach Yates was tough but he fell short of being a maniac.
    His 4th quarter conditioning was legendary. We were in very good condition.
    I played in 1970(JV team when Ray Harrison was a senior),1971 &1972.
    These were the last 3 years of Coach Yates’ tenure.

  2. Was Ray Harrison the best athlete that you have ever seen that has come through Greensboro? Many have said that and I was just wondering…He was really something in basketball and football….I have always heard that he could have started in both at North Carolina….He might have been a track man too….Don’t remember….

    Let’s let the Coach and others chew on this one for a while……

  3. Ray did run track also 110H Hurdles and High Jumped.. He also ran on the relay team with myself, M. Huntley. @ Proximity Ray
    Harrison also was one of the best Baseball players (center field) their and maybe in Greensboro along with K. Smith and this kid that played Short Stop that dude had a glove on him. I can not remember his name but I do remember his play.
    As far as Coach YATES BEING A
    MANIAC…LOL Na it depends on how you looked at it…lol It was all fun if you came in shape but if you didn’t work out over the summer and came in out of shape. I could see Richard Queen point..lol Between the 10-10’s and the Hill ..lol. But coach Yates and coach long made me a lot of money..lol Because I used to bet other players on who would make it and who wouldn’t make it to the end of practice…lol
    If they crawled are cried,If they crawled and cried I made double and if a player Vomited it was Triple…lol
    We all had to do it so it was no big deal. MANIAC no Good coaches yes.

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