WILMINGTON — Jack Holley, known for candor, tenacity, devotion to family and his mark as North Carolina’s all-time wins leader among high school football coaches, died Monday in his home in Teachey after being hospitalized two months at Duke Medical Center. He was 74.
“It has been a real emotional thing for all of us,’’ former Wilmington New Hanover High School teammate and lifelong friend Jackie Bullard said. “He was in the conversation for the last few months. There will be thousands of Jackie Bullards and people like me, but there will never be another Jack Holley. It was because when you talk to Jack Holley you only got Jack Holley. He was just a loyal friend. He was just like our brother.’’
Besides Bullard, he remained close with high school teammates Roman Gabriel and Jimmy Helms, among others.
“We ran around together for a while and I never met a tougher, smarter and a more stubborn guy,’’ Gabriel said.
The 1957 New Hanover alumnus played baseball, football and basketball for the legendary Leon Brogden, but became the embodiment of Wildcats assistant Jap Davis, known for toughness and as a master motivator.
Teammates also considered Holley Davis’ pet. It was not uncommon for Davis to yell at Holley for mistakes and then pat him on the back.
“The great thing about Jack he was able to find that compromise of his two high school coaches,’’ Gabriel said. “He was able to take the poise of coach Brogden and the toughness, know-how and never quit from Jap.’’
In recent years, Bullard and Helms drove Holley to Duke for blood transfusions. During the treatments, Bullard noticed the interactions between Holley, nurses and the medical staff.
“They were like little magnets and just pampering him and he had that smile for them,’’ Bullard said. “We just sat back and enjoyed how they treated him with such respect.’’
Colleagues remember the legend, with 412 victories and only 96 defeats over 44 seasons as a head coach, as an influential figure.
Holley, the father of former Kinston High School and current East Duplin football coach Battle Holley, is second on the state’s all-time list for NCHSAA victories with 398.
“I could talk for days on the effect he has had on me and my life, but to come back and see the amount of players have come to see him since he was sick was phenomenal,’’ Wallace-Rose Hill coach Joey Price said. “They have come from all over the country.’’
During one of the final visits to the Holley home, Price estimates that 10 of his former coaches were there.
“That tells you of the type man he was and how he ran his program and how much he cared about people,” Price said, “and I thought about how much fun it was to work with him.’’