Red Myers

South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame Coach William Chambers �Red� Myers, 86, of Greenwood, husband of Marcellene �Mac� Leslie Myers, died September 4, 2012 in Self Regional Medical Center, Greenwood. World War II veteran, loving husband, father, and grandfather, active churchman, volunteer fireman, citizen, teacher and coach, Mr. Myers made legions of friends in the Columbia, Due West and Greenwood communities. He was much loved by the hundreds of young men he coached, who twice honored him with special nights. He was a recipient of the Order of the Palmetto. One of the most respected basketball coaches in South Carolina and the nation, he was a past president of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). He coached against such legends as Al and Frank McGuire and Lefty Driessel, and among his friends in the profession was UCLA Coach John Wooden, with whom he served many years at the Campbell summer basketball camp. Before moving to Greenwood in the late 1980s, Mr. Myers was a resident of Due West and member of the Due West ARP Church for almost 30 years and was currently a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Greenwood. Earlier he had lived seven years in Columbia, where he began his career as a teacher and coach following his 1950 graduation from Erskine College. A person of broad interests beyond athletics, he traveled widely both inside and outside the U.S. during and after his coaching career. He was proud of the academic and career successes of his players at Erskine, who had a near 100 percent graduation rate and careers ranging from teaching and coaching to business, law, medicine and ministry. Survivors, in addition to his wife of 62 years, are a son, William C., �Dub� Myers, Jr. of Spartanburg; two daughters, Leisa Myers Igleheart and Laurie Myers Cordell of Greenwood; and six grandchildren, Weston Myers of Dallas, TX, Addie Cordell and Lexi Cordell of Greenwood and Will Myers, Kathryn Myers, and Nick Myers of Spartanburg. He was predeceased by two daughters, Melissa Westbury Myers and Marcellene Leslie Myers and twin sisters, Dorothy �Dot� Myers Knight and Doris �Tot� Myers Smith. Son of the late Alexander Coke and Ruby Westbury Myers, Coach Myers was born February 3, 1926, in St. George, SC. After graduating in 1943 from St. George High School, he served three years in the U.S. Marine Corp and attended University of South Carolina in 1946-47 before transferring to Erskine College, where he played three years on the football team and served as president of the student body in 1949-50. From 1950-57, he taught and served as football and track coach at Dreher High School in Columbia. Both his football and track teams won two state championships. He returned to Erskine as alumni director in 1957, helping to establish the college�s award-winning annual campaign. When Gene Alexander accepted a position at Wofford in 1958, Mr. Myers succeeded him as athletic director and basketball coach, though he had not previously coached basketball. Over 25 seasons, he compiled a 413-292 record at Erskine, leading the Flying Fleet to six 20-victory seasons and into the NAIA National Tournament with District Six championships in 1974 and 1978. His 1978 team advanced to the second round of the tournament before losing in overtime. He was district coach of the year in 1964, 1974, and 1978 and South Carolina coach of the year in 1974 and 1978. He was a charter member of the Erskine athletic hall of fame in 1982. Earlier this year, he and Lander�s Finis Horne were named all-time coaches in the former NAIA District Six. He served as president of the NAIA in 1979-80 and was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1981. In 1968 he served on the U.S. Olympic basketball committee in Colorado Springs and at the World Games in Mexico City. He led NAIA�s developmental program in Australia from 1979-82. After retiring from Erskine for health reasons in 1983, he became assistant coach at Lander University from 1985-91. He concluded his coaching career as a part-time assistant to the late Robbie Hicklin at Erskine in 1991-92, helping the Fleet to a 27-7 record and quarterfinal finish in the NAIA National Tournament. He was inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992. As athletic director at Erskine, he saw the college�s program grow from three men�s teams to four men�s and four women�s teams. He accompanied the softball team to the 1981 NAIA National Tournament, where it finished fifth out of 14 teams. The men�s soccer team, established in 1966, advanced to the NAIA Nationals six times during his tenure and the men�s tennis team played in the 1971 nationals.

Red Myers

December 15, 1969 - September 4, 2012

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