LeRoy Sprankle (June 11, 1894 – September 25, 1972) was an American high school sports coach and athletics advocate in

Eastern Tennessee East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 count ...

and

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

. Often referred to as the ''"Father of East Tennessee Sports"'', he had several notable accomplishments during his tenured career including: helping to standardize high school officiating in the state of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, pioneering interstate and international high school sports competition, and most notably, coaching several would-be prominent figures in

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and sports history.

Early life

Sprankle was born on June 11, 1894, in

Beach City, Ohio Beach City is a village in Stark County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,033 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Canton-Massillon, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Beach City is named after Henry Beach, a railroad official ...

. He was the older brother of Dale R. Sprankle, who would also become famous as a college athletics coach and athletics director in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. At the age of 16, his family moved to

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...

, where he graduated from high school and first became involved in athletics. He then attended

Mount Union College The University of Mount Union is a private university in Alliance, Ohio. Founded in 1846, the university was affiliated with the Methodist Church until the spring of 2019. In the fall of 2020, Mount Union had an enrollment of 1,958 undergraduate ...

and competed in baseball, basketball, and football while completing a degree in mathematics. In 1918 Sprankle was drafted into the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and served as a Second Lieutenant at

Camp Gordon Fort Gordon, formerly known as Camp Gordon, is a United States Army installation established in October 1941. It is the current home of the United States Army Signal Corps, United States Army Cyber Command, and the Cyber Center of Excellence. It ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. After

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

, he resumed civilian life as the general manager of the

Canton Independents Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

professional basketball team. It was around this time that he became affiliated with the

Canton Bulldogs The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football Leag ...

professional football team and became good friends with several early football "legends", most notably

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...

Coaching career

Following the conclusion of the

, there was a great demand for qualified coaches. Likewise, LeRoy Sprankle was quickly contacted by a high school in

Carrollton, Ohio Carrollton is a village in and the county seat of Carroll County, Ohio, located southeast of Canton. The population was 3,087 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Canton–Massillon metropolitan area. History The village was ...

, to coach its basketball team. Despite having to commute by train and lodge overnight twice a week in order to keep his Canton job, Sprankle accepted the position out of his interest for helping boys. His success there warranted him an offer to coach in

at Kingsport High School (which was later renamed

Dobyns-Bennett High School Dobyns-Bennett High School is a high school (grades 9–12) in Kingsport, Tennessee, United States. It typically educates around 1,800 students, although enrollment for the 2014–15 academic year exceeded 2,100 students. As a part of Kingsport ...

). In late 1921, he accepted the offer and became the head baseball, basketball, football, and track coach. While at Kingsport, he became known for taking a keen interest in helping his players and students, many of whom went on to become noted for their life achievements. Over the course of the ten seasons that Sprankle coached football at the school, he compiled an 80–38–9 record, including a 193–0 victory over Norton High School from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

in 1926, one of the largest margins of victory in

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at any level. His track team won 3 state championships in 11 years, and he amassed a 117–61 record in baseball. Most notably, Sprankle's basketball team was a pioneer in interstate competition. At a time when it was rare to play games out of state, his team traveled annually across the state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and the rest of the

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

. In 1940, as part of the annual Florida trip, his team played a series of exhibition games in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, one of the only high school sports teams ever to do so. Overall, Sprankle's basketball team at

went 401–142, winning 18 championships. In 1943, he and his family were forced to move to

for health-related reasons. Nevertheless, he continued to coach, at Redlands High School in south Dade County, until 1953 when the school combined with Homestead High School. While retired from coaching, he worked with the new

South Dade High School South Dade Senior High School is a secondary school, secondary school in unincorporated area, unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, just north of Homestead, Florida, Homestead. It is located on at the southernmost end of Miami-Dade County. ...

as business manager until he completely retired in 1964. Sprankle died in

Homestead, Florida Homestead is a city within Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida, between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. The population was 80,737 as of the 2020 census. Homestead is primarily a Miami sub ...

, in 1972 at the age of 78, he was survived by his wife Jess, and his children, Rita and Dale. At his funeral,

Bobby Dodd Robert Lee Dodd (November 11, 1908 – June 21, 1988) was an American college football player and coach, college baseball coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Georgia Tech from 1945 to 1966, compil ...

sent his remorse in a message that read:

Sprankle became a second father to me and to hundreds of others like me.... Yes, I believe that LeRoy Sprankle has had more influence on the lives of the young people of Kingsport than any other person. I am sure he did, and I will always be grateful for the help he gave me.

Since his death, the city of

Kingsport, Tennessee Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 55,442. Lying along the Holston River, Kingsport is commonly included in what is known as the Mountain Empire, w ...

, has named a day in his honor. The gymnasium at the former

(now John Sevier Middle School) was also dedicated after him.

Notable players coached

Sprankle, LeRoy. "Appendix II". ''My Boys''. Ed. Jitney Blankenbecler. Kingsport, TN: Quebecor World, 2001. 171–207.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprankle, Leroy 1894 births 1972 deaths American men's basketball players Mount Union Purple Raiders baseball players Mount Union Purple Raiders football players Mount Union Purple Raiders men's basketball players High school baseball coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in Ohio High school basketball coaches in Tennessee High school football coaches in Tennessee People from Beach City, Ohio Sportspeople from Stark County, Ohio Basketball players from Canton, Ohio