Leon Lafayette Brogden Sr. (August 26, 1910 – October 1, 2000) was an American high school

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

coach in

Edenton Edenton is a town in, and the county seat of, Chowan County, North Carolina, United States, on Albemarle Sound. The population was 4,397 at the 2020 census. Edenton is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. In recent years Edenton has b ...

Wilson Wilson may refer to: People * Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson Ro ...

and

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

. His most famous products were two quarterbacks:

Roman Gabriel Roman Ildonzo Gabriel Jr. (born August 5, 1940) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was the second overall pick in the 1962 NFL Draft and played for the Los Angeles Rams for eleven seaso ...

, who spent 16 seasons in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

and was voted

NFL MVP The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award (NFL MVP) is an award given by various entities to the American football player who is considered the most valuable in the National Football League (NFL) during the regular season. Organizati ...

in 1969, and

Sonny Jurgensen Christian Adolph "Sonny" Jurgensen III (born August 23, 1934) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins. He was inducted int ...

, who spent 18 seasons in the NFL and was inducted into the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

in 1983.

Career

In 1935, Brogden began his coaching career in

Edenton, North Carolina Edenton is a town in, and the county seat of, Chowan County, North Carolina, United States, on Albemarle Sound. The population was 4,397 at the 2020 census. Edenton is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. In recent years Edenton has b ...

and later moved to

Wilson, North Carolina Wilson is a city in and the county seat of Wilson County, North Carolina, United States. Located approximately east of the capital city of Raleigh, it is served by the interchange of Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 264. Wilson had an estimated p ...

for nine years and then to Wilmington North Carolina in 1945, where he coached for 30 years. While best remembered as a basketball coach, Brogden won 55 state titles across three sports. In his book, ''Multiple Offenses and Defenses'',

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

coach

Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hi ...

said that he and his coaches, while scouting, noticed Brogden's New Hanover basketball team using the 1–4 offensive set (one guard high and four players spanning the court at the foul line) and later incorporated that set into their own offenses at North Carolina.

Recognition

Brogden was inducted into the

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

's Sports Hall of Fame in 1974, the

North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame The North Carolina Museum of History is a history museum located in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. It is an affiliate through the Smithsonian Affiliations program. The museum is a part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archives ...

in 197 and The Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

Legacy

The main gym of

New Hanover High School New Hanover High School is a high school located in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. New Hanover High is the oldest existing high school in Wilmington.Steelman, Ben"What is the History of New Hanover High School?"StarNews. MyReporter. 3 Mar. 2 ...

, as well as the county's annual December basketball championship, are named after him.

References

External links

* 1910 births 2000 deaths Wake Forest Demon Deacons football coaches Wake Forest Demon Deacons football players High school baseball coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in North Carolina High school football coaches in North Carolina People from Edenton, North Carolina People from Wake County, North Carolina Sportspeople from Wilmington, North Carolina Coaches of American football from North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina Baseball coaches from North Carolina Basketball coaches from North Carolina {{Amfoot-coach-stub