1955 marked the debut of organized football in Fannin County Schools. It also marked the football debut of 2020 Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame inductee Charles Woodall.
Until the county-wide school consolidation in 1955, the enrollments of the high schools of Fannin County at Morganton, Blue Ridge, Epworth and McCaysville, were not considered sufficiently large to sponsor competitive football programs. When these schools merged into the new East and West Fannin High Schools, however, the enrollment numbers reached a level at which the two schools could find enough able-bodied young men among the student bodies who would be able to compete in the game of football against teams from other schools.
The man chosen to lead the Yellow Jackets of West Fannin was Boyce ‘Buddy’ Padgett. Padgett was a young coach from Hayesville, North Carolina who had been a star lineman in his day at Western Carolina College. He came to West Fannin with only three years of coaching experience on his resume. He was green but eager as were most of the young men who reported for practice on a hot August day on the rocky athletic field at Epworth. The football field at West Fannin would not be ready for use until the following year.
Padgett installed the single-wing offense, the same offense used by the University of Tennessee and several other college teams. The configuration of the formation in the single-wing is similar to the ‘shotgun’ spread offenses of today, but with one major difference. The tailback, lined up three yards or so behind center, took most of the direct snaps from center in the single-wing offense. The player chosen to play the tailback position was one of, if not the best, all-around athlete on the team and had the option to run, pass or, drop back another couple of yards just before the snap and ‘quick kick’ the football. Charles Woodall possessed the skills to execute all three options and was given the job of running Padgett’s team as the starting tailback. Charles had played a little ‘PeeWee’ football for the Copperhill/McCaysville teams as a youth, so he had some experience on the gridiron.
On Saturday night, September 10, 1955, the first West Fannin football team took the field at Copperhill to do battle with the Bradley County, Tennessee High School ‘B’ team. Although the opponent was a team consisting of backup players, the game was a huge challenge for the Yellow Jackets. Bradley County High School, located in Cleveland, Tennessee, was one of the largest schools in Tennessee with an enrollment of some 2500 students. They also had one of the strongest football teams in the state. West Fannin, a school with an enrollment of roughly 650 students, battled Bradley on even terms and emerged with a 7-7 tie. The game demonstrated that West Fannin had a number of good athletes and that Charles Woodall was a special running back and passer.
West Fannin went on to post a record of 5 wins, two losses and one tie in 1955. Charles Woodall accounted for 60 % of the teams 112 points, rushing for 7 touchdowns and passing for 4 more. West Fannin earned its first victory of the season on September 30 by defeating Menlo High School to the tune of 26-7 in another game played on the Copperhill High School field located next to the Ocoee River just across the state line in Tennessee. Menlo High School, located in Chattooga County in Northwestern Georgia, was another school fielding a football team for the first time and were no match for West Fannin and Charles Woodall. Against Menlo, Charles scored four touchdowns. The scores came on runs of 30, 40 and 8 yards out with the final tally coming on a 75-yard kickoff return. It was one of the greatest performances in the history of football in Fannin County.
Although the timing of events allowed Charles Woodall to play high school football for only one season, he set a standard of excellence by which Fannin County football players would be measured for many years. His coach Boyce Padgett has these words to say about him: “His level of ability was extremely high; he was fast; he was quick and he was agile. Charlie was a leader and he managed to handle himself with dignity and poise. Off the field Charles was held in high esteem by his peers. On the field he commanded respect from his teammates. He was a coach’s player. He was alert to teammate concerns and always came down on what was best for the team. How he presented himself and how he functioned as an individual and character traits rank high on my list as qualities essential to Hall of Fame consideration. I was selected by my peers in 1995 to the Florida High School Activities Association Hall of Fame. I know how much this selection means. I believe that when you apply qualifying criteria you will decide that Charles Woodall met or exceeded those criteria”.
The athletic resume of Charles Woodall includes entries for a couple of activities in addition to football. He was a starting guard for the Epworth High School basketball team of 1954-55 and at West Fannin in 1955-56. He was the team playmaker and leader on the court. He was also a baseball star of some note in local American Legion and Babe Ruth League competition. Former Major Leaguer and charter member of the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame member, Joe Tipton, saw Charles play on a number of occasions and encouraged him to attend professional baseball tryout camps held nearby.
When the local Dixie Youth baseball program was organized in the Fannin County/Copper Basin area in the summer of 1964, Charles volunteered his time to coach one of the teams in Epworth. He went on to coach youngsters in this endeavor for another five years or so. He was also the shortstop for several softball teams in the area. T.J. Thompson, another local sports legend, remembers that Charles used his amazing speed to turn routine infield ground balls into infield hits.
After graduating from West Fannin, Charles briefly considered moving on to play collegiately at Western Carolina College. He was a bit small for the college game, however, weighing in at 150 pounds. So, Charles decided to stay in his hometown and landed a job at the Smelter Store in Copperhill. He remained with the Tennessee Copper Company until the company shut down operations in 1987. He took college-level courses in the evening, worked his way up in the Company and was the supervisor at the London Mill when the company closed its doors. He moved on to work at Vulcan Materials in Norcross, Georgia as Superintendent of Central Services until his retirement from Vulcan in 1997. His final professional position was with Capital City Machine in Atlanta as General Manager until he retired for good in 2010.
Charles Woodall was a pioneer and one of the most talented athletes in the history of Fannin County. The Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame is honored to welcome him as a member.
Charles was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and lived there until his father, R.H. Woodall, took a job as a boilermaker at the Tennessee Company in 1948 when Charles was 10 years old. He has a sister, Mary Nell Pittman and a younger brother, Jim. Jim also played football at West Fannin and had a long coaching career. Jim was elected to the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.
Charles has three adult children, Scott, Debra and Tania, all of whom competed in athletics at West Fannin or Fannin County High School. He and his wife, Karen make their home in Woodstock, Georgia where they are active is church activities. Charles also enjoys woodworking, boating and camping.
