Congratulations to legendary high school sports coach Robert L. Jackson Sr., on his induction to the Gadsden County Hall of Fame, class of 2018. Jackson was honored along with 12 other local sports legends last weekend at a gala in Quincy.
Jackson’s storied coaching career spanned decades, at both Greensboro High School and West Gadsden High School. He served as head varsity football coach for 28 years, junior varsity boys basketball coach for 17 years, head girls basketball coach for 10 years, head fastpitch softball coach for 13 years and as athletic director for 15 years.
At the time of his retirement, Coach Jackson held the distinction of “winningest coach in the Big Bend,” a region that encompasses some 32 schools. The local sports hero remains the winningest football coach in Gadsden County’s history; the winningest black football coach in the Florida High School Athletic Association’s history. Jackson is also the second-longest serving head football coach at the same school in the FHSAA and coached the most combined high school football games in FHSAA’s history – a total of 1,182 games in football, basketball and softball.
He was named Gadsden County’s “Football Coach of the Year” 10 different times (1982, 84, 88, 89, 91, 92, 95, 96, 2000 and 2004), and the All-County Robert Lee Jackson Award is named in his honor.
In 1998, Coach Jackson was selected as coach for the Florida/Georgia High School All-Star Game, played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Coach Jackson’s winning record includes four district championships, three regional championships, four district runner-ups, three sectional runner-ups and three Class A Final Four appearances.
Feature photo: Coach Robert Jackson (middle) is pictured with former players Dr. Irving Clark, Greensboro Class of ’83 and Derrick Thomas Greensboro Class of ’87. Photo courtesy Gadsden County Sports Hall of Fame
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