FHS Sports Hall of Fame to induct inaugural class

Jun. 29—Now physically relegated to the dustbin of history but forever remaining alive in the hearts of Pirates everywhere, Fayetteville High School is remembered for many reasons, including a strong athletic history.

And that history will be front-and-center this weekend during the FHS Come on Home Reunion, an all-class event. New to the reunion festivities this year will be induction of the inaugural class of the Fayetteville High School Sports Hall of Fame. The charter list of inductees into the FHS Sports Hall of Fame features prominent athletes and coaches whom have left a significant imprint in the Fayetteville community over the years. The inaugural class, which is an endeavor of the Fayetteville High School Alumni Association, will be recognized and inducted on Saturday, July 1 during the annual FHS Come on Home Reunion.

"We are very excited about the upcoming event," Bill Laird, a member of the hall of fame committee, said recently.

Doors will open around 10 a.m. on Saturday with lunch set for about 11 a.m. at the Fayetteville Church of God on Harvey Street.

According to Laird and fellow hall of fame committee members, the hall will induct a new class every two years, according to the established by-laws. New members will be chosen via an open-nomination process with input welcome from the public.

Laird said the school's first sports team was the 1922 football team, and numerous outstanding squads and individuals walked the FHS halls over the years and made their presence felt on the courts, fields and tracks for the Pirates. "It's kind of important to talk about the legacy of sports at Fayetteville High School," he said. "That school was so inseparable with respect really to the fabric and the soul of the community."

The closure of FHS at the end of the 2018-19 school term made such endeavors as the hall of fame more vital, committee members said. Efforts to preserve and catalogue the artifacts (trophies, plaques, etc.) earned during the school's sports history has been an ongoing focus. As evidence, Laird alluded to an inventory of 495 such items.

The hall of fame committee is a permanent standing committee of the Fayetteville High School Alumni Association.

Below are biographies of the charter members of the Fayetteville High School Sports Hall of Fame as compiled by the hall of fame committee:

Fletcher M. Arritt Jr.

Class of 1959

1942-2021

Fletcher M. Arritt Jr. was a 1959 graduate of Fayetteville High School, where he starred in all three sports. Following his high school graduation, Arritt enrolled as a post-graduate cadet at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia, where he co-captained the basketball team and ran track. He earned a scholarship to the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where he played varsity basketball for four years, as well as running cross-country. After receiving his BS degree in biology and a masters of education degree in human biology from the University of Virginia, he returned to Fork Union Military Academy in 1966 as a biology teacher.

In 1970, Arritt took over as the head postgraduate basketball coach after his four years as an assistant to coach Bill Miller. Over the course of the next 46 years as head basketball coach, Arritt compiled a career coaching record of 889 wins and 283 losses. He sent over 400 players to the collegiate level, including approximately 200 players at Division I schools. Dozens of his former players went on to professional careers in the NBA and international leagues.

Arritt retired from FUMA in 2012, after which he was inducted into the FUMA Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2015, he was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. In 2018, as a lasting tribute to his many years of coaching and contributions to the school, Fork Union named the school's basketball court after Arritt and his wife, Betty. In 2019, a biography entitled "Body, Mind, Spirit and Basketball" was published which documents his life. In 2020, Arritt received a prestigious nomination to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Arritt died on June 16, 2021 at the age of 79. He was survived by his wife Betty Jean, their three children and seven grandchildren. He had a lasting impact on the lives of countless thousands of young men over the course of his career and instilled in them the important values of body, mind, spirit and basketball.

Frank Spangler Jr.

Class of 1960

Frank Spangler Jr. was born and raised in Fayetteville, where he graduated from Fayetteville High School in 1960. He excelled in football, baseball and track and field and was the recipient of the Jack Johnson Award his senior year. He played on a number of the school's outstanding football teams, including the first undefeated (7-0-3) football team in 1958.

In 1961, Spangler enrolled at West Virginia Tech in Montgomery and was a member of the Golden Bears football team under head coach Charlie Cobb. On the field, he started at linebacker and played in the offensive backfield as a running back. He also returned punts and kickoffs from 1961-64.

Spangler served as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He returned to Tech and received his degree in 1975. Spangler, known to many of his friends as "Punk," had a highly successful amateur boxing career. He was the State Golden Gloves champion in the welterweight and middleweight divisions in 1965, 1966 and 1967. Spangler earned a position on the U.S. Armed Forces boxing team and won the Third Army Division Boxing Championship in his weight division. He is a member of the West Virginia Boxing Hall of Fame.

His high school coaching career began in 1976 as an assistant football coach at Midland Trail High School. He returned to his alma mater as head football coach in 1978. As head coach, Spangler compiled a record of 220-151, participated in the WVSSAC postseason playoffs 14 times, winning the state Class A championship in 1992 while earning state runner-up finishes in 1984 and 1999. He coached 46 first-team all-state football players, in addition to numerous second-team and honorable mention players. He was voted the Coalfield Conference Coach of the Year six times and the West Virginia Coaches Association Football Coach of the Year in 1992. He retired from teaching and coaching in 2014 after 33 years at the helm of the team, although he has served as an assistant coach in Fayette County in recent years.

In 2015, Fayetteville High School renamed its playing field as the Frank Spangler Jr. Field.

Jessica Taylor

Class of 2001

Jessica Dawn Taylor was one of West Virginia's most outstanding and successful female prep distance runners in the history of state high school cross-country and track and field. As a student at FHS from 1998 through her senior year in 2001, Taylor earned an unprecedented 16 individual state championships combined in track and field and cross-country. Within the Class A-AA division, she won four individual state championships in cross-country, posting times of 21:48 in her freshman year, 19:14 in her sophomore year, 19:11.26 in her junior year, and 21:07.5 in her senior year.

At the 1998 Class AA-A State Track Meet, Taylor swept all three distance races to take home high-point honors with 30 points. She won state championships in the 800-meter run (2:21.53), the 1600-meter run (5:21.65), and the 3200-meter run (11:45.44). At the 1999 state meet, Taylor again swept all three distance races and high-point honors. She won state titles in the 800 (2:19.75), the 1600 (5:11.60) and the 3200 (11:12.72). During her junior year at the 2000 meet, she once again claimed three more state titles in the distance runs, including the 800 (2:20.46), the 1600 (5:11.81) and the 3200 (11:35.36). In recognition of her outstanding track and field accomplishments, she was honored that year with the Ray McCoy Award by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association as the state's top female track and field athlete.

To cap off a brilliant career, Taylor once again made a clean sweep of the three longest races at the 2001 State Track Meet. Her weekend included a then-state record clocking of 10:59.26 in the 3200 race. In her senior year, she also won the 800 (2:15.99) and 1600 (5:12.18) events. She became the first West Virginia high school female to break 11:00 in the 3200-meter run. For the third time, she won high point honors as the state track meet with 30 points. For the second consecutive year, she won the Ray McCoy award from the West Virginia Sports Writers Association as the state's top female track and field athlete. She was also chosen as the 2000-01 Gatorade West Virginia Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year.

During her high school running career, Taylor scored a total of 120 track state meet points at Laidley Field.

Jody McKown

Class of 1977

Jody McKown will long be remembered as a three-sport standout athlete at FHS. He earned Class AA first-team all-state quarterback honors following the 1976 season while playing for his father, head coach Paul McKown. Versatility is a word that best describes Jody's athletic abilities. In addition to his football talents, McKown was twice named the Class AA second-team all-state captain in basketball, averaging 27.2 points as a junior and 23.0 as a senior on the hardwood. As a track and field athlete, McKown won the 180 low hurdles at the Gazette Relays during his senior year and placed third in that event during the 1977 West Virginia High School State Track and Field Meet.

McKown also represented Fayetteville in the 1977 North-South All-Star Football Classic, in which he started in the secondary, punted and held for kicks. The game, ending with a 26-3 South win, was made special for McKown due to his father's role as an assistant coach for that team.

McKown received a scholarship to play football at West Virginia University in Morgantown and quickly found himself playing regularly in the secondary for head coach Frank Cignetti. In his freshman year, McKown picked off two passes and returned one for a touchdown against Boston College. Through his first three seasons with the Mountaineers, he made 41 tackles while earning three varsity letters. Unfortunately, a neck injury forced him to the sideline in the 1980 season, which was Don Nehlen's first season at WVU. Remarkably, McKown was able to return to the team in the 1981 season as the team's punter and holder. He averaged nearly 40 yards a punt that season, including a long of 56 yards. He held for extra points and field goals for kicker Paul Woodside during the season in which the Mountaineers would post a 9-3 record, including a 26-6 win over Florida in the Peach Bowl.

Following his playing days, having earned four letters in football at WVU, McKown and his family relocated to the Atlanta area where he operates Action Sports International, a successful sports photography business.

Alva Elton Whanger

Alva Elton Whanger was a 1925 graduate of Ronceverte High School, where he excelled in football. From the fall of 1925 through 1928, he attended Concord College in Athens, where he played on the varsity football team. During his playing career at Concord, Whanger distinguished himself as an outstanding lineman, earning all-conference honors at the position of guard. Following his standout collegiate career, he was hired as the first full-time, paid head football coach at Fayetteville High School in the fall of 1929. In addition to his head football coaching duties, Whanger also coached boxing, basketball and track at the school from 1929-37. During his nine years as head football coach at FHS, Whanger compiled a record of 32-47-7. His most successful team during his tenure came in 1933 when the Pirates compiled a record of 8-2-1. What most certainly stands as the most lopsided win in the history of the school came on Nov. 4, 1933, when the Pirates topped the Herndon High School Indians by a score of 96-0 in a game played on Kaymoor Field in Fayetteville.

As a lasting contribution to his coaching legacy at Fayetteville, Whanger is credited with first establishing the "Pirates" as the first and only mascot at Fayetteville High School and kelly green and white as the official colors of the school, a proud tradition that continued until the school closed in 2019. During his 12-year tenure at FHS, Whanger not only contributed to the long legacy of athletics at the school but also impacted on the lives of the many students he taught in the academic subject areas of biology, physics and chemistry.

Following his years at FHS, Whanger was employed as a senior chemist at Union Carbide in Alloy and remained very active in civic and community affairs. He relished in the love of his wife, Beatrice, and his four children, Sally, Thomas, Richard and Janet. He died in 1998 at the age of 93 years.

Jasmine Cotten Parker

Class of 2006

Jasmine Cotten Parker, the daughter of Richard and Sonya Cotten, was a 2006 graduate of Fayetteville High School who is recognized as one of the most talented athletes in the history of the school. After a stellar high school career, she took her talents to the University of Cincinnati, where she also enjoyed outstanding success at that level.

Her talents were developed and became evident in her earlier years when she ran for the Capital City Striders youth track and field club in Charleston. In 1998, within the Girls 9-10 Division, Cotten ran a record time of 1:07.40 in the 400-meter dash. As a high school prep athlete, Cotten's impact came early and often. She won multiple WVSSAC Region III and Class A individual track championships in the 100-meter dash (four times), 200 (twice), 400 (four times), and 800 (three times). As a freshman, she won state championships in the 100 (12.55), 400 (59.18), and 800 (2:29.89), while finishing runner-up in the 200 (26.35). During her freshman year, she also broke the state meet record in the 200-meter prelims (25.89) while capturing the West Virginia State Track Meet Class A girls high-point winner (38 points) in 2003.

As a four-year consensus all-state track and field athlete, Cotten won multiple state championships in distances ranging from 100 to 800, in addition to her championship performances in the long jump. She established Class A girls state meet records in the 100 (12.42), 400 (56.48), and long jump (17-10.25). Her state record in the 100 stood from May 2006 until it was eclipsed by Lilly McMullen of Williamstown with a time of 12.41 in 2019. Cotten won high-point honors at the state track meet in 2003 (38 points), 2005 (26 points) and 2006 (36 points). As a senior, she was honored as the Coalfield Conference Athlete of the Year.

At the college level, her versatility allowed her to have an immediate impact in the pentathlon and heptathlon. She established UC school records in the indoor pentathlon (4,192 points) and the indoor long jump (20-1 1/2). She turned in outstanding performances in Big East and NCAA championship events during her impressive post-secondary career.

Paul W. McKown

1935-2018

Paul W. McKown was a longtime teacher and coach at Fayetteville High who had a profound and lasting impact on the lives of his many students and players. Born in Millstone and raised in Lookout with his seven brothers and three sisters born to his parents Evan and Shirley Powell McKown, McKown was a graduate of Nuttall High School in Lookout, where he excelled in all sports. He received an athletic scholarship to play football at Glenville State College. His schooling was interrupted by his service in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He returned to Glenville following his military service and continued his athletic career. While lettering in three sports, it was on the football field where McKown made his mark. As a talented halfback, he was named to the all-conference team and was a valuable member of the undefeated 1958 GSC football team that captured the WVIAC championship while compiling a 6-0-1 record.

Immediately following his graduation, McKown accepted a position as a teacher at Fayetteville High in 1959. He soon assumed the role as head coach in both football and basketball at the junior high level, which included players from grades 7-9. In the fall of 1966, following the retirement of longtime head coach Fletcher Arritt, McKown assumed the position of head varsity football coach for the Pirates. He served in that post for the 12-year period from 1966 through the 1977 season. His coaching record as head coach was 64-48, with six tie games. His most successful season came in 1976, when the Pirates earned a 8-2 record, while he coached his son, Jody, who played quarterback on that team.

In addition to his many years of teaching and coaching, McKown was a collegiate basketball referee for the WVIAC for more than 20 years. He retired from teaching and coaching in 1978 and accepted an administrative position with the Fayette County Board of Education. He was elected to a term in the West Virginia House of Delegates (1977-78) and remained active in community and government affairs as president of the West Virginia Retailers' Association.

McKown found great strength from his love of family, his wife, Shirley, his four children, Mike, Jody, Stephanie and Julie, and his 12 grandchildren.

Larry Jasper

Class of 1959

In any discussion concerning who was the toughest football player in the history of Fayetteville High School, the conversation is likely to begin and often ends with the name of Larry Jasper.

Jasper was a very talented and gifted athlete who played football, basketball and ran track at FHS. He was recognized for his athletic abilities by receiving the 1958-59 Jack Johnson Memorial Award. He was co-captain of the school's first undefeated football team in 1958. In recognition of his stellar play and outstanding contributions on the football field, Jasper was named to the 1958 All-Southern, All-Southeastern and the Class AA First Team All-State teams.

Jasper was offered a scholarship to play football at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M. At that time, the Lobos were a member of the Skyline or Mountain States Athletic Conference prior to joining the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 1962. Jasper distinguished himself as an important member of the team by earning all-conference honors in 1962. His play on offense as a talented receiver and his hard-hitting play at the linebacker position elevated the program when the Lobos were extended an invitation to play Western Michigan in the first annual Aviation Bowl in Dayton, Ohio on Dec. 9, 1961. On a snow-covered field that day, the underdog Lobos registered a 28-12 upset win over the Broncos. Perhaps the greatest performance in Jasper's collegiate career came on Oct. 13, 1962 before a homecoming crowd of 28,236 at University Stadium in Albuquerque. Trailing 13-0 at halftime against the undefeated Utah State Aggies, Jasper took over the game to lead a dramatic Lobo comeback with two second-half touchdown catches. In speaking of Jasper's performance that day, a reporter would write: "West Virginia's gift to New Mexico, Larry Jasper, stood out in a team effort. The rugged end snagged both Lobo passes."

Following his graduation from college, Jasper settled in California and worked in public education until his retirement.

Vickie Slayton Gay

Class of 1988

Since the establishment of the girls basketball program at Fayetteville High School in 1972, the name Vickie Slayton has stood above the rest following an accomplished career. Slayton was a four-year starter (1985-88) during a period of outstanding teams at FHS, culminating in the first and only undefeated (24-0) girls regular season basketball team in the history of the school. As a freshman, Slayton earned second team Class A all-state Honors. For the next three seasons, she was a consensus first team Class A all-state player. During her sophomore season, Slayton led West Virginia in scoring with a 34.0 points per game scoring average. Her prolific production continued into her junior season, when she maintained a 38.2 ppg average. Slayton averaged 37.0 points per game as a senior as she led her team to an undefeated regular season.

In the Class A Girls State Basketball Championship Tournament in 1988 at the Charleston Civic Center, the Fayetteville Pirates cruised to an impressive 76-32 opening-round win against Gilmer County, setting up a semifinal showdown with a strong Circleville team. They fell to Circleville, but Slayton was named to the all-tournament team. The 1988 Pirates finished the season with a 25-1 record.

During her FHS basketball career, Slayton set a school record with 3,173 career points, which still stands as the second-leading scoring total in the statewide history of girls basketball. Following high school, Slayton was recruited to play collegiate basketball at the University of Charleston. Under head coach Linda Bennett, Slayton played on some of the most successful teams in the history of the school. The UC Lady Eagles finished the 1989-90 regular season with a 25-8 record and captured the WVIAC Tournament Championship. The 1990-91 team finished the regular season with a 21-8 record and again captured the WVIAC title, before being ousted in the NAIA Round of 32. Unfortunately, injury limited her college basketball career to only two seasons.

Walter C. Beene

1957-1994

Walter C. Beene was a 1953 graduate of Mount Hope High School, where he distinguished himself as an outstanding athlete in both football and basketball. In his senior year, the Mustangs compiled an impressive 9-1 record, with their only loss coming to Beckley by a score of 13-0. Beene's efforts earned himself a walk-on opportunity at West Virginia University, where he played for the Mountaineers in 1954 and 1955. Research shows that he scored a touchdown for the Mountaineers on an 18-yard run in a 40-6 win over VMI on Oct. 12, 1954 in a Southern Conference game played in Bluefield.

Upon his graduation from WVU, Beene came to Fayetteville High in 1957 as an instructor in industrial arts/shop and physical education. He was soon joined in the teaching profession at FHS by his wife, Jayne Thompson Beene, in 1958. Based on his strong background and experience in athletics, he assumed a prominent role in the coaching of basketball, football and track at the school. Beene was named as the head junior high school basketball coach at Fayetteville High in the 1957-58 season. He assumed the position as head varsity basketball coach for the Pirates in the 1959-60 season, succeeding former coach Robert Brinkley in that position. He would remain as head basketball coach for the Pirates for the next 34 years, or until his retirement from teaching in 1994.

In basketball, Beene enjoyed good success in guiding his many teams through many highly competitive seasons, including advancing his teams through sectional and regional tournament play. During his coaching career, Beene sought to improve his basketball knowledge and coaching abilities through his participation in several coaching clinics and workshops. With an emphasis on toughness and sound fundamentals, Beene had the ability to bring out the best in his players by helping them to play up to their full potential during his 37 years as a teacher and coach at Fayetteville.

Richard Ramsey

Class of 1967

Richard (AKA Dick or Dickie) Ramsey will long be remembered for his extraordinary athletic abilities which made him one of the best basketball players in the history of Fayetteville High. His powerful 6-5 frame made him highly effective down low while his soft shooting touch and skills contributed to his offensive output on the floor. As an important member of the 1963-64 junior high school team at FHS, Ramsey helped lead his team to the first undefeated season (17-0) in the history of junior high basketball at the school. Ramsey and the other members of the talented team formed the nucleus of what would later prove to be among the better basketball teams in school history in the middle and later 1960s.

As a sophomore, Ramsey began to find his place among upperclassmen as a contributing member on that team, but his considerable basketball talents and abilities matured and flourished in his junior year (1965-66), when he was named to the All-New River Valley Conference and Class AA All-State first teams. That year, Ramsey led his team to a sectional championship but the Pirates were ultimately eliminated in a regional contest against Matewan. In his senior year, he was again named to the Class AA All-State First Team, becoming the first Pirate basketball player to be named to the all-state team in consecutive years since Jack Shockey in the 1940s. In 1966-67 postseason play, the Pirates were defeated in the sectional finals by a very good Gauley Bridge team.

Following his senior year, Ramsey was invited to play in the prestigious Dapper Dan Classic, well-known as being the first national high school all-star basketball game held at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena on March 31, 1967. After his prep career, Ramsey was recruited by head coach Bucky Waters to play basketball for the West Virginia University Mountaineers. He was an active member of the WVU freshman team and played his sophomore year under Waters. Ramsey transferred to West Virginia Tech in Montgomery for his senior year, and he earned his bachelor's degree in engineering.

Jack Shockey

Class of 1947

1929-1988

Jack Shockey was a 1947 graduate of Fayetteville High School and has long been considered by most as the greatest basketball player in school history. Shockey led West Virginia high schools in individual basketball scoring in both 1946 and 1947. As a junior, Shockey averaged 20.2 points per game in 1946 to lead the state in all school classes. During his outstanding senior season at FHS, he repeated the feat to lead all scorers in 1948 when he averaged 23.5 points per game.

Shockey was named to the first team all-state basketball team in both his junior (1946) and senior (1947) seasons. His back-to-back consecutive selections to the elite honors unit was unprecedented at the time.

Shockey was recruited by then-head coach Lee Patton to play basketball at West Virginia University. Following his first year as a member of the WVU freshman team, Shockey played the next three years as a contributing member of the Mountaineer basketball team, during which he appeared in 77 games and scored a career 450 points, averaging 5.8 points per game. From his position as a 6-2 forward, Shockey had an impressive field goal percentage of 44.1, shot 56.5 percent from the free-throw line, and gathered in 95 career rebounds for the Mountaineers. In his sophomore season, his team would finish with a record of 13-11 as an independent team. As a junior, under new head coach Red Brown, the Mountaineers improved to 18-9, including a second-place finish in the Southern Conference. In his senior year, as a captain on the team led by teammate Mark Workman, WVU enjoyed an outstanding 23-4 record while winning the Southern Conference championship and finishing ninth in the final nationwide AP Poll.

Following his graduation from WVU, Shockey eventually returned home to work in the field of education as a teacher and coach, and he later became principal of his alma mater. Shockey died in 1988 at the age of 59.

Coach Fletcher Arritt Sr.

1939-1971

No single name constitutes the embodiment and soul of athletics and sports at Fayetteville High School other than that of legendary coach Fletcher Arritt Sr. He was a 1925 graduate of Oak Hill High School, where he starred in football, basketball and track. Based on his outstanding athletic abilities, he played football and basketball at New River State College (WV Tech) and was inducted into the sports hall of fame at that institution in 1967. Following his graduation, he began his career in education at Rock Lick, and taught and coached at Scarbro Jr. High and Mount Hope High before coming to Fayetteville High in 1938 as a biology and physical education teacher.

For many years, he served in the positions of head football, basketball and track and field coach at FHS. The many coaching accomplishments and contributions of Arritt at the school are numerous. Included among them were his 1940 and 1941 seasons in which his football teams won 14 straight games, his undefeated (7-0-3) 1958 football team that missed the state title game by only 0.1 point, or his outstanding track and field teams of the mid-1960s. During his tenure, Arritt mentored four all-state players on his many teams.

Additionally, his innovative physical education program at FHS was ahead of its time and served as a foundation for many hundreds of students' physical activities, development and athletic participation at the school for many years. As a true testament to the community's respect and appreciation for the many contributions made by Arritt to the growth and development of the students at Fayetteville High, a public dedication ceremony was held at which the football stadium at the school was named as Fletcher Arritt Memorial Stadium. Throughout his long teaching and coaching career at Fayetteville, Arritt earned the admiration and respect of athletes, coaches and athletic officials throughout the state of West Virginia.

As a highly-principled man who stood strong in his faith, his commitment to his family, and his dedication to the youth of the community, Arritt stands as a true icon for all sports at Fayetteville High. Coach Arritt dedicated much of his life to instilling respect for values and principles into the lives of his student-athletes that went far beyond the courts and playing fields.

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