Comments on: Longtime Ernest Ward High School Coach Inducted Into Hall Of Fame

By: Greg Robbins

Greg Robbins — Thu, 04 Jun 2015 19:32:22 +0000

I have fond memories of Coach Latham. He was tough on all of us, but we knew he cared about each of us deeply. I remember him going to the ER with me after a football game one night to make sure I was ok. He used to like to enjoy pond fishing and loved to cook the fish/hush puppies afterwards. Coach Latham was a good coach, but an even better man. Not many days have gone by over the 30 plus years since I graduated from Ernest Ward that I do not think about him or something he said and have a smile on my face.

By: Jerry Bates

Jerry Bates — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 00:26:38 +0000

Coach Latham came to Pass Christian High School (Mississippi) for the Fall 1948 football season. Coach came too late to install a new sysyem, so we had to use the system from the previous year for the first game. We wound up tied our first game . After that he quickly installed a version of the “T”, got us in shape and we were off and running. We won the MS Region 8 Championship that year, but Woodville knocked us out of the South Mississippi playoffs..

Coach Latham was a very good coach –I admired him so much!!!! I graduated that year and moved to another school the next year. I lost track of him after thatand during my college and Korean service years. I was so happy to find this on the internet. A freind told me about. I printed it ou for future reference. Thank you so much for making this info about “MY COACH” Available.

By: Bob Waltman

Bob Waltman — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:41:32 +0000

I was a green sophomore at Pass Christian HS on the MS Gulf Coast when Coach Latham became our football coach. We had alread played a couple of games and were floundering. Coach Latham came in, got us in shape, made us disciplined, changed the offense to the Split T and we were off and running. We won Region 8 that year (‘48 I think) and entered thestate playoffs. We got as far as the semi finals and were beaten by Woodville. My oldest son’s father in law was the guard across the line from me and he left bruses that I still have. Coach loved to hunt quail and we had a small farm that had lots of birds. He would come with his wife and dog and hunt often. She would talk to my parents while he would hunt. He was a great coach, a terrific guy and he made an indellable impession on me. We only had Coach Joe one year but we knew he would go on to be a success. I am so pleased to see him honopred. I send my best regards to his family. He made a lasting impression on me. I am very grateful that our paths crossed.

By: Jan Bohne

Jan Bohne — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 06:25:10 +0000

I have been cleaning out a family estate on Staten Island in NY and came across some letters from a Joseph Franklin Latham written to our Fetteroll relative. It sounds like they may have met after Robert retired and the family spent their winters in Florida. Did he serve on the USS Maryland out of CA? Knowing that ship was part of the Pearl Harbor attack made me want to find out if this particular J Franklin Latham survived the war.

Thank you,
Jan

By: richard bowen

richard bowen — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:38:09 +0000

I played under Coach Latham and Coach Hoffman. I will always look back upon those days with pleasure. He was a rugged man with a huge heart and knew the secret to makin a great hush puppy.

By: klw

klw — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:25:10 +0000

i’m doing a newspaper article on this.
he seems like a well known athlete coach!

By: Micaela Vaughan Fuller

Micaela Vaughan Fuller — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:21:07 +0000

Coach Latham was such a GREAT man! He not only was a great coach but also a family friend. “Papa Joe” meant a lot to my family, especially my father John Henry Vaughan. My favorite memory of him is going to his house in Atmore to visit with him and his wife. They had a collection of Dr. Suess books that I would sit and read everytime I went. I am now a teacher and every year I make sure to pass on that love of books through Dr. Suess. Thank you for doing this for his family, they are a GREAT bunch of people.

By: Autumn Slay

Autumn Slay — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:40:13 +0000

GOOD JOB.
I WENT THERE LAST YEAR!!!
BUT IT IS A MIDDLE SCHOOL NOW!!

By: Carolyn Latham Loggins

Carolyn Latham Loggins — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:07:35 +0000

Thank you for this very nice editorial about daddy. I really appreciate all you do for the community.