Madison inducted into 'Hall'

Atmore native Carl Madison was inducted into the Florida High School Athletic Association’s hall of fame last weekend.

The legendary coach is second in all-time wins in the state of Florida with a 326-129-7 record. His teams won four state championships and his 1988 Pensacola Pine Forest team won the mythical national championship and Madison was named national coach of the year.

Born in Uriah, Ala., Madison played high school football at Escambia County High School in Atmore, where his teams won 30 consecutive games.

After graduation, Madison accepted a football scholarship to Texas Tech, but after his freshman year, he left school to enlist in the U.S. Army. He returned to the Lubbock, Texas, school after his service and started four games for the Red Raiders before an injury ended his playing career.

He transferred to then-Troy State Teachers College where he graduated in 1955.

Madison’s coaching career began at Carrabelle (Fla.) High School, but he later moved on to become the head coach at Ernest Ward. He stayed there until he accepted the coaching position at Milton High School where his team once won 34-straight games and Madison’s first state title.

He briefly left the state to coach in Georgia but returned in 1971 to coach at Tate where he established a legacy at the school that now plays its home games on Carl Madison Field. From 1972-79, Madison’s Aggies lost just four games to Pensacola schools. In 1980, Madison led Tate to its only state championship, routing Miami Columbus 35-7 in the state finals.

Keith Leonard was the quarterback of that Tate team and he went on to be an assistant coach under Madison at Pine Forest.

“Some of the toughest times, but some of the happiest times of my life were when I played for him,” Leonard said. “He had high expectations for everybody and he held you accountable for those expectations.”

That championship seemed to open the door for Pensacola football. After Tate, Woodham, Escambia, Pensacola High, Washington, Catholic and Pine Forest all won state championships. The city also produced such players as Emmitt Smith and Derrick Brooks. That duo is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame making Pensacola the only town in America to produce two hall of famers.

While at Tate, Madison hired Atmore native Woodrow McCorvey as an assistant coach. Tate was McCorvey’s only high school stop as he moved onto the college ranks and coached at North Carolina Central, Alabama A&M, Clemson, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee and was the offensive coordinator at Mississippi State under Sylvester Croom, the first African-American head coach in the Southeastern Conference. While at Alabama and Clemson, McCorvey’s teams earned national titles. He is currently an associate athletic director at Clemson.

Madison eventually took the job at Pine Forest where his Eagles dominated the area, winning the two PFHS state titles.

“It was a pleasure to coach with him,” Leonard said. “He taught me so much about football, about managing a staff, just great life lessons. He has been a hall of famer in my book for a long time.”

He earned a pair of state titles in Alabama also. Madison took over at Jackson Academy in 2002, just one season after the Eagles had gone winless. Under Madison, Jackson lost its first two games then embarked on a winning streak that culminated in a state title. The Eagles won the state championship again the next season after going undefeated.

According to Clint Crockett, author of the upcoming book: The Chief: Carl Madison’s Life in Football, Jackson Academy’s turnaround is historical. The only instance of a high school team going winless and winning a state championship the next season was a school in Maine in the early 1900’s.

Madison, 90, has also been inducted into the Pensacola Sports Hall of Fame, the Florida Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Atmore Hall of Fame.