Earl Etheridge is not one to shy away from a hard day’s work.
As a youth raised in Atmore, Ala., Etheridge picked cotton in the summers on his grandfather’s farm. He also worked for his father’s plumbing and heating company, which dug water wells.
“They used me to dig septic tanks by hand,” Etheridge recalled recently.
“That’s manual work where you’re digging ditches and stuff like that. They’d hire somebody. You don’t find too many people that will volunteer for that.”
Etheridge found a different job and a career that changed his life, resulting in 
decades of work in Savannah, which he has called home since 1963. A sports icon in the Greater Savannah area as a coach and administrator for multiple entities, he has kept working – it will surprise no one – into his 80s.
Born on Dec. 7, 1937 – four years before the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor – Etheridge only recently retired after 29 years from his last full-time job as Athletic Administrator for the City of Savannah Athletics Department, part of Recreation and Leisure Services.
He also has made an impact as a high school football and baseball coach and athletic director, classroom teacher, manager of a national championship adult men’s slow-pitch softball club and executive committee member of the Georgia High School Association, for whom he continues to work in semi-retirement as tournament director for state semifinals in softball, football, boys and girls basketball and baseball.
“God has been extremely good to me,” said Etheridge, 86, whose last day working for the City of Savannah was Sept. 30. “He has put me in positions to do something good for some people, and this, that and the other.”
That last part is Etheridge’s verbal shorthand for summing up a situation, like when asked if he could have retired earlier.
“I could have. I reached a point, my wife (Becky) would like me to come home a little bit and be with her and this, that and the other,” he said. “I figured it’s time for me to enjoy that. At the same time, my daddy when he retired, he’d just sit there in a chair. My mother was a go-getter and worked. I don’t mind doing things for (Becky).”
A valuable resource with his experience, knowledge, contacts and professionalism – able to coordinate operations for sporting events large and small – Etheridge could be in demand as long as he wants.
“I don’t recall saying no,” Etheridge said. “If I know something about it and you ask my opinion, or would I help, yes, I’ll help. I’ll do the best I can do.”
No shortage of accolades
Etheridge is a member of numerous halls of fame – including the Great Savannah Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2003 as a Citation Honoree -- and has been lauded with awards, citations and resolutions for his years of service and dedication to local, state and national organizations.
The Georgia Athletic Coaches Association has an annual honor named for him, the Earl Etheridge Meritorious Award.
The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) selected Etheridge as one of 15 recipients, and the lone honoree from Georgia, for its citation award in 2022.
More recently, on Oct. 16, the Georgia Parks and Recreation Association (GPRA) honored him with a resolution.
“Earl has been a mentor and role model to countless young individuals, helping shape their futures and challenging them to strive to become better people,” the GPRA stated in the resolution. “His influence has been a positive force in the lives of thousands of youths who have benefited from his guidance and support.”
The resolution noted Etheridge’s work for the city since 1995 has significantly impacted citizens of all ages. It also lauded his service to the GPRA on the state level on its athletic committee from 2000-24, and in District 2, which covers Chatham County and the surrounding area. District 2 also recently gave him a lifetime achievement award.
Savannah Mayor Van Johnson signed a citation on Sept. 26 celebrating “Coach Etheridge” for his “countless contributions to the youth and families of the Savannah community.”
Etheridge’s duties for the city included overseeing all athletic programs, including managing youth and adult sports leagues, tournaments and clinics.
“Earl Etheridge served as the City of Savannah’s liaison, coordinating area sports programs and events within the district and state, and where he is recognized throughout Savannah and the state of Georgia for his leadership, commitment, and strong advocacy for youth sports,” the citation read.
The citation noted that his job had him working with staff, volunteers, officials associations, coaches and parents.
On the front lines operating so many events for so long with the city, the GHSA and others, Etheridge had to deal with the inevitable disagreements and situations that could get heated. He was patient, didn’t raise his voice and wasn’t rude – and he expected as much from those he supervised.
“You’ve got to have some people working for you who have the same personality as you do,” he said. “You do it the right way.”
Etheridge relies on a trusted, experienced crew when he runs operations at GHSA state playoff games.
“They are very loyal and they work extremely hard,” he said.
School days: Earl the athlete
The city’s citation also noted Etheridge was a standout in multiple sports at Escambia County (Ala.) High Schol, then went to Auburn University to play football before transferring to Southern Mississippi, where he played baseball (letter winner in 1959-62) and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1962.
Etheridge, who married Becky 61 years ago, didn’t know anything about Savannah, where one of his former football coaches worked at Savannah High. The night before Etheridge’s wedding day, he got a telephone call asking if he’d like to coach there.
“I had never given a thought to coaching, one way or the other,” he recalled.
He was hired as assistant football and head baseball coach in 1963, and Becky, who had a degree in speech pathology, was hired by the school system, Etheridge said.
They had jobs in a new town, and when another teacher coincidentally moved out in a stroke of good timing, the newlyweds had a place to live.
“We had a $75 (garage) apartment furnished for us two,” Etheridge said of their good fortune. “So the Lord looks after young and dumb people.”
Earl and Becky went on to raise their two sons, Lee and Robert, in Savannah and now have two grandsons.
“The best advice we ever took was coming to Savannah,” Earl Etheridge said. “This is home.
“The good Lord showed us. We tried to uphold what we do. I made a lot of friends. A lot of people have been friends of mine and helped me along the way.”
Etheridge coached region champion baseball teams at Savannah High, where he taught typing and bookkeeping, before moving over to the new Windsor Forest High School. He was the head football coach (73-84-2 record in 16 seasons from 1968-83, including the Region 3-3A title in 1976), baseball coach and athletic director.
He then taught business classes at Beach High School and stopped coaching scholastic sports, though he represented the region on the GHSA executive committee.
He was a voice for Southeast Georgia schools, protecting their interests and trying for a level playing field when other, more populous parts of the Peach State may have something else in mind.
“When I was up there, I would look after Savannah and this section of the state, but also everybody should be treated the same way,” Etheridge said. “But at the same time, I don’t want this part to be better than somebody else. Whatever decision you make, it needs to be fair for everybody, as fair as you can make it.”
While at Beach, Etheridge worked a second job in the afternoons at Thompson’s Sporting Goods, which sponsored an adult men’s slow-pitch softball team that traveled the country. Etheridge became the manager, and his exacting standards fit the culture in the 1980s to compete for national titles, including an Amateur Softball Association championship in 1985 and the Class A runner-up in 1987.
“My attitude was if you went 0-for-2, you didn’t have to worry about going 0-for-3,” Etheridge said of in-game decisions. “My philosophy was what could you do. If you needed to hit the ball down but you hit it up, I’d let you know right quick. If you’re going to do it your way, I don’t need you. You’re going to do it my way.”
‘He’s a humanitarian’
Kevin Smith was a college baseball player who spent summers starting in 1986 playing softball in Savannah’s recreation softball leagues.
“The rest of the league, all of us, were kind of like batting practice teams for Thompson’s Sporting Goods because they were so good,” recalled Smith, noting that softball leagues were thriving locally with games throughout the week.
That’s how he first met Etheridge. Smith and his Seabreeze men’s squad from Thunderbolt got better, and he believes it was the first team to beat Thompson’s in the rec league.
Etheridge apparently didn’t hold a grudge. Smith became a part-time employee in the recreation department and later full time. Now 57, Smith has been with the City of Savannah for 20 years and has worked closely with Etheridge.
“I think that most people won’t be surprised, first and foremost, that he’s a God-fearing man,” Smith said, the youth sports coordinator for City of Savannah Athletics.
“Second of all, he’s so generous to anybody. The Etheridge family as a whole, they don’t see color. They see a need to help all. That’s the most amazing thing about him and his wife of 61 years. They can pass by a homeless man on a cold day, and they will buy a coat and come back and find that individual. How generous he is, how warm his heart is. He’s a humanitarian.”
Smith called Etheridge a “legend” for his achievements in local sports and for creating a bridge connecting local teams to competitors outside the Savannah area. There are generations of players who became youth coaches for new generations, with Etheridge remaining in place with his great longevity.
Smith said it will be difficult for he and other co-workers to imagine life at the office without Etheridge, whom he expects will visit often because of his passion for youth sports.
“He wants to know how he can impact somebody today that he didn’t impact yesterday,” Smith said. “I love that man.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy nathan Dominitz for the Prep Sports Report
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