Donald Fuller

Football, Wrestling, Basketball, Tennis, Track & Field

Donald Fuller was born to James Albert Fuller and Emma Susanna Whiting on February 8, 1913 in Mapleton, Utah at his grandmother's home, Mrs. Harriet Whiting. He married Ruth Bronson of Burley, Idaho in Chicago, Illinois, December 24, 1937.

Coach Fuller's coaching career began in 3rd grade. He organized a baseball team in his elementary school and set up a schedule of games with a neighboring school. Fuller noted, "Coaching from that time on was my great quest. I was hooked . . ." While he went on to be an accomplished athlete himself, he nurtured his love of coaching until it blossomed into his legendary career. During his childhood, a local flood washed over his family's property. Floating on the flood water in his front yard, Don found an old, warped tennis racket. This first racket added tennis to his sport repertoire, which he loved to play all of his life. His family refers to this event as the "miracle of the tennis racket."

Don graduated from Price High School in 1931 and later Utah State University, where he played football and tennis. His other honors include Alpha Sigma Nu, a senior honorary award for scholarship, personality, and achievement. He was President of Beta Kappa and listed in Who's Who in American Colleges in 1934. He received a Masters of Science Degree in Administration from the University of Michigan. He once commented that "Being a coach with the greatest 'know-how' was an obsession with me. . . my life's work." Coach had an insatiable appetite for professional learning about coaching practices. He attended coaching clinics, classes, and workshops across the country for his whole life. To attend his first coaching clinic, at the age of fifteen, Don hitchhiked his way from Price to Logan and back. For another clinic in Colorado, he could not afford to travel there, so he "rode the rails" in a train box car there and back. Throughout his 40 year coaching career he coached football, tennis, basketball, wrestling, and track & field at schools in Idaho, Michigan, and Utah.

At Payson High School, Coach Fuller taught math and history, and coached the Football, Wrestling, Basketball, Tennis, and Track & Field teams. Under his leadership, the Lions won the State Championships in Football in 1943 and in Track & Field in 1954. At PHS he also coached the legendary Jim Durrant, who went on to succeed him as football and track & field coach. Earlier in his career at PHS, Coach Fuller coached the basketball team. then in 1951 he started the very first wrestling team at PHS. A program that has gone on to become a powerhouse, winning many state championships. In 1984, he was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame for Distinguished High School Coaches.

Over his entire career, Coach Fuller amassed a football record of 234 wins, 39 losses, and 6 ties, including 8 region titles and 3 state titles. In basketball his teams won 14 consecutive Nebo Region titles. In track & field, he won 14 district championships, 8 region championships, and 3 state titles. He passed away in June of 1995.

Inducted 2021