Jackie Thrower

Jackie Thrower graduated from Arab High School in 1961, where he lettered three years in basketball, two years in football and three years in track. After an outstanding high school career, the big 6-6 center was awarded a scholarship to play basketball and baseball at Southern Union Jr. College in Wadley, Alabama. Following an outstanding career at Southern Union, Jackie signed a scholarship to complete his eligibility for legendary coach Oba Belcher at Athens College, now Athens University, in Athens, Alabama. In his final year at both colleges, Jackie’s basketball teams won the right to play in the national tournaments for their divisions. The Southern Union team went to the National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas, and ended the tournament ranked ninth in the nation. The Athens team went to the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri, and won their first game. Jackie was voted co-captain by his teammates on both teams and also led both of the teams in rebounding.

Following graduation from Athens College in 1966 with a bachelor’s degree in education, Jackie was hired as the head basketball and assistant football coach at Marshall County High School, now Guntersville High School. He also married his high school “sweetheart,” Sue Evans, just prior to beginning his work at Guntersville. Coach Thrower was on the football staff with Board Member and 2004 inductee John Allen and coached the varsity boys basketball team for the next six years. During that stretch, Jackie’s teams won the Marshall County Championship twice, 1969 and 1970, were runner-up in the county tournament twice, and played in the semifinals of the Area Tournament once and in the finals of the Area Tournament twice. In his final year of coaching, the now Guntersville Wildcats defeated Cobb Avenue of Anniston to win the Regional Tournament and earned the right to play in the 1971-72 State Basketball Tournament in Tuscaloosa for the first time in the school’s history. The team made it all the way to the finals of the Alabama 3A state tournament, but was defeated by Colbert County, which was led by future University of Alabama and NBA star Leon Douglas at center. This number 2 ranking in the State of Alabama was the highest for a Wildcat team up to that time.

During his tenure at Guntersville, Coach Thrower coached Marshall County Sports Hall of Fame inductees Danny Parker and Butch Looney. Butch was the first African-American athlete from Marshall County to receive an athletic scholarship and the first to sign with Athens College. During that time, Alabama A & M University also signed its first white athlete, Pete Johnson, another Wildcat.

Jackie resigned from his coaching duties at the end of the 1971-1972 season and became the vocational coordinator at Guntersville High School. He remained in this position until 1988, a total of 22 years at Marshall County/Guntersville High School. That year he was appointed principal of Grassy Jr. High School, where he stayed until May 6, 1996, when he was appointed Superintendent of the Marshall County School System. Jackie retired from education in 1999 and now spends his time farming and raising purebred Black Angus cattle.

Jackie and his wife Sue have two children, a daughter Staci, a stay-at-home mom who works part time as a Licensed Physical Therapist Assistant, and a son Brett, the agri-science technology teacher at Brindlee Mountain High School. Jackie and Sue also have four grandchildren, Jacklyn and Drew Protz, and John Evans and Amelia Thrower.