Wayland Cooley

Wayland Cooley, the son of a sharecropper, was born before Dr. W.H. Huckeby arrived in his horse and buggy on July 17, 1915, at Log Hollow near the present site of the Guntersville Dam. He attended one-teacher and two-teacher schools at Rocky Hill and Brasier Chapel before attending Grassy Elementary and Junior High School and Arab High School. Wayland first learned basketball from 1929-1934 at Grassy from Hall of Fame Coach Cecil Wright and Lynn Hinds, the Grassy principal and coach. From 1934-37, he played basketball at Arab High School under coach Roy Alverson and 2009 Hall of Fame Inductee Norman Garrett.

Wayland graduated from Arab High School in 1937 and attended Jacksonville State Teacher’s College. While attending college, he played independent basketball and baseball and worked a variety of construction and farming jobs. Wayland started his career in education teaching math and physical education and coaching basketball at Grassy from 1941-43, with his 1943 team winning the Marshall County Championship. In 1943, Cooley moved to Pisgah High School in Jackson County, teaching math, bookkeeping and PE and coaching basketball, baseball and tennis. His junior high basketball teams won the Jackson County Tournament in 1944, ‘46, ‘47 and ‘49 and his “B-team” won 114 games and lost only 29 during these years. The Pisgah High School varsity “A-Team” was 118-44 and won the Eighth District East Tournament in 1944 and 1946.

Coach Cooley then moved to Douglas High School in Marshall County where he stayed from 1949-57. He served there as assistant principal, math, government and PE teacher and the basketball and baseball coach. During that time, his junior high teams won 75% of their games and won three Marshall County basketball tournaments. The “B-team” went 147-63 and won basketball tournaments in 1950, ‘51, ‘53 and ‘57. His varsity “A-team” had a 137-68 record and won the Marshall County Tournament in 1952 and ‘53 and the Eighth District Tournament East in 1957. Jimmy Dan Musick, Sherrill Cook, Gerald Parrish and Hall of Fame nominee Wayne Warren were some of the star players on those championship teams.

In 1957, Wayland moved back to Brindlee Mountain to become the principal at Union Grove until 1962, when he was elected as Marshall County Superintendent of Education, serving in that office until 1967. In 1967, Cooley moved to Butler High School in Huntsville as assistant principal until 1971 and principal until his retirement from education in 1975, having served 34 years as an outstanding educator and coach. However, Cooley was not finished with his life of service. After working as a real estate broker for two years, he was appointed as Madison County Tax Assessor on July 21, 1977 by Governor George C. Wallace. He was elected to this office in 1978, ‘84, ‘90 and ‘96 before retiring at the age of 88 in 2003 after 26 years as Madison County’s Tax Assessor.

Wayland Cooley, an outstanding teacher, administrator, coach and public servant, died on February 5, 2008, at the age of 92. His son Sidney D. Cooley currently resides in the Owens Cross Roads Community.