Larry "Pod" Patterson

Larry "Pod" Patterson was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on December 16, 1944, to Mid and Mattie Lee Patterson. Mid had been a semi-pro baseball player in Rome, Georgia. The Patterson family, which included an older brother, Rick, moved to Cleveland in Blount County when Pod was one-year old. At Cleveland High School, Pod started playing football, basketball, and baseball when he entered the 7th grade. He also started playing with the men's independent baseball team at 13. His Dad was the manager of the team. As a player at CHS, Pod was a great team leader and excelled as the quarterback in football and point-guard in basketball, earning All-County and All-District in basketball and All-County in Football as a junior and senior. Football proved to be his best sport. Playing for legendary Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame Coach Hugh O'Shields, Pod led the 1961 Panthers to an undefeated 8-0-2 record and was selected to both the Birmingham Post-Herald and Birmingham News AA Honorable Mention All-State Team. Coach O'Shields was named the State Coach-of-the-Year. Both ties that year came against Oneonta, 6-6 in the regular season and 12-12 in Blount County's famous Tomato Bowl game. Pod was selected as Co-MVP of that game along with the Redskins' Jim Kirkland. Following graduation in 1962, Pod took his talents to Jacksonville State Teachers College, now JSU, playing football for legendary Coach Don Salls, and baseball for Marshall County Sports Hall of Fame Coach Ray "Dirty" Wedgeworth. In 1965, after three years at JSTC, Patterson was offered a job as the head football and basketball coach at Blanche High School in Lincoln County, Tennessee. Pod got an Emergency Teaching Certificate and took the job. His football team's record was not indicative of his future success, going 2-13-1 in two years. However, his basketball teams fared much better with a 38-10 record. Pod did have one very important highlight in 1965 when he took his Blanche HS football team, which included two African-American players, to play Clements High School. The game was played on August 13, 1965, and gained notoriety as the first ever integrated football game in the State of Alabama.

In 1967, Susan Moore High School hired Coach Patterson to be their Head Football Coach. Pod not only returned home to Blount County, but also returned to JSU to complete his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees. In his first year at SMHS the team went 1-8-1, but in 1968 the Bulldogs went 8-2. In his third year at SMHS, the team went 10-0 in the regular season and earned the school's first ever appearance in the State AA Football Play-offs, losing in the semi-finals. This began a string of 10 consecutive winning seasons for the Bulldogs, including a school record 11 wins in 1975 and 12 wins in 1977. In 1970, the Dogs played Addison in the AA State Championship Game, but lost 15-7 in a hard-fought game. Pod would go on to coach 22 years at Susan Moore, with a 168-71-3 record, 3 undefeated regular season 10-0 records, and 12 play-off appearances. Their major rival was the always-tough Oneonta Redskins, coached by his high school coach, Hugh O'Shields. Pod also coached in the AHSAA All-Star game in 1970, was Blount-County Coach-of-the-Year 10 times, and the State AA Coach-of-the-Year in 1977. During his tenure at SMHS, he also served as the 1984-85 President of the AHSAA Coaches Association. AHSAA Executive Director Herman "Bubba" Scott credits Patterson with a major role in planning and implementing the Coaches Award Banquet that is part of the AHSAA All-Star Week. In 1989, Arab High School offered Pod the job as AHS Head Football Coach and Athletic Director. He coached the Knights from 1989-1994. His teams had a 41-22 record, two Marshall County Championships, and three State Play-off appearances, the first in the school's history. Pod retired in 1994 after 28 years in Alabama with a 209-93-2 record. In 1997, he was inducted into both the Blount County Sports Hall of Fame and the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame. In 2006, Susan Moore High School named their football field the Larry "Pod" Patterson Field. Pod married Becky Black of Oneonta in 1971 and the couple has two sons, Matt and Wes. Pod says that he has enjoyed his retirement time watching his boys play ball and grow into productive adults. Both are coaches, Matt at Bibb County High School and Wes at Arab High School.