About Inductee

Born in Huntsvilles historic Lincoln Village in 1946, Jackie Pedigo has been associated with many of the citys schools in one way or another for much of past six decades. He played baseball at Lee Junior High for legendary coach Hub Myhand and later became an All-City baseball player at Butler High School in 1964. Following graduation, Pedigo served in the U.S. Army from 1965-68, including a two-year hitch in Vietnam before becoming a decorated drill sergeant at Fort Bragg, N.C. He then attended Florence State University, playing baseball in 1970-71, and worked at the McCormick YMCA for two years before joining the faculty at Butler, where he was head baseball coach from 1974-77. Next he moved across town to Huntsville High, coaching the Panthers basketball team from 1977-86 and the baseball team from 1977-79. Pedigos 1979-80 basketball team finished 21-5, and last three Panther teams went 18-12, 20-9 and 23-7. In 16 years as basketball coach at HHS, Madison County and Catholic, his teams were 282-161. He was twice named the citys Coach of the Year, and two of his teams won the Rocket City Classic, forerunner of the Huntsville Times Christmas tournament. His 1990-91 and 1991-92 Madison County teams finished 24-9 and 23-9. After a two-year stint in private business, Pedigo coached four years at Madison County High and then turned to school administration, serving as principal at Hazel Green for K-8 from 1992-96, principal of Discovery Middle School from 1996-2000, working at the State Department of Education from 2000-2002, and as principal at B.B. Comer High School (2002-04) and Munford High School (2004-05) and Director of Operations at Talladega County Schools (2005-07) before returning to basketball coaching, first at Catholic High (2008-10) and then as girls coach at Grissom (2010-11). Although he didnt grow up in a sports-oriented family, Pedigo points out that two YMCA coaches in particular were major influences in his decision to pursue athletics and coaching. These two individuals were Bill Homer and Paul Fowler, says Pedigo. Bill Homer was my coach in my teens and coached me in baseball and basketball at the YMCA. He was a coach who treated everyone with respect and had a way of bringing out the best in an individual. He not only made me a better athlete but a better person. I wouldnt have had my success in athletics without the guidance of my friend Bill Homer. Paul Fowler also worked for the YMCA, and he was probably the one who really influenced me to go to college and get a degree so I could pursue my dream of coaching in high school or college. When I was 17, he took me to Florence State and introduced me to the coaches and gave me a tour of the campus, which made a big impression on me. I eventually attended Florence State after a tour in the Army. I mightve followed my parents and worked in one of the local cotton mills if it hadnt been for Bill Homer and Paul Fowler. Jackie Pedigo and his wife, Dianne, have a daughter, Tina Brooks, and two grandsons: Aidan, 8, and Tristan, 6.