Coach Merrill Gainer took the Patrick Henry High School Patriots to a state football title in 1973, and perhaps more importantly, in the process he cultivated in his young charges habits of performance and behavior which they never forgot. Thus it was that in April of 2007, Bill Wallace, a lawyer in Roanoke VA, on behalf of a committee of fomer players and associates, contacted me about doing a bronze portrait sculpture of Coach Gainer for the new Patrick Henry HS Stadium which was at that time just under construction.

To complete this sculpture project in time for the unveiling at Gainer Field on Friday, August 31, required the cooperation of Carolina Bronze Foundry (molding and casting), McCoy Memorials (polished mounting stones), NR Engraving (cast plaque), and Architectural Concrete Products (precast architectural concrete pedestal). I extend my thanks to these companies. I would also like to acknowledge architect Richard Rife, whose choice of location for the sculpture at the entrance gate to the field, and framed by the goalposts, added immeasurably to the overall impact of the piece. Above all, I would like to thank Bill Wallace, who was from beginning to end personable, considerate, and helpful--a pleasure to work with.

I had a wonderful time in my backyard during May and June, listening to the birds and neighborhood dogs while sculpting the clay prototype of Coach Gainer.I stopped often to study the pictures which Bill had lent to me, and watching on my laptop, innumerable times, vintage video footage of the coach and his team during the memorable season of '73.

I saw Coach Gainer as an essentially happy man--he was all smiles when he hoisted aloft the state tropy--and it was this expression of broad pleasure that I sought to memorialize in the portrait bronze, with the committee's approval. In his late years, despite illness, he had the cheery look of a man deeply content with his life and accomplishments. However, judging from the recollections of Bill Wallace and other men who played for him during their high school years, he kept his pleasure well hidden, presenting himself outwardly as a stern, even harsh, taskmaster in practice and during games. But oh, how his players loved him!

I hope the sculpture of Coach Merrill Gainer to witness to many Patriot victories in future!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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