Ronald Cheatham
Ronald Cheatham Sr (born July 13, 1955 in Birmingham; died August 31, 2020 in Birmingham) was the head football coach for the Wenonah High School Dragons football team from 1989 to 2019.
Cheatham was the youngest of three children born to William and Lucene Cheatham. He attended Lewis Elementary School and graduated from Phillips High School. He played for the University of Southern Mississippi's Golden Eagles from 1972 to 1975, setting several records.
Cheatham was offered a contract to play for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, but instead accepted a job as an assistant to Golden Eagles head coach Bobby Collins, becoming the first African-American assistant at any Mississippi college. He left Hattiesburg to coach at Southern university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In 1989 he returned to Birmingham and took the head coaching job at Wenonah High School. Over the next 30 years he complied a 172-136 win-loss record and claimed four area titles. His 1995 team was undefeated during the regular season. The Dragons reached the AHSAA's 5A Championship game in 2016.
Cheatham and his wife Lisa had two children. He was inducted into the Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame in 2019. He died in his sleep in August 2020 and is buried at Elmwood Cemetery.
References
- Bean, Josh (June 8, 2019) "End of an era: Wenonah looking for football coach for first time since 1989." The Birmingham News
- Jones, Russell (September 12, 2020) "Remembering legendary Wenonah High School coach Ronald Cheatham." WBRC.com
External links
- Ronald Cheatham at Findagrave.com