*=posthumous
Coach Wayne Smith
Coach Smith coached at Roswell High School from 1975 through 2010. He coached football for 32 years, 30 as a varsity coach, primarily as an offensive line coach and special teams coordinator. During this time, Roswell was 17 years a playoff team with a State Championship in 2006. He became the head wrestling coach in 1976 and held that title for the next 31 years. As coach, his teams won 281 dual meets and produced seven Fulton County Championships and seven Fulton County Runners-Up; four top ten state finishes, including two individual state champions and nine runners-up. He was awarded the Gene Collins Award in 2007 by the State Wrestling Committee for his outstanding contribution to wrestling in the state of Georgia. Coach Smith was the Boys’ Track Head Coach from 1977-81 and in 1981 became the Girls’ Head Coach from 1981-2006. During his time as Girls’ Head Coach, Roswell was six times Fulton County Champions and had 32 girls state qualified with one state champion, three runners-up and two 3rd Place finishers. He served as Associate AD for seven years. Coach Smith will long be remembered and revered as a tirelessly dedicated coach, more concerned about others than himself, always willing to take on the most difficult tasks, and supportive of the entire Roswell High School community. He was a blessing to all that love Roswell High School and the Roswell community.
Coach Charles E. Horne
Coach Charles E. Horne coached for a total of 37 years, spending most of his time at Winder-Barrow High School and Roswell High School. His career record as a head coach in football was 134-85-4. Coach Horne was Head Coach at Roswell High from 1967 thru 1974 with a football record of 73-18 (.802) winning two State Championships, three Sectional Titles and three Region Championships. His record as a Head Baseball Coach was 170-70 winning two State Championships, two State Runner-Up Titles and five Sectional Titles. Coach Horne has received many awards on state and local levels. Coach Horne’s ability to instill confidence, his meticulous attention to detail and his passion for coaching permeated every practice and game throughout his career. He taught that caring about winning was more important than winning itself. He was “A Championship Coach and a Championship Man.” Coach Horne is a member of the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2007.
Coach Ray Manus
Coach Ray Manus has coached for over 40 years at Roswell High School from 1966 thru 2007. Coach Manus became Head Football Coach in 1975 for 23 years with a career record of 141-101-1. Coach Manus has coached on all 3 of Roswell High School’s Football State Championship teams in 1968, 1970 and 2006 and on 7 Region Championship teams. These Championships reflected Roswell High’s history from a small Class B School in 1968 to a place in the State’s then highest classification Class AAAAA in 2006. He was selected 3 times an All Star Coach by Georgia Athletic Coaches Association for the annual North v. South All Star football games in 1982, 1989 and 1997. As Head Coach of Girls Basketball he led his teams to two State Tournament appearances in the early 1970’s. His record as Head Boys Golf Coach included the 1990 Class AAAA State Championship, State Runner-Up titles in 1992 and 1993 and 3 Individual State Champion Medalists. Coach Manus was Roswell High’s first Athletic Director from 1990 thru 1999. He was selected by the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association as the State Athletic Director of the Year for 1994-95. In recognition of the time, effort and dedication given by Coach Manus for the Roswell High School Community the Fulton County Board of Education approved the naming of our campus stadium to “Ray Manus Stadium” on September 2, 1994.
Coach William “Bill” Yoast
Coach William “Bill” Yoast was the Head Football and Head Track Coach at Roswell High School from 1954 thru 1960. Coach Yoast came to Roswell after a four year stint at Sparta High School, GA. Coach Yoast led the 1956 team to a Region Championship and a berth in Roswell High’s first ever State Championship game in his 3rd year as Head Coach. Roswell was the Class C State Runner Up as the Hornets ran into a 12-0 undefeated team from Monticello. Coach Yoast was an accomplished Track Coach leading the team to the Class C State Runner Up Title in 1957 and to the Class C State Championship Title in 1959. He was instrumental in organizing the first ever Roswell Relays which quickly grew into the largest high school invitational track meet in the State. In 1960 Coach Yoast returned to his home state of Virginia where he spent several decades and earned his greatest fame. Coach Yoast’s 1971 season at T.C.Williams High School served as the inspiration for the movie “Remember the Titans.” Coach Yoast worked as an assistant football coach to Head Coach Herman Boone at the newly integrated school. Together they led the team to a dominant season winning the State Championship and taking a second-place national ranking. Coach Yoast was ahead of the times fighting racial injustice and behind the times seeking personal glory. Coach Yoast is one of the most respected coaches of our times for one reason. He anchored himself to the principal of integrity. He preached it, he lived it, and he protected it. Integrity was not a word but a lifestyle. His wisdom comes from experience and we are thankful for the time he spent and the lives he touched at Roswell High School.
Coach Charles Newton
Coach Charles Newton was an active coach at Roswell from 1949 – 1967. He began his coaching and teaching career in 1934 at Smyrna Elementary teaching 7th grade and serving as the Assistant Principal until 1940. He also taught at Fitzhugh Lee Elementary and served as the Boys’ Basketball Coach. After his service during WII, Coach Newton went to Royston High School to teach social studies and coach the Boys Basketball and Baseball teams. It was at Royston he met and took advice for the baseball team from Ty Cobb, a resident of Royston who would drop by the field to watch practices. He then went to Smyrna High School to teach social studies and coach Track and Field and Boys Basketball. In 1949 came to Roswell High and started the athletic program.
Coach Newton coached boys and girls basketball and brought in Bill Yost to coach football and track. He served as Coach Yost’s assistant coach for both sports. His teams regularly won region titles. He retired in 1977 after 28 years at Roswell High School.
Charles Newton, with several other members, started the Roswell Youth Day Parade and served as Grand Marshall 2 times. He was a charter member of the Roswell Lions Club and was a member and officer in the Roswell Masonic Lodge. He was a founding member o fa committee to develop a Parks and Recreation department for the city. Additionally, he won the WSB Georgia Game and Fish Commission Sportsman Award, served in the Roswell Historical Society, and was a Deacon at the Roswell Presbyterian Church. He was a graduate of Milton High School, Young Harris College, Oglethorpe University, and the Vanderbilt Peabody College for Teachers.
Coach Richard Smith
Coach Richard Smith began his career in 1959 coaching 8th grade basketball in Irwin County, Georgia. The next year he became Head Boys’ and Girls’ Varsity Basketball Coach, Assistant Football Coach and Head Baseball Coach at Irwin County High. In 1961 he moved to Roswell and began his twenty-eight year career at Roswell High School. He was best known as the head coach for the Varsity Boys Basketball teams, holding that position for twenty-two years. During his time at RHS, he also was head coach for the Varsity Girls Basketball teams for six years, head coach for the Track and Cross-Country teams for fifteen years and an Assistant Football Coach for six years. His teams’ career record in basketball was 384 wins and 186 losses. In 1971, he coached the Roswell High Varsity Boys Basketball team to a Class A State Championship and was named 1971 Class A Coach of the Year by the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association. During his tenure at RHS, his basketball teams also won nine Sub-Region Championships, two Region Championships and six Holiday Invitational Tournaments. His 1973 RHS Cross-Country team won the Region and finished third in the Class A State Finals. He coached the 1974 Roswell Track team to a second-place Class A finish at State. In the 1960’s, he helped start the Roswell Booster Club and had the first football program printed. He was the first summer Recreation Director for the City of Roswell, running a varied program for two summers in 1965 and 1966.
After retiring from Roswell High in 1989, he continued to coach in Highlands, North Carolina where he served head coach for the Varsity Girls’ Basketball team, head coach for the Track and Cross-Country teams, and the assistant coach for the baseball team. In 2004, Coach Smith retired for a second time, finishing a forty-five year career as a teacher and coach.
Coach A. G. Crockett
Full Bio Coming Soon
A.G. Crockett was a teacher and coach at Roswell High School for 28 years. He was the head Varsity Girls Basketball Coach for 19 years. He also coached Boys Tennis, which earned the only Boys Tennis Region Championship in school history in 1982.
Coach Fred Williams
Coach and Community Contributor Fred Williams coached for 15 years at Roswell High from 1967 through 1981. Coach Williams coached Receivers and Defensive Ends on two State Championship Football Teams. The Class B 1968 State Championship team and 1970 Class A State Championship team. Coach Williams was the assistant boys basketball coach for the 1971 Class A State Championship Boys Basketball team giving him 3 State Championships at Roswell. In 1975, Coach Williams was named the head girls basketball coach. In five seasons he had 4 straight years of 18 plus wins including an undefeated regular season of 17-0 in 1977-78. His teams were in the Fulton County Tournament Finals 4 consecutive seasons. In the season of 1978-79, Coach Williams took his team to a 20-9 overall Record and continued the streak of regular season wins to 24. That team climbed to the 2nd Round of the State AAA Tournament losing to eventual AAA State Champion Cairo High School. That game was memorable as former UGA and Olympic Star Theresa Edwards and Roswell’s current Hall of Fame member and All Time leading scorer Lisa Parker Clock battled it out. Coach Williams was a coach on and off the court for his players. He provided support for all his players not only as athletes but also as students. His players fondly remember him as a role model teaching them how to work toward goals, compete at the highest level while maintaining respect for each opponent along with the proper perspective to have of athletics in their lives. After leaving coaching for private business, Coach Williams continued his relationship with Roswell High volunteering countless hours fundraising, organizing events and supporting the Students and Coaches. As a member of the City of Roswell Recreation Commission for 24 years and the Chairman for 18 years his leadership has impacted thousands of young people in the City of Roswell. During his time on the Commission the City of Roswell was recognized 5 times as the “Georgia Recreation and Parks Department Agency of the Year” and one time as a finalist for the Gold Medal Award given by the National Recreation and Parks Department. In recognition of his contributions, the City dedicated a new Fitness Center in the Roswell Adult Recreation Center to Coach Williams and he continues to sit on the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Recreation and Parks Department. As the owner of Marietta Trophy and Engraving, Coach Williams has been a loyal partner to the Athletic Department at Roswell High School for over 30 years providing hundreds of awards, trophies and mementos for our student-athletes and coaches including the Roswell High Hall of Fame Display in our Gym Lobby that now bears his name.
Coach Pete Poulos
Coach Pete Poulos began his coaching career in the City of Atlanta School System in the mid-1960’s having coached Football, Basketball, and Baseball at West Fulton and Fulton High Schools. In 1970, Coach Poulos came to Roswell High School as a Social Studies Teacher coaching Football, Basketball and Baseball. He coached the 8th grade and “B” teams at Roswell High from 1970 to 1974 in addition to coaching Linebackers on the Varsity. Elevated to Defensive Coordinator by first year Head Coach Ray Manus in 1975 he remained in that capacity for 30 years thru the season of 2004. After stepping down as Defensive Coordinator, he coached Varsity Linebackers until 2008 and finished as a Freshmen Coach after the season of 2014. Coach Poulos coached Defense in 448 games and was a member of two State Championship teams in 1970 and 2006. He coached on 7 Region Championships and in a total of 17 Region and State Playoff games. As Defensive Coordinator he was instrumental in developing future NFL stars and Super Bowl Champions Jermaine Phillips (Tampa Bay Bucs 2003) and Chris Reis (New Orleans Saints 2010.) Coach Poulos was a Boys and Girls Basketball Coach for a total of 29 years as a JV Boys and Girls coach. His teams won a combined six North Fulton Championships and were runners up three times. As an Assistant Baseball Coach, he was a member of the 1971 State Championship Team and was later named Head Coach from 1972 thru 1975 winning two sub-region championships. As a Baseball coach at Roswell High, he coached two future Major League players and World Series Champions in Mike Ramsey (St. Louis Cardinals 1982) and Tony Phillips (Oakland A’s 1988.) Over his 45 years of Coaching at Roswell High School, Coach Poulos coached in over 1,400 combined boys and girls games in three different sports. He was the Department Chair for Social Studies from 1978 thru 2000 and continued teaching part-time until 2005. In 1997, he served as a Defensive Coach for the North All-Star Team in the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association Football All-Star game. Upon his retirement from coaching in 2014, the practice field adjacent to Ray Manus Stadium was dedicated in his honor as the “Pete Poulos Practice Field.” In April of 2015, the Mayor and City Council of Roswell proclaimed April 19 “Ray Manus and Pete Poulos Day.” Coach Poulos will always be remembered fondly as a tough, hard-nosed Coach who was able to balance holding his players accountable while making their high school experience enjoyable forging hundreds of friendships and relationships among all the young men and women he taught and coached.
Carole Williams – School/Community Contributor
Carole Williams was a key contributor to Roswell High School Athletics for over three decades from 1978 – 2010. She worked under five different principals as the school’s bookkeeper and was also an integral part of Roswell High Athletics by filling many critical support roles.
Carole Williams was the official scorekeeper for both the boys and girls basketball teams. She first began keeping the girls books in 1979 for her husband – and fellow Hall of Fame member – Coach Fred Williams’ teams. Carole quickly became the scorekeeper for both the girls and the boys teams. She worked both home and away games for all of the Roswell girls and boys basketball coaches for three decades from 1979 – 2010. When you calculate that many regular season games and some tournament games, Carole kept the score for over 1300 Hornet basketball games!! Her skill and accuracy did not go unnoticed. GHSA brought her in to be the official scorekeeper for championship tournaments over the years.
Carole also served as the Roswell football and basketball cheerleader sponsor from 1980 – 1996. She conducted the tryout process, took the girls to camp every summer, attended the daily after school practices for close to 20 years, and was at every football game – and obviously every basketball game. When the GHSA set a new rule that non-teaching staff had to be categorized as community coaches, Carole became Roswell’s first community coach.
Carole was as the “unofficial” Roswell Athletics Secretary. She scheduled the games and meets for all sports, secured the officiating crews for all events, was a liaison with the Roswell High Booster Club, and was responsible for filing the compliance documents for eligibility of all players with GHSA. Carole continued to take on other varied roles within Roswell Athletics over the course of her career. She worked with Coach Natalie Stuckey to assist with gymnastics for five seasons, which included some of the state championship teams. When the “New” Roswell High School opened in 1990, Carole helped with the planning, development, and securing of funds to build the fields and athletic facilities on the King Road campus.
Coach Natalie Stucky
Bio Coming Soon
Coach Tim McFarlin
Bio coming soon
Coach John P. Coen III
Bio coming soon
Coach David C. Burnett
Coach David C. Burnett was employed at Roswell High School from 1981 through 2017. During that time he coached football, basketball, cross country, track, and soccer. He also served as assistant Athletic Director and Athletic Director during his tenure at Roswell. From 1994 – 2017 he was also the “Voice of the Hornets” for all home football games.
In the early 1980s, Coach Burnett coached 8th grade football and Girls Basketball. He also served as the Basketball Clock operator for 9th Grade, JV, and Varsity basketball games from 1981 – 2017.
David was the Varsity Girls and Boys Cross Country Coach from 1982-1986 and from 1995 – 1999. During that time his Boys teams were Fulton County Champions from 1984-1986 , Fulton County Runner Up in 1983, and Region Runner Up in 1985. His Girls teams were Fulton County Champions in 1996 and 1997 and were Fulton County and Region Champions in 1999 (a team which included the only Roswell individual state champion Whiney Sharpe). He also served as the Assistant Girls Track Coach from 1985 – 1990.
Coach Burnett was the Varsity Girls Soccer Coach from 1991 – 1998. His teams made the state playoffs 5 years in a row and accumulated 62 wins without ever having a losing season.
He served as Roswell High School Athletic Director from 2000 – 2005 during which time both Boys and Girls Lacrosse was added as a Varsity Sport. He oversaw the planning of the Lacrosse field and practice field. From 2006 – 2017, Coach Burnett was the Assistant Athletic Director for Roswell High School.
Coach Burnett taught physics and was nominated for Teacher of the Year 13 times.
