Bob Cummings, a longtime local football coach who spent time working on every level, died Sunday. He was 94.
Bob Cummings, who coached football on the high school, college and pro level, died Sunday.
A celebration of life will take place at the gym at old Litton High School on Sept. 18 from 1-4 p.m.
Cummings was a native of Portland, who played center on the Vanderbilt freshman team, but left after being drafted to serve in World War II.
When he returned from service Cummings transferred to Georgia Tech where he was a starter (1942-44) under head coaches Bill Alexander and Bobby Dodd.
Cummings then returned to Nashville and began his coaching career at old Litton High School.
In his tenure at Litton the Lions posted a record of 58-13-3.
Cummings spent some time on the staff at Tennessee Tech and then returned to Vanderbilt as an assistant offensive line coach in 1954 and helped the Commodores earn a berth in the 1955 Gator Bowl.
After that Cummings coached at Georgia Tech, Kentucky and the University of Miami.
In 1966 several of Cummings former players at Litton convinced him to return to the Midstate and become the coach at Hendersonville High when the school moved to a new location.
At Hendersonville his teams went to six bowl games in seven years.
In 1973 Cummings became an assistant defensive coach in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints where he remained for three seasons.
In 1980 he became the first coach at Beech High where he remained until retiring in 1984.
In his retirement Cumming wrote the book, “The Grass is Always Greener Where You’ve Been.”
Cummings was inducted into the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 and on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.
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