Longtime Charles Henderson football coach Hugh Fountain passed away on March 24 after a fight with cancer but the legacy he left on those he came into contact with will live on. 

Fountain was a football player at Troy (State) University and went on to coach 16 years at Charles Henderson High School, along with spending 10 years coaching at his alma mater, WS Neal, and 10 years at Escambia Academy. 

“He went through 16 years at Charles Henderson and he did a fantastic job with our young men,” Troy City Schools Board of Education member James Sparrow said. “You can argue Xs and Os, whether he’s the best football coach all you want, but I would argue that with anyone. When you’re the winningest coach in three different schools you can coach football. He was a better man than he was a football coach, though.” 

That sentiment is held by many. 

“To me, the highest measure of a man will always come from two sources: my daddy, Willie Jones, and Coach Hugh Fountain,” longtime CHHS assistant coach Marcus Jones Sr. said. “If I can reach half the standard they have set, I will be doing okay in life. Coach Fountain was my coach and my brother. He was a servant leader who was able to lead from the front of the lines, as well as the back. He was everything and more to a lot of people.” 

New Charles Henderson head football coach Phillip Jones played for Fountain at WS Neal and then followed in his footsteps as a player at Troy. Following his graduation from Troy, Fountain gave Jones his first coaching job as an assistant at CHHS, where he remains more than 20 years later.

“He was a great man and was all about helping people,” Jones emphasized. “He was my mentor, he taught me everything I know about football and track. Watching him, the way he worked and the way he did things, helped me. He was all about helping kids and helping other people.

“That’s the thing that stands out about him, he did a lot for a lot of people, more than anyone will ever know. He had an impact, he had his hands in everyone’s lives. Everyone he came into contact with he impacted. That was the type of person he was and the type of legacy he leaves.”

Michelle Armstrong taught alongside Fountain at CHHS.

“Coach Fountain and I came to CHHS at the same time and for 16 years, I got to work alongside one of the best men I know,” she said. “He invested in CHHS and in the Troy community. He and (his wife) Susan valued all their students they taught or coached in our school system. He was the best when he talked about his players.

“Every sports banquet we had, he did not just call the players name and give them their certificate for the season. He told a story about every single player, every single year. I loved hearing about our kids and he was so good at celebrating them. He always thanked the cheerleaders for what they did every week. He came to faculty meetings and thanked the teachers for their support and working the gate at home games.”

Armstrong said that Fountain would always be a Trojan. 

“He and I had break duty (together) for several years, and we would just get to talk about all the things,” Armstrong said. “From pep-rallies to Trojan Walks to pregame meals, he did whatever was best for those kids. He was a Trojan and he will always be a Trojan, a true Trojan. I am thankful for all he did for our kids, school and community. I am thankful to have worked with one of the best.” 

The sentiment that Fountain was much more than a football coach is shared by many.

“He was more than a coach,” Ebony Williams said. “He was a mentor to a lot of us. He definitely would call my name in a heartbeat, ‘Ebony Williams come here!’” 

Former Charles Henderson assistant Alex Palomino said Fountain’s mentorship went much further than the football field.  

“He never really had any famous quotes but my favorite memories were always after practice,” Palomino recalled. “I’d be cleaning up the locker room and getting things ready for game day and he would say, ‘Alex, come ride with me and let me bend your ear a little bit.’ We would ride through Troy dropping boys off at home because most would just walk otherwise, and he would give me advice on being a man and taking care of your family and doing it with integrity and compassion.

“He would encourage me to live by faith and, as a very young father and husband at the time, I felt blessed to receive advice like that from someone I looked up to. He was a football coach but before that, he was more importantly a father and provider and he passed that knowledge on to me.” 

Troy Mayor Jason Reeves closed the last city council meeting with his thoughts on Fountain. The reoccurring theme of Fountain’s ability as a coach being overshadowed by the kind of person he was again came to the forefront. 

“There is probably not a way to measure the number of people that Hugh Fountain impacted in the 16 years he was the head coach at Charles Henderson,” said Reeves. “He was successful on the field, and he was a great coach, but he was an even better man. There are 1,000s of young men and teachers and citizens that Hugh Fountain touched in Troy and Escambia County, where he was originally from. 

“He made an incredible mark on this community and it’s really sad. He was only 61 years old and gone too soon, but he left a legacy on Troy and this whole part of the state. We should all strive to be remembered like Hugh Fountain will be remembered and have the impact on life he had, not just life here but eternal life.”