Bill Gupton’s son was born on an extremely eventful day. You see, Bill’s wife, Dorothy, had gone into labor the very day that the Pearl High School basketball team he coached was playing for the 1959 state title. Fear not, the best-case scenario came true, as Bill’s team won the championship, and his wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy, William Gupton, Jr. It should come as no surprise that Bill’s players nicknamed the child “Champ!” Gupton’s distinguished coaching career at Pearl High lasted twenty-one years. During that time, his teams won the state tournament eleven times and national tournaments three consecutive years from 1958 to 1960. In recognition of his fine coaching, Gupton was selected coach of the year six times on the state level and three times on the national level. He coached accomplished players like UCLA star Ronnie Lawson and Loyola University of Chicago 1963 NCAA champions Victor Rouse and Leslie Hunter. Gupton was basketball coach and health and physical education instructor at Pearl from 1939 to 1960, assistant principal of Meigs School from 1960 to 1964, and principal of Meigs from 1964 until his retirement in 1971. A past president of the Tennessee High School Athletic Association, Bill Gupton served the Metropolitan Public Schools of Nashville with honor, and he will be remembered with pride for many years to come.
