Rarely does one person devote so much of his or her life to a single institution. Willie Hudson’s association with Linden High School demonstrates such devotion. A graduate himself of LHS, Hudson attended Freed-Hardeman College from 1933 to 1935 and was named MVP in the 1935 Mississippi Valley Conference basketball tournament. He then played guard for two years at Abilene Christian College in Texas, where he graduated with a B.S. in 1937.
Soon after college, Hudson returned to Linden, where he would remain for the rest of his professional life. During his tenure, he served as principal, basketball coach, and math teacher. Hudson holds the distinction of being the only high school basketball coach in Tennessee to win three consecutive state championships.
Coaching at LHS for twenty-two years, he also captured six district and four regional crowns. His teams appeared in the state tournament seven times and posted a record of 15-4. In 1956 Hudson was co-coach of the South all-star team. LHS’s athletic facility was named in Hudson’s honor following his death in 1963. In 1964 “The Tennessean” gave the first annual Willie Hudson Award to the mid-state’s high school basketball coach of the year.
Hudson was inducted into the TSSAA Hall of Fame in 1983, the Freed-Hardeman Sports Hall of Fame in 1985, and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.