Jimmy Warfford, the longtime varsity baseball coach at Jordan-Matthews, is turning over the head coaching reigns to a new generation of Jets.
“I have known Jimmy Warfford for almost 15 years. His dedication to Jordan-Matthews is immeasurable. It’s not very often that you get coaches who make an almost 30-year commitment to one town, one school, and one group of students. It is noteworthy that Coach Warfford coached five of the baseball coaches currently in the Siler City baseball programs so his influence is widespread and will be continued for years to come. We look forward to Jimmy continuing to work with the JM baseball program in whatever capacity fits best for him at this stage in his life,” said David Moody, former principal of Jordan-Matthews and current Assistant Superintendent of Auxiliary Services for the school district. Moody’s role includes being the district athletic director.
Warfford is a Siler City native and a 1959 graduate of Jordan-Matthews. He scored the first touchdown on the Jordan-Matthews football field. Warfford was also a student-athlete at Mars Hill College, where he was a two-sport athlete in baseball and football. Warfford taught and coached at West Montgomery High School from the fall of 1968 through 1972.
After coming back to Siler City, Warfford served as the first recreation director for the Town of Siler City for seven years. Later, he served as the first community schools coordinator for Chatham County Schools. In the fall of 1981, Warfford joined the faculty at Jordan-Matthews High School as a health and physical education teacher. During his first season as the JM varsity baseball coach in the spring of 1982, Warfford’s team earned a spot in the state playoffs.
“The students at JM have been so special. When you come back to your community where you were raised, a lot of times it doesn’t work. Knowing that when I came back, I went overboard to make it work and fit in a different role,” commented Warfford.
Over the years he coached football, baseball, and basketball, has been involved in the local American Legion program and served as the athletic director at Jordan-Matthews for ten years.
During his twenty-eight years, Warfford and his baseball teams have won three conference championships and, in addition to routinely making the state playoffs, advanced to the third round of the state playoffs two consecutive years, in 1986 and 1987.
Over the course of coaching Legion and high school baseball, many of Warfford’s players have had success playing baseball after high school. Among them are Drex Roberts, Ron Brower, Barry Culberson, Greg Harris, Richard Golden, Don Beane, Marty Scotten, Steve Marsh, Preston Bowers, Lon Griffin, Chris Murchison, Chad Fuquay, John Johnson, Chris Frazier, Heath Gunter, David McPherson, John Luttington, Chad Coward, Chuck Overman, Rick Parks, and more recently Taylor Kennedy, Treiston Burnette, Matthew Hinson, Derek Brown, Lane Bray, Josh Harris, and Desmond Cheek. Several of these came back, like Warfford, and coached baseball in the area.
In 1992, Warfford coached in his first conference championship (Central Tarheel 2A) against West Montgomery, the team he coached when he first graduated from college. Silk Hope’s Clarence Glover pitched the first four innings. The score, which had been 4-0 in the Jets’ favor, began to go the other way as West Montgomery whittled at the lead to make the score 4-3. Heath Gunter came in the game and struck out eight of the nine batters in the next three innings to lead Jordan-Matthews to the conference championship.
Jimmy Warfford, the longtime varsity baseball coach at Jordan-Matthews, is turning over the head coaching reigns to a new generation of Jets.
“I have known Jimmy Warfford for almost 15 years. His dedication to Jordan-Matthews is immeasurable. It’s not very often that you get coaches who make an almost 30-year commitment to one town, one school, and one group of students. It is noteworthy that Coach Warfford coached five of the baseball coaches currently in the Siler City baseball programs so his influence is widespread and will be continued for years to come. We look forward to Jimmy continuing to work with the JM baseball program in whatever capacity fits best for him at this stage in his life,” said David Moody, former principal of Jordan-Matthews and current Assistant Superintendent of Auxiliary Services for the school district. Moody’s role includes being the district athletic director.
Warfford is a Siler City native and a 1959 graduate of Jordan-Matthews. He scored the first touchdown on the Jordan-Matthews football field. Warfford was also a student-athlete at Mars Hill College, where he was a two-sport athlete in baseball and football. Warfford taught and coached at West Montgomery High School from the fall of 1968 through 1972.
After coming back to Siler City, Warfford served as the first recreation director for the Town of Siler City for seven years. Later, he served as the first community schools coordinator for Chatham County Schools. In the fall of 1981, Warfford joined the faculty at Jordan-Matthews High School as a health and physical education teacher. During his first season as the JM varsity baseball coach in the spring of 1982, Warfford’s team earned a spot in the state playoffs.
“The students at JM have been so special. When you come back to your community where you were raised, a lot of times it doesn’t work. Knowing that when I came back, I went overboard to make it work and fit in a different role,” commented Warfford.
Over the years he coached football, baseball, and basketball, has been involved in the local American Legion program and served as the athletic director at Jordan-Matthews for ten years.
During his twenty-eight years, Warfford and his baseball teams have won three conference championships and, in addition to routinely making the state playoffs, advanced to the third round of the state playoffs two consecutive years, in 1986 and 1987.
Over the course of coaching Legion and high school baseball, many of Warfford’s players have had success playing baseball after high school. Among them are Drex Roberts, Ron Brower, Barry Culberson, Greg Harris, Richard Golden, Don Beane, Marty Scotten, Steve Marsh, Preston Bowers, Lon Griffin, Chris Murchison, Chad Fuquay, John Johnson, Chris Frazier, Heath Gunter, David McPherson, John Luttington, Chad Coward, Chuck Overman, Rick Parks, and more recently Taylor Kennedy, Treiston Burnette, Matthew Hinson, Derek Brown, Lane Bray, Josh Harris, and Desmond Cheek. Several of these came back, like Warfford, and coached baseball in the area.
In 1992, Warfford coached in his first conference championship (Central Tarheel 2A) against West Montgomery, the team he coached when he first graduated from college. Silk Hope’s Clarence Glover pitched the first four innings. The score, which had been 4-0 in the Jets’ favor, began to go the other way as West Montgomery whittled at the lead to make the score 4-3. Heath Gunter came in the game and struck out eight of the nine batters in the next three innings to lead Jordan-Matthews to the conference championship.
In the spring of 2002, Jordan-Matthews was playing in the conference tournament at Thomasville. JM came in as the fifth seed and had to win the tournament to advance to the state playoffs. During the first game again first seed Albemarle, JM won. The team then went on to win two more games and won the tournament. Warfford recounts that experience as one of his most memorable.
Anybody who has lived in the western part of Chatham County knows about the storied rivalry between Jordan-Matthews and Chatham Central.
JM teams went to the state playoffs from Warfford’s first season at the school in 1982 and 1985 through 1988. In 1982 JM played a night game at Union Pines it had to win the game to qualify for the state playoffs. Chatham Central also played earlier that day and won. The Chatham Central team came to the Jets’ game, knowing a JM loss would propel the Bears into the playoffs. It was not to be as the Jets went on to win the game.
It seemed only fitting then that the JM baseball field would be named for Warfford at the last regular season game of the year against Chatham Central on April 25, 2008. The game was a tight one that remained tied at 1-1 into extra innings. Jordan-Matthews finally won the game, much to the relief of all of the Jet alumni and Warfford family who were in attendance for the naming of the field, which was a closely guarded secret that everyone had worked for months to keep from Warfford.
Someone had accidentally mentioned the naming of the field in front of Warfford the previous weekend. Wife Linda, ever quick on her feet, deflected the comment by saying, “Oh, Barry Hayes has been calling it “Jimmy Warfford Field” for years on WNCA when he announced scores.”
In 2009, the first season of the newly named field, the team won the Yadkin Valley Conference championship.
When the time came to scale back his role in Jordan-Matthews baseball program, Warfford’s hope was for his replacement to be one of his former players. That hope came true during the August 9th Chatham County Board of Education meeting when Chuck Overman was named as his replacement. Relieved, Warfford looks forward to keeping up the "Jimmy Warfford Field,” which bears his name. Overman has taught and coached at Jordan-Matthews for the past few years.
“I think (former JM coach and athletic director) John Phillips put it best when he said, ‘If there’s ever been anybody who is ‘true blue,’ it’s Jimmy Warfford.’ He comes to all types of JM sporting events, rec games, concerts – anything our young people might be involved in. He’s just that kind of person. Coach is always excited about the start of a new season and that is infectious. We truly appreciate everything he does for Jordan-Matthews,” commented current Jordan-Matthew athletic director Sandy Morse.
Pride in taking care of the JM baseball facilities has been a hallmark of Warfford’s tenure.
“When I interviewed for the job, the first question (then) athletic director Guy Smith asked me was what I would do first if hired as the baseball coach. I said I would really work on that field to fix it. I’ve tried to take a lot of pride over the years in taking care of the field,” explained Warfford.
And he has. If Warfford is in town, he goes to the field every day and sometimes more than once.
Wife Linda thinks the dugout is his home away from home. For example, on their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, Warfford called his wife and let her know sod was going to be put on the field. He thought they would be finished quickly and that he would be home soon. Around 10:30 p.m. he got home to find a baseball bat, ball and glove at Linda’s spot in the bed. She had jokingly done this, but freely admits she married a coach, not a mechanic, carpenter, etc. as Warfford sometimes reminds her. Linda has, however, threatened to have their yard landscaped like a baseball field in an effort to increase his interest in home improvement projects.
Sports have been an important part of the Warfford family. Linda has been known as the team’s lucky charm over the years since the game usually turns in JM’s favor when she arrives at a game. Not only did the Warfford daughters attend baseball games from the time they were babies, both went on to be outstanding high school and college athletes. Oldest daughter Jenny Lind is a kindergarten teacher and an elite runner. Youngest daughter Mary Beth was the basketball player of the family and now works with the Durham Bulls. The Warffords already wonder which sport soon-to-be one-year-old granddaughter Addalyn Grace will play.
“I’ve had strong support over the years from the central office, school administration, athletic directors, and fellow coaches. But my players are who mean the most to me. I always comment that as long as I’m around the players and coaches, they keep me young. They’re energetic and help to keep you positive,” commented Warfford.
Warfford has always been and will always be a baseball fan. His dream is to visit every major league park. Linda started the realization of the dream in 2005 by planning a west coast tour from San Diego to Seattle. Since then, they have visited nearly every major league baseball park in the nation. Warfford only has three more to go – Denver, Miami, and Phoenix. Spring training has always been a far-off dream since, obviously, it falls during the high school baseball season. Perhaps the College Baseball World Series, which has fallen during summer league season, will also be a possibility now.
However, don’t expect the JM baseball field to get overgrown amid his travels. On any given day, at any given time, you will still see Coach Jimmy Warfford lovingly maintaining field at Jordan-Matthews and supporting the Jets.
