LEHMAN TOWNSHIP -- The athletic fields at Lake-Lehman Junior Senior High School have been upgraded since George Curry coached there in the late 1960s. But his legacy still reverberates in the school's hallways, where Curry spent three seasons right out of college.
"There's thousands of players even who didn't play for him that look back that he helped,” said Jim McDermott, a former Coach Curry player.
The former high school quarterback still thanks Curry for helping him earn a full ride to college.
“I had to work hard for a lot of things but I've made it. And it was all set by example from George,” he said.
Tributes to Coach Curry dot the landscape in the Back Mountain. In fact, the owner of a restaurant also played for him.
Carl Kern is a former Coach Curry player.
"I was on the very first team he ever coached. It was my sophomore year, and it was ironic because my father was on the school board and he said, 'I think we hired a pretty good coach,'” Kern said.
Coach Curry racked up more than 450 wins during his coaching career. But to him, coaching meant more than wins and losses. It meant teaching his players about the ups and downs of life and having each player reach his potential.
"He could look at someone and see the best in them. No matter how much everybody else, you know, he'd see the best,” Kern said.
Inside Kern's restaurant – Big 10 Subs and Pizza – is a wall of photos of the Lake-Lehman football team when Curry was coach. Kern keeps it up as a reminder for him to be his best.