The Greensboro College community is mourning the loss of the school’s first-ever football coach.
Marion Kirby, who also enjoyed a Hall of Fame career at Greensboro Page High School in the 1970s and 80s, passed away at the age of 80 last week.
Under Kirby’s leadership, the Greensboro College football program debuted in 1996. That first team went 0-10. The Pride won three game in years two and three before posting 5-5 records in the fourth and fifth seasons. He was hired for the coaching role by Greensboro College athletic director Kim Strable.
“As our first ever football coach, he extended his legacy beyond the high school level and was tasked with building our program from scratch”, Strable said in a release. “We had 119 student-athletes on the practice field on day one – 99 of whom were freshmen as I recall.
“As Kirb use to always say, when we launched football, GC didn’t even own a kicking tee. He was a gregarious and friendly coach who loved to spin a yarn and also loved laughing through his own stories. He was a master story teller and always used past experiences as illustrations. Coach Kirby is beloved by many in this community and will always be a legend.”
Before moving up to the college level, Kirby led the powerhouse Page Pirates for more than two decades.
His Page teams posted an overall record of 219-51-5, won 14 conference titles and earned NC High School Athletic Association 4A state championships in 1980, 1983, 1984 and 1985. The Pirates finished second in ’82.
At one point, Page boasted a 50-game regular-season winning streak. Kirby was selected for the NCHSAA Hall of Fame in 2000.
After his time at Greensboro College, Kirby served as athletics director at Guilford College from 2002-07, overseeing the Quakers growth from 12 sports to 16.
“He was a better person than he was a football coach,” fellow Page High coach Mac Morris said in a Guilford College release. “He was a better person than he was a football coach, and he was one of the best football coaches ever.”
Kirby graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne College in 1964. His collegiate playing career including being on an NAIA championship team.
A memorial service will be held Tuesday, June 27 at 3:30 p.m. at Lawndale Baptist Church in Greensboro. After the memorial service, a reception will be held at the Page High football complex named in Kirby’s honor.
