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A Mother's Love Can Lead to Success and the Hall of Fame

Progress-Index - 5/21/2021

A mother’s love can be strong and influential, the most powerful thing to guide a person to make sure they set themselves on the right path. For George Leonard, that was his mom.

“My mom is my rock,” he says.

Born in North Carolina, Leonard is one of 9 children and born in the exact middle of his family. Like most older brothers would be, they would tussle and made sure he was athletic. But what created a strong sense of identity in Leonard was his mother who dropped out of school after the third grade to raise her 11 siblings.

Even though his family grew up poor and she raised her nine children while she worked, she was always supportive of her children. She wanted her children to graduate from college if they could and to never give up. The motivation helped Leonard become a successful athlete, Army veteran, and teacher who will be in the Petersburgh High School Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, May 22.

Upon arriving in Petersburg, after the death of his father, Leonard and his brothers met a man named Coach Jordan who was interested in them playing football. They did not know how to play the game because basketball and baseball were more popular in North Carolina.

“So he kind of took us under his wing and kind of protect us a little bit…” said Leonard.

After a few years under the guidance of Coach Jordan, Leonard played for Peabody Junior High School as a running back and linebacker. When he completed his middle school season, he was invited to the varsity football team at Petersburg High School.

At PHS he was a starting running back all three years. His accomplishments as a running back and co-captain his senior year are extensive. He made All Tri-City, All-District, All-Regional, and All-State in the fall of 1975.

“But in ‘74, I made All Tri-City, All-District, and All-Regional,” he says.

Even though his mom did not understand football, she was there for every home game to watch her son play. Also during his senior year, Leonard was selected to play in the High School East-West All-Star team in the summer of 1976. Leonard led the team in rushing, was voted MVP, and was voted the most athletic male in high school.

“I had a really good high school career,” he said.

The “really good” career in football followed him to Virginia State University where he was the running back for the football team on a scholarship. He was hesitant to go to VSU. But his mom pleaded with him and and he answered her pleads by attending.

“It ended up being the best four years of my life,” he said.

At VSU he set the rushing record that was eventually broken by Trent Cannon who currently plays for the Carolina Panthers. While also at VSU, Leonard connected with Lt. Col. Jona McKee.

Lt. Col. McKee was Leonard's teacher for his military science course and recruited him for the ROTC program. Leonard had no interest in the military and wanted to try for the NFL Draft upon graduating. But Leonard served 11 years in the Army due to McKee’s mentorship.

“Once someone’s football thing over, you kinda get a little lost. So he wanted to make sure that that didn't happen to me,” Leonard said.

After his 11 years of service, two days into civilian life, he began to teach. He wanted to give back and that is why he wanted to teach. Currently he is at Massoponax High School and has taught for the last 30 years. After all the years he was guided by positive role models, he became one for his students.

He sees a lot of himself in his students and he wants to give back to the community. If he needs to show his students direction and give them a pat on the back then he will do that. The support and love from his mom and mentors gave him a strong foundation to build and succeed on. The success will continue when he is part of the PHS Athletic Hall of Fame but he hopes his mom can hold it together because, for her, her son’s work is paying off.

“I just think of all the struggles and sacrifices, and anytime I am recognized for something my mom... she claims credit for it anyway. And deservedly so,” he says.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: A Mother's Love Can Lead to Success and the Hall of Fame

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