Danny Wilmer, who served on George Welsh’s UVA Football staff from 1984-2000, passed away peacefully at his Hidden Lakes Farm home in Fluvanna County Wednesday afternoon.
Wilmer would have been 78 in April.
Wilmer graduated from Parry McCluer High School in Buena Vista in 1965, and was a postgraduate student at Staunton Military Academy in 1966.
Wilmer went on to play tight end and linebacker at East Carolina, graduating in 1972. He later received his master’s degree from Western New Mexico University in 1975.
Wilmer was head football and assistant coach at North Pitt High School in Bethel, N.C., from 1972-1973, and would return to WNMU as defensive coordinator in 1974 for one year before returning to the high school level as an assistant coach in football, basketball and track at T. Wingate High School in High Point, N.C.
Then, in 1979, Wilmer was named head football coach at Stuarts Draft High School in Augusta County.
That’s where my longtime friendship with Coach Wilmer began.
Coach Wilmer’s accomplished coaching career in college football is well-documented and, in the next few days, will be written even more by sportswriters who got to cover him during his days at UVA.
I want to share some memories from before Wilmer arrived in Charlottesville and a few from afterward.
In 1979, I began my sportswriting obsession with The News Virginian under the tutelage of sports editor Jim Gordon, who, for some reason, is still not in the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
Back then, the local newspapers gave serious attention to the high school sports scene, even, at times, holding the press from rolling to squeeze in an essential high school game.
My first football assignment was a Stuarts Draft-Buffalo Gap contest early in the football season.
Jim prepped me for the game by giving me a Cliffe’s Notes version of the Jim Gordon statistical guide, a yellow legal-sized sheet of paper with many scribbles.
However, more importantly, he gave me the skinny on that Stuart Draft coach, Danny Wilmer.
It’s been a long time since 1979, so my memory is a bit faded, but it went something like this: “You’ll like the Draft coach; he is funny and knows his football, very professional-like.”
Jim nailed two of the three.
Stuarts Draft won the game convincingly, which made my trip to the locker room less nerve-wracking.
Wilmer was sitting behind a makeshift desk in a barren coach’s office, as the high school he was coaching at was only 5 years old.
I introduced myself; Wilmer looked up and then returned to pouring over his own postgame notes.
It seemed like 20 minutes to a young and very anxious reporter, but it was more likely just a few seconds before Wilmer looked back and said something like, “What did you think?”
In my first interview with a head coach, he asked me my opinion of the game.
We chatted for probably 15 minutes, and I found Wilmer to be very straightforward, with a keen eye for detail; he even corrected me on some of my game stats.
However, he was not, as Jim said, funny.
Instead, he was almost businesslike in how he handled recapping the game. He talked about what his team did well and what they needed to work on in practice before the next game.
I even remember Wilmer attempting to explain the tight-end role in his system of play.
I listened and nodded as if I understood, but I didn’t.
Looking back on Wilmer’s career, that early encounter with Wilmer probably summed up what made him so special to so many.
He didn’t know me, but took the time to explain his style of play in detail.
He seemed to care about what I was doing.
Later, when Wilmer was the top recruiter at Virginia, heck, the nation, he took time to speak to a young relative of mine before a crucial game with Clemson.
The relative, my godson, was a robust little league football player I had brought down to meet Wilmer.
I was expecting some key advice on improving his football skills; instead, Wilmer spoke about the importance of keeping up your grades and choosing the right friends in life.
My godson, Kyle, still remembers that day, as does his father.
Today, Kyle’s a grown adult with a wonderful family, and I know how much that time with Wilmer meant to him.
The reputation that Danny Wilmer carved out at Virginia is legendary, helping elevate the Cavaliers into one of the most consistent winners in the nation under George Welsh.
The foundation that Wilmer laid before arriving in Charlottesville is legendary as well.
At least in my eyes.
Rest in Peace, Coach.
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