Walter "Little Willie" Scruggs

Walter "Little Willie" Scruggs

Western North Carolina Athletes

Walter "Little Willie" Scruggs was born in Franklin, NC in 1946. Little did anyone know, at the time of his birth, that Scruggs would go on to become one of the most influential people in Franklin, NC before he was even 18 years old. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, America was deeply involved in the Civil Rights Movement and Western North Carolina was no stranger to this movement. Walter Scruggs bravely set an example for how Franklin, NC should adapt to the changing times by becoming the first African-American at Franklin High School to play basketball and football. By playing two of the most popular sports in Franklin, Scruggs was able to show that African-Americans were no different from anyone and helped unify a community in one of the most tense periods in American History. Aside from being the first African-American athlete at Franklin High School, Scruggs was also the first African-American athlete at Piedmont College in Demorest, Georgia. Tragically, the potential that Scruggs had for being a Civil Rights leader and a wonderful human being was cut short when he was tragically killed in a car accident when the car he was driving collided with another car that was driven by his very own brother on Christmas Eve, 1965. Walter Scruggs was 19 years old.

Jason Morse

"When All God's Children Get Together"

Ann Miller Woodford

Ann Miller Woodford

Ann Miller Woodford