Everybody Needs a Mule: The Story of Coach Max Bass

Coach Max Bass was a head football coach for thirty-two years; two years at the Boles School in Jacksonville, Florida, and twenty-nine years at Newnan High School in Newnan, Georgia. For eleven years, he also coached baseball, track, and golf. During his time in Newnan, he also served as the athletic director for all sports at the school. In football, Coach Bass's record was 216-109-8. His team won eight regional championships and, in 1981, was the state runner-up. He was a charter member and president of the Georgia Athletic Directors Association, a member of the American Football Coaches Association, and served on the GACA Hall of Fame selection committee. Coach Bass was named Coach of the Year in 1991 by the GACA and the Atlanta Football Officials Association. He was Athletic Director of the Year from 1989 to 1990 and was inducted into the Georgia Athletics Directors Hall of Fame in 2010. In 1995, the Newnan High Athletic Complex was given his name, and in 2003, he was inducted into the Coweta County Hall of Fame.His pastimes were fishing, gardening, and just being outdoors. He loved his family, watching and talking football and bringing up politics for "lively discussion."But above all, Coach Max Bass found his greatest mission in the development and love for all the students and young people he either coached or encouraged. He passionately wanted everyone to be the best person they could be and rise above their situation and life challenges. He was an "influencer" of his time.