Bolles honors Corky Rogers

Posted on October 9, 2019 By Editor Neighborhood News, San Jose, San Marco, St. Nicholas

Charles “Corky” Rogers and his family join A. Chester Skinner and his family during the opening of the Corky Rogers Plaza at The Bolles School Aug. 24.

Thanks to longtime Bolles football supporter A. Chester Skinner, Jr. and his family, the accomplishments of Charles “Corky” Rogers, the Bulldog’s former head football coach, will live on in perpetuity.

Skinner, a member of Bolles class of 1940, sponsored the construction of a new plaza honoring Rogers’ storied career. The plaza, which is located at the west entrance to the stadium on the school’s San Jose campus, creates a new arrival point for fans and showcases Rogers’ legendary wins. It was unveiled prior to the start of the Bolles vs. University Christian football game Aug. 24. The game was the finale of the inaugural Bold City Showcase, an event created by Airstream Ventures, which was founded by Bolles alumnus Alan Verlander.

Bolles President and Head of School Tyler Hodges joined Skinner and Rogers at the 50-yard line as he shared remarks on Rogers’ coaching history and announced the official opening of the plaza to an enthusiastic crowd during the end of the game’s first quarter.

Famous throughout Florida and the United States, Rogers’ name is listed in the National High School Hall of Fame, the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, the Gator Bowl Hall of Fame, the Florida High School Athletic Hall of Fame, and the Florida Coaches Association Hall of Fame, among other honors. During his coaching career, he racked up a 449-80-1 coaching record within the 43 years he spent overseeing football teams at both Robert E. Lee High School and Bolles. Over 16 years at Lee, his record was 141-39-1. During 27 years at Bolles, he tallied 304 wins, 41 losses and 10 state championships.

During his tenure, he ranked fifth nationally in career wins among active coaches and is the eighth coach in the history of high school football throughout the United States to reach 400 wins. He was named National High School Football Coach of the Year for 2004-05 by the National High School Coaches Association. In August 2015, he landed on top of a field of 28 high school, college and NFL head coaches in the “Greatest Football Coach in Florida” bracket established by the Orlando Sentinal, where he beat out Bobby Bowden of Florida State, Steve Spurrier of the University of Florida and Don Shula of the Miami Dolphins.

“When Coach Rogers retired from Bolles in 2016, we knew we had to do something to commemorate such an outstanding career and influential person,” said Hodges. “The Skinner family, led by Mr. Chester Skinner from the class of 1940, stepped up to create a space to honor Coach Rogers’ important legacy. Thanks to their generosity, the new Corky Rogers Plaza was built – establishing an entirely new front entrance to our Skinner-Barco Stadium.”